"It's crime fighting time!"
In 2020 the fictional city of Empire City is plagued by a gang of super criminals lead by crime lord The Big Boss. The regular police can’t get a grip on The Big Boss or his gang. To save Empire City from The Big Boss and his gang The Central Organization of Police Specialists is (C.O.P.S.) is established, headed by B.P. “Bulletproof” Vess. C.O.P.S. is an elite team of police men with special powers and/or skills. Their mission is to fight crime and in particular The Big Boss and his gang.
In many action cartoons aimed at boys you will find a battle of good against evil. In C.O.P.S. that happens literally in the form of police men vs criminals. There’s very little explanation needed to explain the premise of C.O.P.S. to children: cops fighting criminals. While this premise would probably be fascinating enough for children, C.O.P.S. goes one step further than being merely a police vs criminal show. C.O.P.S. does not consist of ordinary police officers, but agents who all have a special power. The same applies to the criminals who are not petty thieves, but all have a special power which keeps them from getting caught by ordinary police officers.
C.O.P.S. resembles G. I. Joe, that other team of specialists, in a sense. Similar to G. I. Joe all C.O.P.S. are ordinary men with some special power or skill, have a codename, have a yell before they go to war ("It's crime fighting time!"), each agent and criminal has a unique personality and history, and all the characters are introduced through a "roll call " so you see each individual as they pass by. Since C.O.P.S. is based on a toy line from toymaker Hasbro its not surprising that a similar formula for C.O.P.S. is used as for G.I. Joe. G. I. Joe is namely also a Hasbro toy property. And the main purpose for the roll call is so you know what character to pester your parents with in order for them to buy the accompanying action figure for you.
The police men of C.O.P.S. are highly diverse as are the villains. The same sadly can’t be said about the plot. Each episode follows the exact same formula. The episode opens with a paper file with a case number on it. We hear the low voice of Bulletproof which opens with the sentence " The Case of ... " in which the title of the episode is mentioned. One of Bog Boss’ hench men undertakes a criminal activity where some of the COPS are put on the case. At the end of the episode the criminal of the week is caught and thrown in prison - only be free again by the next episode. The episode ends again with the paper file that now gets the stamp: "Case closed”.
The origin of the C.O.P.S. isn’t told until episode 8 where Bulletproof tells the origin story in the 2-part episodes ‘The case of C.O.P.S. file #1’. The series also has a real end. In all the episodes Big Boss’ men are arrested, but the Big Boss himself is never caught until the last episode. In the last episode The Big Boss himself is finally arrested and the war in Empire City seems to have come to an end.
The C.O.P.S. are a diverse collection of agents each with a special skill or power. The cops look like regular cops you’d come across in daily life, but with the twist that they have something special you don’t see in normal life. Bowser for example looks like a regular officer with a police dog, except that his dog Blitz is a cyborg dog. Agent Highway is basically a motorcycle cop, but one with a very pimped up motor. In each episode the focus is on just one or a few cops, but rarely all at once.
The C.O.P.S. are lead by Baldwin B. Vess, codename Bulletproof. The show takes place in 2020, but the appearance of Bulletproof is clearly inspired by Michael Jackson in his Bad years. Complete with a "spit curl" and sunglasses he looks like he’s the lost a brother of Michael Jackson when he still was black.
Baldwin P. Vess is a Federal Agent from the FBI who was called in to help take down Big Boss. During the fight, he ends up seriously injured in a car wreck and is taken to the hospital. To save his life, Mayor Davis had the research scientists from the Overdine Institute perform an operation that gives Baldwin a cybernetic torso to save his life as it would take years for his torso to recover. Going by the name "Bulletproof" due to the cybernetic torso being able to deflect bullets, Baldwin assembles a team of highly-trained police officers from across the country to form COPS and stop Big Boss and his gang of crooks. He is representative of a Police Detective or an F.B.I. Agent.
Voiced by: Ken Ryan. Image via Behindthevoiceactors.
P.J. O'Malley serves as a police sergeant for the Empire City Police Department. Second in command of COPS, he is a very compassionate officer who has the talent to convince juvenile delinquents to give up their criminal ways and become law abiding citizens. He wears a wrist device that extends out a handcuff-like device to grab criminals escaping the law, or as an improvised grappling hook. He is representative of a Beat Cop.
Voiced by: John Stocker. Born August 13, 1947. Image via Behindthevoiceactors.
A police officer who worked for the Chicago Police Department. He is a K-9 officer who loves animals and is the handler of Blitz. As mentioned, he is representative of a K-9 officer.
Voiced by: Nick Nichols. Born April 19, 1952. Died August 11, 2010 Image via Behindthevoiceactors.
A police officer who was a former Texas Sheriff. He is an excellent lasso handler and sharpshooter known for conducting special investigations. He is representative of a Texas Ranger.
Voiced by: Len Carlson. Born September 2, 1937. Died January 26, 2006. Image via Behindthevoiceactors.
A police officer who worked for the Philadelphia Police Department. He is known for his tactical strategies, his laser "Mazooka," and his love for a femme fatale named Nightshade. He is representative of a S.W.A.T. Officer.
Voiced by: Len Carlson. Born September 2, 1937. Died January 26, 2006. Image via Behindthevoiceactors.
A police officer who worked for the California Highway Patrol. He is a known ace cycle trooper who is not good at baking cookies. He is representative of a Motorcycle patrol officer.
Voiced by: Ray James.
A soft-spoken police officer who worked for the Detroit Police Department. He is known for his calm demeanor, his M.U.L.E. device, and crowd control. He is representative of Riot Control. He also seems to have training in Hostage Negotiation.
