Mega-City One

Mega-City One
Mega-City One as of before the Apocalypse War.
Publication information
Publisher	Rebellion Developments
In story information
Type	City-state
Notable people	Judge Dredd
Notable locations	Academy of Law Grand Hall of Justice Statue of Judgement Undercity

Mega-City One is a huge fictional city-state covering much of what is now the Eastern United States in the Judge Dredd comic book series. The exact boundaries of the city depend on which artist has drawn the story. The city seems to have grown outward from the present-day Northeast megalopolis, extending down to the Atlanta metropolitan area southwards, and the Quebec City-Windsor Corridor northwards.

The Architects Journal placed it at #1 in their list of "comic book cities."^[1]

Contents 1 Description 2 City Blocks 3 Law 4 Government 5 Crimes 6 Leisure 7 Transit systems 7.1 Pedestrian 7.2 Vehicular 8 History 9 Other cities mentioned in Judge Dredd 10 See also 11 References 12 External links

Description

Mega-City One evolved out of a growing urban conurbation stretching from Boston to Washington, which took form in the 21st century to cope with the escalating population crisis in America and - due to the high crime rate - led to the introduction of the Judge system. Mega-City One was one of three major areas to survive the nuclear war in 2070, due to an experimental laser missile-defence system built not long before. Quickly growing outwards, Mega-City One swelled to hold most of the population of the East Coast, reaching 800 million by the end of the century. This population was halved by the Apocalypse War of 2104.

Mega-City One has a far greater population density than any city in the present-day world, with a total population of over 400 million people. Most city dwellers (citizens) live in huge apartment blocks (50,000+), though many citizens live a perpetually nomadic existence in vehicular mo-pads (mobile homes) due to inadequate housing provisions. These citizens travel the city via the many public transport routes available, rarely stopping. Some mo-pads are quite luxurious, complete with swimming pools.

Much of the city was destroyed by nuclear warheads in the Apocalypse War. A small part of the city, known as the North West Hab Zone, became separated from the rest of the city by a stretch of radioactive wasteland called Nuke Alley. The Hab Zone is connected to the main city by a bridge. A tunnel is under construction.

For administrative purposes the city is divided into 305 sectors. Sectors 1 to 300 constitute the main city. Sectors 301 to 305 form the North-West Hab Zone. Sector 301 is disparagingly nicknamed "The Pit" due to its high crime rate.

City Blocks

Blocks are huge and can be considered to be a small town in themselves. Each one will typically possess a hospital, gymnasium, school, and shopping district. A citizen can quite literally live their whole lives without leaving their block. Due to the high unemployment rate, boredom is rife among citizens — this, coupled with the high loyalty citizens develop to their blocks, leads to many "Block Wars", riots (more like small wars) between two or more blocks.

Blocks are named after famous or historical figures, often with current events in mind. A typical example — shortly after the Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise separation there was an episode with block war breaking out between the "Kidman" and "Cruise" Blocks. A proposed crackdown on civil rights in Britain led to a block being named David Blunkett Block in one story.

Law

Mega-City One's laws are harsh, with many crimes not found in present-day law. Possession of sugar, for example, is illegal, as is the smoking of tobacco outside of licensed Smoketoriums, and coffee is banned as an illegal stimulant. The laws are enforced by the Judges, who are a combination of judge and police officer. Ordinary laws are enforced more harshly than the present day, reflecting the crime rate. Judges impose immediate sentences on the spot, usually lengthy sentences of imprisonment (or "encubement"). In extreme cases even the death penalty may be imposed, although relatively sparingly compared with the present day.^[2] In contrast many criminals are shot to death while resisting arrest, and resisters who survive Judge assault often receive a whole life cube term.^[3]

The Judges themselves are not exempt from the law; they are expected to obey it more strictly than any other. A violation that would earn a citizen a few months in an Iso-Cube would get a Judge a twenty-year sentence, served as hard labor on Saturn's moon, Titan, after surgical modification to enable the convict to survive outside there without needing an expensive space suit.

Most ordinary citizens are sent to the Iso-Cubes, tiny cells located within huge prisons. These are designed for maximum rehabilitation in the shortest time possible, but ultimately the decision as to sentence rests with the judges. Sentences are usually very long. However, the death penalty is not in wide use, and is reserved for mass murder or endangering the security of the city. In spite of this judges do regularly shoot perps dead in the course of combat.

Firearm possession is only legal with the right firearms permit, which is very hard to obtain, the only real exception is in the cases of the Citidef units who may use heavy weapons (Though since Block Mania the security on these is extreme and they are only issued in wartime). However, in spite of this many firearms are in circulation, some sold on the black market while others are leftovers from the various invasions that have occurred over the past thirty years. Some families still possess twentieth-century handguns that have been handed down through the years. These are sometimes found by crime blitzes and will usually earn exactly the same penalty as a "modern" day lasblaster.

Government

Since the abolition of democratic government in America in 2070, Mega-City One has been a dictatorship run by the Justice Department. It subsequently became an independent city-state following the break-up of the United States and had already been granted autonomy within the Union in 2052. Its ruler is Chief Judge Dan Francisco.^[4] He is accountable to a council of five senior judges. The citizens are permitted to have an elected city council and mayor, but with no significant power.

