Episode III: The Brotherhood of Darkness
First print date: March 19 1977
Prog appearance: 4
Writer(s): Malcolm Shaw
Artist(s): Mike McMahon
Total episodes: 1
A bunch of mutants from outside the city walls break into Mega-City One and are tackled by the Judges. They are beaten off but they take the mayor's son with them, presumably their reason for the incursion: Dredd is assigned to return the boy safely to his father. Disguising himself as one of the mutants, who belong to a cult called --- you guessed it! --- the Brotherhood of Darkness, Dredd knows that he will need his Lawmaster when either his cover is blown or he is ready to reveal himself, and so pretends that he has stolen it from a Judge, which earns him much praise and respect from the other “Brothers”.
As they travel into the blasted wilderness that lies beyond the city, Dredd notices that the nuclear winter has had a terrible effect on what was one the Eastern Seaboard of America. Huge, mutant insects watch the passing of the column with unblinking, pitiless eyes, and Dredd realises that the Brothers' own eyes have adapted to life in the wasteland: they can only see in the dark. As night falls and the mutants settle down to their feast, Dredd makes his move, taking out the guards and then hissing to the mayor's son to follow him, no questions asked.
But they are discovered of course and the Brotherhood come at them. Knowing of their aversion to light, Dredd hits his headlights to full beam and for good measure fires a few flares into the air. The mutants, cowering back from the unwelcome brightness, fall back and Dredd leads his convoy of hostages back to Mega-City One.
QUOTES
Dredd: “Fighting off hundreds of crazy guys is just the sort of soft job a Judge like me needs!”
Dredd: “Out of bullets so it's back to the stone age!”
(He takes a crossbow from a vanquished mutant. Of course this is historically and factually incorrect: crossbows were not invented till around the Bronze Age, but I'm sure Dredd doesn't care about that!)
Dredd (thinking): “Grief! The atomic radiation has even affected the insects! That Praying Mantis must be over forty metres tall!”
Dredd (thinking): “I'd feel a heel if I freed him (the mayor's son) and left the others...”
(Again, this attitude will change over time. A later Dredd would leave the other citizens to their fate. Not worth endangering the mission, which only stipulates that he rescue one individual).
Mayor's son: “Mega-City! We'll soon be back in civilisation, Judge!”
Dredd: “Sure kid, and tomorrow I'll be shot at with laser cannons instead of ancient crossbows. That's civilisation for you!”
I AM THE LAW!
Although it's his mission to go out into the wasteland and rescue the mayor's son, the sense of lawlessness, the lack of rules under which these mutants live rankles Dredd. If he had the chance and the excuse he'd probably execute them all, but he has not been authorised to do so, and there are probably many more of them than he realises. Plus, they surely know the territory, so he would be a fool to try to take them on on their own terms.
Ch-ch-ch-changes
Although not named at the time, the desert outside Mega-City One is known as The Cursed Earth, and a whole major story will revolve around this inhospitable place, when Dredd has to travel its length. That's a year from now though. Also, as mentioned, Dredd's attitude towards innocent people will change as his years on the force march on. The Dredd we see here, believe it or not, is kind and soft-hearted compared to the one we will come to know.
One final change: though he thinks and doesn't say it, Dredd uses the word “grief”, but later on Wagner and Mills would invent their own slang for Mega-City One, and words that we use would be phased out.
Welcome to the world of tomorrow!
After the nuclear war of 2070, all three mega-cities were intact thanks to advanced shielding but everything outside --- basically, the entire United States --- was rendered a wasteland, deemed uninhabitable and earned the name The Cursed Earth. But as in most harsh environments, as Jeff Goldblum said in “Jurassic Park”, life finds a way, and mutated organisms --- humanoid and other --- have appeared, the humanoids scratching a meagre subsistence living from the hard, unyielding soil while cults and religious groups have sprung up all over the place. It is not an area to be travelled, even under heavy guard, and its denizens are not allowed inside the mega-cities.
Occasionally, as in this story, stronger or more zealous bands of mutants break through into the cities (although there is no explanation in this story as to how the Brotherhood of Darkness got in) and take what revenge they can on the inhabitants of the cities, whom they see as having abandoned them to their fate. To the Mega-Citizens, the Cursed Earth is the equivalent of Hell, and they are very glad of the dome and the high city walls that separate them from that awful wilderness.
I'll ask the questions, Creep!
This is the section in which I'll pose any questions I have about the stories or episodes, anything I think that wasn't properly explained, any loose ends or anything that doesn't make sense to me.
My question about this episode is: how did the Brotherhood of Darkness get into the city? It's supposed to be under tight control by the Judges, especially as regards access from the outside. Surely these hooded and robed mutants were not admitted to the city without some sort of check? And while we're at it, they apparently can't stand light: I know Mega-City One is dystopian and dark, but I expect it must be well lit. So how did they move around inside this well-lighted city?