Apocalypse War
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The Apocalypse War is a storyline from the fictional universe of Judge Dredd, first published in British comic 2000 AD in 1982. It is a sequel to the story Block Mania.
[edit] Plot
Set in 2104, it tells of the invasion of Dredd's city, Mega-City One by its Soviet counterpart, East-Meg One. While the city is still vulnerable, most of the population having been infected by the Block Mania virus, the East-Meg forces launch a surprise nuclear attack on MC-1, wiping out half of its 800 million citizens in one stroke. Ground troops then swarm into the stricken city, occupying most of it in only four days while Judge Dredd tries to lead a guerrilla resistance movement.
It could be argued a decisive turning point was the Mega City Judges use of 'The Stub Gun', an experimental two handed cutting weapon able to slice through almost any substance. However, while this weapon was very powerful, sustained use would lead to it overheating and exploding. Dredd leads a band of Mega City Judges who "stubbed" a Mega-City transport nexus forcing East-Meg forces through to the city bottom. Thermal charges were employed in a devastating ambush as East-Meg forces crossed through the city bottom.
The war is eventually won when Dredd leads a commando unit to seize an East-Meg missile silo and uses it to obliterate East-Meg One, with the loss of 500 million lives. For doing this Dredd was later (2121) abducted and put on trial for war crimes by a group of East-Meg survivors (who had not been in the city when it was destroyed), but he escaped and killed many of them before the kangaroo court could return its verdict.
The war left Mega-City One in ruins, with many highly radioactive areas and other hazards. With its ruler Chief Judge Griffin having perished in the conflict, it fell to new Chief Judge McGruder to begin the long task of rebuilding.
[edit] Background
While the Apocalypse War story was one of the more memorable storylines of Judge Dredd, and very much a product of its time (the Cold War), there were other reasons for the story. As mentioned in the collected Block Mania and Apocalypse War Titan reprint, the 2000AD editors felt that Mega-City One had essentially grown too big. When Judge Dredd started, the Mega-Cities boundaries were not exactly set in stone. Eventually it got to be that MC-1 spanned the entire Eastern Seaboard, from the Canadian Border in the north, to the tip of Florida in the south. Even taking into account suspension of disbelief, the idea that Judge Dredd could be in almost any area in no time was being regarded as almost crazy. A 'clean up' of a universe in a comic storyline is not confined to 2000AD, as one on an even grander scale happened in DC comics with their "Crisis on Infinite Earths".
[edit] External links
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