In 2113 a referendum was held in which the people were allowed to decide whether to restore democratic government, but by this time the memory of democracy had become so distant that the majority of citizens did not bother to vote, and most of those who did opted to retain the status quo.^[5]

• Chief Judge
• Council of Five
• Mayor of Mega-City One
• 2113 Referendum

Crimes

Many crimes in Mega-City One are controlled by flamboyant mob bosses:

• Blitzers: hitmen with self-destruct bombs implanted inside them which detonate if they surrender when apprehended.
• Body-sharking: loaning money to people willing to put a loved one into cryonic storage for collateral.
• Chump-dumping: conning aliens into believing Earth is a paradise, taking their money, and then dumping them into space.
• Face changing crimes: the illicit use of face changing machines to commit crimes and fraud.
• Futsies: People who can no longer can handle the fast pace of life begin to suffer from "Future Shock," become psychotic and begin to commit crimes.
• Numbers racket: buying computer passcodes for industrial theft.
• Organ leggers: those who cut up citizens and sell their organs on the black market.
• Perp running: transporting felons off-world.
• Psycos: telepathic protection rackets.
• Stookie glanding: butchering Stookies, an intelligent alien race, for the anti-aging drug they produce.
• Umpty-baggers: pushers of umpty, a candy that tastes so good it forms an instant psychological addiction.

Leisure

Most work in Mega-City One is carried out by robots; this has led to problems with boredom and unemployment. Boredom has fostered many problems in the city, with weird fads including Block Wars (wars between neighboring apartment blocks, waged by each block's defense militia), "ugliness clinics", and odd fashions.

Leisure in Mega-City One consists of a number of weird and wonderful futuristic hobbies and attractions:

• The Aggro Dome was conceived as a way for frustrated citizens to let off steam without endangering their fellow Meggers. Within the domes, citizens can vent their anger on robots, mock storefronts, and parked vehicles. Aggro Limited, the owners of the Aggro Dome franchise, petitioned for Judge replicoids to be added to a number of their buildings as a target for client retaliation. The request was promptly refused. After problems on opening day Dredd did his best to close the place for good but failed. Eventually the dome closed in the mid 2120s after visitor numbers fell too low to turn a profit.
• The Alien Zoos are ever-popular attractions, featuring the most bizarre creatures from the Milky Way galaxy and beyond.
• The Central Mega-City Library is open free of charge to the public and is the storehouse of information on Mega-City One and beyond, past and present. Late fees are very high.
• The Dream Palace is a popular leisure activity—for some, a growing necessity—and the ultimate in escapism. Customers are plugged into dream machines where their dreams are made real. Morpheus, Inc. own the original chain of dream palaces, but were unsuccessful in blocking the expansion of rival Dream Parlours, back street services utilizing reconditioned dream machines. Some parlours offer other "diversions" to supplement their income.
• The Mega-City Chamber of Horrors features robot replicas of history's most infamous villains.
• The Mega-City Museum is one of the tallest buildings in Mega-City One. It specializes in the history of Mega-City One. Home to the most complete records of pre-atomic American civilization in North America. A transceiver beacon is sited atop the museum's roof, for use by the Justice Department.
• The Museum of Death focuses on murderers, warfare that resulted in mass death, and historical instruments of torture.
• The Palais-De-Boing is a chain of purpose-built structures designed for Boingers. Boinging is illegal outside of the Palais-De-Boing.^[6]
• The Smokatoriums are the only locations within Mega-City One limits where it is legal to smoke tobacco and nicotine-related products.
• The White Cliffs of Dover were imported from a cash-starved Brit-Cit in the aftermath of the Atomic War. It remains a popular attraction despite the fact that it is nothing more than a crumbling pile of rock, chalk, and sand.
• Stookie is an illegal drug made from the glands of an intelligent alien species that stops its users' aging. Withdrawal from Stookie causes users to rapidly reach their 'real' ages. In one of the Judge Dredd novels, it is explained than an injection of "pure, undiluted" Stookie causes the user to actually age backwards, reverting to a younger age. Of course, this may be non-canon.

Transit systems

Pedestrian

• Back street: Two-way passages, located in Old Town and City Bottom.
• Broad-Way: A large pedestrian plaza.
• Crossway: Any pedway intersection (AKA Crosslink).
• Eeziglide: One-way pedestrian conveyance that functions as a human conveyor-belt.
• Pedway: Pedestrian-only walkway found right across the City at all levels. Subpeds are enclosed pedways that run under Pedways.
• Zipstrip: One or two-way pedestrian walkway that links blocks and smaller interchanges. Enclosed zipstrips are called Pipeways.

