Undercity (Judge Dredd)
Encyclopedia
The Undercity is a part of the fictional universe
featured in the Judge Dredd
series that appears in the UK
comic book
2000 AD
.
that by the end of the twenty first century they were simply sealed over with concrete, and a new city was built on top. This city was to be named Mega-City One
, whilst the remains of the old city below became known as "the Undercity". (Tempest established that a few significant buildings were moved to the Mega-City for the tourists)
The only Judges
who operate in the Undercity are the few who have taken the long walk
and elected to serve in the Undercity.
Hondo City
(future Japan
) also has an Undercity, shown in the second Shimura storyline.
s and criminals (or perps as they are known in the comic), and has featured in several Judge Dredd stories. These always involve confrontations with the inhabitants (often blind and sometimes mutated), as well as travel to some remarkably well-preserved locations that would still be familiar to present-day inhabitants of the region.
(along with undercity denizen Fergee) lead the resistance against the insane Judge Cal
;
, while the city is getting back on its feet, a crack in Norman Pitlik block opens. This cleft extends deep below the city allowing a number of strange creatures to the surface – werewolves
.
The judges manage to defeat them but it turns out one of the werewolves is Judge Bram, who had taken the Long Walk. An infected Judge Korkoran also transformed before being subdued by a headbutt from Dredd. With these subjects to work on Tech Judge Cassidy discovers a radioactive compound that is causing the changes, which he names Cassidium.
McGruder orders Dredd to track down the source and neutralise it and so he descends into East Undercity (old New York
). He makes it to below Norman Pitlik block and then follows the werewolf tracks to Broadway where he loses the trail. At which point he stumbles across a mob of robots riding an old steam train with an albino werewolf tied to the front.
The beast is the leader of the werewolf pack and in a fight with the robots it gets free. This allows Dredd to track the creature back to the others in Central Park
. It is here that he finds the source of the Cassidium. He neutralises it but has to fight his way out and is bitten by the white werewolf. As Dredd's transformation starts he uses his lawmaster to summon the other werewolves to a trap over a rad pit.
He kills the last of the werewolves but only in the nick of time as he is transformed. Judge Prager turns up and spots that the beast is Dredd at the last moment. He uses Stumm gas to subdue him and carries him to the gates of the Undercity. Delivering his cargo he turns around and heads straight back down into Undercity again.
, McGruder and a small band of cadet judges use the Big Smelly river (previously the Ohio River
) to travel beneath the city in order to avoid and fight back against the Sisters of Death
He escapes and returns to the Undercity with Dredd in pursuit. Following the sound of drums Dredd discovers the real threat that Prager had come to warn them about. In the old White House
, Bones has raised an army of Trogs that he will unleash on the city. With the help of the lupine Prager, Dredd scatters the poor excuse for an army. As he makes his escape Bones threatens "I'll be back -- an' next time I'll turn their damned city into a killing ground" (prog 1316). What this threat is becomes clear 6 issues later.
Prager's lycanthropy
appears to be a different strain, as it is brought on only by the full moon, but he declines the offer to see if it can be cured: "real big buzz once a month, I can tell you." (prog 1316) So, with a change of uniform (he takes Dredd's) and all Dredd's spare ammo, he returns to his beat under the city.
into Mega-City One. The hive is grown out of sight in the Undercity right below the Grand Hall of Justice
and his plan is to use explosives to blow a hole big enough to flood the centre of justice with aliens.
of Psi Division
led a rescue mission that ran into the supernatural Shadow King and his vampire, leading to Karyn being possessed (and possibly having her mind destroyed) by the monster.
takes place primarily in the Undercity. Ninja crime lord Tempest, the secret criminal overlord of Mega-City One, fled to the Undercity after The Doomsday Scenario
, and has spent the strips attempting to regain wealth or to dominate the Undercity. In the first Tempest, a rogue bomb-droid turned zealot named Mes-1-A tried to turn the Undercity into a mechanical paradise, killing troggies and turning them into cyborgs.
Fictional universe
A fictional universe is a self-consistent fictional setting with elements that differ from the real world. It may also be called an imagined, constructed or fictional realm ....
featured in the Judge Dredd
Judge Dredd
Judge Joseph Dredd is a comics character whose strip in the British science fiction anthology 2000 AD is the magazine's longest running . Dredd is an American law enforcement officer in a violent city of the future where uniformed Judges combine the powers of police, judge, jury and executioner...
series that appears in the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
2000 AD
2000 AD (comic)
2000 AD is a weekly British science fiction-oriented comic. As a comics anthology it serialises a number of separate stories each issue and was first published by IPC Magazines in 1977, the first issue dated 26 February. IPC then shifted the title to its Fleetway comics subsidiary which was sold...
