Okay, I'm busted. I'm not the most informed Dredd fan around. In fact, I don't think I fit into the first 500! But since there is a lack of Dredd information on the characters and sceneries, I thought I would start something. Firstly, if it's on, then thanks to the MAD Mosher, who first published this page. If you want to add some to the page, send your contribution to The 2000AD Links Project. So if you put good stuff in, I don't look stupid. But if you put dumb stuff in, I'll find you and kill you by making you watch VR-Troopers over and over and over and over and over...
Now, before we go on, some Dredd background on me. I'm haven't been a fan for a long time. In fact, the first 2000 AD story I can remember was 'Bad Moon Rising', a noted Missionary Man tale. I started buying 'The Complete Judge Dredd' to catch up with History and started to buy the 'Megazine' on the launch of volume 3. Now I own most of volume 3 (I had to stop due to too high prices and I was entering other mainstream titles such as Spawn), various older Megazines and 2000 ADs, some graphic novels and a rather full collection of J.D.L.O.T.F., which was printed locally (give me the chance now to admit my mistake of calling it pathetic, because since then I have read the artists and writers' specifications, which explains the difference from the Megazine). I admit that I have never read the Apocalypse Wars or Judge Child, but I own 'City of the Damned', 'Midnight Surfer'and a load of other rather-rather-vital- for a-near-hardcore-Dredd-fan stories. Other favourites are Anderson, Missionary Man, Rogue Trooper, Harmony and other titles such as Spawn, Batman, Lobo, The now missing Death's Head and a bunch of singles and mini stuff. So, even though I'm a wet-eared Dredd fan, I know something about comics and something about british publications. If you know more or think you know more, please bear with my stupidity. Now, on with the show...
Judge Dredd (If you know Dredd, skip this)
Judge Dredd, or old Stoney-Face, can't smile and, I think, can't pull a nasty face either. Nope, he actually looks like that. But first, since you're reading this, you're probably used to the Movie Dredd: drop it! Dredd is a tall, slightly skinny guy (Some say Clint Eastwood, I say Harrison Ford). He doesn't have that Greek God complex, otherwise Mean Machine might not have looked so good (or bad). Another thing: Nobody has ever seen Dredd's face. Rough count gives me that we know of 5 times when he took off his helmet: once it was changed to a perp's face, once it was roasted by lava, once it was cencored, once somebody's hands covered it and (during The Day The Law Died he suffered a headshot and had his face wrapped in bandages. (Thanks to Pasi for reminding me of the last one). But wipe Stallone's face; I don't think the eyes fit anyway - the voice certainly doesn't.
Joe Dredd was cloned from the great Judge Fargo many years before his current life, I think 30 years before his birth. So thus he is a clone. Rico was his brother and was judged by Dredd, who had to shoot him in self defence. Dredd knows the law and only the law. In fact, he's a non-stereotype example of doing it by the book and still getting the job done.
After fiveteen years of lawschool, starting at the age of 5, and a estimated 20 years of service, Dredd has turned down the chance of becoming chief judge on various occasions. He has a nasty rep - you either like him or hate him, but you always fear him, unless you're Mean Machine or Death. This rep has even caused the Dredd syndrome, where people develope serious fears for the judges and especially Judge Dredd. Dredd never sees the law as wrong, except on the Recent Mechanismo project, which proved that even though he's harsh and straight, he at least cares for the people and the city, as long as they stay within the law, of course.
Mega City One
Mega City one was constructed to keep pace with the fast growing human population. Other cities include Brit-Cit(Britain), Texas City (Texas), Uranium City (Canada/Alaska) and Mega City 2 (West Coast of the USA). MC-1 is located on near the entire east coast of the USA. The city is on top of the old New York, which is now a haven for some very strange things.
MC-1 has got 900 Million souls in it, and with a robot workforce taking over every day, a huge 90% unemployment is found. This has caused people to take up wierd hobbies like overeating (the fatties), killing people fr the hell of it (The hunter's Club), batgliding, occultic stuff, ect. Crime has taken a leap. the youth were finally taking by the poverty madness and gangs, who seem to be as fearless and nasty as the judges, sprouted.
The modern technology brought up stuff such as powerboarding - surfing in the air with a superfast surfboard, batgliding - people in bat-like suits flap around the air, the fatties - a bunch of people overeating themselves, etc.