Vehicular

• Boomway: One or two-way multi-level Mega-Way (between four to ten lanes width, two to four levels height).
• Filter: One-way exit or entrance to and from parking areas.
• Flyover: Skedway that passes over a city block (AKA Overzoom).
• Inter-Block Zoom: Maglev train-system which replaced the old Sky-Rail network in the late Twenty-first Century. Provides a link between all the city blocks in any given sector.
• Intersection: Road junction.
• Judge's Lane: Two-way road that runs parallel to major roadways, reserved for Justice Department usage.
• Median Strip: Protective barrier which prevents accidents in one half of a road from spreading to the other half.
• Mega Circular: Two-way, six-lane Meg-Way which bypasses through-sector traffic to benefit long-distance drivers.
• Meg-Way: Largest road design in Mega-City One. Two-way, between four to twenty lanes, and central reservation (AKA Megaway, Speedway, Throughway, X-Pressway).
• Parkarama: Ground vehicle park.
• Podport: Hover vehicle park.
• Skedway: One-way highway, between one to five lanes. Interskeds connect one skedway to another (AKA Feedway). Underskeds are single-lane roads, often reserved for public service traffic only, that pass underneath skeds. Overskeds are the same, but pass over skeds.
• Sky-Rail: Obsolete monorail public transit-system introduced in the early 21st century. One-third of Mega-City One still actively uses the Sky-Rail network while it awaits upgrading to the zoom-system. The largest Sky-Rail intersection in the City is Hell's Junction.
• Slipzoom: One-way, between one to four lanes, used for larger interchanges. An Underzoom (AKA Flyunder) is a single-lane road often reserved for public service traffic only that passes under a Slipzoom.
• Superslab: The longest Meg-Way in Mega-City One, bisecting the City from north to south. Twenty-four lanes, 1,220 kilometers in length (AKA Mega-City 500).
• Wayby: Small zones set aside Meg-Ways and Skedways in regular intervals where drivers can pull-off and temporarily park their vehicles.
• Zoomtube: The most recent traffic innovation in Mega-City One. An enclosed road-system where all traffic is platooned and computer-controlled for optimum speed and driver-safety.

History

As Judge Dredd stories are set 122 years into the future and progress forward in 'real time' (stories from 1977 are set in 2099, and stories from 2012 are set in 2134), they have an extensive fictional chronology.

Stories in earlier issues would link Dredd to the chronology of the Invasion!, Ro-Busters, and Harlem Heroes strips: Mega-City One's construction is mentioned in Ro-Busters once it had moved to 2000 AD, and in a story that follows from Invasion!, while Mega-City One appears in Harlem Heroes and its lead character Giant is the father of Judge Giant. The former two strips have since been retconned out of Dredd history.

• Before 2027: America's population is rapidly approaching one billion, and an urban conurbation now stretches from New York to Washington in an attempt to contain the populace of the East Coast states. This will eventually become the first Mega-City, a new kind of urban development to house greater numbers of people. The development causes huge amounts of civil unrest and gang-related crimes^[7]

• 2027: An alliance of street gangs, led by the P Street Posse, storm the White House itself. Due to intimidation of the jury, no convictions occur. This incident will lead to the creation of the Judge System to police the country. Eustace Fargo appointed Special Prosecutor for Street Crime by President Thomas Gurney.^[8]

• 2028: President Gurney re-elected due to his support for instant street justice.^[9]

• 2031: First deployment of the Judges in the United States, led by Chief Judge Fargo.^[10] Special centres train the new recruits, often hand-picked from the regular police, and old style judges have to undergo the new judge training program with the power to convict and sentence criminals on the spot.

• 2039: The success of Mega-City One inspires the creation of more Mega-Cities - Mega-City Two is planned to cover the Western seaboard and Texas City will cover Texas and other southern states. Other nations will follow..

• 2051: Fargo resigns and attempts suicide, but survives with serious injuries. He is secretly placed in suspended animation and his death is faked. Deputy Chief Judge Solomon becomes chief judge.^[11]

• 2052: Congress passes the Autonomy Act, giving extensive powers of self-government to the three American mega-cities. Each mega-city has its own chief judge: Solomon continues to serve as chief judge of Mega-City One.^[12]

• 2057: Deputy Chief Judge Goodman becomes chief judge and creates the Council of Five. Psi Division created.^[13]

• 2064: A new process of accelerated cloning, with DNA taken from senior Judges, is created by Morton Judd to quickly bolster Justice Department's ranks. Joe and Rico Dredd are two of the first clones from this process, growing to physiological age 5 in a matter of months.^[14]

• 2066: Six clones, including the Dredd twins, are inducted into the Academy of Law.^[15]

• 2068: President Robert L. Booth is elected, gaining support under the line that the rest of the world was living off America's backs.^[16] (It later emerges that he rigged the election.^[17])

• 2069: International relations are soured when Booth sends troops to seize control of foreign oil reserves.^[18]

• 2070: In response to growing international tensions and their impact on American foreign policy, Booth starts the Atomic Wars to mass public support. Despite Booth's promises, America's nuclear screens fail to keep out many of the retaliatory strikes.^[19] Most of the planet is devastated in a nuclear holocaust, and the world's Mega-Cities are among the few to survive relatively unscathed due to experimental laser defences. All Judges and the military are deployed to maintain order in the decaying society, with the Judges forced to constantly fight against soldiers for committing criminal acts. It is discovered Booth rigged the election and killed a witness to conceal the crime.^[20] Shocked and betrayed, the citizens of America rise up against the government and call for the Judges to take over the country. Fargo, secretly reawoken from suspended animation, advises Goodman to take over as ruler of the United States in a coup. Booth is sentenced to 100 years in suspended animation, but has enough loyal followers and robotic Mek-troops to fight a civil war against the Judges until 2071.^[21]

