Editing Judge Dredd (section)

==Character and appearance==
[[File:Judge_dredd.png|right|frame|Judge Dredd from his first published story, as drawn by [[Mike McMahon (comics)|Mike McMahon]] in 1977. The character's appearance has remained essentially unchanged since, except for a more prominent jawline.]]
Joseph Dredd is the most famous of the [[Judge (2000 AD)|Street Judges]] that patrol [[Mega-City One]], empowered to instantly convict, sentence, and sometimes execute offenders. Dredd is armed with a "[[Lawgiver (Judge Dredd)|Lawgiver]]", a pistol programmed to recognise only his palm-print and capable of firing six types of [[ammunition]], a [[Baton (law enforcement)|daystick]], a [[boot knife]] and stun or gas [[grenade]]s. His helmet obscures his face, except for his mouth and jaw. He rides a large "Lawmaster" motorcycle equipped with machine-guns, a powerful [[laser]] cannon, and full [[artificial intelligence]] capable of responding to orders from the Judge and operating itself.

In an interview, Ezquerra commented on how he designed the character, stating he received the basic description of "a menacing policeman dressed in black and driving a motorbike." He later described his process on creating the character: "When I create a character, I'll do it fairly quickly, the longer you stay working on an idea, the more chances you have to spoil it and Dredd was not an exception. I draw the essentials: grim face, black suit, menacing helmet (based on the [[corinthian helmet|Greeks]]), protections, and gun readily available when sitting on the bike, after that I started to embellish the protections and bike with symbols, maybe a couple of days in total."<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://homepage.eircom.net/~okku/scifi/carlos_e.htm|title=CARLOS EZQUERRA INTERVIEW|website=homepage.eircom.net}}</ref>

Dredd's entire face is never shown in the strip. This began as an unofficial guideline, but soon became a rule.<ref>Jarman & Acton, pp. 74–75.</ref> As [[John Wagner]] explained: "It sums up the facelessness of justice − justice has no soul. So it isn't necessary for readers to see Dredd's face, and I don't want you to".<ref>Jarman & Acton p. 75</ref>

On rare occasions, Dredd's face has been seen in flashbacks to his childhood; but these pictures lack detail.<ref>''2000 AD'' #30 and 1187</ref> In an early story, Dredd is forced to remove his helmet and the other characters react as if he is disfigured, but his face was covered by a faux censorship sticker.<ref>Jarman & Acton, pp. 56 and 74.</ref> In prog 52, during Dredd's tenure on the Lunar Colonies, he uses a 'face-change' machine to impersonate the [[Rondo Hatton#Legacy|crooked lawyer]] of a gang of bank robbers.<ref>"The Face Change Crimes" in ''2000 AD'' #52 (18/2/1978), written by John Wagner, with art by Brian Bolland. Page 14.</ref>

In Carlos Ezquerra's original design, Dredd had large lips, "to put a mystery as to his racial background".<ref>Jarman & Acton, p. 22.</ref> Not all of the artists who worked on the strip were told of this. [[Mike McMahon (comics)|Mike McMahon]] drew Dredd as a black man, while [[Brian Bolland]] and [[Ron Smith (artist)|Ron Smith]] drew him as white. The strip was not yet printed in colour, and this went unnoticed. The idea was dropped.{{when|date=January 2018}}<ref>Jarman & Acton, pp. 89–90.</ref>

Time passes in the ''Judge Dredd'' strip in real time, so as a year passes in life, a year passes in the comic. The first Dredd story, published in 1977, was set in 2099, 122 years in the future, and so stories published in {{CURRENTYEAR}} are set 122 years in the future, in {{#expr:{{CURRENTYEAR}}+122}}. Consequently, as former editor [[Alan McKenzie]] explains, "every year that goes by Dredd gets a year older – unlike [[Spider-Man]], who has been a university student for the past twenty-five years!".<ref>Jarman & Acton, p. 112.</ref> Therefore, Dredd was 38 when he first appeared, but is now {{age|1939}} years old, with {{age|1957}} years of active service (2079–{{#expr:{{CURRENTYEAR}}+122}}), and for almost 30 years Dredd's age and fitness for duty were recurring plot points (in prog 1595 (2008), Dredd was diagnosed with benign [[Duodenal cancer|cancer of the duodenum]]).

How Dredd's aging would be addressed was a source of reader speculation until 2016, when writer [[Michael Carroll (Irish writer)|Michael Carroll]] and artist Ben Willsher published the story "Carousel",<ref>''Judge Dredd Megazine'' #375.</ref> in which Dredd is ordered to undertake rejuvenation treatment that restores him to his physical prime. Regarding the possible death of the character, in an interview with ''[[Empire (film magazine)|Empire]]'' in 2012 Wagner said: "There could be many ways to end it, but the probability is that I won't still be around when it happens! I would love to write it, but I can't see it happening. I'll leave the script in my will".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.empireonline.com/interviews/interview.asp?IID=1530|title=Exclusive: John Wagner And Alex Garland Talk Dredd|work=empireonline.com|access-date=11 July 2012|archive-date=18 October 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121018165841/http://www.empireonline.com/interviews/interview.asp?IID=1530|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Weapon===
The '''Lawgiver''' is a fictional weapon used by the [[Judge (2000 AD)|Judges]] including ''Judge Dredd''. The Lawgiver is a [[action (firearms)#Autoloading operation|self-loading]] handgun featuring manual and automatic focusing and targeting, plus a built-in computer capable of controlling its operation. An in-line gunsight shows the view directly down the barrel. A Lawgiver can only be operated by its designated Judge owner, whose palm print is programmed into the gun's memory. Any attempt by a non-designated user to fire a Lawgiver causes the weapon to self-destruct (a feature introduced by writer [[Malcolm Shaw (comics)|Malcolm Shaw]]).<ref>"The Wreath Murders," in ''2000 AD'' #24, 6 August 1977</ref>

The gun fires six different kinds of rounds, which a Judge can switch via voice command:<ref name ="SF:UK">O'Brien, Daniel. "SF:UK: how British science fiction changed the world," Reynolds & Hearn, 2000{{better source|date=March 2024}}</ref>
*''Standard execution'' – A standard bullet.
*''Heat Seeker'' or ''Hot Shot'' – Heatseeker rounds lock onto the target's heat source.
*''Ricochet'' – A bullet coated with rubber. Ricochet rounds can bounce off solid surfaces while retaining enough kinetic energy to penetrate flesh. This enables the Judge to, for example, kill a perp that is using a human shield, bouncing their shot off a back wall and hitting the target from behind.
*''Incendiary'' – A [[napalm]] round.
*''Armour Piercing'' – Useful against robots and armoured opponents.
*''High-Explosive'' (Hi-Ex) – An explosive shell.

As well as the usual six rounds listed above, a stun shot has also been depicted in the comic, and a variety of other rounds have been shown in the films.