MC-1 became a haven after it survived the Atomic Wars(2070), but near half of it was destroyed in the Apocalypse War(2104). Still, it repaired and still stands.
The city consists of Blocks, huge wierd-shaped 'towers' that
hold thousands of people. These blocks have near everything
people need, but you still find them outside as well. Block wars
have become a real problem, with people attacking the block next
to them. Still, the judges seem to have gained control and less
of it is seen in the issues lately. The blocks, which are named
after famous celebs, are connected to each other with various
tunnels, lifts and roads.
There are over 1000 million miles of roadway in constant use. All
of these are above the other and it's not quite possible to see
the city floor from the upper areas. Electronic ads cover the
pathways and floating restaurants and take-away shops cover the
air, apart from the usual traffic and H-Wagons. The small kiosks
along the paths are still there (Yes, they survived!).
A huge (and I think by now there's more than one) floating site called Weather Control floats above the city and controls the weather. Since the wars killed basically any natural weather activity except the sun, Weather control was built to make the world more human-friendly. The city is surrounded by parimeter walls, which are crowded on the outside by mutants. The mutants, misforges from the cursed earth, try to enter the city haven, but by law, no being that is contaminated can be allowed in. But occasionally mutant babies that show no defects are tested for entrance. A couple of Euthanasium centres are around town where you sign a permission slip and then get killed, otherwise it's murder. Alientown houses all the aliens in MC-1.The Statue of Justice, a huge replica of a judge, is 160m high and towers above the Statue of Liberty [A fact ignored in the movie - Mosh].
The movie's opening shot of the city was stunning, but by no means close to the true MC-1. Just take that scene and multiply it by...damn, my calculator can't take that many digits.
Justice Department
With MC-1, constructed in the early 21st century, being so vast allready, a special kind of lawman was needed. The U.S. goverment came up with the judges, a uncorruptable, hardcore lawman fit for the harsh metropolis. The judges have the function of judge, jury and executioner. Sentences are given on the spot, and even though there's no death penalty in MC-1, execution is used if neccesary. The judges are led by a chief judge, who controls a council of five. The first Chief judge was Judge Fargo. The training to become a judge means 15 years of lawschool, of which few graduate. The cadets are entered at age 5 and are both mentally and physically prepared for the city duty. Even with this training, some judges still snap.
The judges use various equipment. The Lawgiver is a hi-tec gun which fires six bullets:
Standard Round - A normal bullet that can rip off your leg.
Ricochet - this bullet ricochets on nearly any surface until it
stops.
Incendiary - flame throwing bullet.
Hi-Ex - nice little compact missile.
Armour-Piercing - handy for dealing with rogue robots and the
like.
Heat-Seeking - follows body heat to the target.
In the film, at least one of these was replaced with:
Stun - A stun bullet that leaves the target, well, stunned.
The other main judge weapon is the daystick, a instrument
Dredd makes nice use of in 'Heavy Metal Dredd'. It's huge and a
rap could knock any normal being to rational thinking or better -
lights out.
The lawmaster is a judge's faithfull transport mode. Unlike the
movie, it doesn't fly and isn't as wimpy looking. It looks like a
rigged Harley with cannons on the sides, which shoots anything
from bullets to cannon rounds. The lawmaster has a onboard
computer which is constantly on-line with Justice central.
The force also uses other things. H-Wagons are flying units that can carry various judges and equipment to control riots and other problems. The main problem with the H-Wagons are that they are too bulky and thus are not really found in the lower parts of the cities.The H-Wagons are equipped with riot foam, foam that hardens in minutes and leaves the targets, unharmed, in freezed motion. Some H-Wagons are used to remove wrecks and other heavy bulks, while some are only used for transport by cadets and other convoys. The Meat Wagon picks up bodies left from accidents, killings and executions. Other Justice vehicles usually go from post to post, picking up arrested perps. The posts are situated along the pathways and other locations. Judges cuff perps to these so that the wagon can pick them up. I think the posts detect any person being removed without permission. Most judges use a lie detector, a nifty little device under which many a perp had fallen.Tranq gas is sometimes used through Weather Control to semi-sedate citizens in a area if unrest starts to show. Manta Tanks are hovering tanks with a huge firepower, but I'm not sure if it's sonic or not. [Can be. They also hold loads of riot foam - Mosh]
Other division in Justice Dept. are the PSI division, which uses judges with psychic abilities to battle paranormal perps and to do predictions and read minds;the Tek dept, judges with the gift of working hardcore with electronic equipment;and the Wally squad, a dept. of covert judges who enter syndicates and mafia families (many judges don't like the squad since judges weren't trained to really interact with the citizens. Various Wally squad members have snapped or changed sides). There are other lesser departments as well. The Law Academy trains the cadets towards being a judge and is highly noted throughout Justice Dept.