• 2071: The Battle of Armaggedon. At the heart of the Cursed Earth, near Mega-City Two, Booth's army is finally defeated at the cost of the lives of one hundred thousand judges and troopers.^[22] The Hiroshima Accord is settled by the various global Mega-Cities.^[23]

• 2072: Massive inflow on homeless refugees from the Cursed Earth pour into the Mega-Cities, causing a massive amount of block construction. Space is becoming even tighter. Genetic apartheid laws are soon brought in to keep mutants out of Mega-City One.

• 2083–86: Civil war breaks out between Mega-City One and Texas City, the latter feeling it is being dominated by the other Mega-Cities while MC-One and Two oppose its secession in the interests of unity and the highly valuable resources Texas owns. The war leads to years of stalemate, and Mega-City One decides the conflict is pointless and allows Texas to secede.^[24] Note: this event possibly retconned by story "Origins."

• 2088: Establishment of Luna-1, a moon-based Mega-City, by all three American Mega-Cities to renew and cement relations between them. Government of the colony is divided initially between all three cities, with a senior judge being sent every six months to take over as Judge-Marshal.^[25]

• 2099: Population is now over 800 million. Chief Judge Goodman, possessed by a malevolent psychic mutant called the Monkey, is forced to undermine the stability of the city to have it descend into anarchy; Judge Dredd takes the Monkey out.^[26] The Statue of Judgement is erected in honour of the Judges.^[27] Renegade droid Call-Me-Kenneth starts the highly destructive First Robot War, devastating large areas of the city.^[28] Judge Dredd becomes the last Judge-Marshal of Luna-1 to serve a six-month tour of duty: Judge Tex succeeds him as permanent Marshal of Luna-1.^[29]

• 2101: Deputy Chief Judge Cal, head of the Special Judicial Squad, has Goodman assassinated and assumes control. He brainwashes most of the Judges into obeying him, brings in alien Kleggs as mercenaries, and implements increasingly insane and dictatorial rules - twice sentencing the entire city to death! Judge Dredd leads a rebellion against him and eventually succeeds, with resistance member Judge Griffin taking over as chief judge. Under Cal, a vast wall has been built around Mega-City One. The powerful mutant Father Earth leads a massed attack on Mega-City One, destroying Power Tower (a controlled volcano) and unleashing a flood of lava, before being stopped. A few months later, an invasion of mutant spiders leads to the burning of entire sectors.

• 2102: Judge Death arrives in Mega-City One and kills dozens before he is captured. The dying Psi-Judge Feyy predicts an apocalypse will occur in 2120 that can only be averted if a figure known as the Judge Child, who will become Chief Judge, can be found; Judge Dredd leads a mission to retrieve the Child, only to determine him as evil and leave him stranded on an alien world.

• 2103: The Sov block of East-Meg One, using robotic pirate Captain Skank as a proxy, secretly seize control of Mega-City One nuclear weapons and launch an attack on the city, destroying several sectors; after being caught, they nuke one of their own sectors as compensation. Judge Death is freed by the other Dark Judges; they go on a killing spree in Billy Carter Block before their physical forms are destroyed.

• 2104: Sov Judge Orlok drugs the city water supply, increasing the aggression of the population and leading to block wars springing up across the entire city - which turns out to have just been a diversion. With the Judges tied up with the Block Mania, the Sov Judges of East-Meg One launch the Apocalypse War. A coordinated attack shatters Mega-City One's defences, leaves multiple blocks destroyed by nuclear weaponry (the south of the city faces "total nuke out!" killing 150 million), and leads to a massed invasion by Sov forces. A bitter resistance is put up by Judges and Citizen-Defence units, despite heavy losses and the death (after being brainwashed into a Sov agent) of Chief Judge Griffin. Victory is achieved when a team led by Dredd causes the nuclear devastation of the entire East-Meg One. Judge McGruder becomes the new chief judge and oversees the rebuilding of the devastated city.

• 2107: A time travel mission is deployed to 2120 to determine the truth of Feyy's death-bed prediction. The Mega-City One of the future is discovered to be devastated and ruled by demonic creatures (including a zombie Judge Dredd) under a mutated form of the Judge Child - now revealed to be responsible for the great disaster. The Judges take action to ensure this future is averted. Later the Dark Judges gain physical form again and, using personal teleporters, are causes massacres across the city - even in the Grand Hall of Justice - without being stopped. They are eventually defeated and trapped in dimensional limbo.

• 2108: Shojun the Warlord unleashes the demonic Seven Samurai on Mega-City One, killing thousands - including the head of Psi-Division. McGruder steps down and is replaced by Judge Silver. Pro-democracy activists take over a TV station and are executed live on air by Dredd.

