History Main / JudgeDredd

The series is also notable for its moral complexity. By his very nature and purpose, {{Antihero}} Dredd is an unapologetic fascist, firmly committed to his organisation's brutal and ruthless methods of law enforcement, but it's firmly established that the society of Mega-City-One would collapse without him and his fellow Judges, and more than once ''has''. Though Dredd is impeccably honest and honorable, has had some PetTheDog moments throughout the years, and has been given cause to question his purpose more than once, democracy within his society is depicted as simply unworkable.

As well being the hero of the longest-running strip in ''2000AD'', having appeared since the second issue, Dredd has appeared in his own series of comics and audio plays from BigFinish.

!!Tropes specific to The Original Comic:

* {{Antihero}}: while Dredd is a brutal cop in a fascist police state he is the good guy, and more liberal than pretty much everyone else.

* BeyondTheImpossible: The escalation of the destruction witnessed in the Apocalypse War with East-Meg One. What starts with a HatePlague that turns Mega-City One into a gigantic citizen riot gives way to dropping nuclear warheads on top of it which gives way to detonating nukes in the Atlantic Ocean so as to hit the Big Meg with a {{Giant Wall of Watery Doom}} over two kilometers high (and 1,500 long). When Mega-City One finally retaliates, they launch 25 nuclear warheads, each one [[WeaponOfMassDestruction powerful enough to wipe out all of East-Meg One twice over]], that inadvertently get warped to an AlternateUniverse where they cause an EarthShatteringKaboom on an Earth [[SugarWiki/CrowningMomentOfFunny where everyone is a hippie and world peace has been declared for 200 years]].

* {{Crossover}}: With ''StrontiumDog'' and IntercontinuityCrossOver with ''{{Batman}}'', ''Film/{{Alien}}s'' and ''{{Predator}}''.

* SugarWiki/CrowningMomentOfAwesome: '''[[http://www.spoonyexperiment.com/2009/06/08/great-moments-in-soul-punch-history-part-2/ "GAZE INTO THE FIST OF DREDD!"]]'''

* [[SugarWiki/CrowningMomentOfFunny Cwowning Moment of Funny]]: From "The Day The Law Died,"

* {{Judge Jury and Executioner}}: Every Judge's job description.

* {{Lantern Jaw of Justice}}: And it's even the ''only'' part of his face visible.

* {{Mutants}}: Generally people whose genetic makeup was affected by nuclear radiation as a result of several atomic wars. Unlike in American comics, namely {{Marvel|Universe}}, mutants in Dredd's world just suffer from physical deformities and other freakish abnormalities. Superpowers developing from mutations are very rare.

* TalkToTheFist: [[SugarWiki/CrowningMomentOfAwesome "Gaze into the fist of Dredd!"]]

* SugarWiki/CrowningMomentOfFunny: There are a few genuinely funny moments, like Rob Schneider getting the green light to do his Sly impersonation. Also, this:

-->''[[IAmTheTrope I am the Law!]]''
--->Judge Dredd, [[CatchPhrase all the damn time]]

-->''When some creep's holding a knife to your throat, who do you want to see riding up...'''me''' - or your '''elected representative? Think''' about it.''
--->Judge Dredd, ''Democracy Now!''

The series is also notable for its moral complexity. By his very nature and purpose, AntiHero Dredd is an unapologetic fascist, firmly committed to his organisation's brutal and ruthless methods of law enforcement, but it's firmly established that the society of Mega-City-One would collapse without him and his fellow Judges, and more than once ''has''. Though Dredd is impeccably honest and honorable, has had some PetTheDog moments throughout the years, and has been given cause to question his purpose more than once, democracy within his society is depicted as simply unworkable.

As well being the hero of the longest-running strip in ''2000AD'', having appeared since the second issue, Dredd has appeared in his own series of comics and audio plays from BigFinish.

''Judge Dredd'' was also adapted into a 1995 movie starring SylvesterStallone, but most fans [[DisContinuity choose not to speak of it]]. Stallone himself has said that this was the greatest disappointment of his career, not because it is the worst movie he's ever made (it has a cultish shtick enjoyability to it), he felt that the comic had the potential to be one of the greatest action movies ever. Instead it had a wisecracking [[TheScrappy annoying]] side-kick played by Rob Schneider and some video game-like special effects. At least Diane Lane made a decent Judge Hershey (Except for when [[CelibateHero her character]] [[spoiler: [[OutOfCharacterMoment kissed Dredd]]]]).

!!Tropes specific to The Original Comic

* AntiHero: while Dredd is a brutal cop in a fascist police state he is the good guy, and more liberal than pretty much everyone else.

* AwesomeMcCoolname: Judge Joe Dredd. Averted by Call-Me-Kenneth.

