(Judge Dredd #1) - The Judges of Mega-City acted as judge, jury and if needed executioner, and the most notorious of the judges was Judge Dredd. The President ordered that police officers arrest criminals before being judged, but Dredd repeatedly ignored the new protocols. A dirigible was reported for unauthorized use of airspace, and when Dredd hopped his motorbike aboard the flying machine he found it full of cybernarcs, so he shot the dealers inside and exploded the dirigible, getting him flack from his handler Becker and Judges Solomon, Fillmore and Burns. The cybernarcs disappeared from the crash, and Dredd suspected police corruption. Judge Fargo called him in, congratulating him for keeping the spirit of the law if not the letter, and asked him to train cadets Maclean, Stevenson and Lewis. Dredd showed them the spy-eye station, and discovered Becker was working an illegal gambling racket with Officer Frye. He said he'd go easy on him if the spy-eye showed who took the cybernarcs. Becker said some crooked cops took the drugs to Mickey the Stump, so Dredd gave him 99 years in prison instead of 100. He went to Stump's himself, but fell into an ambush. Dredd overcame them, and as a result of his investigation 175 officers were jailed for corruption.

(Judge Dredd #3, 4) - The public's trust in law enforcement was at an all-time low because of the corruption ring Dredd uncovered, and there was a serious police shortage. The Video Liberation Front held the CVN hostage, but Dredd judged them and killed them. Dredd met with Fargo, telling him he was suffering hallucinations from his time in the VR world at Mickey The Stump's, and reported that post-perp Richard Magog was in the hospital after trying to jump the police wire at the hostage situation. Fargo said he'd pay Magog a visit, since Fargo's conviction of him as a young prosecutor led to his rise to power. Fargo said times were changing, and called a meeting of all the Judges, telling them they were all fired. Fargo called a press conference, going over the history of the Judges, which began in 2038 after President Frankowski dissolved the judiciary branch thanks to Fargo's influence. He blamed Judge corruption on police corruption, saying the President had to leave policing entirely to judges and disband the police. The first class of Institute Judges would bring a new era to street justice, but in the meantime he was installing Justice Machines around the county, where officers could deliver perps and have them judged. He admitted there would be no judiciary system for 48 hours, but he retained Dredd as a judge to keep an eye on things. Riots broke out in the streets, and Dredd arrested a crowd of 148 after he convinced them he meant business, throwing grenades and using flamethrowers against them. He called Cadet Lewis at the Hall of Justice, and she warned him the jail was already almost full of perps. Officer Rusk was gunned down by a biker gang wearing Judge uniforms, and Dredd rushed him to the infirmary, but couldn't save his life. He returned to the Hall of Justice to deal with the full house, and Lewis told him they couldn't find most of the arresting officers to figure out who was charged with what. Dredd got the sentencing rolling by putting a gun to each perp's head to force them to tell him what they were arrested for. Once everyone was processed Lewis looked out the window and saw the biker gang waiting for them.

(Judge Dredd #10 (fb), 6) - Judge Fargo, deeming the justice system antiquated, took on the identity of the Overseer and formed the Ministry of Fear to usher in a new era of law, formed from judge cadets from his Institute for Ethical Violence. He intended to destroy the Legislative and Executive branches, making his judiciary the only branch of government. When Judge Fargo disbanded the street judges the Ministry took to the streets, systematically destroying the Halls of Justice of Mega-City, and killing a number of police officers. Minister Synn was informed that there was a holdup at the midtown hall, where Judge Dredd, the only judge allowed to keep operating in Mega-City, was holding down the fort. The Overseer wanted Dredd taken alive, and Synn told his men to keep to their time table. Dredd came up with a plan, dressing all the officers present as judges, but telling them they in no way had earned the honor. They attacked the Ministry en masse, and the Ministry refused to use lethal force because they weren't sure which judge was Dredd, giving them a disadvantage. The Ministry fled, but Dredd subdued on of the members, who shot himself in the head rather than answer any questions about the Ministry. The Overseer called a meeting at the Statue of Liberty, where his Ministry chanted his teachings that fear and intimidation were the true path to law and order. The Overseer said they were going en masse to Washington, DC to kill President Frankowski. Fargo had a meeting with Clarence Suskind, head of the Institute for Incarceration, who assured Fargo he could handle the predicted huge influx of new prisoners that would arrive in the prison system once the Justice Machines began operation. Dredd reported to Fargo about the Ministry, and Fargo said he should let the police handle them, because he was too valuable to risk his life going after them.

