History of Mega-City One

This article contains a chronological history of the fictional city of Mega-City One, featured in the Judge Dredd stories. When the series first began in 1977 the series was set in the year 2099 and the present day in the story has incremented since then, so the universe of Judge Dredd can be said to be 122 years in our future.

2023

Work is begun on building a vast "Mega-City" around New York, intended to house 300 - 400 million people and so ease America's severe over-population problem. (At this time the total population of the United States is approaching 1 billion).

2031

Completion of Mega-City One and the establishment of a new policing system to cope with the articular problems posed by such a concentrated mass of humanity - the Judges. The Judges are hand-picked, exhaustively trained upholders of the law. Specifically trained to cope with the tensions provoked by over-crowding, they hold a more senior post than the regular police. The first Chief Judge is Judge Fargo, the "Father Of Justice", who is responsible only to the President himself.

2040-2047

Mega-Cities Two and Three are constructed each to accommodate 200 million inhabitants.

2051

Judge Fargo dies. Judge Solomon, under pressure from his colleagues, succeeds him as Chief Judge of Mega-City One.

2058

Chief Judge Solomon steps down in favour of Judge Goodman. His reason: "I wish to return to the streets".

2066

Joe and Rico Dredd are picked out at Genetic Control as perfect Judge Material. As accelerated clone births (a new process) they are able to complete their Judge training in record time.

2070

President Robert L. Booth initiates the Atomic Wars which devastate most of the USA, the USSR and Europe. In America the three Mega-Cities escape the full brunt of the war, thanks to the new, experimental laser defences secretly installed in 2069. The citizens of America depose President Booth and petition the Judges to take control of the country.

2071

The "Battle Of Armageddon". Booth's Presidential Guard, still fighting on in the Cursed Earth, is finally defeated at the cost of 100,000 Judges and Mek-Troops. Judge Solomon, acting as Grand Judge of all three Mega-Cities, pronounces the "Judgement of Solomon". This states that ex-President Booth should be put into suspended animation and entombed in Fort Knox for 100 years.

2072

An influx of refugees from the ruins of Europe and the Cursed Earth swells the post-war populations of the Mega-Cities; Mega-City One: 550 million, Mega-City Two: 350 million, and Mega-City Three: 250 million.

2079

Joe and Rico Dredd graduate from The Academy of Law. Rico immediately begins to operate a protection racket... and is arrested by his brother and sent to the judicial penal colony on Titan.

2083-2086

Civil war breaks out between Mega-City One and Mega-City Three. The latter wishes to obtain independence and an individual identity outside of The American Triumvirate of Mega-Cities. This move is opposed by the other two Mega-Cities in the interests of solidarity and the valuable resources controlled by the Texans. The war ends in stalemate and, considering further conflict to be pointless, Mega-City One allows Mega-City Three to secede and declare independence. Mega-City Three adopts the official name of Texas City, while the other three cities forge a stronger link by forming the "Union".

2088

Luna-1 is established, ostensibly as a serious American colony on the moon, but mainly to better and cement relations with Texas City. Divided equally between the three Cities, the moon base is intended to demonstrate that while Texas City remains firmly outside the Union, it can still co-operate with its larger counterparts.

2099

The people of Mega-City One honour the Judges by unveiling the Statue of Judgement. City population is now 800 million. A robot rebellion, led by "Call-me-Kenneth", brings large scale destruction to the city before it is finally crushed by Judge Dredd.

2100

A deadly plague, virus strain 2T(FRU)T, threatens the very existence of Mega-City Two. A mission to carry the antidote from Mega-City One is successful.

2101

Chief Judge Goodman is assassinated on the orders of Judge Cal, SJS chief, who succeeds him as Chief Judge to begin a 100-day reign of terror.

2102

The resistance to Cal, led by Judge Dredd, finally succeed in deposing him. Judge Griffin, formerly of the Academy of Law, is appointed as Chief Judge.

2104

Supreme Judge Bulgarin of East Meg One commences the "Apocalypse War" with an initial nuclear strike on Mega-City One. Ultimately the invaders are repelled, but Chief Judge Griffin dies during the war. 65% of Mega-City One is left in ruins and over 400 million people lie dead. Judge McGruder, head of SJS, is appointed as Chief Judge.

2108

Chief Judge McGruder takes "The Long Walk" to the Cursed Earth after resigning over the Seven Samurai Incident. Judge Tutor Silver (Academy of Law), is sworn in as Chief Judge.

2110

Former renegade member of the Council of Five at the time of Chief Judge Fargo, Morton Judd, uses genetically and technologically enhanced stolen Judge stock in an attempt to seize control of Mega-City One. Using Judd's own teleporter, Judge Dredd sends a nuclear device to the heart of the Judda base - Ayers Rock, Oz. The base, Judd and his Judda are destroyed in the ensuing blast.

2111

Judge Dredd, disillusioned with the Judge system, secretly takes the Long Walk to the Cursed Earth.

2112

The Dark Judges - Death, Fear, Fire and Mortis - using the Sisters of Death - Nausea and Phobia - seize control of Mega-City One and create Necropolis - The City of the Dead. The Dark Judges are eventually defeated, but not until 60 million Mega-City One citizens are killed. Former Chief Judge McGruder is unofficially re-instated as Chief Judge.

2113

Chief Judge Silver returns, but is executed as being "Unfit" to be Chief Judge. In the first democratic referendum since the Judges took control, the people of Mega-City One vote to keep the Judges in power.

2114

The Necromagus Sabbat, from a future timeline, comes to Earth and creates "Judgement Day". All of the dead on the entire planet rise up and attack the living. In an effort to stop the cities that fall to Sabbat being used as "zombie factories", Mega-City Two, Sino-Cit, Djakarta, South-Am City and Brasilia are nuked. Sabbat is traced to the Radlands of Ji and defeated by a combined force of the world's best judges. The total death toll for the entire planet stands at a staggering 3 billion people.

2115

A large number of the renegade judges imprisoned on Titan take control and escape the penal colony. Using the colony's shuttles they fly to Earth and directly assault the Grand Hall of Justice in Mega-City One. By using an alien virus, originally to be tested on themselves, the terrorists force the Judges from the city and into the Cursed Earth. As a symbol of their new power the terrorists, led by ex-Judge Grice, destroy the Statue Of Judgement, as well as setting most of the city ablaze. Eventually the Judges, led by Judge Dredd, repel the attackers and the terrorists are executed.

2116

Judge Dredd is sentenced to imprisonment on Titan by Chief Judge McGruder, after he falsifies evidence concerning the development of the Mechanismo project. Chief Judge McGruder resigns after a visit to the Mega-City One Colony on Hestia, the tenth planet, goes disastrously wrong and reveals the newly modified Mechanismo MkIIA robots to be dangerously defective. She is replaced by Judge Volt, Chief of Sector 53.

2120

The disaster predicted by Feyy does not come to pass. The "Zombie Dredd" stored in the Black Museum spontaneously reanimates, but is destroyed by Dredd.

2121

Dredd is captured by Orlok the Assassin and taken to the new Kremlin to stand trial. He escapes, causing the destruction of the floating Kremlin.
Nero Narcos programs the new Mark 11 Lawgiver to self-destruct and robots to turn on the Judges after his signal is given. He then defeats the Judges with assassinator robots. With help from Brit-Cit, Dredd leads a team which reprograms Narcos' robot reinforcements to turn on their comrades.

2126

The terrorist group Total War set off a number of bombs, placed around the city, destroying whole city blocks and killing many thousands of citizens

2127

The present day