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 highly-strung and eccentric as a result of the strain of their abilities. While Judge Anderson is its most famous operative, Psi-Judges Janus, Karyn and Corey have also proved notable. The current head of Psi-Division is Judge Shenker.
Psi-Judges fulfill many roles on behalf of the Justice Department, including reading the minds of prisoners unwilling to disclose information, providing for warning of great events to affect Mega-City One and others, and providing a skilled force of specialist Judges to counter supernatural threats to the city, such as the Dark Judges.[1] During the time when the Dark Judges were imprisoned in a vault beneath the Hall of Justice, a team of Psi-Judges were on hand to provide a constant watch over the malignant spirits, suppressing any psychic activity should they become restless.
While Psi-Division was once a well-respected and influential division, it has since lost much of its prestige due to its failure to predict several major disasters, the most recent being a nuclear attack on the city in the Total War story.[2] As a result, the division is no longer represented on the Council of Five[3] (its place being taken by the Wally Squad division) and in the story After The Bombs it was seen going to extreme lengths to salvage its reputation.
Like the rest of the Justice Department, Psi-Division contains several smaller sub-divisions. These include the Exorcist Judges, who deal with exorcising demonic activity; the Department of Magic who were tasked with examining magic and how best to judge it; and the Dream Police.[4]
Contents |
Psi-Judges [link]
Because of the Psi-Judges' special status within the Justice Department, they are entitled to more specialised equipment and procedures, such as the ability to carry silver boot knives (though Dredd was seen equipped with one and was considering recommending them as standard issue) and special silver tipped rounds for their firearms.[5]
Like most other specialist Judges (i.e. Tek and Med), Psi-Judges do not wear badges with their surnames imprinted on them. Instead their badges simply read 'PSI'. This has been apparent in several comic strips featuring the Psi-Judges (although not in all of them, with some artists simply depicting the Judge's surname instead). However, their badges do have their surname imprinted in very small letters on the reverse.[6]
Psi-Division also uses civilian auxiliaries and even prisoners to supplement its contingent of Judges, as anyone with psychic powers is potentially useful to Justice Department.[7]
According to the Judge Anderson story "Lock In", Psi-Judges cannot use the same anti-aging treatments as street Judges do, due to its effects on psionic abilities. This is inconsistent with the artwork, however, which still depicts Anderson as if she is in her mid-twenties, when in reality she would be at least 48 years old.[8]
List of Psi Division personnel [link]
| Name | Abilities | Position | Current Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Judge Agee | Telepath | Standard operative | Killed during Necropolis, 2112 |
| Judge Anderson | Multiple | Department legend; veteran operative | Active |
| Judge Corey | Empath | Standard operative | Committed suicide due to her disagreeing with Justice Department methods |
| Judge Ecks | Unknown | Former head of division | Killed in Apocalypse War, 2104 |
| Judge Fauster | Witchcraft | Dept. of Magic head; traitor | Imprisoned |
| Judge Feyy | Pre-Cog | Veteran operative | Deceased |
| Judge Gistane | Extispicist | Dept. of Magic operative | Deceased |
| Gaia Innocenti | Pre-Cog | Prisoner, forced into service | Active, heavily drugged |
| Judge Janus | Pre-Cog/Telepath | Standard operative | Active |
| Judge Karyn | Pre-Cog/Telepath | Veteran operative | Possessed by superspook[9] |
| Judge Lamia | Exorcist | Standard operative | Active |
| Juliet November | Pyrokinetic | Prisoner, used when needed | Imprisoned |
| Judge Omar | Unknown | Former Head of Division | Killed due to use of Psi-Amplifier in an attempt to stop the Seven Samuarai, 2108 |
| Dr Rickard | Unknown | Head of Research | Killed in action, 2112 |
| Judge Shakta | Telepath | Standard operative | Active, blinded during Half Life mission |
| Judge Shenker | Unknown | Current Head of Division | Active |
Foreign equivalents [link]
Many other Judge forces possess a Psi-Division, including Casablanca, Delhi-Cit, and many others. In East-Meg Two, they are referred to as PsiKops. Brit-Cit, due to a smaller population, often has to resort to using psis that suffer from severe psychiatric disorders. In Sino-Cit and Hong Tong, it's overseen by the Ministry of Paranormal Activities.
References [link]
- ^ 2000 AD #150
- ^ 2000 AD #1422
- ^ 2000 AD #1178
- ^ Daily Star newspaper comic strip, dated 20th November 1982.
- ^ Judge Dredd: Asylum, Judge Dredd Megazine Vol. 4 #5
- ^ In Necropolis, Judge Kraken, in his assumed role as the replacement Judge Dredd, discovers he is responsible for the attack on Mega-City One when he finds Psi-Judge Agee's badge on his person. It clearly has her name embossed on the reverse.
- ^ Juliet November: Phoenix Falling, Judge Dredd Megazine #202-4
- ^ Assuming Anderson was 20 (the usual minimum age for a Cadet to become a full Judge, although Psi-Division may have different rules) at the time of her first appearance in 2102, she would be at least 48 in 2130. It is more likely that she is in her early fifties.
- ^ 2000 AD #1436
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
https://wn.com/Psi_Division
Judge (2000 AD)
Judge (or street judge) is a title held by several significant characters in Judge Dredd and other series which appear in the British comics 2000 AD and Judge Dredd Megazine. In the fictional future history of the series, the role of "Judge" combines those of judge and police officer, thus avoiding long legal wrangles by allowing for criminals to be tried and sentenced on the spot. Since they overthrew the U.S. Constitution in 2070, Judges have also held supreme political power in Mega-City One. Collectively they are known as the Justice Department.
Overview
In the comic strip, Judges are the product of many years' training and psychological conditioning. Training, which takes place in the Academy of Law, generally begins at age five. The Judges recruit promising children, and grow their own clones. Judge Dredd is himself a clone of the Judges' founder, Chief Judge Fargo.
The Judges themselves are not above the law – a violation that would earn a citizen a few months in an Iso[lation]-Cube earns a Judge a twenty-year sentence of hard labor on Saturn's moon, Titan, after surgical modification to enable the convict to survive Titan's atmosphere.