• 2109: Under Silver's orders, Dredd leads the Judges in a dirty-tricks operation to undermine the upcoming Democratic March - including having Wally Squad (undercover) Judges in the crowd provoke a riot, so the Judges have an excuse to go in and use violence while seemingly having the moral high ground.

• 2110: Morton Judd and his Judge-clones - the Judda - launch an attack on the Hall of Justice. They are defeated and their base in the Oz Radback is destroyed. The Dredd-clone Kraken survives and is eventually turned into a Mega-City Judge.

• 2112: Fortean manifestations occur in the city and across the globe, as the subterranean Deros attempt to invade; an East Meg 2/MC1 Psi team stops them. Dredd resigns and takes the Long Walk, following doubts about the Judge System caused both by Kraken and his role in breaking up the Democratic March. Silver covers up Dredd's retirement and Kraken assumes Dredd's place. While in the Cursed Earth, Dredd is injured and rendered amnesiac by the Sisters of Death. Meanwhile the Sisters of Death are able to psychically influence Kraken into helping them cross over into Mega-City One and to free the Dark Judges from limbo. The city is turned into a Necropolis - the Judges are under psychic control, with Silver abandoning his post and being turned into a zombie for Death's amusement; decay, disease, starvation and suicide are rampant; and the Dark Judges hold daily cullings. A handful of judges who escaped brainwashing, including Dredd and McGruder returned from their Long Walks, are able to banish the Sisters, execute Kraken and capture the Dark Judges (except Death and the Sisters), but not before 60 million citizens have been killed. McGruder assumes the post of Chief Judge again, but without a Council of Five. The Hunters Club organises the sponsored charity massacre "Death Aid" for Necropolis orphans. The anonymous figure later known as Tempest takes covert control of Mega-City One's criminal underworld.

• 2113: Under Dredd's urging, a referendum is held where the citizens will vote whether or not, following the failure of the Judges to stop Necropolis, to bring back democracy. Judge Grice and others attempt to assassinate Dredd to stop this, and are arrested. The citizens, as Dredd anticipated, vote to keep the Judges - those few that can be bothered to vote. The undead Silver tries to reassume command but is executed for dereliction of duty.

• 2114: Judgement Day - the time-travelling Sabbat the Necromagus unleashes zombies upon every Mega-City on Earth. An international coalition of Judges is sent to take him out, but not before five entire Mega-Cities have been nuked when it appears they're lost to the zombies. The final death toll is three billion. Following the loss of many Judges to the zombies, McGruder instigates the Mechanismo project - robot Judges - to the outrage of many Senior Judges, as it becomes clear she is increasingly senile and unstable.

• 2115: Grice breaks out of the Titan penal colony and takes over the city by infecting the population with the deadly Meat Virus, incapacitating many Judges. After much random death and destruction, including the destruction of the Statue of Judgement, Grice is defeated. Dredd deliberately sabotages the Mechanismo project.

• 2116: A gathering of Senior Judges attempt to make McGruder step down but to no avail. After her pet Mechanismo project goes wrong and a rogue Mechanismo robot tries to kill her, she finally steps down from office. An election is held among the Judges and Judge Volt becomes the new chief judge.

• 2117: Satan emerges from the fallen Icarus asteroid, shrugs off every Justice Department attack and threatens to destroy the city; Psi-Judge Anderson barely defeats him.^[30]

• 2118: Judicial crackdown on the Frendz crime syndicate in Sector 301 leads to major retaliation, with heavy rioting and gang violence that puts the Sector's judges in a retreat. After a siege at Traffic Station Alamo, the battle is won by the Judges. McGruder dies in battle in the Cursed Earth. Mega-City One briefly attacked by dune sharks.

• 2121: Crime lord Nero Narcos triggers the Mark II Lawgivers to self-destruct and then starts the Second Robot War. The Judges are briefly overthrown before Dredd, with help from Brit-Cit, reprograms Narcos' robot reinforcements to turn on their comrades and the Judges are able to retake control. Judge Volt commits suicide over the event, which is hushed up; Judge Hershey becomes the new chief judge.

• 2123: An army composed of perps from parallel universes, led by an alter-dimensional Judge Cal, invade Mega-City One.

• 2124: Orlok captured, but not before releasing a virus that kills tens of thousands of citizens. Judge Death escapes confinement.

• 2125: Mutant terrorist Mr Bones attacks the Hall of Justice with a hostile alien species. Orlok put on trial and then executed on live TV.

• 2126: Terrorist group Total War triggers multiple nuclear bombs, resulting in the deaths of four million people.

• 2127: Hundreds of thousands of citizens have been left homeless by the bombings, and live in overcrowded, crime-ridden emergency camps. The Half-Life plague, spread by a traitor in Psi Division, spreads a wave of murderous violence that eventually kills one million people. The Sisters of Death launch another attack, with entire blocks being wiped out by plagues and poltergeist activity.

• 2128: Mega-City One leads a peacekeeping mission to Ciudad Barranquilla during a civil war; this turns out to be a pretense for regime change, putting in a new Supreme Judge that they can control.