.
Background
In the comic strip, the cities of the Eastern Seaboard of the United States had become so pollutedPollution
Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into a natural environment that causes instability, disorder, harm or discomfort to the ecosystem i.e. physical systems or living organisms. Pollution can take the form of chemical substances or energy, such as noise, heat or light...
that by the end of the twenty first century they were simply sealed over with concrete, and a new city was built on top. This city was to be named Mega-City One
Mega-City One
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...
, whilst the remains of the old city below became known as "the Undercity". (Tempest established that a few significant buildings were moved to the Mega-City for the tourists)
The only Judges
Judge (2000 AD)
Judge is a title held by several significant characters in the Judge Dredd series, which appears in the British comics 2000 AD and Judge Dredd Megazine...
who operate in the Undercity are the few who have taken the long walk
The Long Walk (Judge Dredd)
The Long Walk is an event occasionally depicted in the long-running British comic strip Judge Dredd, which appears in 2000 AD and the Judge Dredd Megazine. It also featured in the 1995 film starring Sylvester Stallone....
and elected to serve in the Undercity.
Hondo City
Hondo City
Hondo City is a huge fictional city covering most of Japan in the Judge Dredd comic book series. Most of its development comes from the Judge Dredd Megazine strip Shimura by Robbie Morrison.-Description:...
(future Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
) also has an Undercity, shown in the second Shimura storyline.
Important Undercity stories
The Undercity is inhabited by various mutantMutant
In biology and especially genetics, a mutant is an individual, organism, or new genetic character, arising or resulting from an instance of mutation, which is a base-pair sequence change within the DNA of a gene or chromosome of an organism resulting in the creation of a new character or trait not...
s and criminals (or perps as they are known in the comic), and has featured in several Judge Dredd stories. These always involve confrontations with the inhabitants (often blind and sometimes mutated), as well as travel to some remarkably well-preserved locations that would still be familiar to present-day inhabitants of the region.
The Day the Law Died
Dredd and a small band of rebel JudgesJudge (2000 AD)
Judge is a title held by several significant characters in the Judge Dredd series, which appears in the British comics 2000 AD and Judge Dredd Megazine...
(along with undercity denizen Fergee) lead the resistance against the insane Judge Cal
Judge Cal
Chief Judge Cal is a fictional character in the Judge Dredd comic strip in 2000 AD. He was loosely based on the real life Roman emperor Caligula, who is widely considered to have been insane...
;
Cry of the Werewolf
In the aftermath of the Apocalypse WarApocalypse War
The Apocalypse War is a storyline from the comic strip Judge Dredd, first published in British comic 2000 AD in 1982. A sequel to the story "Block Mania", it was written by John Wagner and Alan Grant and illustrated by Carlos Ezquerra...
, while the city is getting back on its feet, a crack in Norman Pitlik block opens. This cleft extends deep below the city allowing a number of strange creatures to the surface – werewolves
Werewolf
A werewolf, also known as a lycanthrope , is a mythological or folkloric human with the ability to shapeshift into a wolf or an anthropomorphic wolf-like creature, either purposely or after being placed under a curse...
.
The judges manage to defeat them but it turns out one of the werewolves is Judge Bram, who had taken the Long Walk. An infected Judge Korkoran also transformed before being subdued by a headbutt from Dredd. With these subjects to work on Tech Judge Cassidy discovers a radioactive compound that is causing the changes, which he names Cassidium.
McGruder orders Dredd to track down the source and neutralise it and so he descends into East Undercity (old New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
). He makes it to below Norman Pitlik block and then follows the werewolf tracks to Broadway where he loses the trail. At which point he stumbles across a mob of robots riding an old steam train with an albino werewolf tied to the front.
The beast is the leader of the werewolf pack and in a fight with the robots it gets free. This allows Dredd to track the creature back to the others in Central Park
Central Park
Central Park is a public park in the center of Manhattan in New York City, United States. The park initially opened in 1857, on of city-owned land. In 1858, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux won a design competition to improve and expand the park with a plan they entitled the Greensward Plan...
. It is here that he finds the source of the Cassidium. He neutralises it but has to fight his way out and is bitten by the white werewolf. As Dredd's transformation starts he uses his lawmaster to summon the other werewolves to a trap over a rad pit.
He kills the last of the werewolves but only in the nick of time as he is transformed. Judge Prager turns up and spots that the beast is Dredd at the last moment. He uses Stumm gas to subdue him and carries him to the gates of the Undercity. Delivering his cargo he turns around and heads straight back down into Undercity again.