Lastly there's the Exorcist Judges, a bunch of PSI judges that formed a unit to battle huge and common paranormal stuff. They specialize in breaking the link between the paranormals and Earth, not arrests.
The Cursed Earth & Black Atlantic
This is the wasteland of the former US. The Atomic and
Apocalypse wars have taken their toll and various levels of
radiation are found. The land is spotted with small settlements
which rarely see a judge. The harsh conditions are the playground
for future noted perps and have already delivered the likes of
the Angel Family, where Mean Machine comes from, and the mutants,
who basically crowd the place. Missionary Man lives in the
desert, traveling from town to town. Harmony Krieg lived in
various towns in the radiation desert outside Uranium City before
returning.
The desert has become a life of it's own, with trades and towns
everywhere. The Mississippi is poisoned to the bottom, but still
flowing strongly, and a slave trade with mutants have appeared
along it's banks. Various nuclear sites and armed bunkers from
the former goverment are still around.
Brit-Cit, MC-2 and all the rest
The whole earths populations is basically held up in huge cities around the globe. North America and Africa hold various, while other continents have one or two. In N. America there is MC-1, MC-1, Texas City and Uranium City. Britain has got Brit-Cit. Africa has several, but many were destroyed in the Pan-African Judges 'Fever of the Gods' epic. Oz is found in Australia. All of the cities have the same Justice systems with slight differences individually. There are other cities and territories, but I don't know them all.
Misc.
There are two new swear words - Drok and Grud. They might be cunning replacement, but today's words still appear occasionally. Drugs are a very bad thing in MC-1, with the following banned:
Sugar - Habit-forming and unhealthy. Often referred to as
Snow.
Alcohol - Habit-forming, unhealthy and all the other stuff.
Caffeine - Yes, I can't get over it either. Habit-forming and
unhealthy.
Tobacco - The nicotine's addictive. But there are special areas
called smokatoriums where you can puff away.
Stookie - a drug that can halt and even reverse the aging
process. Not addictive in itself but if the user doesn't get
their regular 'fix', they revert back to their true age, often
causing death in a very short length of time.It was banned after
found that the drug is made from the glands of small intelligent
(cute) alien beings.
There are other drugs, but I forgot them. Stuff like dagga(cannabis), cocaine and other modern day illegal drugs are never mentioned and I presume they didn't survive the wars.
The powerboarding craze consists of surfing in the air. This
is legal, as long as the surfers keep to the high areas.
Supersurf is a illegal surfing tournament, because it tests this
surfers' skill with low-flying. Supersurf 7, which was held in
MC-1, made Chopper the champion and the best surfer yet. The
fatty olympics is a tournament in which fatties from all over
compete against each other from fast-eating to sprinting. Yes,
the idea of overweight people doing olympics also boggles me.
The jobless issue always causes riots at places that could have a
job, and a climax point is always reached at 23:30 every Sunday
night, where people have to face not entering Monday with a job.
This syndrome is often referred to as Sunday Night Fever. Various
freaky little religions have pitched up all over. Perps are
either sent to the holding blocks in MC-1 and bigger perps end up
in Titan, a moon of Jupiter with a huge jail complex. The robots
form a huge part in MC-1. They act as servants, workers, guards,
etc. They were even once intended to replace the judges, but
eventually proved useless to the cause. Every now and then a
robot revolt breaks out and even a robot war was caused through
this. Because of this, agro chips are illegal, but some still use
them in the robots for fights.
The comic has produced various characters and inviduals since the 70s. In this part you'll hear of most of them.
Cassandra Anderson
I'm quite unclear on her past, but here goes:
Cassandra Anderson is probably the best PSI judge on the job. She
also started out at the academy at age 5, but I think she did
have parents. Rising fast through the ranks, Anderson has a nasty
habit of adressing the chief judge as CJ. She battled more than
various paranormal creatures and is the only PSI judge who can
really battle Judge Death. A short while ago she left the judges
and ventured on other worlds, discovered a lot of stuff and did
some things (It's called 'Postcards from the Edge' by Alan Grant,
if you're interested). Later she returned and found old Nic
knocking in MC-1's door ('Satan' by Alan Grant). After sending
him away, she now does the usual PSI stuff.
