Trollheart

First print date: March 6 1982
Prog appearance: 254
Writer(s): John Wagner
Artist(s): Carlos Ezquerra
Total episodes: 25

The Apocalypse War, Episode X

Arriving on the northern front, Dredd and his rag-tag band of Judges take on the rolling, crushing power of the Sov rad-sweeper tanks. Taking out two of them personally, Dredd turns to the Mega-City One refugees, who complain about being sick, but are nevertheless delighted to have been saved by the Judges. Their joy is short-lived, however, as Dredd grimly informs them that they have had the bad fortune to stumble into a radiation zone, and are now doomed to die a slow death from radiation poisoning. The only thing he and his Judges can do for the wretches now is put them out of their misery.

As Citi-Def units, released from the grip of Block Mania, begin to report in, Dredd sees that the city may, at the last hour, have a fighting chance after all. If he can muster all the manpower he can, there may be a way to fight back, now that he's not taking on Block Mania in addition to Kazan's invasion. But to his mind there is only one way to do it, and that is to cut off the northern sector completely.

Quotes

Female citizen: “Feel sick .. Don't know what's wrong.”
Male citizen: “We all feel sick. You have to keep moving.”
(Neither realise they are feeling sick due to radiation poisoning, which is slowly killing them even as they flee from the remorseless Sov advance)

Judge: “One of them (rad-sweepers) is still firing back there.”
Dredd: “Leave it. Hit and run: it's the only way to survive.”
(This probably goes against all Dredd's instincts. A surviving enemy might come back to haunt him, and surely he would rather kill off all opposition, to be sure. But here, in the position he is in, a very weakened one, he must choose between allowing an enemy to fight on and being able to continue the struggle himself.)

Dredd: “You citizens are way off line.”
Citizen: “I recognise that voice: it's Dredd himself!”
Other citizen: “Judges! We've been rescued by Judges!”
Dredd: “You misunderstand me, Citizen. Nobody can help you now. Haven't you wondered why the snow isn't lying? You've stumbled into a radiation zone. Our rad suits protect us. For you, it's too late.”
Citizen: “No wonder we're sick. We're dying.”
Female Citizen: “Skin's already starting to blister. In an hour we'll be gone.”
Citizen: “Nothing's worse than a slow death from rad-poison. Don't leave us like this, Judge Dredd.”
Citizen: “Please. Help us.”
Dredd: “Request granted!” (All Judges fire).

Dredd: “Thousands of refugees. In a bad way. None of 'em have ever seen a blizzard.”
Judge Windermere: “Most of 'em could do with a square meal. We've got spare K-rations...”
Dredd: “Forget it, Windermere. All the K-rations in Justice Department wouldn't give each of them a mouthful. We keep 'em for fighting units.”


Laughing in the face of death

Not a single snigger this episode. In fact, it's one of the darkest in the story so far, with people dying from radiation poisoning and having to be put down as a kindness.

I AM THE LAW!

Although it's said he hasn't got a heart, we know Dredd does, and it must secretly break to see the, as HG Wells described it in The War of the Worlds, “mass of humanity, unarmed and unprovisioned, driving headlong”, lines of refugees stretching as far as the eye can see, and be unable to do anything for them. The fact that most, if not all, were until recently trying to kill each other in Block Wars he knows is not their fault: they were under the influence of the Sov virus. Now that it has been reversed, they find themselves adrift, homeless, hopeless, directionless, and it's a hard man who would not be moved by their plight. But when another Judge suggests sharing their rations with the populace, Dredd grimly, and correctly, points out that they do not have enough, and that what they do have must be kept to feed the troops. He knows two things: if the Judges were to go down there and offer food – even K-rations – to the masses there would be a stampede, and a riot as everyone tried to get just a taste, and fighting would break out. And as well as this, he knows that the only way his Judges may be able to prevail in this war is to heed the words of Napoleon, that an army marches on its stomach. There will be no chance to replenish stocks while the Sovs are in control of the city, so they will have to make do with what they have until such time as they can get fresh supplies. The hard fact is, the Judges must hold on to every gram of K-rations they can, to be able to stand any chance of winning this war.

Welcome to the world of tomorrow!

We've all seen snow, and some of us have seen quite severe blizzards. But nobody in Mega-City One has. Weather here is controlled by computer, and the people decide what kind of weather they want. So when thick drifts of snow carpet the ground and huge flakes fall, and continue to fall, from the leaden sky above, it is a totally new experience to the Meggers, and not one they savour. What is snow, they probably wonder? They soon find out, as they begin trudging through it in an attempt to escape the advancing Sov tanks. It must feel to them as if they have suddenly been transported to another planet. It's like someone who has been used to living in a comfortable apartment all his life, where every aspect is controlled and tailored to his needs, and who is suddenly cast out in the street, streets he has never even walked, and made to fend for himself. Cruel nature, indeed!

The Dichotomy of Dredd

Again, we come up against Dredd's loyalty to, and desire to save his people, and his imperative to save his city. If thousands – millions – must be sacrificed so that the city can be preserved, it would seem Dredd is willing to pay that price. He must be even harder and tougher than he usually is, if he is to lead his forces to victory here, and this is demonstrated nowhere as clearly as when he faces the rad-poisoned refugees, and has to make the decision to kill them all, to spare them the horrible death of radiation poisoning. A hard choice for any man, but you tend to wonder is it that hard for Dredd? In essence, it's the logical choice, and Dredd seldom if ever evinces feelings. Does he feel anything as he carries out this necessary act of mercy?

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