History Main / JudgeDredd

* SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism: Later issues of of the strip, especially with Garth Ennis's run, are heavily cynical. Early stories aren't idealistic OR cynical, exception of the story where Dredd chews out a fellow Judge who had gone off the SlipperySlope and executes him in a battle.

* SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism: Later issues of of the strip, especially with Garth Ennis's run, are heavily cynical. Early stories aren't idealistic OR cynical.

* SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism: Later issues of Dredd, especially with Garth Ennis's run, were heavily cynical, parodies of law enforcement. Early Dredd stories weren't idealistic OR cynical.

* SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism: Dredd falls squarely onto the cynical side.

* SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism: Dredd falls squarely onto the cynical side. Several storylines examine the scale with conflicts between the cynical ethos of the Judges and the idealism of pro-democracy campaigners. [[spoiler:Dredd's cynicism ultimately ends up getting millions killed: after crossing the MoralEventHorizon to undercut a major non-violent pro-Democracy rally, Dredd finds out that his actions (which included ordering Judges to use violence against those protesters who showed up) led to one protester suffering permanent brain damage, which led him to murder a young girl who wrote Dredd asking him why he hated freedom. This caused Dredd to lose faith in the system and resign, which basically made an opening for the Death Judges to conquer Mega-City One and kill millions. Sadly, after wandering the Cursed Earth, Dredd comes back and saves the day and sadly, the status quo fairy kicking in as Dredd learns NOTHING from the Necropolis storyline and basically glowingly smiles when Democracy is voted down, in a referendum that is held after Necropolis decimated the Judge system's ability to keep the public safe.]]
** Blame GarthEnnis for the last part.
*** [[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.]]

* CreatorCameo: Judges are sometimes named after writers and artists on the series. For instance, the list of Judges who graduated in Dredd's year includes Wagner and Gibson, obvious references to writer John Wagner and artist Ian Gibson. Interestingly, Judge Gibson turns up in a later story as a corrupt cop.

** There was also a Judge Findlay

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

A long-running SciFi comic created by John Wagner, Carlos Ezquerra and Pat Mills, and starring ''the'' iconic character from the British AnthologyComic ''[=~2000 AD~=]'', ''Judge Dredd'' follows the adventures of brutal KnightTemplar lawman Joe Dredd, who cleans the streets of the [[{{Dystopia}} grim, far-future megapolis]] Mega-City-One, a gigantic, [[ViceCity decaying and crime-ridden]] urban sprawl which covers most of [[DividedStatesOfAmerica what used to be the East Coast of the USA]]. Dredd is a "Judge", a veteran officer in a law-enforcement force whose operatives quite literally act as JudgeJuryAndExecutioner in a world where the criminal justice system and democratic government have long since disintegrated as a result of countless catastrophes and worldwide wars.

* [=~Everything's Better With Monkeys~=]: There used to be an entire enclave of super-intelligent monkeys living in the city before the Apocalypse War; chimpanzee mobster Don Uggie and his cronies were occasional adversaries to Dredd during this time. The Big Meg also once elected an orangutan named Dave to be mayor. [[spoiler: He was later assassinated]].

* [=~I Can't Believe It's Not Heroin~=]: Occasionally, there are stories about illegal traffickers smuggling/selling a dangerous "white powder" in the city. In the end, the substance always turns out to be '''sugar'''.

** Judge Dredd is transferred to the moon at one point in the early comics, resulting in fighting rogue moonbots, watching over the Space Olympics, and rooting out corruption. [[Ac:InSpace]].

** Judge Dredd is transferred to the moon at one point in the early comics.

* DaChief: Dredd himself is forced to become this for a time during ''The Pit'' arc.

* TheDreaded: [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Well it is sorta in the name...]]

* VeteranInstructor: Street Judges who have been injured/wounded in ways that leave them no longer useful to serve on active duty are often given teaching posts at the Academy of Law to train young cadets to be future Judges. Older Judges with good performance records who stay on the force past their prime may sometimes be given to option to teach at the Academy as an alternative to The Long Walk.

* MoralityDial - Most robots have it, and rampages are due to a malfunctioning of this.

''Judge Dredd'' was also adapted into [[Film/JudgeDredd a movie]] starring SylvesterStallone, but most fans [[{{FanonDiscontinuity}} choose not to speak of it]]. A second movie, starring KarlUrban, is now being made. And yes, [[AndTheFandomRejoiced he's keeping his helmet on this time]].

* TheMovie: Both the one that [[{{FanonDiscontinuity}} never happened]] and a [[http://www.superherohype.com/news/topnews.php?id=7928 new one]] that has been given the green light.

''Judge Dredd'' was also adapted into [[Film/JudgeDredd a movie]] starring SylvesterStallone, but most fans [[{{Discontinuity}} choose not to speak of it]]. A second movie, starring KarlUrban, is now being made. And yes, [[AndTheFandomRejoiced he's keeping his helmet on this time]].

* TheMovie: Both the one that [[{{Discontinuity}} never happened]] and a [[http://www.superherohype.com/news/topnews.php?id=7928 new one]] that has been given the green light.

* CounterEarth: Hestia