Necropolis
Judges Dredd, AndersonJudge Anderson
Judge Cassandra Anderson is a fictional character that started as a supporting player in the comic story Judge Dredd of 2000 AD and eventually rose in prominence and became the star of her own series, which is entitled Anderson: Psi-Division. It was created by writer John Wagner and artist Brian...
, McGruder and a small band of cadet judges use the Big Smelly river (previously the Ohio River
Ohio River
The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...
) to travel beneath the city in order to avoid and fight back against the Sisters of Death
Out of the Undercity
Over a decade after “Cry of the Werewolf” a battered figure bangs on the gates to the Undercity. As he has a badge they open the door to find Judge Prager who collapses (showing the signs of 20 years below the city). He is taken to a hospital and offered a special dispensation so he can return to the surface. He rejects this and seems intent on getting some more ammunition and returning underground. However, the full moon rises and it is clear he has also become infected and is a werewolf himself.He escapes and returns to the Undercity with Dredd in pursuit. Following the sound of drums Dredd discovers the real threat that Prager had come to warn them about. In the old White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
, Bones has raised an army of Trogs that he will unleash on the city. With the help of the lupine Prager, Dredd scatters the poor excuse for an army. As he makes his escape Bones threatens "I'll be back -- an' next time I'll turn their damned city into a killing ground" (prog 1316). What this threat is becomes clear 6 issues later.
Prager's lycanthropy
Lycanthropy
Lycanthropy is the professed ability or power of a human being to undergo transformation into a werewolf, or to gain wolf-like characteristics. The term comes from Greek Lykànthropos : λύκος, lykos + άνθρωπος, ànthrōpos...
appears to be a different strain, as it is brought on only by the full moon, but he declines the offer to see if it can be cured: "real big buzz once a month, I can tell you." (prog 1316) So, with a change of uniform (he takes Dredd's) and all Dredd's spare ammo, he returns to his beat under the city.
Judge Dredd vs. Aliens
Mr Bones returned as promised bringing XenomorphXenomorph (Alien)
The Alien is a fictional endoparasitoid extraterrestrial species that is the primary antagonist of the Alien film series. The species made its debut in the 1979 film Alien, and reappeared in its sequels Aliens , Alien 3 , and Alien Resurrection , two crossovers Alien vs...
into Mega-City One. The hive is grown out of sight in the Undercity right below the Grand Hall of Justice
Grand Hall of Justice
The Grand Hall of Justice of Mega-City One is a fictional building in the Judge Dredd comic strip in 2000 AD. It actually refers to three different buildings which existed at different times...
and his plan is to use explosives to blow a hole big enough to flood the centre of justice with aliens.
Descent
Dredd and Judge KarynJudge Karyn
Judge Karyn is a fictional character from the Judge Dredd comic strip in British comic 2000 AD.-Fictional character biography:Karyn, a psi judge, first worked with Dredd in the initial Raptaur invasion and would work alongside him several times afterwards. She primarily handled supernatural threats...
of Psi Division
Psi Division
Psi-Division is a fictional organisation in the Judge Dredd and Anderson: Psi-Division comic strips in 2000 AD and Judge Dredd: The Megazine. It is the branch of Mega-City One's Justice Department that deals in supernatural phenomena, using Judges with psychic abilities. Psi-Judges are often...
led a rescue mission that ran into the supernatural Shadow King and his vampire, leading to Karyn being possessed (and possibly having her mind destroyed) by the monster.
Tempest
The Tempest spinoff strip by Al EwingAl Ewing
Al Ewing is a British comics writer who has mainly worked in the small press and for 2000 AD.-Biography:Al Ewing began his career writing stories in the five-page Future Shocks format for 2000AD...
takes place primarily in the Undercity. Ninja crime lord Tempest, the secret criminal overlord of Mega-City One, fled to the Undercity after The Doomsday Scenario
The Doomsday Scenario
The Doomsday Scenario is the collective name of a series of Judge Dredd comic stories published in 2000 AD and the Judge Dredd Megazine in 1999...
, and has spent the strips attempting to regain wealth or to dominate the Undercity. In the first Tempest, a rogue bomb-droid turned zealot named Mes-1-A tried to turn the Undercity into a mechanical paradise, killing troggies and turning them into cyborgs.
Publication
- Judge DreddJudge DreddJudge Joseph Dredd is a comics character whose strip in the British science fiction anthology 2000 AD is the magazine's longest running . Dredd is an American law enforcement officer in a violent city of the future where uniformed Judges combine the powers of police, judge, jury and executioner...
:- "Cry of the Werewolf" (by John WagnerJohn WagnerJohn Wagner is a comics writer who was born in Pennsylvania in 1949 and moved to Scotland as a boy. Alongside Pat Mills, Wagner was responsible for revitalising British boys' comics in the 1970s, and has continued to be a leading light in British comics ever since.He is best known for his work on...