* BeyondTheImpossible: The escalation of the destruction witnessed in the Apocalypse War with East-Meg One. What starts with a HatePlague that turns Mega-City One into a gigantic citizen riot gives way to dropping nuclear warheads on top of it which gives way to detonating nukes in the Atlantic Ocean so as to hit the Big Meg with a GiantWallOfWateryDoom over two kilometers high (and 1,500 long). When Mega-City One finally retaliates, they launch 25 nuclear warheads, each one [[WeaponOfMassDestruction powerful enough to wipe out all of East-Meg One twice over]], that inadvertently get warped to an AlternateUniverse where they cause an EarthShatteringKaboom on an Earth [[CrowningMomentOfFunny where everyone is a hippie and world peace has been declared for 200 years]].

** ...and War Marshall Kazan ...and Morton Judd ...''and'' [[spoiler: The Judge Child]].

* {{Crossover}}: With ''StrontiumDog'' and IntercontinuityCrossOver with ''{{Batman}}, {{Aliens}}'' and ''{{Predator}}''.

* CrowningMomentOfAwesome: '''[[http://www.spoonyexperiment.com/2009/06/08/great-moments-in-soul-punch-history-part-2/ "GAZE INTO THE FIST OF DREDD!"]]'''

* [[CrowningMomentOfFunny Cwowning Moment Of Funny]]: From "The Day The Law Died,"

* DefeatingTheUndefeatable: [[spoiler: The Dark Judges are Defeated on multiple occasions.]]

* DroppedABridgeOnHim: The ultimate fate of [[spoiler: Walter The Wobot]] after stories started to take a bit more serious tone. Also the fate of [[spoiler: Judge Giant, Sr. in the prelude to the Apocalypse War]] as well as multiple supporting characters introduced over the years during ''Judgment Day'' and many other instances.

* ElectronicEyes: [[spoiler: How Dredd sees after losing his real ones in "City of the Damned."]]

* EvilCounterpart: The Dark Judges (Death, Fire, Fear and Mortis), who come from an alternate timeline in which it was reasoned that since crimes were only committed by the living, life itself should be declared a crime. They get their own CatchPhrase too: [[OmnicidalManiac ''"The crime isss Life, the sssentence isss Death!"'']]
* EvilGenius: PJ Maybe. Interestingly enough, usually any perps in Mega-City One who are described as having a genius or otherwise extraordinary intellect are children, [[spoiler: although PJ Maybe unquestionably outdoes them all by continually evading capture (he's also the only one we ever get to see grow up)]].

* FaceHeelTurn: [[spoiler: Walter the Wobot]] after he comes BackFromTheDead and starts [[spoiler: a second [[RobotWar Robot Rebellion]] under the name [[ShoutOut Call-Me-Walter]]]].

** Averted BIG TIME when [[spoiler: in the separately titled ''2000 AD'' strip "The Dead Man" the titular (and horribly disfigured) "Dead Man" turns out to be Dredd all along and a huge set-up for the Necropolis story arc]].

* TheFamilyThatSlaysTogether: The Angel Gang is, perhaps, the UrExample of this. Following the events of [[spoiler: "The Judge Child Quest"]], Fink and Mean Machine continued on as SiblingsInCrime.

* FlyingSeafoodSpecial: Dune sharks, giant floating sharks with MoreTeethThanTheOsmondFamily and [[SandIsWater move through sand slightly sloaer than through air]].

* HeWhoFightsMonsters: To an extent, the risk most Judges working undercover units (a.k.a. The Wally Squad) face.
* HiveMind: [[spoiler: President Booth's]] robot guardians Snap, Crackle, and Pop.

--> '''Judge Dredd:''' Old comics are worth a fortune. Selling them to kids is one of the lowest forms of crime. After one or two, kids get so they can't give up. Then the price goes up and up...
* ImpossiblyCoolWeapon: The Judges' stardard issue Lawgiver handgun can fire six different types of ammunition (See: AbnormalAmmo above) on either standard or rapid fire settings, both ammo and fire settings can be switched via voice command, and every individual gun is programmed to only fire when the Judge the gun was issued to is using it; attempts by perps to [[HoistByHisOwnPetard hoist a Judge by his own petard]] are always met with [[StuffBlowingUp very explosive results]].
-->'''NostalgiaCritic:''' Seriously, how many other functions does that gun have? Armor piercing! Rapid fire! Back massage! Lounge music!

* JaywalkingWillRuinYourLife: A large portion of the humor is derrived from very minor offenses carrying hefty consequences, such as a 6 months - 2 years sentence.

* JudgeJuryAndExecutioner: Every Judge's job description.

* LanternJawOfJustice: And it's even the ''only'' part of his face visible.

* {{Mutants}}: Generally people whose genetic makeup was affected by nuclear radiation as a result of several atomic wars. Unlike in American comics, namely [[MarvelUniverse Marvel]], mutants in Dredd's world just suffer from physical deformities and other freakish abnormalities. Superpowers developing from mutations are very rare.