Anderson brought the PSI dept. out in the open. She was the first PSI judge to regulary star in her own stories and was only earlier joined by Karyn. Anderson (I suspect) also brought forth the creation of Death (in the character sense), because he regulary futures in her stories. But the scripted creation of Judge Death is quite different. She joined Dredd on various cases, my most memorable the 'City of the Damned' epic, where she and Dredd travels into the future to discover a mutant Judge Child ruling the world. Don't worry, they killed him.
I'm sure many a fan would like to see Anderson and Dredd get together (which would ruin the comic), but writers have secured a solid relationship between them.
Barbara Hershey
Once again, shun that movie from your mind! Judge Barbara Hershey is nothing like the movie thing. In fact, I would almost call her the female Dredd. She's tough, agro but still has a bit of that feminine touch.
Hershey is also the youngest member of the current council and the youngest member to date. She was part of the group of judges whom Dredd formed to stop the Apocalypse War.
Helen McGruder
McGruder was the Chief Judge of MC-1 for more than 10 years, if I'm not mistaken. She boasts various cases in her term, one was to order Dredd and Anderson to go into the future in 'city of the Damned'. Mcgruder started her first term by taking over right after the Apocalypse war. Unfortunatly she was disliked a lot and various powers in the justice system wanted her dead. Later Alzheimer's attacked her mind, and this made her decisions reckless. She disbanded the council of five and took the control of the city into her own hands. She also give thego-ahead for the Mechanisme Project, which eventually ended up with her being taken up and Volt taking over. McGruder still appears every now and then, but quite insane. Still, she is respected by Dredd and all the others who knew her as one of the best.
Fargo, Volt and whoever-else
Just to clear my slate, I'll put something in on these two. Fargo was MC-1's first Chief Judge. His DNA was used to clone Dredd and Rico. Volt is the current new Chief Judge, but Dredd doesn't like him a lot.
PSI Judge Karyn I know nothing of her except that she's PSI's next star and that she appears in a few strips, even her own!
Judge Giant
One of the various cadets who was tested by Dredd, the only one I can remember. She appeared in one or two other strips and she might become one of those full-time back-up judges (guys you always see, but never in their own strip). [Mosh adds - also a relation to the two previous Judge Giants to appear in the strip, the first of whom descended from the Giant who played Aeroball for the Harlem Heroes - an older strip from early in 2000AD's run.]
Max Normal
Max Normal, the pinstripe freak, is Dredd's informant, although I've never seen him do any REAL informing. He wears a pinstripe suit and makes all his money off legal gambling. Max has a habit of talking in rymes and is one of the few in MC-1 living the good life.
Missionary Man
Missionary doesn't deserve to be in the lower part of the
section, but he is a own-strip.
Nobody knows anything about Missionary Man's history, except that
he's wierd. Yup, throughout his strips he has the uncanny ability
of surviving stuff that sizzle or bare people to the bone. Also
known as Preacher Kane, he travels the Cursed Earth with his
mutie side-kick Sam, carrying a Outlands Judge badge, a bible and
two six-shots that makes a Magnum look like a Daisy. MM has the
strange method of preaching, and if that doesn't work, shooting.
Sometimes he just shoots. Sometimes he shoots and preaches at the
same time. But MM has stopped his share of nasties, which range
from slavers and gangs to the devil himself.
MM strips are naturally violent and bloody, but who cares - it's good!
This must be my favourite part. All the nasties I know should be in here...
Judge Death
My favourite. Judge Death was some guy named Sidney [and his
dad was a dentist, hence his love of pain! - Mosh], I
think a PSI judge, who went too far in the occult and turned into
a spirit who endorsed death and dark forces. Death thinks life is
a crime and the punishment...death! He refers to anything that
lives as a sinner.
Death can't be killed, but the judges, with the help of Anderson,
have figured out a way to contain his spirit. So every now and
then he's stuck with his buddies The Dark Judges [Fear, Fire and
Mortis - Mosh], who also roam around killing people and
of whom I know nothing, except that they look cool. [I'll add to
this section later as I love these guys! - Mosh]
Death looks quite the judge, except that his one shoulder
pad's a bat's skeleton, the other a arrangement of bones. His
helmet visor's a grate and badge a skull. His sholder pads are a
pattern of fingers and claws. And worst of all - no shoes! But if
you're short sighted, Death can be noted by his long tongue and
snake-like voice.
