Del Spooner

Del Spooner

4
    I, Robot
Photo Credit: Everett Collection

Character Analysis

(Avoiding Spoilers)

Living… as a cyborg. The year is 2035 and robots are widely used to make the lives of humans easier. When Spooner and a little girl get in a car accident, a robot elects to save him because of his higher chances of survival and leaves the girl to die. The accident left Spooner with a robotic left arm and a deep-seated resentment towards robots for that which makes them inhuman – their inability to feel emotion. In his words, “These things are just lights and clockwork.”

Profession… Chicago police detective. Spooner is what they call an “asset.” He’s a deadeye shooter, and his robotic arm gives him superhuman strength. He is always butting heads with his superior, Lieutenant John Bergin.

Interests… throwback styles and technologies. Spooner wears Converse sneakers (“vintage 2004”, he boasts), listens to Stevie Wonder, and furnishes his apartment with outdated appliances. It’s the Luddite in him.

Relationship Status…. divorced, from his ex-wife Marci.

Challenge… uncovering the truth behind the death of Alfred Lanning. One day Lanning, robotics pioneer and head of U.S. Robotics, mysteriously plummets from his office to his death. The First Law of Robotics dictates: “A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.” The coroner declares Lanning’s death a suicide, but Spooner believes that it was the result of a violation of the First Law. He is assigned to the case and enlists robopsychologist Susan Calvin to assist him in his investigation.

Personality… outspoken, independent, stubborn. Spooner is pretty mellow, until you bring up robots. His suspicion of robots is an unpopular and even radical position in 2035. People see him as a conspiracy theorist, but he doesn’t care – he waves his freak flag high.

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