John Brown (Matthew Broderick) is an inept security guard employed by scientist Artemus Bradford & his daughter Brenda (Joely Fisher) to safeguard their work on the synthesis of robotics & human tissue. When the Bradfords' arch-rival Sanford Scolex steals their work, John gives chase, & both end up involved in a car crash. Sanford looses his hand in the crash, but John's injuries are much more serious, & Brenda takes this as an opportunity to use her father's technology to transform the security guard into Inspector Gadget, the ultimate crime-fighting cyborg. For his part, Sanford replaces his hand with a robotic substitute, changes his name to ' Claw', &
- desperate for revenge
- sets out to discredit Gadget by creating an evil robot lookalike, one which will wage a campaign of terror throughout the city.