Quite a nasty, but what I like most, is that he can exchange
spirits to another person, where he controls the mind. Usually
you need a exorsism or Anderson, but Mean just rammed him out!
Judge Fear
One of Death's cohorts. His head is a large iron mask with a front that looks like some sort of portcullis. Anyone gazing into the hidden face is instantly frightened to death. Except Dredd, obviously. Gave rise to one of the best verbal exchanges in Dredd history:
Fear: Gaze into the face of Fear!
Dredd: Gaze into the fist of Dredd! [punch]
Fear's face has been revealed to be a load of eyeballs. Whether it changes or not, I don't know.
Judge Fire
Guess what's special about this one! Fire looks somewhat like The Torch from the Fantastic Four during 'flame on' mode. Only a bit more skeletal. Armed with a trident and with the ability to throw flame around, Fire is a nasty piece of work.
Judge Mortis
With the head of a skeletal cow sat on his shoulders, Mortis is probably the nastiest looking Dark Judge short of Death himself. Mortis' touch causes instant aging and dessication. An ideal death for Stookie glanders, fi you ask me, but a nasty way to go nontheless.
Mean Machine Angel
The toughest and stupidest villian Dredd knows, Mean would have been useless if it wasn't for his bad-bad temper and his uncanny talent with headbutting. Those who did see the movie, no need to shun this part, Mean was quite well done.
Mean used to be a nice kid of the Angel family, nice until Pa (his dad) took him and 'adjusted' him to fit with the Cursed Earth area. Now his temper is controlled by the clock on his forehead. The clock has 4 digits and the higher the setting, the harder he butts. The other Mean Machine characteristic is his robot arm. The arm has a couple of nice functions, but I rarely see him use it, except for the usual arm stuff. Mean used to have another arm, but I think he lost it when Dredd first fought Judge Child in Gunwalder's city. (Pasi confirms this - Dredd shot the arm off during the Judge Child saga. You know, I wish I had all my back-issues handy!)
Chopper
Marlon 'Chopper' Shakespeare was a typical bored juve who took up petty crime to kill boredom. He took up becoming a wallscrawler, decorating the bleak walls of MC-1 and even leaving his mark on the Statue of Liberty, right up to where Dredd busted him. Chopper did some Rehab time, where he also picked up powerboarding. He entered Supersurf 7 and became the best skysurfer yet.
Many Dredd fans seem to remember Chopper not because he was the Midnight surfer, but because of his scrawlings. Here I'm a bit uneducated, but it was something big.
Mosh - to add to the above: Chopper's one of those wonderful characters who lets us see Dredd from another point of view - that of the citizens. Chopper's not really a bad guy in the same sense as Mean or Judge Death. He's more of a symbol of the freedom the people want. The reader will invariably side with him, which is why in later adventures he always got away. He recently-ish returned in two series, the last one of which left him seemingly dead, inches away from winning his final SuperSurf, number 13. Here's hoping he pulled through...
Judge Child
Don't look out for him, he's been dead for about 10 years now. Judge Child was the climax of a PSI judge's vision just before he died. The judge saw a young boy with the eagle mark on his head. This boy was supposed to save MC-1. But the 90% accuracy of the prediction mattered. After a lot of drama, Dredd finds Judge Child, finds that he is evil and kills him. But Child's trusty robot, Gunwalder, save some of the DNA and breeds a new, more powerful Judge child, who took over MC-1 and nearly destroyed it. But Anderson and Dredd didi another mission and eventually killed him. The mutant Judge Child kinda reminds me of Giger's Alien!
Harmony Krieg
Okay, many might think she's in the wrong section, but Dredd would arrest her, wouldn't he?
Harmony Krieg actually is a terrorist from Uranium City and Cursed Earth bounty hunter. She caused a renaissance in Uranium City powers, killed lotsa people and became a legend in nearly any perp's mind. Harmony could have been Fleetway's version of Tank Girl, with the exception of Harmony being less tomboy. I have no clue to her past, except that she joined a gang, made it famous, left, rejoined, killed a member who betrayed them, and left. This, of course, happened over more than several stories!
Some complain that Harmony is boring, but overall she one's of the best things the Megazines boasts with, and that's not a insult!
