Judge Silver
Encyclopedia
Chief Judge Thomas Silver was chief judge
(2108 to 2112) of the fictional city of Mega-City One
in the Judge Dredd
comic strip.
, and served with distinction in the Second American Civil War. However in 2096 he was wounded in action and compelled to retire from active service. He became principal lecturer in Applied Violence at the Academy of Law
, teaching the next generation of Mega-City judges. He saw action again when he joined the resistance to the insane Chief Judge Cal
, and also when the Academy itself was attacked during the Apocalypse War
.
In 2108 Chief Judge McGruder
resigned and left the city on the Long Walk
. One of her final acts as chief judge was to appoint Silver to the Council of Five
, the city's highest legislature
. The Council unanimously chose Silver for the highest office.
Silver quickly proved to be the most right-wing, hardline chief judge the city had ever seen. In 2109 he ordered a crack-down on the Democracy movement
(a loose affiliation of organisations dedicated to democratic reform ever since the Justice Department usurped the elected government of the United States in 2070), putting Judge Dredd in personal charge of a secret campaign to smear the protest groups' leaders and to sabotage their efforts at peaceful demonstration. Undercover judges placed among the protesters turned a peaceful protest march into a violent riot, giving Dredd the excuse he needed to attack the march with riot squads and make mass arrests. Silver used the ensuing massacre as an example of the dangers of democracy and the need for the iron rule of the judges. Armed with this excuse to tighten control, he took every opportunity to do so.
Dredd's own responsibility for the deaths which resulted, and the clandestine—indeed corrupt—way in which the law had been enforced fed his doubts about the integrity of the system to which he had belonged since birth. When in 2112 a young boy was brutally murdered by a man who had been brain-damaged by a judge during the Democratic March, Dredd's reservations came to a head and he tendered his resignation and took the Long Walk himself. Silver reacted by ordering a news blackout on Dredd's resignation, and covered it up by going so far as to replace Dredd with an imposter, Judge Kraken
, a clone
from the same DNA as Dredd. Silver believed that Dredd had become such an important figure of law-enforcement in the public mind that his departure, if it became known, would incite an intolerable increase in crime. By taking this extreme course Silver overruled Dredd's own judgement on Kraken, as Dredd had assessed Kraken and determined that he was unfit to be a judge.
Silver's judgement proved to be fatal, as only weeks later Kraken's loyalty was turned against the city, precipitating a catastrophe which resulted in the whole city falling under enemy occupation with the loss of 60 million lives. (See main article Necropolis
.) Silver despaired recovering the situation and fled the command centre in Mega-City One's darkest hour of need. He attempted to commit suicide but botched the job, and was captured alive. He was murdered by Judge Death
and then reanimated as a zombie
, but with all his mental faculties intact so that he could be tormented endlessly while his city was systematically extinguished of all life.
So ended Silver's life, but not his undeath. When Dredd returned to rescue his city, Silver again fled and hid, fearing that in his undead
state he would be summarily destroyed by the survivors of the disaster. Only when several months had passed did he dare to return to the city. On arriving once more in his Grand Hall of Justice
in 2113, he discovered that in his absence his predecessor, McGruder, had reclaimed her office. He challenged her right to be chief judge, pointing out that she had resigned as chief judge whereas he had not. McGruder retorted that Silver was medically dead. However since McGruder had dissolved the Council of Five there was no recognised authority with the power to decide the issue. The constitutional crisis was finally resolved when both litigants agreed to abide by Judge Dredd's verdict. Dredd actually ruled in Silver's favour, but then convicted him of gross dereliction of duty for deserting his command in time of war. Dredd executed Silver and McGruder became chief judge by default. Silver's incinerated remains were unceremoniously swept away by a cleaner, a truly ignoble end for a head of state.
Chief Judge of Mega-City One
Chief Judge of Mega-City One is the title of several supporting characters in the Judge Dredd comic strip published in 2000 AD. The chief judge is dictator and head of state of Mega-City One, a fictional future city of around 400 million people in 22nd-century America...
(2108 to 2112) of the fictional city of 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...
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...
comic strip.
Fictional character biography
He began his career as a street judgeJudge (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...
, and served with distinction in the Second American Civil War. However in 2096 he was wounded in action and compelled to retire from active service. He became principal lecturer in Applied Violence at the Academy of Law
Academy of Law
The Academy of Law is a fictional place of learning appearing in the Judge Dredd series that appears in the British comic 2000 AD.-Fictional history:The Academy of Law is where the Judges of Mega-City One are trained...
, teaching the next generation of Mega-City judges. He saw action again when he joined the resistance to the insane Chief 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...
, and also when the Academy itself was attacked during the Apocalypse War
Apocalypse 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...
.
In 2108 Chief Judge McGruder
Judge McGruder
Chief Judge Hilda Margaret McGruder is a fictional character in the Judge Dredd stories published in the British comic 2000 AD. She was the first female Chief Judge of Mega-City One, and the first Judge of Mega-City One to become Chief Judge twice...
resigned and left the city on 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....
. One of her final acts as chief judge was to appoint Silver to the Council of Five
Council of Five
The Council of Five is a fictional legislature and court in the Judge Dredd comic strip appearing in 2000 AD. It first appeared in 2000 AD prog 86 ....
, the city's highest legislature
Legislature
A legislature is a kind of deliberative assembly with the power to pass, amend, and repeal laws. The law created by a legislature is called legislation or statutory law. In addition to enacting laws, legislatures usually have exclusive authority to raise or lower taxes and adopt the budget and...
