The Robot Wars

"The Robot Wars" (1977) was the first extended storyline for "Judge Dredd" during which the character became the most popular in the comic " 2000 AD". The first episode saw the first appearance of a long-running supporting character, Walter the Wobot, Dredd's robot manservant.

Plot

In the first episode, a robot called Call-Me-Kenneth runs amok killing people until it is apparently destroyed by Judge Dredd. However the next episode has Call-Me-Kenneth being revived in a new body. He was supposed to have been reprogrammed, but somehow his malignant persona remains and after killing the human technician that restored him he calls upon the droids of the city to rise up against their masters. In the following war the Judges are neutralized but some droids remain loyal and led by Dredd are able to form a resistance movement. The 'new order' promised by Kenneth is nothing of the sort as the droids are subjected to work as slave labour. Dredd confronts Kenneth on the city's weather control centre, where Kenneth falls to his destruction. Wagner uses parodies of the speeches of Hitler for most of Kenneth's dialogue.

The story was set in 2099. A second Robot War in 2121 was depicted in "The Doomsday Scenario," published in 1999. Both stories were written by John Wagner and had various artists.

Publication

The story had a single issue prologue leading into the main story:

*"Judge Dredd" (all written by John Wagner):
** "Robots" (with Ron Turner, in "2000 AD" #9, 1977)
** "Robot Wars" (with Carlos Ezquerra (1), Ron Turner (2, 4 and 7), Mike McMahon (3 and 6) and Ian Gibson (5 and 8), in "2000 AD" #10-17, 1977)

The story has undergone extensive reprinting, most recently in "Judge Dredd: The Complete Case Files 01" (2005).

External links

* [http://www.ekmpowershop2.com/ekmps/shops/2000ad/judge-dredd-the-complete-case-files-01-xb260-127-p.asp Judge Dredd: Complete Case Files 01]