The Mutants
What haven't I said. They're leftovers from the wars and creations of the nuclear wastelands. Slanged as 'Muties' they mostly camp at the foot of the parameter walls, hoping to get in. some mutants do start small settlements, but with the exception of the outlands judges, there is no law. This gives the cursed Earth a Wild West feeling. some mutants have formed crime gangs. But not all the Cursed Earth's people are mutants, with people like the Angel family, slavers, etc.
The Troggies
This is a new one to me, but they come from the sewers and the undercity - wierd mutants ajusted to the darkness of the underground. The troggies are rather primitive, but expert at navigating in the undercity.
The Mafia
Even the judges have them, but with a rougher, incorruptable system. So the mafia isn't having the best of times. There are some very powerful crime-bosses, though. And with so many banned substances, business can be good. The mafia now has hordes of lawyers, to protect whatever against the judges.
The Organ-Leggers
Yes, MC-1's crooks smuggle organs. Cool.
The Fatties
Someone came up with the idea of breaking their meaningless MC-1 lives by overeating. This bloomed into a cult-like hobby where citizens (Grud knows where they get the food) overeat and compete in weight. These people, nicknamed The Fatties, even caused a Fatties Olympics, where fat people go around doing Olympic stuff. There also is a weighing contest, where greats like Two Ton Tony Tubbs pitched up. Fatties are usually noticed by the wheel that carries their bulk of a stomach.
Two Ton Tony Tubbs
Two Ton Tony Tubbs was the first man to weigh two tons. After being held in by the judges, along with other fatties, due to a food shortage, Tony managed to get up to 1.5 tons together. A bit more, now he's Two! He entered the weighing competition and after a little dispute won the contest and took his family out of poverty forever. But like any Dredd story, it had arrests and dead people. Luckily Tony wasn't arrested.
The Juve Gangs
Groups of juves who do nothing but steal, plunder and rumble. With rumbling the attack other juve gangs and basically kill them. In short, a cyberpunk-type of ganstas with the attitudes of orcs and the respect of a avarage school bully.
This part doesn't cover all the strange stuff, but anyone can add on. Just email Wakefield and make sure it's 100% Dredd-stuff.
- A -
Academy of Law: The lawschool trains judges from the age of 5
to prepare them for the harsh streets of MC-1.
Alientown: A part of MC-1 reserved for Aliens.
Angel Gang: Mean Machine's family(he's one of the sons).
The Angels are the most dangerous family gang on the cursed
earth.
Apocalypse Wars: The wars where areas of MC-1 battles each other
in 2104 due to the genius of East-Meg spy, Morlok.
Atomic Wars: Horrific wars initiated by President Robert L. Booth
in 2070. It caused the citizens to prompt the judges to take
over.
- B -
Batgliders: People dressed in suit with bat-like flaps. The
suits are strangely safe. The people glide on the air currents by
jumping off high blocks. Low level gliding is illegal.
Black Atlantic: The former Atlantic now turned polluted and black
with the atomic disasters. The ocean started to produce some very
wierd mutations.
Blocks: Huge tower complexes that house citizens and are named
after celebs.
Block Wars: Each block has its own gangs, defense units and
supporters. Ocassionally, tension mounts too high and people snap
starting all-out war between neighbouring blocks.
Boing (tm): a miracle substance which crops up frequently. It's a
fluid which solidifies into a very bouncy rubbery substance. This
'solid' allows anyone inside it to breath, thus allowing human
pinballs (and hence the game PinBoing (tm)). Also used to trap
encase the body of Psi Judge Anderson when Judge Death possessed
her, thus entrapping Death.
Bootknife: Small knife hidden in a discrete pouch on a Judge's
boot. Often used in tight situations, cutting bonds and so on.
Brit-Cit: Britain's version of MC-1.
Bulgarin, Supreme Judge Josef: Head of the East-Meg One judicial
system, who began the "Apocalypse War" against MC-1.
- C -
Cal: Somewhat insane Chief Judge (based on the mad Roman
emperor Caligula) who almost destroyed MC1. He tried to brainwash
all Judges in their compulsory sleep sessions, instated the alien
mercenary Kleggs as his own personal bodyguard and made his pet
fish a Judge! He was finally beaten by Dredd, Walter and
Fergee amongst others. Original story title was
"The Day The Law Died".
Chief Judge: The judge who runes the city with the council of
five.
Chopper: Legendary ex-wallscribbler and Supersurf 7 champion.
Council of Five: Five judges from the various depts. who assist
in controlling the city.
