Should Dredd ever be killed off?

[Leigh S]

Snork is the story with a (4 panel) "what has this got to do with Dredd" bit aat teh end - the intro doesnt mention it, so might be recalling it from ain interview from the time - need to sort out that searchable database some day!

[Dark Jimbo]

[Greg M.]

Apart from one Wilderlands segment in the Megazine, I can't remember a single Dredd episode without at least one appearance of the man himself, or at least someone with identical genes.

I haven't read it for a while, but I'm sure there's Chopper-centric episodes of Oz he's not in - like the one with Cookie on the boat?

[I, Cosh]

Apart from one Wilderlands segment in the Megazine, I can't remember a single Dredd episode without at least one appearance of the man himself, or at least someone with identical genes.

I haven't read it for a while, but I'm sure there's Chopper-centric episodes of Oz he's not in - like the one with Cookie on the boat?

Definitely. Also, parts of Necropolis and pretty much all of Doomsday for MC-1.

[Greg M.]

Definitely. Also, parts of Necropolis and pretty much all of Doomsday for MC-1.

Oh yeah, of course - neither he nor Kraken are in the one where Mortis melts Julio.

[JayzusB.Christ]

Apart from one Wilderlands segment in the Megazine, I can't remember a single Dredd episode without at least one appearance of the man himself, or at least someone with identical genes.

I haven't read it for a while, but I'm sure there's Chopper-centric episodes of Oz he's not in - like the one with Cookie on the boat?

Yeah, you're spot on. My theory, and memory, have failed me.  Dredd's world does tend to chug along nicely without the man himself, it seems.

[Magnetica]

Not that I'm suggesting this is somehting I'd like to see, but given Dredd does age "real time", it isnt something that can be put off indefiinitely without removing that aspect of the strip, which in some ways would be just as potentially dangerous as killing him off.

I now think the best solution is to have a scene where Dredd is coming out of a medical and a Med Judge casually says something like " these clones are amazing, we never anticipated this but they age remarkably well. Although Dredd is nearly 80, he has the body of a 50 year old".

Should put the question to bed for a couple of decades at least.

[Richard]

Bit of a cop-out, that.

[JayzusB.Christ]

Bit of a cop-out, that.

It kind of worked for John Constantine and his demon blood.

[IAMTHESYSTEM]

If Dredd and Rico are a result of cloning tech why didn't the Justice department churn out a couple more every year? You could argue they might as well have replaced the whole Judge system with Dredd clones which would have led to very linear story telling and few if any female Judges but you can see the grim logic behind my twisted thinking. They had trouble with the Judda etc and you could claim that the original cloning schematics have been destroyed or lost due to the Apocalypse war and various other disasters but it seems quite easy to me to kill off Dredd-and then bring him back.

[Judge Olde]

When I was first reading Dredd back in prog 550 or so, I like the idea that he was just another Judge, not some sort of amazing best Judge ever - I think they've overly destroyed MC1 & perhaps best avoid killing him off by somehow nipping back in time to undo the Chaos rubbish would be a good idea.

[IndigoPrime]

If Dredd and Rico are a result of cloning tech why didn't the Justice department churn out a couple more every year?

As has been shown in the Prog, the Dredd strain is fundamentally flawed. I imagine Justice Department was therefore cautious about making too many mini-Dredds, lest they end up with Ricos. These days, I doubt they have the money.

[JayzusB.Christ]

If Dredd and Rico are a result of cloning tech why didn't the Justice department churn out a couple more every year?

As has been shown in the Prog, the Dredd strain is fundamentally flawed. I imagine Justice Department was therefore cautious about making too many mini-Dredds

It could be argued that there have been more misses  than hits, in fact. Rico 1, Kraken, Nimrod; Dolman didn't go as planned and even Fargo, the randy old bugger,  wasn't quite the disciplinarian our Joe is.

[Richard]

perhaps best avoid killing him off by somehow nipping back in time to undo the Chaos rubbish

That wouldn't work because he'd still be the same age in the new timeline.

[Misanthrope]

There were seven clones of Dredd metioned at the start of Blood Cadets, IIRC.