• 2129: Death of Judge Fargo. A portal opens to the dark-matter composed fifth dimension Kaluza; demonic creatures invade the city, slaughtering whole sectors and causing crime-increasing psychic backlash until the Judges invaded Kaluza and shut the portal down.^[31] Thirty city-blocks designed by Findhorn Gask turn out to secretly be giant robots, which come to life and rampage through the city, before being convinced to stop and turned into a satellite city.^[32] Council of Five discusses and rejects a proposal by Dredd to end the mutant ban; rejection followed by a massive crackdown by Dredd on the city's Mutant Farm facilities. Attempted coup by Space Corps veterans under General Vincent. Serial killer PJ Maybe, under a false identity, becomes Mayor of Mega-City One.

• 2130: The anti-mutant laws are discussed again due to pressure from Dredd and repealed out of fear he will resign otherwise; there is widespread rioting by citizens as a result, followed by frequent hate crimes against mutant migrants.

• 2131: Events and disasters from the Bible devastate the Low Life. Senior judges, against the mutant rights laws, force a vote on replacing Hershey as chief judge in the hope of undoing the changes. Judge Francisco becomes chief judge, and the entire Council of Five is replaced. The decision is made to build townships for mutants, and Dredd is exiled to them.^[33] The townships will use mutants as Deputies and allow trial-by-jury. Subtle conflict exists between Francisco and his Council.

• 2132: Deputy Chief Judge Sinfield usurps Francisco using brainwashing drugs and becomes acting chief judge.^[34] Laws become even harsher for mutants. PJ Maybe attempts to assassinate Sinfield, hospitalising him, and his identity is discovered by the Judges. Sinfield is arrested and Francisco returns to office. MC-1 covertly deploys psychic weapons in Sino-Cit territory, testing how they can handle psi-warfare.^[35] After a vicious war with corrupt Judges, the Hondo yakuza take over the Low Life's criminal underworld.^[36]

• 2133: Francisco attempts to balance the budget with various cost-cutting measures, with the buzzword "the Big Community". A nuclear bomb is detonated in Sector 17, killing half a million people. The Low Life's Judges, particularly the Wally Squad, are purged due to criminal infiltration. ^[37] The Black Ops Division quietly assassinates the Township Chief Judge of mutant Township Three and his deputies, in order to put a less liberal Judge in charge. ^[38]New elections for Mayor are held, with several candidates killed by an escaped Maybe; East-Meg agents capture a prominent biologist and prepare to unleash a "Chaos virus" on the city. ^[39]

Other cities mentioned in Judge Dredd

The exact number, location, nature, and even name of megacities fluctuates depending on the writer and strip. Seven cities have been destroyed since the start of 2000 AD. Prog 701 showed a global map in Anderson: Shamballa, which was placed on the 2000 AD website in a post-Judgement Day version (now archived at 2000 AD Database^[40].

• Mega-City Two - in Southern California. Almost over-run by the 2T-Fru-T virus in 2100 but saved by the efforts of Mega-City One. The city was destroyed by a nuclear strike on the orders of Judge Dredd, after being over-run by zombies during the Judgement Day crisis. In 2133, the ruins are the home of various feuding Cursed Earth gangs and the few surviving Judges, hidden in bunkers, were killed. ^[41] In Chopper: Supersurf 13, it was reconstructed by Hondo-City authorities to house their surplus population, though details regarding the new incarnation were very vague; this idea was soon dropped after a change in editors, and in prog 1738's letters page then-editor Matthew Smith stated that the comic was "ignoring that particular continuity blip".

• Texas City - centred on the Houston conurbation, and covering more than just Texas. Originally called Mega-City Three (and given both names in the 701 world map); partially involved in policing Luna-1 in the early days. Fought a civil war against Mega-City One and Two (see History). Home of the Angel Gang and notable for its Wild West motifs. Began mutant clearances, in line with its fellow Mega-Cities, in 2102.^[42] No license is needed for any type of firearm. ^[43]

• Las Vegas - based entirely around gambling; there was a Judge system, but the Mafia usurped control of it after the Atomic War. Dredd threw out these Judges in 2100 and put the League Against Gambling in charge, but the old regime seized control again years later. Destroyed in 2126 by a nuclear strike launched by Judge Death.

• Honolulu - only shown on the prog 701 map.

• Uranium City - a small city based in Alaska. Possesses its own Justice Department, with rural settlements on its outskirts overseen by sherrifs.

• Bruja - shown on the online world map; appears to be Haiti.

• East-Meg One - Soviet Union. A former antagonist of Mega-City One's, behind multiple acts of aggression, it was destroyed by Judge Dredd during the Apocalypse War. Megagrad was built on its ruins. Many of the survivors gathered in the New Kremlin at the Mediterranean Free State. Survivors from the city have attempted numerous retributive actions against Mega-City One.

• East-Meg Two - Soviet Union. A glasnost period existed in East-Meg Two for several years, but after the assassination of Supreme Judge Traktorfaktori it has since returned to hostilities with Mega-City One. Under Traktorfaktori, it was involved in helping Mega-City One (and others) against the Deros threat and Judgement Day, with noted Judges Asimov and Brylkreem sacrificing themselves against these respective threats. Has attempted multiple covert operations against Mega-City One since.