Creds: Money, just plain money. How it looks depends on the
artists. Some draw notes, other artists prefer discs.
Crime Blitz: Judges have the right to force entry into any
citizen's home or business and strip it. This can uncover many
lawbreakers.
Cubes: A small rectangular room used to store perps in. Yup, a
jail. The cubes are mostly on earth, and a huge jailing complex
on Titan.
Cursed Earth: What's left of the U.S. after the wars. Now it's a
wasteland with small mutant towns and very sick rivers.
- D -
DayStick: a Long, hard rapping device the Judges use to rap
perps back to their senses when the need comes to it. Fun to
watch at riots. It looks like the nightstick bobbies carry
around, only bigger.
Dredd, Rico: Dredd's twin, cloned from the same DNA and 'born' at
the same time. Unfortunately, he abused his power as a Judge and
was sentenced to 15 years on Titan.
Dredd, Vienna: Rico's daughter and therefore Joe Dredd's niece.
Drokk: All round futuristic swearword.
- E -
Electro-cordon: electrically charged barrier used by Judges in
riot situations.
Exorcist Judges: A devision that removes any large paranormal
things from MC-1 back to the Netherworld.
- F -
Fatties: A bunch of people who ate themselves to a bulk to
kill boredom. This has become quite a fashion in MC-1 with the
Fattie Olympics, etc.
Fergee: The "King Of The Big Smelly" who helped Dredd
defeat the mad Chief Judge Cal. Died in the conflict.
Fish, Judge: Instated by his mad owner, Cal.
Futsie: Person suffering from Future Shock Syndrome.
Future Shock Syndrome: Mental condition where the sufferer just
can't cope with life in the high-tech age. They basically just
freak out and do daft things. This can be anything from walking
around wearing nothing but custard to sniping above a public
shopping area.
- G -
Griffin, Chief Judge: Assassinated by Dredd during the
"Apocalypse War" for treason.
Grud: MC-1's word for God. But it doesn't always mean that and
the God word hasn't entirely disappeared yet.
- H -
H-Wagons: Large, bulky hovering judge mobiles that carry
judges, control riots and pursue flying vehicles.
Hall of Heroes: Judges' 'hall of fame'.
Hershey, Barbara: Current head of the Street Judges and close
comrade to Dredd.
- I -
- J -
Judge Death: Nasty supernatural fiend that looks close to a
judge and can't be killed.
Judgement Day: Epic tale where Sabbat (see below) used his powers
to raise the dead and try to take over the world.
Juves: Juveniles, or the younger lot of MC-1.
Juve Gangs: Aw, c'mon. You don't need a degree to figure this one
out.
- K -
Kazan, War Marshal: Assassinated Supreme Judge Bulgarin
during the "Apocalypse War" to lead the East-Meg 1
forces against MC-1.
Kleggs (or Hordes of Klegg): Alien mercenary warriors, Kleggs are
lizard-like but stand upright. Excellent warriors if a little
thick, they work for the highest payer. In one case, this was Chief
Judge Cal.
Knee Pads: See PADS.
Kraken: Young Judge cloned from the same DNA as Dredd. Central
character in the "Necropolis" saga. He was used to fill
Dredd's boots and wear his badge when the senior Judge took the Long
Walk.
- L -
Lawmaster: The Judge's bike. It looks like a Harley rigged
with small machine gun cannons on the sides, spotlights in front
and a on-line computer where the gas tank should be.
Lawgiver: Velly nice gun. This gun shoots six different bullets,
each with it's own potency. The top of the gun usually futures a
curved outcrop with a dial showing what bullet's loaded. Some
artists use lights instead of the dial and some jsut don't draw
the outcrop. I know nothing about this DNA bit from the movie.
Keep out of reach of children and you cousin Mildred.
Lie Detector: Small device the judges use to detect lies.
Lone Star Statue: A HUGE statue in Texas City.
Long Walk: When a Judge reaches the end of their useful career,
they can opt to leave the City through the main gates. They take
with them the minimum of equipment with which to take The Law to
the Cursed Earth.
- M -
McGruder, Margaret: Past Chief Judge and, previous to this,
head of the SJS. The only Chief Judge to serve two terms in the
position. Took the Long Walk before the Necropolis
event, and despite going a little soft in the head, was
reinstated shortly after. She was 'rediscovered' by Dredd during
the Dead Man series. Her failing mental health was causing
trouble and Dredd led her into one final firefight so that she
could die on the street and in battle.
