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Ellen Murphy, also known as Nancy Murphy, was the wife of Detroit Police Officer Alex Murphy and mother of James Murphy.

Biography[]

Murphy family

Ellen with her husband and son

Ellen was born in 1958. By 1990, she was married to Alex Murphy and together they had a son, James.[1]

The Murphys were a happy family that resided at 548 Primrose Lane in Detroit until Alex was killed in the line of duty by Clarence Boddicker and his gang. Following his funeral, Ellen and James moved away to "start over,"[2] but remained in the Detroit area.[3] At one point, RoboCop returned to his former house, which was now unoccupied and for sale. Walking through the home triggered memories of Ellen and their child.[2]

She was devastated by her husband's death, refusing to even leave her bedroom for several months. In the interim, she saw hypnotists and sought harmonic treatments.[3]

However, they eventually were stalked by cyborg police officer RoboCop and Ellen took legal action and learned that RoboCop had been constructed from her late husband's remains. RoboCop was chastised by OCP executives for the stalking and said he had no hope of resuming his married life.[3]

RoboCop with Ellen Murphy

Shortly after this, she visited RoboCop, saying that she knew he was her deceased husband. Still conflicted from the earlier dressing down, RoboCop said he was not Alex Murphy, rather his face was synthetically constructed in Murphy's image as tribute to his heroism. Ellen burst into tears and left.[3]

Despite this, RoboCop continued to have flashbacks of Ellen and James.[4]

On one occasion, she – now going by Nancy – reprimanded her son for his grades, prompting him to run away. Nancy consulted Family Services' Fanny LaMour to help find him and provided a video she had recorded of Jimmy the previous Christmas. LaMour said she had not seen Jimmy and excused herself.[5]

Jimmy was later found by Officer Lisa Madigan, who reunited mother and son.[5]

When Madigan was suspended from the force after falling victim to the addictive side effects of No Gain, Nancy agreed to give her a ride home from the precinct. When picking her up, she briefly came face-to-face with RoboCop. In Nancy's car, she told Madigan that she was finally allowing herself to have a social life for the first time after Alex's death.[6]

Nancy grew concerned over Jimmy's involvement with the Community Action Patrol, also known as the CAP Crew. She expressed such worries to RoboCop when she went to the precinct in search of Madigan's help.[7]

Jimmy later called his mother, warning her to get out of her home, as the CAP Crew was after him for learning that they were responsible for the manufacture and distribution of the drug Fun. She hurriedly went to the precinct and disclosed this information to Madigan, RoboCop, and Sgt. Stanley Parks.[7]

Denied Alex's pension, Nancy and Jimmy were forced to go on welfare. She and Father Gregory Marks led a protest against Web Care, a privatized welfare group that used pushed for Provision 22, a law that made it illegal to work and be on welfare at the same time. After a bomb was detonated near the protest, Web Care's Mod Squad took Father Marks and Nancy into custody, but she was soon released. She told Madigan about her situation, struggling to find work, worsened by Provision 22.[8]

Nancy took Jimmy to Father Marks' mission so he could stay the night while she worked. Father Marks soon entered, apparently now supporting Web Care. However, Nancy was unconvinced by his changed opinions and left to work at an illegal sweatshop run by Izzy Provo. Having been watching her, Web Care raided the shop for the sole purpose of arresting Nancy, witnessed by Jimmy, who had snuck out of the mission. He tried to have RoboCop stop the arrest, but because Nancy was violating Provision 22, he was forced to allow the arrest, much to Jimmy's anger.[8]

Nancy was taken to the Web Care headquarters, soon joined by Jimmy. The two were taken to a "rehabilitation" room to be brainwashed into advocating for Web Care. However, because Web Care did not file an Intent to Arrest form for Nancy, RoboCop was able to enter the facility and successfully stop the rehabilitation. As RoboCop took Nancy and Jimmy back to the mission, Nancy called Beth, asking her to prepare for a press conference.[8]