• East-Meg Three - another communist-themed city based in northern China. Has since been retconned into Sino-Cit One (see below).

• Brit-Cit - in the south of England. Home of Detective-Judges Armitage and Treasure Steel, and the late Judge Armour who died during Judgement Day. The Judges operate out of the New Old Bailey and their uniforms are similar to those of the American Mega-Cities, save for a Union Flag-styled badge and lion emblems on their right shoulder pads (instead of eagles) and helmets. Chin tattoos are common amongst Brit-Cit Judges.

• Cal-Hab - (Caledonian Habitation Zone) in Scotland and under Brit-Cit jurisdiction. Home of Judge Ed MacBrayne and trashzine artist Kenny Who?.

• Murphyville - Mega-City of the Emerald Isle (Ireland); impoverished until it got Brit-Cit corporate funding, which turned into a theme park. Its most famous Judge is Charlie Joyce, who was supposed to be part of the Judgement Day team but was knocked unconscious and replaced by Johnny Alpha. The Judges wear uniforms based on the Irish flag and have a much more laid back approach to their jobs, similar to traditional police forces. Rarely sees violence, outside of Judgement Day and the Bloody Monday Morn terrorist attack in 2113.

• Ciudad Espana - in Spain. First shown in prog 701.

• Euro-Cit - Centered around Strasbourg and split into conurbs named after the parts of Europe they're in, such as the Berlin Conurb or Paris Quarter. Inhabitants are still referred to as French, German etc.

• Vatican City - now covering a larger area of Italy, and possessing its own Judge-Inquisitor force. Has a remit to provide a global defence force against demonic incursions, as well as having off-world spies;^[44] uses freelance agents like Devlin Waugh to this end.

• Italian City States - mentioned in Judge Dredd Megazine 3.15's reprint of Heavy Metal Dredd, includes Milan.

• Geneva - so far unseen; victim of a terrorist attack by Ursa Dancer, killing tens of thousands. (Mentioned in Sin City.)

• Mediterranean Free State - floating city-state of various buildings and detritus from global wars; inhabited by international refugees and dissidents; policed by the Free State Police, a traditional police force. East-Meg One survivors gathered there under the New Kremlin.

• Hondo City - in Japan. Originally referred to as Nip-Cit. Technologically advanced even in comparison to the other Mega-Cities, it still suffers from extremely conservative and traditional social elements, and the Yakuza have heavy influence within the Justice Department. The Judge-Inspectors wear uniforms based on the Japanese flag. It took until 2112 for the first female Judge to be approved - Judge-Inspector Inaba - but there have since been others, including in senior positions (seen in Lawcon).

• Sino-Cit One - in northern China, shown in the 701 world map; destroyed by nuclear strike on Judgement Day. Originally referred to as East-Meg Three, although that has since been retconned.

• Sino-Cit Two - in southern China. Shown in the 701 world map. Has become a rival of Mega-City One's, with both states attempting espionage and covert operations against each other.

• Hong Tong - in Hong Kong, and under dual Brit-Cit/Sino Cit control. Heavily dominated by the triads.

• Indo-City/Delhi-Cit/Nu Delhi - in India. Name has changed over time. Judge Anderson: Shamballa refers to the original Delhi being one of the Atomic War ruins (prog 704).

• Katmandu - shown in "Return of the Taxidermist", Megazine 2.37-46. Ruled by a brutal military junta in the 2080s, then by reformist religious leader Guru Mahama by 2116; held the 2116 Mega-Olympics. The generals killed Mahama and retook control, but were overthrown in a popular uprising.

• New Raj Protectorate - in India, seemingly a Brit-Cit overseas territory (mentioned in a 2008 Armitage story.)

• Bangkok - suffered massive assault in Judgement Day, almost falling. At some point (possibly still), there was a New Thai Confederacy.^[45]

• Djakarta - Indonesia. Born again cannibals assumed high office during the Deros crisis (prog 701); later destroyed by nuclear strike on Judgement Day.

• The Web - a network of Indonesian islands under Hondo-City jurisdiction, linked by mutant coral which has overrun the islands; used as a dumping ground for undesirable, and a lawlessness hellhole. Djakarta appears to have abandoned its islands rather than deal with the coral and crime problems. Lacks a Judge system but Hondo keeps a garrison there.

• Pan-Andes Conurb - in the Andes and based on the original city of Lima. In its first mention (The Wally Squad, Prog 390-2) it was carrying out "the purges". The city and Judge System was detailed in The Sugar Beat (prog 873-8), showing their Judge uniforms [1] and revealing them to be corrupt and incompetent.

• Mex-Cit - Mexico. First mentioned in Prog 626, shown in Prog 649 (both 2111 AD). However, the Luna-1 run of stories (set in 2099) showed Mexican judges, resembling Texas City Judges but with sombreros. In the Oz storyline (set in 2110 AD), Mexico (at least along the Texas City border) was the mutant-infested Mex-Zone.

