Mayor of Mega-City One
Encyclopedia
Mayor of Mega-City One is a fictional office in the Judge Dredd
comic strip in 2000 AD
. The most significant mayor to appear in the comic was serial killer PJ Maybe
, in disguise as Byron Ambrose.
The real political power in Mega-City One
is not held by the mayor
but by the unelected judges
, headed by the Chief Judge
. However, the citizens are allowed some very limited degree of self-government in the form of a democratically elected council headed by a mayor, with powers over relatively minor matters. The office did not really exist in any meaningful sense between the years 2104 and 2117.
s, which were being illegally sold for use in illicit transplant operations. When discovered by Judge Dredd he accidentally fell to his death while resisting arrest. The true circumstances of his death were covered up to prevent a scandal.
Mayor Jim Grubb was mayor from 2093 to 2104. In 2101 he was arrested by Chief Judge Cal
and held in custody in a psychiatric ward, to remove a possible focus point of opposition to Cal's tyrannical reign. Later that year, following Cal's demise, he was re-elected, although the election was disrupted by Father Earth's calamitous attack on the city.
After the Apocalypse War
of 2104 Grubb went missing and was presumed dead. However he later resurfaced, having fallen victim to a strange disease (eventually called Grubb's Disease), which gradually turned his body into a fungus
. His last words were "please don't eat me!" An airport was named after him.
Following the War the ruined city was struggling to get back onto its feet, and no new mayor was chosen for some time. Instead the chief judge deemed it more expedient to assume direct control over all aspects of governing the city. However in 2106 matters had returned sufficiently to normal for the Justice Department to allow elections to resume. However, the public had such contempt for the mediocre candidates on offer that they voted for a joke candidate, an orangutan
called Dave.
Mayor Dave the Orangutan was probably the most popular mayor the city ever had. He was allowed to run for office as there was no specific law to prohibit it, although the Judges' real motive for allowing the election may well have been to undermine the credibility of democracy as a viable system of government. After his assassination in 2107 no more mayors were elected for ten years.
In 2117 Chief Judge Volt
reinstated the city council and the mayorship, as part of his constitutional reforms to give a little more power to the people. Few of the new mayors have been named in the Judge Dredd strip since then, although in 2120 Dredd ended the career of an unnamed mayor by leaking scandalous information about him to the press.
In 2129 Mayor Katz was murdered by serial killer PJ Maybe
, prompting an election. Maybe stood as a candidate for mayor using a false identity, and won the election by framing his rival for other murders. Maybe was believed to be Mayor Byron Donald Ambrose. Surprisingly, Maybe actually proved to be a very competent and popular mayor, and even had Dredd's support. Nevertheless, he still found time to murder several people, including his own deputy mayor. After three years in office, he was finally arrested when he tried, unsuccessfully, to murder the chief judge, and his true identity was uncovered by Judge Dredd. The truth was kept secret, however, and the public and media were informed that Ambrose had died of natural causes.
Ambrose/Maybe was succeeded by Mayor Tony Blore. Maybe kidnapped and assassinated him in 2133.
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 in 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...
. The most significant mayor to appear in the comic was serial killer PJ Maybe
PJ Maybe
Philip Janet Maybe is a fictional character in the 2000 AD comic strip Judge Dredd. He is a notorious serial killer, and most notably assumed the identity of Mayor Byron Ambrose, who he murdered.-Fictional character biography:...
, in disguise as Byron Ambrose.
The real political power in 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...
is not held by the mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
but by the unelected 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...
, headed by the Chief Judge
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...
. However, the citizens are allowed some very limited degree of self-government in the form of a democratically elected council headed by a mayor, with powers over relatively minor matters. The office did not really exist in any meaningful sense between the years 2104 and 2117.
Mayors
Mayor Amalfi was mayor until he was implicated in the theft of body parts from the city morgueMorgue
A morgue or mortuary is used for the storage of human corpses awaiting identification, or removal for autopsy or disposal by burial, cremation or otherwise...
s, which were being illegally sold for use in illicit transplant operations. When discovered by Judge Dredd he accidentally fell to his death while resisting arrest. The true circumstances of his death were covered up to prevent a scandal.
Mayor Jim Grubb was mayor from 2093 to 2104. In 2101 he was arrested by 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 held in custody in a psychiatric ward, to remove a possible focus point of opposition to Cal's tyrannical reign. Later that year, following Cal's demise, he was re-elected, although the election was disrupted by Father Earth's calamitous attack on the city.
After 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...
of 2104 Grubb went missing and was presumed dead. However he later resurfaced, having fallen victim to a strange disease (eventually called Grubb's Disease), which gradually turned his body into a fungus
Fungus
A fungus is a member of a large group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds , as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, Fungi, which is separate from plants, animals, and bacteria...
. His last words were "please don't eat me!" An airport was named after him.
Following the War the ruined city was struggling to get back onto its feet, and no new mayor was chosen for some time. Instead the chief judge deemed it more expedient to assume direct control over all aspects of governing the city. However in 2106 matters had returned sufficiently to normal for the Justice Department to allow elections to resume. However, the public had such contempt for the mediocre candidates on offer that they voted for a joke candidate, an orangutan
Orangutan
Orangutans are the only exclusively Asian genus of extant great ape. The largest living arboreal animals, they have proportionally longer arms than the other, more terrestrial, great apes. They are among the most intelligent primates and use a variety of sophisticated tools, also making sleeping...
called Dave.
Mayor Dave the Orangutan was probably the most popular mayor the city ever had. He was allowed to run for office as there was no specific law to prohibit it, although the Judges' real motive for allowing the election may well have been to undermine the credibility of democracy as a viable system of government. After his assassination in 2107 no more mayors were elected for ten years.
In 2117 Chief Judge Volt
Judge Volt
Chief Judge Hadrian Volt is a fictional character from the Judge Dredd comic strip in 2000 AD. He was chief judge of Mega-City One between 2116 and 2121 .-Fictional character biography:...
reinstated the city council and the mayorship, as part of his constitutional reforms to give a little more power to the people. Few of the new mayors have been named in the Judge Dredd strip since then, although in 2120 Dredd ended the career of an unnamed mayor by leaking scandalous information about him to the press.
In 2129 Mayor Katz was murdered by serial killer PJ Maybe
PJ Maybe
Philip Janet Maybe is a fictional character in the 2000 AD comic strip Judge Dredd. He is a notorious serial killer, and most notably assumed the identity of Mayor Byron Ambrose, who he murdered.-Fictional character biography:...
, prompting an election. Maybe stood as a candidate for mayor using a false identity, and won the election by framing his rival for other murders. Maybe was believed to be Mayor Byron Donald Ambrose. Surprisingly, Maybe actually proved to be a very competent and popular mayor, and even had Dredd's support. Nevertheless, he still found time to murder several people, including his own deputy mayor. After three years in office, he was finally arrested when he tried, unsuccessfully, to murder the chief judge, and his true identity was uncovered by Judge Dredd. The truth was kept secret, however, and the public and media were informed that Ambrose had died of natural causes.
Ambrose/Maybe was succeeded by Mayor Tony Blore. Maybe kidnapped and assassinated him in 2133.