Skip to main content
Games Radar Newsarama Total Film Edge Retro Gamer
GamesRadar+ GamesRadar+ The smarter take on movies
UK EditionUK US EditionUS CA EditionCanada AU EditionAustralia
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
Gaming Magazines
Gaming Magazines
Why subscribe?
  • Subscribe from just £3
  • Takes you closer to the games, movies and TV you love
  • Try a single issue or save on a subscription
  • Issues delivered straight to your door or device
From$12
Subscribe now
Don't miss these
Trending
  • Best Netflix Movies
  • Movie Release Dates
  • Best movies on Disney Plus
  • Best Netflix Shows
  1. Entertainment
  2. Movies

The A-Z Of Judge Dredd

Features
By Joshua Winning published 5 September 2012

From the Angel Gang to Mega-City Zoo

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

is for Zoo

is for Zoo

The Mega-City Zoo. It’s now home to the Ape Gang, a horde of suit-wearing apes who have the ability to speak thanks to modified brain cells. They attempt to take out the East Side Mob, but are caught by Judge Dredd and condemned to the zoo.

Page 1 of 26
Page 1 of 26
is for the Year 2099

is for the Year 2099

This is the year in which the first Dredd comics are set. Time passes in the Dredd comics in real time, meaning that stories published in 2012 are set in the year 2134. That makes Judge Dredd, the man himself, over 70 years old. Not bad.

Page 2 of 26
Page 2 of 26
is for Xenomorphs

is for Xenomorphs

Forget Alien Vs Predator , 2000 AD was where the best franchise clash occurred when, in 2003, Judge Dredd went jaw-to-jaw with the most famous movie ET ever. In mini-series Judge Dredd Vs. Aliens , Dredd’s called in when a xenomorph emerges in Mega-City One…

Page 3 of 26
Page 3 of 26
is for Weapons

is for Weapons

A Judge has a massive artillery at his disposal, ranging from the Lawgiver – a semi-automatic or fully automatic with heat seeking capabilities – to beam guns and napalm throwers, which sort of resemble flame throwers.

Page 4 of 26
Page 4 of 26
is for Vienna

is for Vienna

Judge Dredd’s niece, who’s unaware for a long time that Dredd killed her corrupt father – his brother – Rico. Vienna is the one thing that Dredd cares about as much as keeping law and order, which naturally means she’s been used by various villains who want to take Dredd down.

Page 5 of 26
Page 5 of 26
is for Unit, Public Surveillance Unit

is for Unit, Public Surveillance Unit

The PSU is a branch of the Justice Department that watches and monitors the general population of Mega-City One. The headquarters were once located in the Statue of Judgement, which was destroyed by East Meg Agents in the Day Of Chaos storyline.

Page 6 of 26
Page 6 of 26
is for Tweak

is for Tweak

A super-intelligent alien being, Tweak looks a little like an ant eater, equipped with pincers that help him eat rocks. A psychic leader, he was brought back to Earth by human explorers, where Judge Dredd took pity on his plight.

Page 7 of 26
Page 7 of 26
is for Spikes Harvey Rotten

is for Spikes Harvey Rotten

Aside from having an awesome name, Rotten is also a skilled biker – which is exactly why Judge Dredd recruits him on a mission to reach Mega-City Two. Though technically a criminal, Rotten proves loyal to Dredd right to the bitter end.

Page 8 of 26
Page 8 of 26
is for Resyk

is for Resyk

In Mega-City One, everything gets recycled – including the dead. Only the very rich are privileged enough to get buried, meaning the majority of corpses end up in Resyk centres, where they’re broken down for parts and reused where needed.

Page 9 of 26
Page 9 of 26
is for Quality

is for Quality

Some of the most prolific comic-book writers and artists have contributed to the Dredd-verse, including Dredd creator John Wagner alone Garth Ennis and Andy Diggle. Wagner alonec has written the majority of the comics, and has delivered an astonishing pedigree of fantastic stories over the years.

Page 10 of 26
Page 10 of 26
is for Para-Medics

is for Para-Medics

Not unlike in modern day, the Para-Medics are the workers who are charged with looking after the ill in the Mega Cities. They’re so esteemed that they use a ranking system not unlike that used in the army.

Page 11 of 26
Page 11 of 26
is for One

is for One

That’s Mega-City One, a megalopolis on the east coast of North America that’s surrounded by an inhospitable desert branded the Cursed Earth. Mass unemployment is rife in Mega-City One, with 400 million people crammed into City Blocks that each house at least 50,000 people.

