History[]
Kraken is a character from the 2000 AD strip Judge Dredd. Like Dredd himself, he was cloned from the DNA of Chief Judge Fargo. He was created by renegade Judge Morton Judd as one of his 'Judda' army, but was deprogrammed and then reprogrammed by Justice Department to become a Judge. Chief Judge Silver secretly intended that he should replace Dredd, who showed signs of becoming disillusioned by the unfairness of the Judge system.
Judge Dredd tested Kraken's suitability to become a Judge, but failed him, and Kraken was sentenced to death since if he was not a Judge, he was a dangerous liability. However, when Dredd then temporarily resigned from Justice Department, Chief Judge Silver cancelled Kraken's termination and had him assume Dredd's identity in order to cover up Dredd's departure.
Kraken subsequently fell under the influence of the Sisters of Death and became one of the Dark Judges, helping them to exterminate 60 million citizens during the Necropolis incident. When the real Dredd returned and defeated the Dark Judges, Kraken was freed from their control, but while Dredd did not attach any blame to him, he nonetheless felt that Kraken was too dangerous to live.
Dredd executed Kraken, who made no attempt to stop him. Dredd later stated that he believed Kraken had wanted to die for what he had done.
Powers and abilities[]
Powers
Semi-mystical connection with the throbbing pulse of Mega-City One (possibly imagined — see quotes).
Abilities
Kicking ass; fighting crime; bringing death to all who live.
Strength level
Peak human male.
Weaknesses
Brain architecture permanently moulded by Judda conditioning.
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; red pills to help him stay awake.
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[]
Kraken lost his hand while trying to fire another Judge's Lawgiver handgun (Lawgiver's being coded to the palm print of their owner and rigged to explode if held by anyone else).
Links[]
- Appearances of Judge Kraken
- Character Gallery: Judge Kraken
- Images that feature Judge Kraken
- Fan-Art Gallery: Judge Kraken
- Judge Kraken quotations
Discover and Discuss[]
- Search News for: Judge Kraken · Kraken · Judge Kraken