(Judge Dredd #8, 9) - Dredd expected the Ministry of Fear to attack his hall of justice again, and had Cadets Lewis and Stevenson monitor their movements. Judge Fargo arrived to inspect, and when the Ministry headed south Dredd wanted to go after them. Fargo reiterated that he wanted Dredd to leave them to the police, and asked for a tour of the hall. Fargo met officer Anderson, who admired him, but when they shook hands Anderson had a psychic vision of the Ministry storming Washington and killing the President. Over Fargo's objections, Dredd left the hall, using an experimental flying Justice Machine to fly to D.C. The Ministry had just massacred Congress and were attempting an assault on the White House. Dredd met President Frankowitz, who initially thought Fargo ahd sent Dredd to execute him. Dredd said he was following the Judiciary Responsibilities Act, which made the President's safety in a state of emergency a judge's number one priority. They fled to the Lincoln Memorial, with Minister Synn and underlings reluctant to shoot for fear of hitting Dredd. After cornering Dredd they overwhelmed him, beating him into submission, and aimed their weapons at the President. Frankowski recently acquired a psi-ballistic vaporizer from visiting aliens, and used it to incinerate members of the Ministry. Minister Synn had him in his sights, but Dredd jumped in front of the bullet, taking it in the arm. Synn realized he'd failed the Overseer by injuring Dredd and committed suicide, shooting himself in the head. Dredd and the President's public popularity soared after Mega-City saw their heroics, with fans calling for Dredd to replace VP Robert Booth. Fargo had promised Booth he'd be President if he played along with the Ministry, and was sorely disappointed that the President lived, although Fargo warned him not to show his true feelings. Dredd returned to the hall of justice, where Lewis told him Fargo had lost it after he left against orders, demoting her and the other cadets back to basic training as punishment. Dredd said he was following the law, and after saying a quick goodbye pondered that there was something wrong with Fargo, who'd just started training a new group of judges. Fargo recruited the members of the Alpha-Omega Fraternity, which he founded, founded, to serve as new loyal judges in the aftermath of the Ministry's end.

(Judge Dredd #10) - The Justice Machines systematically processed thousands of new perps for prison, and VP Booth assassinated the President. Since he was under Fargo's thumb he agreed to hand control of federal police over to the judiciary, making Fargo a de facto ruler of Mega-City One. Judge Dredd learned that the Ministry had been using advanced weapons from the Institute of Ethical Violence, and pieced things together, realizing Fargo was behind the Ministry. He went to confront Fargo, and Fargo told Dredd he'd done everything he did to gain full control over the law, displeased at Frankowski's interference, keeping him from destroying the criminal element with an iron fist. Dredd said he was going to arrest Fargo, even after Fargo said he ordered Dredd not to be hurt by the Ministry because he was his clone and proudest creation. Dredd gave him the option of an honorable suicide as a form of execution, and Fargo played along, raising the gun to his head before turning it on Dredd and gunning him down.

(Judge Dredd #11) - Fargo had shot Dredd with simu-death bullets, putting him in a state of suspended animation, and Fargo intended to wake him after his own death. In 2099 Fargo reached mandatory retirement age and died, while Dredd was revived during Fargo's funeral and ushered to see interim Chief Judge Goodman, who led him to a room where a holovid was to play Fargo's will. Fargo appeared as a holovid and told Dredd he couldn't allow him to interfere with his plans for a new world order, and hoped he understood. After Dredd's "death" President Booth pushed the nuclear button, destroying all of America except for Mega-City One, Mega-City-Two and Texas City. The people revolted, leading to a massacre, but Fargo and his newly trained judges responded, battling Booth's mek army and executing the president, leaving the judiciary as the sole government, and achieving Fargo's life goal. Fargo made plans for Dredd to be appointed Chief Judge after his death, and revealed that he had his own consciousness stored in the Hall of Justice mainframe so he could offer Dredd continued guidance. Dredd rejected his plans, saying he was guilty of mass murder, and with Goodman's help erased Fargo's consciousness from the mainframe. Dredd told Goodman he would stay on as administrator because Dredd was a lawman, not a bureaucrat, and taking the position would make him complicit in Fargo's crimes after the fact. Dredd was ready to pick up where he left off.

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