Character Relationship Map: The Super Cops

Characters

• David Greenberg (played by Ron Leibman) — protagonist

  A New York City police officer and one of the film's two central protagonists. Greenberg repeatedly makes off-duty arrests, works with Hantz to dismantle the Bed-Stuy drug trade, rejects bribes, survi...

• Robert Hantz (played by David Selby) — supporting

  A New York City police officer and Greenberg's partner. Hantz joins him in making unauthorized drug and weapons arrests, confronting corrupt suspects, resisting an entrapment scheme, and exposing crim...

• Sara (played by Sheila Frazier) — supporting

  A prostitute whom Greenberg approaches for information about drug dealers in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood. Although her first encounter causes a commotion, she later provides intelligence that...

• Insp. Novick (played by Pat Hingle) — supporting

  A police inspector who conducts the internal investigation after Greenberg and Hantz kill the Hayes brothers in self-defense. He later arrives at the restaurant confrontation involving the officers an...

• Police Capt. Irving Krasna (played by Dan Frazer) — supporting

  The captain of the fictional 21st Precinct, where Greenberg and Hantz begin full-duty work. Krasna initially distrusts their independent arrests and suspects corruption, but after testing their reacti...

• Joe Hayes (played by Charles Turner) — supporting

  One of the three Hayes brothers who control the drug market in Bedford-Stuyvesant. Together with his brothers, he offers Greenberg and Hantz a weekly bribe and attempts to bring them to the suppliers;...

• John Hayes (played by Ralph Wilcox) — supporting

  One of the three Hayes brothers running the Bedford-Stuyvesant drug market. He is part of the group that offers Greenberg and Hantz a $1,000-per-week bribe and takes them toward a supplier meeting, wh...

• Frank Hayes (played by Al Fann) — minor

  One of the three Hayes brothers who run the local drug market in Bedford-Stuyvesant. He participates in the brothers' attempted bribery of Greenberg and Hantz and in the plan to meet their suppliers,...

Canonical Relationships

Family, romantic, and professional connections based on plot evidence.

• John Hayes → Frank Hayes (Family Brother) — They act together within the Hayes organization until the officers' wire is discovered.

  John and Frank are named as two of the three Hayes brothers operating the Bed-Stuy drug market.

• Joe Hayes → Frank Hayes (Family Brother) — Their shared family role connects them to the collective bribery attempt and the fatal supplier meeting.

  Joe and Frank are both explicitly identified as members of the three Hayes brothers controlling the local drug market.

• Joe Hayes → John Hayes (Family Brother) — Joe and John operate together as part of the family-controlled drug business and jointly confront the undercover officers.

  The plot identifies Joe, John, and Frank Hayes as the three Hayes brothers running the Bed-Stuy drug market.

• Robert Hantz → Insp. Novick (Power Investigated Officer) — Hantz faces the same internal scrutiny as his partner before Novick helps resolve the later conflict among the officers.

  Novick investigates the circumstances surrounding the Hayes brothers' deaths, which involved both Greenberg and Hantz.

• David Greenberg → Insp. Novick (Power Investigated Officer) — Novick temporarily holds investigative authority over Greenberg after the deadly confrontation, then appears at the final restaurant standoff.

  After the Hayes brothers are killed in self-defense, Inspector Novick conducts the internal investigation involving Greenberg and Hantz.

• Robert Hantz → Police Capt. Irving Krasna (Professional Suspicious Supervisor) — Hantz is included in Krasna's scrutiny, but the captain eventually accepts the partners' aggressive methods.

  Krasna summons Greenberg and Hantz to his office because their repeated independent drug busts make him suspect improper conduct.

• David Greenberg → Police Capt. Irving Krasna (Professional Suspicious Supervisor) — Krasna initially treats Greenberg as a potential corrupt officer but ultimately encourages the pair's freelance enforcement after deciding they are not corrupt.

  Krasna questions Greenberg and Hantz's independent arrests and accuses them of possibly being on the take before testing their reaction to a supposed...

Story Dynamics

Alliances, conflicts, and narrative interactions that evolve throughout the story.

• Robert Hantz → Frank Hayes (Conflict Criminal Adversary) — Hantz faces Frank alongside Greenberg when the undercover investigation collapses into self-defense.

  Frank Hayes participates in the bribery attempt and the meeting where the officers' wire is discovered.

• David Greenberg → Frank Hayes (Conflict Criminal Adversary) — Frank's involvement in the Hayes operation places him in the final armed confrontation with the officers.

  Frank Hayes is one of the three brothers who offer Greenberg and Hantz a weekly bribe and participate in the supplier meeting.

• Robert Hantz → John Hayes (Conflict Criminal Adversary) — Hantz confronts John as part of the partners' effort to penetrate the Hayes drug network.

  John Hayes takes part in the collective attempt to bribe Greenberg and Hantz and in the meeting that ends in a self-defense shooting.

• David Greenberg → John Hayes (Conflict Criminal Adversary) — John becomes a direct antagonist when the Hayes brothers discover Greenberg's wire during the attempted undercover operation.

  John Hayes is identified as one of the brothers running the local drug market and participating in the bribe and supplier meeting.

• Robert Hantz → Joe Hayes (Conflict Criminal Adversary) — Hantz helps Greenberg maintain the undercover bribery arrangement until the Hayes brothers expose the operation.

  Joe Hayes participates with his brothers in offering the officers a weekly bribe and in taking them toward a supplier meeting.

• David Greenberg → Joe Hayes (Conflict Criminal Adversary) — The attempted bribery turns into a deadly confrontation when Joe and the other Hayes brothers discover the police wire.

  Joe Hayes is one of the brothers controlling the Bed-Stuy drug market, offering Greenberg and Hantz a bribe and participating in the supplier meeting...

• David Greenberg → Sara (Narrative Informant Relationship) — Their relationship changes from a difficult first interview to a useful intelligence connection when Sara warns Greenberg about the contract on the officers.

  Greenberg approaches Sara for information about drug dealers, and she later provides intelligence that helps the officers make repeated drug busts.

• David Greenberg → Robert Hantz (Alliance Police Partners) — Their partnership drives the investigation into Bed-Stuy's drug trade and remains intact through departmental suspicion and the Hayes confrontation.

  The film repeatedly shows Greenberg and Hantz acting together, making unauthorized arrests, pursuing drug dealers, resisting bribes, and confronting a...

Story Analysis

Two probationary officers challenge routine policing, corruption, criminal power, and departmental suspicion through aggressive independent investigations.

Plot Progression

1. Probationary Rebellion — Greenberg and Hantz graduate from the police academy but resent clerical and traffic assignments. They begin making unauthorized arrests and quickly gain attention through aggressive street work.
2. Bed-Stuy Assignment — The partners are assigned to the troubled 21st Precinct and refuse to remain passive. Their search for information leads them to Sara and to their first drug bust in the neighborhood.
3. Warnings and Suspicion — Krasna suspects the officers may be corrupt but eventually encourages their independent work. Sara becomes a source of intelligence and warns them that a contract has been placed on them.
4. Bribes and Isolation — The officers survive an attempted assassination and reject a court bribe. Their effort to expose the bribery is undermined, increasing their isolation from other officers.
5. The Hayes Reckoning — The Hayes brothers offer a weekly bribe, but the partners use the arrangement to pursue their suppliers. After Greenberg's wire is discovered, the brothers are killed in self-defense and the officers...
6. Tapes and Promotions — A supposed conspiracy offer becomes a Knapp Commission entrapment attempt at the Fish Delight Hut. Mutual recordings create a stalemate that is resolved by promotions and a renewed public commendation...