Superhero Cops: Ranking the Top 5

Superhero Cops Are Here To Protect and Serve

The police have failed us. We rely on them to uphold the law and guard us from people who would break it, but honest cops are drowned out by constant news about swaggering bullies in uniform who shoot first and never ask questions. We need less Punisher cosplayers and more cops who Captain America and Superman would respect. So what would happen if a superhero wore the badge?

Superhero police officers meant it when they swore oaths to protect and serve. These cops wear costumes instead of uniforms and have powers beyond a gun and night stick, but you can always trust them to protect the innocent. So who are the best superhero cops? Let’s find out.

#5 Savage Dragon

Series: Image Comics
Rank: Detective, Special Consultant
Voiced By: Jim Cummings

Superhero Cops rarely are both when they start out. They either spend time as a vigilante before becoming deputized or wear the badge and develop superpowers. This pick was a superhero cop from his first day on the force.

An amnesic green man was found in a ring of fire. Police officer Frank Darling helped rebuild his life, forging a new identity as Savage Dragon. Darling’s cousin was killed by supervillains that were rampaging through Chicago, inspiring Dragon to join the police to stop them.

Dragon acted as a one-man S.W.A.T. team opposing a gang of villains called The Vicious Circle. Unlike Spawn or the government-backed team, Youngblood, Dragon followed the law and became one of the most respected heroes for being an honest, by-the-book cop. The Dragon now serves as a special consultant for cases related to supervillains.

The Dragon has standard superpowers, plus superhuman accuracy, telepathic shields, and a healing factor strong enough to resurrect him. He’s trained in forensic science, knows hundreds of languages, and was issued comically large guns by the Chicago Police Department.

#4 Superhero Cops: The Shadow Ranger

Series: Power Rangers: SPD
Rank: Commander
Played By: John Tui

Superhero Cops tend to be rank and file. It’s better narratively if they’re the underdog having to go up against the baddies with only their partner for backup. This canine police chief is always ready to remind everyone why he’s top dog.

Anubis “Doggie” Cruger was the sole survivor of planet Sirius, which was destroyed by the Troobian Empire. Cruger joined intergalactic police Space Patrol Delta and worked his way up to Commander. The Empire invaded Earth in the far future of 2025, leading Cruger to assemble a team of Power Rangers.

Cruger was haunted by the fall of Sirius and his wife Isinia’s death. He stayed off the battlefield until his best friend Kat was kidnapped by the general that killed Isinia. He became S.P.D.’s Shadow Ranger to save her and discovered that his wife was alive. Cruger joined the other Rangers to find Isinia, but often acted as mission control so they wouldn’t over-rely on him.

The Shadow Ranger is a master swordsman who wields the Shadow Saber. He uses the Justice Scanner to infallibly determine if criminals are guilty of their crimes, because that totally worked in Minority Report. The Shadow Ranger pilots the Delta Command Megazord, which is made out of his entire precinct. Just ignore all the other cops and employees likely getting slammed around by the base’s transformation because there’s a giant robot fight going on!

#3 Karrin Murphy

Series: The Dresden Files
Rank: Lieutenant
Played By: Valerie Cruz

Superpowers and costumes are nice, but you don’t need them to be a superhero cop. This one saves the day through skill, weaponry, and a wizard on retainer.

Lt. Karrin Murphy was the head of Chicago’s Special Investigations division. Her job was to protect people from supernatural threats, despite other cops seeing her as the leader of a gaggle of kooks. Murphy’s secret weapon and love interest was occult detective Harry Dresden, a nerd with the magical might of a wrecking ball.

Murphy was slowly drawn into Dresden’s world, making her a more skilled warrior at the cost of her career. She was fired after missing work to save a friend from a fae prison. Murphy created an organization to continue fighting supernatural threats, punching above her weight class until it broke her. She died during a war for Chicago, but a Valkyrie confirmed she would enter Valhalla for her valor.

Murphy has no magic or superpowers. She’s a sharpshooter, martial artist, and motorcyclist skilled enough to evade the Wild Hunt. Murphy was trusted with the holy sword Fidelacchius on several occasions, temporarily giving her superpowers, but she refused to become a Knight of the Cross and keep it full-time.

#2 Superhero Cop: Jim Gordon

Series: Batman
Rank: Commissioner
Played By: Gary Oldman, Bryan Cranston, JK Simmons

Superhero cops often toe the line. Warrants and oversight don’t matter as much as saving lives. Our penultimate pick knows how to walk the line without crossing it to save the day.

James Gordon was a Gotham City detective. He struggled to be an honest cop in an almost entirely corrupt police force. His life changed when he formed a relationship with Batman, a vigilante and the only other person trying to clean up the city. Gordon and Batman excised the dirtiest officers and broke the mob’s power over the police, leading to his promotion.

Commissioner Gordon continued working with Batman as gangs were replaced by supervillains. Working with a vigilante was illegal, but Gordon knew that the villains were too dangerous for cops, and Batman stuck to an ironclad code, well aware that Gordon would take him down if he ever broke it. Ironically, Gordon’s daughter Barbara joined Batman as Batgirl, though Gordon has implied he knows her secret.

Commissioner Gordon is a former Marine, martial artist, detective, and sharpshooter with an unbreakable moral code. During a time when Batman was thought dead, Commissioner Gordon wore power armor and fought crime as a state-sanctioned Batman.

#1 RoboCop

Series: RoboCop
Rank: Officer
Played By: Peter Weller, Joel Kinnaman, Richard Eden 

Police badges are shaped like shields for a reason. They put their lives on the line every day to protect the innocent. But sometimes, they don’t make it home. Dead or alive, you’re coming with this superhero cop.

Alex Murphy was a police officer working in dystopic, war-torn Detroit. While chasing crime boss Clarence Boddicker, Murphy was ambushed and executed. His body was taken by Omni Consumer Products, a megacorporation that owned the police, and transformed into a cyborg weapon called RoboCop

RoboCop tore a swath through Detroit’s gangs. Murphy’s partner Anne Lewis recognized his signature gun twirl and helped reawaken RoboCop’s humanity Robocop went rogue to capture Boddicker and his OCP employer, then rejoined the police force.

RoboCop is armed with OCP’s bleeding-edge tech. His armor is made of titanium while an integrated computer analyzes weak spots and generates firing solutions. Robocop’s Auto-9 is an oversized machine pistol bordering on a submachine gun. Murphy’s hand contains a “data spike” for hacking that doubles as a shiv. 

Despite his equipment, RoboCop is painfully slow and has a secret prime directive that will kill him if he tries to arrest senior OCP executives.

Which superhero cop is your favorite? Should someone else join this police force? Tell us in the comments.

Robocop image courtesy of Orion Studios.

Jared Bounacos

Jared Bounacos has written for Movie Rewind since 2016.