Page 12 of 26
Page 12 of 26
is for the Neon Knights

is for the Neon Knights

Hooded bad guys who are resolutely anti-robot, the Neon Knights go up against Dredd when they steal his robot, Walter. In the end, Dredd reveals the Knights own corruption when their leader, the Grand Master, is revealed to be a cyborg himself.

Page 13 of 26
Page 13 of 26
is for Max Normal

is for Max Normal

Dredd’s most trustworthy of informers. Max never looks anything less than a million dollars and was pivotal in helping Dredd track down the engineer who created the Robot Dredd and framed our anti-hero for murder.

Page 14 of 26
Page 14 of 26
is for Legion Of The Damned

is for Legion Of The Damned

A collection of robots that were programmed by Robert L Booth – the last US president – to destroy all existing Judges. During the Battle of Armageddon, they killed over a thousand Judges and Mega Troopers.

Page 15 of 26
Page 15 of 26
is for the Kleggs

is for the Kleggs

The Kleggs appear in The Day The Law Died, which follows on from The Cursed Earth. Dredd rests after the Cursed Earth mission and is framed for murder. Meanwhile, Judge Cal hires the Kleggs, alien mercenaries to stop an uprising in Mega-City One. They look like enormous crocodiles and are paid in meat.

Page 16 of 26
Page 16 of 26
is for Joseph Dredd

is for Joseph Dredd

Cloned from the DNA of Chief Judge Eustace Fargo in 2066, Judge Joseph Dredd is the most famous of the Judges in Mega-City One. He was enrolled at the Academy of Law aged just five (thanks to accelerated growth) and his face has never been glimpsed in the comics – something Sly ruined with his film version in 1995.

Page 17 of 26
Page 17 of 26
is for Inferno

is for Inferno

A nine-issue arc penned by Grant Morrison, Inferno sees villain Grice attacking Mega-City One by letting loose the Meat Virus and driving ships into buildings. Dredd nearly died during a botched rescue attempt, while Grice proclaimed himself Chief Judge and began passing nutso laws.

Page 18 of 26
Page 18 of 26
is for Hall Of Justice

is for Hall Of Justice

The headquarters for the Judges, the Great Hall Of Justice contains an artillery, living quarters for senior Judges and two public museums – including the Hall Of Heroes, where Mega-City One’s most esteemed champions are honoured.

Page 19 of 26
Page 19 of 26
is for the Germ Wars

is for the Germ Wars

They form the central plot of The Cursed Earth , the first Judge Dredd Epic storyline, in which the 2T(FRU)T virus turns the population of Mega-City Two into cannibals. Dredd goes on a mission across the Cursed Earth where he encounters everything from dinosaurs and mutants to alien slaves.

Page 20 of 26
Page 20 of 26
is for Fergee

is for Fergee

A former scavenger who once lived off rats and had a throne fashioned out of a toilet, Fergee helped Judge Dredd escape and condemn Judge Cal, which earned him a promotion to Judge. His weapon of choice? A baseball bat. (Rob Schneider played him in the ’95 Judge Dredd film…)

Page 21 of 26
Page 21 of 26
is for Exo-Men

is for Exo-Men

The Exo-Men are a band of looters who wear exoskeletons that were meant to aid them in demolition work.

Page 22 of 26
Page 22 of 26
is for the Dark Judges

is for the Dark Judges

What happens when undead spirits possess cadavers in order to go about their ghoulish work – which generally involves spiking people on their enormous claws. There’s Judge Death, Judge Fire, Judge Fear and others. Expect them to turn up in any sequels to this year’s Dredd , according to writer Alex Garland.

Page 23 of 26
Page 23 of 26
is for Call Me Kenneth

is for Call Me Kenneth

Not Branagh (or Williams), but the first ever robot to become sentient. Call Me Kenneth proved a right royal pain in Judge Dredd’s behind when he went berserk not once, but twice, rising against and enslaving much of Mega-City One’s population – alongside a number of its Judges.

Page 24 of 26
Page 24 of 26
is for Byron Ambrose

is for Byron Ambrose

Mega-City One’s mayor, who’s murdered by dangerous serial killer PJ Maybe (see above). Maybe’s MO usually involves using face-changing machines to alter his identity, or gaining power over people by using drugs like SLD 88 and 89 against them. He was a child genius.

Page 25 of 26
Page 25 of 26
is for the Angel family

is for the Angel family

Camping out in a lair in the Cursed Earth (a radioactive terrain once known as America), this violent crew is led by its father, Pa. Most impressive of the clan is ‘Mean Machine’ Angel, a cyborg with a dial in his head that dictates his mood.