• Ciudad Barranquilla - based on the sprawl of Buenos Aires, Argentina, also called Banana City and well known for its Judicial corruption and haven status for criminals. Dredd has worked undercover in the city, hunting down a rogue Mega-City One Judge. Invaded in 2128 by a Mega-City Coalition led by Mega-City One and Dredd himself, ostensibly to end wide spread human rights abuse through regime change. Judge Corzo was a Banana City Judge who was sent to defeat Sabbat during Judgement Day, but he sold out his team-mates in exchange for his life, only to be shot in the head by Dredd. The wealthy Judges provide their own uniforms which tend to vary in colours.

• South-Am City - based on the original city of Santiago, Chile. When shown in Judge Anderson: Shamballa (prog 701), it had soldiers holding a crowd back rather than Judges. Destroyed by nuclear strike on Judgement Day.

• Brasilia - based on the huge urban sprawl of Brasilia, Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro; destroyed by nuclear strike on Judgement Day. Previously the centre of the illegal coffee trade to Mega-City One.

• Sydney-Melbourne Conurb - in southeastern Australia, frequently referred to as Oz; one of the more relaxed and peaceful Mega-Cities.

• Solomon City - Solomon Islands, shown only in the 701 world map.

• Friendly City - appears to be Tonga, historically called "Friendly Islands"; shown only in the 701 world map.

• New Pacific City - appears to be Easter Island; shown only in the 701 world map.

• Casablanca - Suffered a severe attack on Judgement Day, almost falling. In the later Pan-African Judges series, Casablanca is ruled by martial law rather than a judge system. The later story Judge Dredd: Darkside introduces a Casablancan Judge force - via Judge Hassid - and implies that the legal system is based on Sufi principles. (According to Pan-African Judges, neighbouring Libya is a secular Islamic state and appears to be one of the few surviving nation-states in this future.)

• Luxor - in Egypt, now run under Ancient Egyptian religious law.

• Umar.

• Simba-City - central Africa, probably centred on Lagos and part of Pan-Africa.

• Zambia Metropolitan - mentioned in "Return of the Taxidermist".

• New Jerusalem - central Africa.

• Antarctic City - in Antarctica

• Atlantis - Somewhere in the Black Atlantic, a midway point in a transatlantic tunnel; overseen jointly by Brit-Cit and Mega-City One.

• Luna-1 - an extraterritorial city on the Moon. The city is protected by oxy-domes constructed of self-repairing cellu-foam, with oxygen originally supplied by the government-run Oxygen Board. Beyond that lay the unforgiving wastes of the ironically named Oxygen Desert. In 2099, it was still an expanding frontier, with new plots of land being opened to claimants; it strongly resembled the Wild West in many respects. Years later, it was a more modernised and highly cosmopolitan city-state, with international influences through foreign Judges. By 2127, soon after the privatisation of the Oxygen Board that left the supply in the hands of private monopolies, it was run-down, suffering from crime, unemployment and corruption. The Judge system is in operation here. Due to the low gravity there, the Judges ride hover versions of Lawmaster bikes and wield specially designed Lawgiver guns. They are not answerable to any Earth jurisidiction but traditionally the three North American Mega-Cities did send units of Judges to its Justice Department, governing under the title "the Triumverate"; they also appointed a Judge-Marshal from their cities every six months until 2100, when Dredd (acting as Marshal) promoted Deputy-Chief Tex to that position permanently. At some point, foreign cities began sending Judges as well. After Judgement Day, this practice has severely decreased due to the loss of native Judges. Only Mega-City One sends Judges now and a small token force at that, making most of the Luna-1 force natives; after the death of Tex, they also began re-sending Judge-Marshals. This sharp decrease in new Judges is a main reason for the increased corruption in the city.

• Puerto Luminae - another lunar colony, which refused to adopt the Judge system. The Mega-Cities instigated a trade embargo and isolated the colony, leading to social collapse. Birthplace of Drago San.

We've also heard mention of several traditional nations:

• Canadia - future Canada, briefly mentioned and shown in Judge Dredd: Mandroid stories. Unknown if it has a Judge force, but the law enforcement is shown to be weak and unable to prevent criminal settlements being set up on its border (instead hoping Mega-City One stops them).

• Neo-Cuba - seen once; originally a Sov ally, it switched allegiance to Mega-City One after they were tricked into believing the Sovs had backed a coup.

• Korea - mentioned in "Return of the Taxidermist". Presumed to be unified after the Atomic Wars.

• Mongolian Free State - a lawless area, home of many criminal activities in exchange for kickbacks (such as the Bad Mother show). Possessed its own military forces and was run by a President in 2122 (Prog 2001). East-Meg Two carried out the brutal Mongolian Clearances in 2125, killing millions;^[46] the Exclusion Zone hasn't been heard from since.

• New Zealand, mentioned in a joke by Australian character Jugs Mackenzie during "Oz".

• Scandinavian Confederation - so far unseen, but they possess an embassy in Mega-City One (shown in a 2008 Judge Dredd story, Regrets.) Swedish-built sex-meks (androids made for sexual use) are popular product in Mega-City One.

See also

• Judge (2000 AD)

References

External links

• Mega City One
• Travels in Toon Town – part 2, Building Design, September 26, 2007
• Lowlife: Creation Part Five: All The Joy I See Through These Architect's Eyes, by D'Israeli, April 1, 2009

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