McKenzie, Jug: Chopper's greatest rival, then best mate.
Max Normal: Dredd's informant, also known as the Pinstripe freak
because he wears a odd pinstripe suit.
Mean Machine: A cyborg from the cursed earth with the talnet of
headbutting. One of Dredd's well noted enemies.
Meat Wagon: These justice vehicles pick up all the dead people
found.
Mega City 2: The second and smaller Megacity.
Mutants: The mutants are infected people from the Cursed Earth.
Due to contamination they are not allowed into MC-1.
- N -
- O -
Oz: Australia.
- P -
Pads: Pads have always been a MC-1 Fashion, but the Judges
wear them for possible rough-times during duty.
Pat-wagons: Patrol vehicles used by Judges.
Perimeter Walls: Huge walls that surround MC-1.
Perp: Perpetraitor. All baddies are perps, but are sometimes
referred to by Dredd and co. as creeps(!).
PinBoing (tm): large scale pinball game where the balls are
people encased in Boing(tm) [see Boing(tm)] Powerboards: Also
SkySurfing. Juves use a hovering, jet-enhanced board to surf the
air currents. Low level flying is illegal.
PSI: Paranormal Phsycic Investigations, I think. In short, a
bunch of judges that remind you of the X-Files (but the PSI was
first!), only with more resources and powers.
- Q -
- R -
Ricardo Montalban Block - Home of head nark and man about town
Max Normal.
Riot Foam: Foam that hardens in minutes. It's used to control
riot situations.
Robots: The robots are a very important part of MC-1 life, with
near all the workforce replaced by them.
Rockcrete: MC-1 equivalent of concrete.
Rowdy Yates Block: Home of Judge Dredd.
- S -
Sabbat the Necromagus: the main bad guy behind the Judgement
Day epic. He raised the dead and used them against the living in
a bid to take over the world.
Sisters of Death: Collective name for Nausea and Phobia, major
nasties in the "Necropolis" saga.
Skysurfing: see Powerboarding.
Snow: Sugar. It's illegal due to toothrot and strange effects on
aliens.
Sov-Blok: What's left of the Soviet Republic.
Special Judicial Squad (SJS): "The Judges Who Judge
Judges" These were replaced by the Judge Hunters in the
movie. Chief Judge McGruder was, at one point, head of
this mysterious division of the Justice Department. They are not
well respected by the rest of the Dept, preferring bully-boy
tactics to try and beat confessions out of usually innocent
victims. Also, due to the nature of the division, corruption is
rife.
Statue of Judgement: A 160m tall statue of a judge. It stands in
MC-1.
Stookie: A drug made from small alien Creatures. It can halt and
even reverse the aging process. Stookie is illegal, but many
citizens use it.
Stub Gun: Potentially the most devastating hand-held weapon ever
invented. The high-powered laser and barrel are prone to severe
overheating, however, thus putting it in the 'dangerous to user'
department.
Stumm Gas: A future variety of today's tear gas used by Judges as
part of riot control and siege situations.
Sucktion Trap: A nice little device the judges use to capture
spirits like Judge Death. You just drop it on the floor and it
does the rest.
- T -
Tek: The Tek devision uses judges with talents concerning
electronics.
Texas City: MC-1-like city in the Texas area.
Titan: One of Jupiter's moons that houses the judges' jailing
complex. A futuristic Alcatraz.
Tranq Gas: A gas pumped through Weather Controls air release to
semi-sedate citizens in areas that show possible problems.
Troggies: Mutants who live in the Undercity.
Twister: Missile developed by Sov-Blok scientists.
Burrows through concrete/Rockcrete before detonating.
- U -
Undercity: Former New York. The Undercity is under MC-1 and is
deserted apart from some very wierd things.
Uranium City: Huge city in Canada/Alaska.
- V -
Volt: Current Chief Judge of Mega City One.
- W -
Weather Control: A huge floating machine that hovers above
MC-1 and controls the weather. It also cleans the air and control
pollution.
Wally Squad: The judges' undercover devision.
Walter the Wobot: Dredd's faithful (some would say too faithful)
servant droid. He has a speech impediment (hence Wobot), and is
now a free droid having been granted citizenship for his help in
several cases.
- X -
- Y -
- Z -
James Francis
Iain Purdie
"BRY"
This page was originally published on the internet by Iain Purdie.
