Judge Dredd

Super Name:      Judge Dredd
Real Name:        Joseph Dredd
Aliases:           Joe Dredd The Dead Man The Scarred
                          Man Ol' Stoney Face The Law Justice
                          Man.
Publisher:           Rebellion
Creators:            John Wagner, Carlos Ezquerra, Pat Mills
Gender:            Male
Character Type:   Human
First Appearance: 2000 AD #2 - Prog 2
Appears in :    3042 issues
Birthday:                n/a
Died :                     None

Origin:

Mega-City One in the 22nd century, a vast urban nightmare situated along the east coast of post-apocalyptic North America. The irradiated wasteland known as The Cursed Earth to the west covering most of America, and the polluted Black Atlantic to the east. Home to 400 million citizens, crammed into gigantic city-blocks, overcrowding is rife, unemployment endemic and boredom universal. Tensions run a constant knife-edge, and crime is rampant. Only the Judges can prevent total anarchy. Empowered to dispense instant justice, these lawmen are judge, jury and executioner. The toughest of them all is Judge Joe Dredd and he is the law!

Judge Dredd, one of a number of clones of Chief Judge Fargo, is the most famous of the elite corps of Judges that run Mega-City One with the power not only to enforce the law, but also to instantly sentence offenders; to death if necessary. Dredd and his twin brother Rico emerged from the cloning facility as five year olds in 2066, which took only a matter of months. At this young age they are enrolled into the Academy of Law, and graduate 13 years later in 2079. While these details are featured throughout the years of comics, recently the Judge Dredd Origins story arc delves into the atomic wars and Dredd's time as a cadet.

Creation:

John Wagner, by request from Pat Mills, came up with the concept behind Judge Dredd and Carlos Ezquerra came up with the character design. Writer Peter Harris, artist Mick (Michael) McMahon and Wagner further developed the character. He was the first of a line of monosyllabic tough guy heroes to come from 2000AD's pages, along with the likes of Rogue Trooper, but he has always remained the most popular and influential mainstay of the publication.

Major Stories:

The Early Years

The '90s: Dredd Continues

2000AD: Rebellion

Powers and Abilities:

Judge Dredd has a large Lawmaster motorbike, which has powerful side-mounted cannons and a centrally-mounted laser (the 'Cyclops' laser), and has full Artificial Intelligence. It is also capable of responding to orders from the Judge, such as driving itself. It is connected to the Justice Department who can receive and transmit information from and to the bike and is equipped with a video communication system.

Other Media:

Judge Dredd (1995)

Dredd (2012)