Judge Griffin

Judge Griffin, a supporting character from the 2000 AD strip Judge Dredd, was the Principal of the Academy of Law in Mega-City One (and trained several generations of Judges, including Dredd) until he was pressed back into service during the fight against the insane Judge Caligula. Following Cal's death in 2101 AD, Griffin was nominated for the position of Chief Judge by Dredd himself, and proved a capable and just leader, with Judge Pepper (who had fought Cal alongside him) as his deputy. It was he who sent Dredd, Larter, Hershey and Lopez on the Judge Child Quest, leading to the elimination of one of the city's greatest enemies.

During the Apocalypse War of 2104 AD Griffin sustained head injuries and was sent into space for his own protection. His spaceship, Justice Two, was boarded by troops from the Sov city of East-Meg One who captured him before he could kill himself. Griffin was then brainwashed by Sov "psycho surgeons" and transformed into an enthusiastic pro-Sov cheerleader. To prevent him from being used as a propaganda tool against his own city Dredd was forced to assassinate him during a television show hosted by East-Meg presenter Mikhael Parkinov, though Griffin managed to fight off the brainwashing and admit his 'treachery' live on air before dying.

He was succeeded as Chief Judge by Judge McGruder.

Powers and abilities[]

Abilities

Leadership skills.

Strength level

Peak elderly human male.

Weaknesses

Griffin had only one eye, which lessened his effectiveness in combat situations slightly.

Paraphernalia[]

Equipment

Accessory pouch containing three heatseeker shells; helmet containing internal visor display (including infra-red) and respirator; uniform made from plasti-steel reinforced material.

Transportation

Lawmaster bike.

Weapons

Lawgiver handgun which can fire six types of shell: heatseeker, rubber ricochet, incendiary, armour-piercing, high explosive and standard execution. Also daystick and bootknife.

Notes[]

In the 1995 movie Judge Dredd, Griffin was played (sans eyepatch but mercifully with eye) by Jurgen Prochnow. This version of Griffin was corrupt, and in league with Dredd's evil twin, Rico.
Griffin became a Judge-Tutor because he only has one eye, despite the fact that bionic eyes exist in Dredd's universe. The real-world explanation for this is that 'bionic eyes for blind Judges' only became a key feature in the strip when Dredd himself was given a pair in 2107 AD (i.e. in a story published after Griffin's death). The in-story explanation may be that Griffin had a brain condition that meant he couldn't receive a bionic eye, or that he had other, hidden injuries that would have made him unfit for a combat rôle anyway.

Judge Griffin

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History[]