Detective Mike Norris

Michael David "Mike" Norris is the tritagonist from the first Child's Play film. He is a detective investigating the murder of Andy's babysitter. Likewise, he is a well respected detective of the Chicago Police Department, and partner to Jack Santos. He is also responsible for Chucky's demise prompting him to transfer his soul into a Good Guy doll. He initially refuses to believe the Barclays, but when Chucky tries to kill him, he becomes an ally to the family. He only appears in the first film.

Chasing Charles Lee Ray
On the night of November 9th, 1988 in Chicago, Illinois, he and his partner Jack Santos are chasing down Charles Lee Ray, the Lakeshore Strangler. Mike is able to shoot Ray in the leg, wounding him. Seeing Ray's accomplice Eddie Caputo drive away in their get-away van, Mike orders Jack to go after the van, while he goes after Ray.

He eventually catches up to Ray into a toy store, and fatally shoots him. Before he dies, Mike hears him swearing that he would come back for him and Eddie. The mortally wounded Ray finds boxes of "Good Guy" dolls and uses a voodoo chant to transfer his soul into one of the dolls while Mike hears him. The store is then struck by lightning and it burns to the ground, and Mike, who survived, finds Ray's dead body and the doll.

Investigating
Mike and his partner Jack are called in to investigate the murder of Maggie Peterson, who had fallen to her death out of the 9th story window. The woman who lives there, Karen Barclay, runs into the apartment as the detectives interview her son Andy. He implies that Andy may have had something to do with her death, as Andy's sneakers are the closest match to the footprints found by the scene of the crime. Angered, Karen demands that they leave. As they exit the building, he tells Jack to have the autopsy report on his desk by tomorrow, and to check on Mrs. Barclay and her son's background. Being very observant, he also hands his partner a hammer, which he believes is the murder weapon.

The next day, the detectives are called again to investigate a house explosion. Upon arriving at the scene they again find Andy there, which they both see as more than a coincidence. They call in Dr. Ardmore to monitor, as Jack interrogates Andy. Mike also calls in Karen, and asks if she had picked up Andy yet from school. When she answers no, Mike explains that her son is being interviewed about another murder. Karen intervenes and explains to her son that no one believes him, and if he doesn't tell the truth they would have to take Andy away. Scared, Andy begs his doll Chucky to say something about the killings. However, as Andy breaks down, Dr. Ardmore reveals himself and suggests that Andy spend a few days at the hospital.

After a dangerous encounter with Chucky, Karen contacts Norris for help, who still thinks that she is lying about the doll. Annoyed, Karen swears that she will find the peddler who sold Chucky to her. Mike warns her that the area is not a safe place to walk around in at night, but Karen vows to free her son and sets off. When she eventually finds the peddler, he attempts to rape her, but luckily for her Mike was following. He intervenes and attacks the peddler, and then threatens the peddler into telling them about the doll. He is disturbed to hear that the peddler retrieved it from the burnt down toy store, where Charles Lee Ray was killed.

Brush With Death
Mike drives her home, but as they reach her apartment, Karen tries to warn Mike that the doll is not safe. Still refusing to believe, he makes her get out of the car. Before leaving for home however, he heads back to his office and picks up a file on Charles Lee Ray. Unknown to him, Chucky manages to sneak into his vehicle, and as Mike drives home, Chucky tries to strangle him. Mike gets him off temporarily by burning his cheek with a cigarette lighter plug, but Chucky continuously tries to stab him from behind his seat. Unable to drive while being attacked, the car goes out of control and flips over.

Chucky tries again several more times to stab him, but Mike is able to shoot him in the chest. Hurt and wounded, Chucky runs off, and Mike relaxes for a moment in the car, but now realizes he must help Karen. The next day, he and Karen meet up in Charles Lee Ray's old hideout to find some clues. He admits that he believes her now, and reveals he did some digging and found out that he was a voodoo student of John Bishop also known as "Dr. Death". Unfortunately, by the time they make it to John's apartment, Chucky had already attacked and fatally wounded him. Before he dies, he explains that Chucky is going after Andy to transfer his soul into the boy's body, and that the only way to kill him is through the heart.

Final Fight
They rush to the hospital to save Andy, but when they arrive they are greeted by Jack. He informs Mike that Dr. Ardmore has been found dead, and that Andy is missing. However, Karen knows where Andy is headed: home. They manage to get there in time, and stop Chucky before he can complete the ritual. Chucky bites Karen's neck, and when Mike goes to check on her, he is stabbed in the leg. Despite his injury, Mike goes after Chucky, but is swiftly knocked unconscious with a baseball bat.

Before Chucky lands a fatal blow, Karen shoots him, but he now goes after her. After a struggle, Karen throws him into the fireplace, and Andy lights a match and ignites the fireplace. Mike soon recovers, and as he is unable to move due to his injuries, Andy and Karen rush to his side. Thinking Chucky is dead, she sends Andy to get the first aid kit from under the sink. However, as he goes, he discovers Chucky missing from the fireplace. Completely charred, Chucky chases after Andy and Karen, who barricade themselves in the bedroom. Karen shoots him several times, missing his heart, but knocking off his head.

Jack later arrives, and is stunned to find Mike in the state that he is in. Regardless of Mike's warnings not to touch the doll, Jack brings the doll's head into the bedroom. Still refusing to believe the doll is alive, he tries to remind them that it is just a doll. While he talks, Chucky's body breaks through the air vent behind Jack and strangles him, as Chucky's head screams at him. Remembering John's last words, Karen shouts at Mike to shoot Chucky in the heart. As she pulls Chucky's body off Jack, he makes a direct hit, finally killing him.

Mike's Ultimate Fate
Both detectives know that it will be impossible for anyone to believe this whole incident. For this reason when Mike later gives a statement about what happened with Chucky, he denies the whole incident, and the police officially rebut the killer doll story in Child's Play 2.

In the post-credits scene of Curse of Chucky, Andy mentions Mike while talking to his mother on the phone. It is possible that he and Karen were able to become friends, and it is strongly hinted at that they married, but this is unconfirmed.

Trivia

 * In the Child's Play comics, he was threatened into facing dismissal unless he told the authorities that Karen was unstable.
 * He is mentioned in a newspaper article in Bride of Chucky, about Charles Lee Ray's killing in the toy store.
 * He is also mentioned in Curse of Chucky at the ending credits while Andy is talking to his mother on the phone.
 * He will appear in the remake of Child's Play and will be played by Brian Tyree Henry.