* TheNotSoHarmlessPunishment: After Dredd assassinates [[spoiler: a [[TheQuisling brainwashed Chief Judge Griffin]]]] on live television and escapes during the "Apocalypse War" StoryArc, all East-Meg Judges present throughout the incident have been rounded up and are about to be issued winter clothing before being sent off to a penal colony in Siberia, which is War Marshall Kazan's typical punishment for failure.
--> '''Kazan:''' Cancel that order!
--> '''East-Meg Judge:''' You mean you're ''not'' sending them to Siberia?
--> '''Kazan:''' No, I mean they're not getting any winter clothing!

* OffscreenRebuilding: This is usually [[SubvertedTrope subverted]] where major story arcs that destroy much of the city are followed immediately by steps to rebuild and reclaim order (i.e. "Apocalypse War," "Necropolis"), but outside of those few examples, this is played straight.

*** [[spoiler: Of course he smiles. Because it squares the circle for him. The Judge system may be brutal, ruthless and merciless, but it is ''what the people want'' - and therefore ''is'' democratic, after a fashion. In any case, losing faith in the Judge system does not automatically mean taking up the cause of democracy. Indeed, one could argue that Dredd's resignation was because he just lost hope - he doesn't believe that democracy can work, and the system he served wasn't worth supporting. Dredd's whole character is an eternal tension between his dwindling reserves of idealism and the practical reality of the world that he lives in.]]

* TalkToTheFist: [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome "Gaze into the fist of Dredd!"]]

--> '''Dredd:''' When someone calls on the Law for help...be he mutie...alien...cyborg...or human...the Law cannot turn a blind eye!

* CrowningMomentOfFunny: There are a few genuinely funny moments, like Rob Schneider getting the green light to do his Sly impersonation. Also, this:
-->'''Hayden''': Bitch!
-->'''Hershey''': It's JUDGE Bitch! [headbutts her]

* FridgeLogic: [[spoiler: Rico replaces the DNA sample being used to clone new Judges with his own, declaring with scenery-chewing glee that the resulting army will be just as crazy as him. What he doesn't seem to realize is that ''he was cloned from the exact same DNA that was already there.'' He and Dredd are both clones from an earlier phase of the project, and they both have the same DNA, an important plot point that explains how Rico is able to frame Dredd for murder earlier. Rico just replaced the existing DNA with an exact copy.]] Given the quality of the movie as a whole, the writers might have realized this and [[{{TheyJustDidntCare}} just not bothered to change it.]]

--->''(Dredd pauses)''

--->''(Dredd looks at him in shock)''

* OfferedTheCrown: In one of the rare moments in the movie that is entirely in-character for Dredd, after he [[SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong Sets Right What Once Went Wrong]], the remaining Judges ask Dredd if he would like to be [[spoiler: the new Chief Judge, after Rico had already murdered Judge Griffin and the rest of the Council of Five]] only for Dredd to, naturally, [[spoiler: [[SubvertedTrope turn them down]]]].

* SoBadItsGood: As... [[AdaptationDecay off-kilter]] as it is, it's fun to watch, taking into account Armand Assante's [[FeedMe bombastic acting]], the {{Narm}} and the fact that no one can seem to say "law" properly.

** That was aculty because Walter attacked a human.

* HyperDestructiveBouncingBall: The miracle plastic Boing® fits this purpose if used outside the Palais de Boing® or other sanctioned areas (if any).

** The miracle plastic Boing® has been shown to be more effective at containing Judge Death than fire, which has always released his ethereal form and allow him to possess another body.

* AntiHero - while Dredd is a brutal cop in a fascist police state he is the good guy, and more liberal than pretty much everyone else.

* TheScrappy: Rob Schneider

* WhoWatchesTheWatchmen: Most notably in the "America" arc.

** [[ThatGuyWithTheGlasses The log?]]

!!Tropes

* LeaveNoWitnesses: In the film, Judge Griffin is quite insistent that Dredd's shuttle crash killed everyone aboard. ''Quite'' insistent.

--> '''JunionAngel:''' "You got this comin', loudmouth! An' even if yo' didn't, yo'd ''still'' get it! 'Cause I'm ''just plumb fond of killin'!''"

* AxCrazy: Quite a few villains, but the [[CompleteMonster Angel Gang]] in particular are standouts in this trope.
** "You got this comin', loudmouth! An' even if yo' didn't, yo'd ''still'' get it! 'Cause I'm ''just plumb fond of killin'!''"
** Judge Cal also qualifies.

* AbsoluteXenophobe: The Dark Judges want to end crime by killing ''everything''.

* PoliceState: The Judges are the police, the judiciary and the government. SoYeah.

* This should be a source for a number of examples, but the only one that's coming to mind right now is "The Forever Crimes," wherein a crook tries to escape from Dredd by making his way down a laundry chute, but it's [[http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/comics/2000adstrips/dredd/dredd03.shtml actually a garbage disposal.]]

* FlyinSeafoodSpecial: Dune sharks, giant floating sharks with MoreTeethThanTheOsmondFamily and [[SandIsWater move through sand slightly sloaer than through air]].

* AntiHero - while Dredd is a brutal cop in a fascist police state he is the good guy, and more liberal than pretty much everyone else