Voiced by: Ray James.
A rookie police officer who works for Empire City's Police Department. He is the driver of the COPS' Ironsides vehicle and has a crush on ECTV news reporter Whitney Morgan. He is representative of a Patrol and Pursuit Officer.
Voiced by: Darrin Baker. Born May 7, 1965. Image via Imdb.
A police officer who worked for the Miami Police Department. He is the best police helicopter pilot on the force which earned him the nickname "Bullseye." He is representative of a Police Helicopter pilot.
Voiced by: Peter Keleghan. Born September 16, 1959. Image via Behindthevoiceactors.
A police computer specialist who works for Empire City's Police Department. She is the best computer jockey ever whose talent in computer wizardry has helped solve even the most chaotic of capers. She is representative of a Police Technical Analyst.
Voiced by: Mary Long. Born in 1951. Image via Behindthevoiceactors.
A female police officer who worked with the San Francisco Police Department. She is known for her talented work in undercover investigations. She is representative of a Vice Officer.
Voiced by: Elizabeth Hanna. Born Apr 2, 1953. Image via Behindthevoiceactors.
The mayor of Empire City.
Voiced by: Marvin Goldhar. Born in 1934. Died March 31, 2002. Image via Behindthevoiceactors.
The criminals are not inferior to the C.O.P.S. in terms of diversity. The Big Boss is an even uglier than the fatso Kingpin from Spider-man. His etarded cousin Beserko does most of the dirty work, and is also the one most often arrested by COPS. Beserko is so moronic and annoying that it just is not fun to see him or to ever think he’s an actual threat to the COPS. Fortunately Big Boss has also employed other criminals who pose a much bigger threat to the COPS than Beserko. Big Boss' entire gang further consists of Rock Krusher, Ms. Demeanor, Turbo Tu-Tone, Dr . Badvibes and his robot Buzzbomb, Nightshade, Buttons McBoomBoom and Squeeky Kleen.
The primary antagonist of the series. Brandon "Big Boss" Babel is a crime lord who plans to rule Empire City with an iron fist...literally.
Voiced by: Len Carlson. Born September 2, 1937. Died January 26, 2006. Image via Behindthevoiceactors.
Dr. Percival "Percy" Cranial is a brilliant, though completely deranged mad scientist. Ever since he was fired from Comtrex Technologies Incorporated for stealing top secret electronics, he works for Big Boss devising inventions and robotic minions for Big Boss's gang. He has a glass dome on top of his head which shows his abnormally large brain and is known to create literal brainstorms by charging electricity through his brainwaves to form a cloud that can produce rain, thunder, and lightning.
Voiced by: Ron Rubin. Born May 12, 1959. Image via Behindthevoiceactors.
Constantine Saunders is minion of Big Boss. He is seen wearing a red suit and fedora and carries around a violin case that hides his favourite playtoy, a deadly modified Thompson submachine gun with a scope attachment that he uses to blast away at any target at will. Buttons McBoomBoom hides underneath his suit a cybernetic torso that conceals twin machine guns with which he blasts away after he unbuttons his shirt to reveal them in the heat of battle against either the COPS or a bug.
Voiced by: Nick Nichols. Born April 19, 1952. Died August 11, 2010 Image via Behindthevoiceactors.
Stephanie Demeanor is a middle-aged, super-strong woman with the appearance of a normal businesswoman. She works for Big Boss. She has the muscular physique of a champion bodybuilder.
Voiced by: Tabitha St Germain. Image via Behindthevoiceactors.
Barney L. Fatheringhouse is an impulsive, dim-witted thug who is the proud nephew of Big Boss.
Voiced by: Paul de la Rosa. Image via Behindthevoiceactors.
Edmund Scarry is a super-strong thug who works for Big Boss. He often uses a heavy-duty jackhammer in order to get into bank vaults. At one point he was romantically involved with Ms. Demeanor.
Voiced by: Brent Titcomb. Born Aug 10, 1940. Image via Behindthevoiceactors.
Ted Stavely is a minion of Big Boss who serves as his getaway driver. He was the one responsible for causing the car wreck that resulted in Baldwin P. Vess gaining a cybernetic torso.
Voiced by: Dan Hennessey. Born Aug 25, 1941. Image via Behindthevoiceactors.
Rafaella Diamond was born into a rich family. She ended up disowned when she turned to crime stealing expensive and exotic jewellery for the thrill of it, not out of financial needs. She now works for Big Boss, and is secretly in love with Mace.
Voiced by: Jane Scholettle.
A short criminal who uses an insect-controlling device that enables him to control insects to commit his crimes after people stopped showing up to his flea circus. He joined up with Big Boss' gang, but left when he did not get a high pay. This causes Nightshade and Buttons McBoomBoom to steal his bugs and the insect-controlling device and use them in their crimes. When Mainframe and Bowser and Blitz found him after tailing Gaylord, they help him into regaining his insect-controlling device. Though Buttons and Nightshade are defeated, Bugman is also arrested. He was last seen restarting his flea circus in prison where his entertaining of the guards is a diversion for Gaylord who secretly makes for the keys. In "The Case of the Lesser of Two Weevils," Bugman escapes from prison when Gaylord gets captured by his rival the Boll Weevil. When Boll Weevil was defeated, Bugman and Gaylord went back to show business.
Voiced by: Marvin Goldhar. Born in 1934. Died March 31, 2002. Image via Behindthevoiceactors.
C.O.P.S, Central Organization of Police Specialists, fighting crime in a future town, protecting Empire City from Big Boss and his gang of crooks. It’s crime fighting time.