. The Council unanimously chose Silver for the highest office.
Silver quickly proved to be the most right-wing, hardline chief judge the city had ever seen. In 2109 he ordered a crack-down on the Democracy movement
Democracy (Judge Dredd storyline)
Democracy in the fictional future city of Mega-City One has been a significant recurring theme in the Judge Dredd comic strip in 2000 AD. In particular, a number of stories published since 1986 have addressed the issue of the Judges' dictatorial system of government, and efforts by the citizens to...
(a loose affiliation of organisations dedicated to democratic reform ever since the Justice Department usurped the elected government of the United States in 2070), putting Judge Dredd in personal charge of a secret campaign to smear the protest groups' leaders and to sabotage their efforts at peaceful demonstration. Undercover judges placed among the protesters turned a peaceful protest march into a violent riot, giving Dredd the excuse he needed to attack the march with riot squads and make mass arrests. Silver used the ensuing massacre as an example of the dangers of democracy and the need for the iron rule of the judges. Armed with this excuse to tighten control, he took every opportunity to do so.
Dredd's own responsibility for the deaths which resulted, and the clandestine—indeed corrupt—way in which the law had been enforced fed his doubts about the integrity of the system to which he had belonged since birth. When in 2112 a young boy was brutally murdered by a man who had been brain-damaged by a judge during the Democratic March, Dredd's reservations came to a head and he tendered his resignation and took the Long Walk himself. Silver reacted by ordering a news blackout on Dredd's resignation, and covered it up by going so far as to replace Dredd with an imposter, Judge Kraken
Judge Kraken
Judge Kraken is a fictional character in the Judge Dredd comic strip featured in the long-running British comic 2000 AD. Although he only appeared in a few episodes, he was nonetheless a very important character in Tale of the Dead Man, in which he was given almost equal billing with Dredd, and in...
, a clone
Cloning
Cloning in biology is the process of producing similar populations of genetically identical individuals that occurs in nature when organisms such as bacteria, insects or plants reproduce asexually. Cloning in biotechnology refers to processes used to create copies of DNA fragments , cells , or...
from the same DNA as Dredd. Silver believed that Dredd had become such an important figure of law-enforcement in the public mind that his departure, if it became known, would incite an intolerable increase in crime. By taking this extreme course Silver overruled Dredd's own judgement on Kraken, as Dredd had assessed Kraken and determined that he was unfit to be a judge.
Silver's judgement proved to be fatal, as only weeks later Kraken's loyalty was turned against the city, precipitating a catastrophe which resulted in the whole city falling under enemy occupation with the loss of 60 million lives. (See main article Necropolis
Necropolis (Judge Dredd story)
Necropolis is a 26-part Judge Dredd epic by John Wagner and Carlos Ezquerra, published in 1990 in 2000 AD progs 674–699. The story was the subject of extensive foreshadowing in the comic, beginning with The Dead Man , followed by "Tale of the Dead Man" , and finally three stories collectively...
.) Silver despaired recovering the situation and fled the command centre in Mega-City One's darkest hour of need. He attempted to commit suicide but botched the job, and was captured alive. He was murdered by Judge Death
Judge Death
Judge Death is a fictional character of the Judge Dredd universe recounted in the UK comic 2000 AD. He is the leader of the Dark Judges, a sinister group of undead law enforcers from the alternate dimension of Deadworld, where all life has been declared a crime since only the living commit crimes...
and then reanimated as a zombie
Zombie
Zombie is a term used to denote an animated corpse brought back to life by mystical means such as witchcraft. The term is often figuratively applied to describe a hypnotized person bereft of consciousness and self-awareness, yet ambulant and able to respond to surrounding stimuli...
, but with all his mental faculties intact so that he could be tormented endlessly while his city was systematically extinguished of all life.
So ended Silver's life, but not his undeath. When Dredd returned to rescue his city, Silver again fled and hid, fearing that in his undead
Undead
Undead is a collective name for fictional, mythological, or legendary beings that are deceased and yet behave as if alive. Undead may be incorporeal, such as ghosts, or corporeal, such as vampires and zombies...
state he would be summarily destroyed by the survivors of the disaster. Only when several months had passed did he dare to return to the city. On arriving once more in his 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...
in 2113, he discovered that in his absence his predecessor, McGruder, had reclaimed her office. He challenged her right to be chief judge, pointing out that she had resigned as chief judge whereas he had not. McGruder retorted that Silver was medically dead. However since McGruder had dissolved the Council of Five there was no recognised authority with the power to decide the issue. The constitutional crisis was finally resolved when both litigants agreed to abide by Judge Dredd's verdict. Dredd actually ruled in Silver's favour, but then convicted him of gross dereliction of duty for deserting his command in time of war. Dredd executed Silver and McGruder became chief judge by default. Silver's incinerated remains were unceremoniously swept away by a cleaner, a truly ignoble end for a head of state.
Trivia
- Although a black man in the comic, in the 19951995 in film-Top grossing films:-Events:* March 22 - The Dogme 95 movement is officially announced in Paris by Danish directors Lars von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg.* March 28 - Actress Julia Roberts and singer Lyle Lovett announce their plans for separation....
Judge Dredd film Judge Silver was played by Angus MacInnesAngus MacInnesAngus MacInnes is a Canadian actor. He is most famous for his role as Gold Leader in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, and as former hockey great Jean "Rosey" LaRose in the comedy Strange Brew...
, a white actor. - Silver's ghost, as yet unidentified, haunts the Grand Hall of Justice.