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Is Dredd a superhero?

Started by kev67, 29 August, 2020, 12:47:58 AM

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kev67

Is Judge Dredd a superhero? I get the feeling he's actually not. For a start, it's not clear he's on the right side. Second, he's a member of a police service. He's not a lone vigilante. Dredd is the best judge there is, but he does not have any particular ability that is specific to himself. I would say Dr Who was more a superhero than an alien adventurer. He had the fancy equipment. He basically had superpowers. I would say 007 was more of a superhero than Judge Dredd, because he generally acts as a lone wolf.

Funt Solo

Well, none of those characters are superheroes.
++ A-Z ++  coma ++

Dandontdare

#2
Dredd is the protagonist but not the hero. He is the brutal enforcer for a repressive police state.

What elevates him to the heroic is that within that dystopian framework he is entirely incorruptible, dedicated only to duty and responsibility, and would risk his life without hesitation to save an innocent citizen, whether they're a slum-dweller or a millionaire.

Colin YNWA

Quote from: Dandontdare on 29 August, 2020, 03:12:03 AM
Dredd is the protagonist but not the hero. He is the brutal enforcer for a repressive police state.

Absolutely this.

Just because a character appears in a comic (media / art form) does mean they have any relationship with superheroes (genre).

lincnash

Quote from: kev67 on 29 August, 2020, 12:47:58 AM
Is Judge Dredd a superhero?
No.
HE IS THE LAW!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTvrLUopM4g

(metal with some swears, so not safe for little juve's ears).


The Enigmatic Dr X

Depends on your use of the word.

Yes, in that he is the titular character of a comic strip.

Yes, in popular culture shorthand.

No, if you actually read the strip.

No, if you require superpowers, ie super- or preternatural abilities.

He's less a superhero than Rambo and just as much a superhero as Batman.
Lock up your spoons!

pauljholden

No.

(strictly speaking a "superhero" can only exist in the Marvel or DC universe, as they've a joint trademark on the word, and have litigated in the past to stop other's using it, which is why you'll see non-big-two superheroes referred to as everything from Metahumans, ultrahumans, etc.)

Dredd is a part cyborg, tough lawman.

-pj

GordonR

—wears an over-elaborate costume
— has a gun that fires magic bullets
— is over 70, and still apparently unbeatable

Superhero.

pauljholden

Bah!

He/s never been killed and resurrec... oh wait.


IndigoPrime

I'd say no... but. No, in the sense that he's basically a cop, and most of his 'powers' can be hand-waved away by saying 'in the future'. But he does have a foot in the superhero camp when it comes to the costume and his invulnerability when certain writers *cough*Mark Millar*cough* are on the case.

I'd say Johnny Alpha veers closer to superhero territory, what with his magic X-ray eyes. But really Strontium Dog often feels more like a subversion of superhero tropes.

broodblik

I do not think so he does not fit the criteria  "a benevolent fictional character with superhuman powers, such as Superman."
When I die, I want to die like my grandfather who died peacefully in his sleep. Not screaming like all the passengers in his car.

Old age is the Lord's way of telling us to step aside for something new. Death's in case we didn't take the hint.

IndigoPrime

Although if we're going to leap down the rabbithole, where does Batman fit?

JayzusB.Christ

Quote from: IndigoPrime on 29 August, 2020, 11:43:58 AM
Although if we're going to leap down the rabbithole, where does Batman fit?

Neatly inside Robin's....

No, I'm better than that.
"Men will never be free until the last king is strangled with the entrails of the last priest"

Funt Solo

Quote from: JayzusB.Christ on 29 August, 2020, 01:17:12 PM
Neatly inside Robin's....

... sidecar!  No, I have that backwards...

++ A-Z ++  coma ++

TordelBack

#14
If Dredd isn't a superhero, then nor is Green Lantern.

Arguing that he's not a hero at all ignores about 90% of all Dredd stories. Daredevil (another crime-fighting  blind man with peculiar recuperative abilities and a very silly costume) has probably spent as high a proportion of his comics career doing villain-things as Joe has.

This seems to be tied into the notion that the behaviour of a hero should be aspirational and devoid of wrongdoing, which is a popular but wrongheaded theme in Star Wars fandom these days.