/Alan Grant and Steve DillonSteve DillonSteve Dillon is a British comic book artist, from Luton, Bedfordshire, best known for his work with writer Garth Ennis on Hellblazer, Preacher and The Punisher.-Biography:...
, in 2000 AD #322-328, 1983) - "Out of the Undercity" (by John WagnerJohn WagnerJohn Wagner is a comics writer who was born in Pennsylvania in 1949 and moved to Scotland as a boy. Alongside Pat Mills, Wagner was responsible for revitalising British boys' comics in the 1970s, and has continued to be a leading light in British comics ever since.He is best known for his work on...
and Carl CritchlowCarl CritchlowCarl Critchlow is a British fantasy and science fiction comic illustrator. He is perhaps best known for his character Thrud the Barbarian, which originally appeared in White Dwarf magazine, and for his work for the Lobster Random comics....
, in 2000 AD #1313-1316, 2003) - Judge Dredd vs. AliensJudge Dredd vs. AliensJudge Dredd vs. Aliens is an intercompany crossover, featuring Judge Dredd and the Alien from the Alien franchise. It was published weekly in 2000 AD in 2003.-Plot:...
: Incubus (with writers John WagnerJohn WagnerJohn Wagner is a comics writer who was born in Pennsylvania in 1949 and moved to Scotland as a boy. Alongside Pat Mills, Wagner was responsible for revitalising British boys' comics in the 1970s, and has continued to be a leading light in British comics ever since.He is best known for his work on...
and Andy DiggleAndy DiggleAndy Diggle is a British comic book writer and former editor of 2000 AD. He is best known for his work on The Losers, Swamp Thing, Hellblazer, Adam Strange and Silent Dragon at DC Comics and for his run on Thunderbolts and Daredevil after his move to Marvel.-Career:Diggle took over editing 2000 AD...
and artist Henry FlintHenry FlintHenry Flint is a British comic book artist who has worked mainly for British sci-fi comic 2000AD.-Biography:Flint has established a cult following for his hyper-detailed and wildly inventive work on series such as Judge Dredd, Zombo,,ABC Warriors, Shakara, Low Life and Aliens.A recent project was...
, in 2000 AD2000 AD (comic)2000 AD is a weekly British science fiction-oriented comic. As a comics anthology it serialises a number of separate stories each issue and was first published by IPC Magazines in 1977, the first issue dated 26 February. IPC then shifted the title to its Fleetway comics subsidiary which was sold...
#1332-1335, 20032003 in comics-January:* January 2: Kid Colt artist Jack Keller dies at age 80.- April :* Action Comics #800: Double-sized anniversary issue, "A Hero's Journey," by Joe Kelly, Pascual Ferry, and Duncan Rouleau...
, tpbTrade paperback (comics)In comics, a trade paperback is a collection of stories originally published in comic books, reprinted in book format, usually capturing one story arc from a single title or a series of stories with a connected story arc or common theme from one or more titles...
, 104 pages, RebellionRebellion DevelopmentsRebellion is a British computer games company, based in Oxford, who are most famous for the first Aliens vs. Predator computer game. It has published comic books since 2000 and launched its own book imprint, Abaddon Books, in 2006.-History:...
, 2003, ISBN 1-904265-10-3, Dark HorseDark Horse ComicsDark Horse Comics is the largest independent American comic book and manga publisher.Dark Horse Comics was founded in 1986 by Mike Richardson in Milwaukie, Oregon, with the concept of establishing an ideal atmosphere for creative professionals. Richardson started out by opening his first comic book...
, 2004, ISBN 1-56971-983-7) - "Descent" (by Gordon RennieGordon RennieGordon Rennie is a comics writer, responsible for White Trash: Moronic Inferno, as well as several comic strips for 2000 AD and novels for Warhammer Fantasy....
and Boo CookBoo CookBoo Cook is a British comic artist, whose work mainly features in the comic 2000 AD.-Career:Cook's art has appeared in the ABC Warriors and Judge Dredd, as Asylum and Dead Men Walking .In 2005, Cook graduated to regular work on the flagship story on 2000 AD, Judge Dredd, mostly to scripts by...
, 2000 AD #1432-1436, 2005)
- "Cry of the Werewolf" (by John Wagner
See also
- New New York, in FuturamaFuturamaFuturama is an American animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening and David X. Cohen for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series follows the adventures of a late 20th-century New York City pizza delivery boy, Philip J...
New New York is built on Old New York and numerous storylines involve journeys down into the still preserved remains of the city and confrontations with its inhabitants.