At the press conference, the OCP Chairman arrived and announced that Web Care would be closed and he would help get Provision 22 repealed. With a bomb in the vicinity, Madigan soon entered and evacuated the building. RoboCop safely detonated the bomb and adjusted a magnetic resonance projector to a safe level, saving those at the conference. As Madigan arrested arsonist Harry Flitch, Nancy approached RoboCop and thanked him for being there whenever she or Jimmy needed him.[8]

After Jimmy was publicly identified as a witness to the attempted assassination of Judge Clarence Hall, she planned to contact Sergeant Parks. However, news reporters began to break in the front door, so she and Jimmy hurriedly left. After losing the press, they returned home, only for Jimmy to be kidnapped by Shorty and Leo, goons working for Pudface Morgan. RoboCop, who had come to the home while Nancy and Jimmy were away, shot a tracker onto the van and promised to find Jimmy.[9]

RoboCop successfully rescued Jimmy. At a ceremony to honor Jimmy for his bravery, Nancy said she believed Alex would be proud of his son. RoboCop replied, "I'm sure of it."[9]

Nancy became a recording secretary and spokesperson for the feminist group Women for the Overthrow of Male Bastions (WOMB). When Rochelle Carney, author of Why Men Are Jerks, visited the group, Nancy introduced herself and noted her interest in the Rad Femmes Willa Sweet and Punk, whose methods WOMB disapproved of. When the Rad Femmes kidnapped the OCP Chairman, Nancy gave a news interview officially denouncing the Rad Femmes' actions on behalf of WOMB.[10]

RoboCop and Madigan asked Nancy about the Rad Femmes and she told them about seeing them with Carney. When asked by RoboCop why she joined WOMB, she explained that when Alex died, she realized that she was almost entirely dependent upon him and wished to help other women avoid ending up in the same situation.[10]

While on her way to the store one day, Nancy was kidnapped by arms dealer Conrad Brock and corrupt OCP executive Wilson Eberhart. She was taken to a cell, where a camera watched her every move. Her kidnappers demanded that RoboCop bring them all of the parts for the Heartbreaker weapon in exchange for Nancy.[11]

She eventually hid above the door to the cell and tackled Brock when he entered. She tried to escape, but was caught by Eberhart. Brock prepared to kill Nancy with the Heartbreaker, but changed his mind to kill Eberhart when he suggested they back out of their plan.[11]

RoboCop eventually kicked in the door to Brock's office, where Nancy was held at gunpoint by the Heartbreaker, a distance that would fry her brain. Diana Powers distracted Brock with a cartoon on his television, allowing Nancy to break free, watching as Brock attacked RoboCop, only for the Heartbreaker to be reversed on him, reducing him to dust. During her time around Brock, he had made hints of her connection to RoboCop. However, the cyborg stated that he saved her because she was married to a cop from Metro South, and all cops from the precinct were family. She was then sent to other officers to give her statement.[11]

She later died in 1992 and was interred at the Nixon Memorial Cemetery, next to her husband's plot.[1] Jimmy was placed into an OCP-run foster home.[12]

Trivia[]

  • Ellen's first name is never spoken in either of the three original films, only mentioned in the ending credits of the second and third films. In the ending credits of the first film she is listed as "Murphy's wife". In the novelization, she is named Jan.
  • Ellen appears only in flashback in the first and third films.
  • In the TV series she is called Nancy, due to copyright issues.
  • In the 2014 remake, Ellen is renamed Clara.
  • Ellen and Jimmy are referenced in Mortal Kombat 11 during a battle intro between RoboCop and Scorpion: Scorpion asks "Your wife and son?" and RoboCop replies, "They are lost to me now."

Behind the scenes[]

In the novelization of RoboCop (adapted from an earlier version of the film's script), following his death, Murphy's wife and son signed on with MoonCorp and moved in with Ellen's sister who lived at the Luna Industrial Plex.

Appearances[]

References[]

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