Detroit to Get RoboCop Statue. City’s Pigeons Crap Themselves.

What’s the next best thing to a real super-human cyborg cop? A huge statue of one! And thanks to the mighty power of the Internet, that’s exactly what Detroit may be getting.

On Monday, February 7th, a genius in Massachusetts tweeted this message to Detroit Mayor Dave Bing:

Here’s the mayor’s response:

That’s when the Internet let out a collective ‘squee’ and said, “I’d buy that for a dollar!” And within a Jarvik heartbeat, the idea of a RoboCop statue blew up faster than a car in a Michael Bay film.

Only six days after creating the website detroitneedsrobocop.com, a group of local artists and fans of the 1987 cult classic exceeded their fund-raising goal of $50,000 to build a larger-than-life sculpture of the crime-fighting mega-cop. Over 2,300 people have already given and the number is growing every day.

Of course, there’s been some debate about the artistic merits of a RoboCop statue. Would such a monument to a movie portraying Detroit as a crime-ridden hellhole hurt the city’s image? Or would it be a fun way to bring more attention to a resilient city on the rebound? And can the city even handle the ensuing hordes of geeks that are sure to descend upon this altar of awesome? Only time will tell.

So, if you’ve ever wondered what it would be like to come face to face with RoboCop in Detroit, that dream may soon become a reality. If only they could get the statue to shoot people in the crotch and shout, “Your move, creep!” then the fantasy would be complete.

Personally, I’ve been pushing for a Mr. Stay Puft Marshmallow Man statue in New York City for years now. Let’s get on this, Internets!