Page 26 of 26
Page 26 of 26
Joshua Winning
Social Links Navigation

Josh Winning has worn a lot of hats over the years. Contributing Editor at Total Film, writer for SFX, and senior film writer at the Radio Times. Josh has also penned a novel about mysteries and monsters, is the co-host of a movie podcast, and has a library of pretty phenomenal stories from visiting some of the biggest TV and film sets in the world. He would also like you to know that he "lives for cat videos..." Don't we all, Josh. Don't we all.  

Share by:
  • Facebook
  • X
  • Whatsapp
  • Pinterest
  • Flipboard
Share this article
Join the conversation
Follow us
Add us as a preferred source on Google
Latest in Movies
Hayden Christensen as Anakin Skywalker
Hayden Christensen would "love to" make a Darth Vader series or movie and would be "there in a heartbeat"
 
 
Timothée Chalamet as Marty Supreme, holding a ping pong paddle and pointing
Timothée Chalamet on dreaming big and his “vastly different” roles in Marty Supreme and Dune: Part 3
 
 
M3GAN 2.0
M3GAN spin-off movie SOULM8TE has been dropped by Universal following a string of 2025 Blumhouse horror blunders
 
 
Spider-Man crouching on a car during the Marvel movie Spider-Man: No Way Home.
Marvel leaks continue as Spider-Man: Brand New Day trailer somehow ends up online
 
 
Disclosure Day
The truth is (almost) out there for Emily Blunt and Josh O'Connor in gripping first trailer for Stephen Spielberg's UFO thriller
 
 
Oona Chaplin as Varang in Avatar: Fire and Ash
Avatar: Fire and Ash debuts to lowest Rotten Tomatoes score of the James Cameron sci-fi trilogy
 
 
Latest in Features
GamesRadar's best of 2025 series featuring Blue Prince
Blue Prince is a "true hybrid" of video and boardgame genius, and its creator thought it'd be "niche of niche"
 
 
Fallout season 2
Fallout season 2 Easter eggs and cameos: All the nods to New Vegas that you might have missed
 
 
Best sports games of 2025, including College Football 26
From College Football 26 to WWE 2K25 via Rematch, the best sports games of 2025 kept us playing
 
 
Amanda Christine as Ronnie in It: Welcome to Derry episode 7
It: Welcome to Derry features the scariest scene of the year, and Pennywise is only part of the horrors
 
 
Fallout season 2 poster
I've played every Fallout game, and these are the best Fallout NPCs I want to see in the Amazon show
 
 
Pokemon X&Y Ghost Girl
Pokemon Z-A missed its chance to unravel the franchise's creepiest mystery
 
 
  1. Key art for Skate Story showing the glass skater boarding through a dark underworld filled with spikes towards a door of light
    1
    Skate Story review: "A beautiful and unique skateboarding game with great, stylized visuals set in a grungy underworld"
  2. 2
    Octopath Traveler 0 review: "The strongest entry in this retro-styled JRPG series yet, I love the greater focus on tactical battles"
  3. 3
    Sleep Awake review: "An all-timer horror premise is let down by tired stealth that I feel like I'm sleepwalking through"
  4. 4
    Metroid Prime 4: Beyond review: "The series' atmosphere has never been better, while being dragged down by a boring overworld and clunky psychic powers"
  5. 5
    Routine review: "This imperfect but wonderfully atmospheric moon-based horror leaves a strong impression"
  1. Oona Chaplin as Varang in Avatar: Fire and Ash
    1
    Avatar: Fire and Ash review: "Still a technical marvel, with some of the year's best action filmmaking"
  2. 2
    Five Nights at Freddy's 2 review: "We have waited two years for a Five Nights at Freddy's 1.5"
  3. 3
    Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery review: "Brings Knives Out back to its roots for a sequel that's almost on a par with the original"
  4. 4
    Wicked: For Good review: "Builds to an incredibly cathartic conclusion, but isn't quite as captivating as Part 1"
  5. 5
    The Running Man review: "Some fun action and Glen Powell's star power aren't enough to energize this disappointing Stephen King adaptation"
  1. Power Armor in Fallout season 2
    1
    Fallout season 2 review: "A hell of a lot of fun despite being overcrowded and convoluted"
  2. 2
    Stranger Things season 5 volume 1 review: “Can the Duffer brothers stick the landing? It’s sure looking like they will”
  3. 3
    Pluribus season 1 review: "Easily one of the year's best dramas"
  4. 4
    The Witcher season 4 review: "The Henry Cavill-less fourth season is the best yet"
  5. 5
    IT: Welcome to Derry review: "A supremely confident step back into the history of Stephen King's cursed town and killer clown"

GamesRadar+ is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

Add as a preferred source on Google
  • About Us
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Review guidelines
  • Write for us
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers

© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...