History[]
Middenface McNulty is a character from the 2000 AD strip Strontium Dog who occasionally appears in his own strip, Young Middenface. Rebelling against the persecution of mutants by the forces of Nelson Bunker Kreelman in New Britain, Middenface graduated from small acts of rebellion in his youth to being one of the generals of the Mutant Army in the mutant uprising of 2167 AD (a.k.a. the first mutant war), along with others such as Johnny Alpha, The Torso, Clacton Fuzz, Studs Boyce and Evans the Fist.
Along with several of the other survivors of the army, he later joined the Search/Destroy Agency as a mutant bounty hunter, or 'Strontium Dog', and has frequently partnered with Johnny Alpha (for example, when they were looking for the mutant terrorist William Blood Moon). He eventually offered to trade his own life to the alien Stone Wizards in return for Johnny's, on discovering (with the aid of reporter Precious Matson) that his friend was trapped in a death-like state; the wizards restored Johnny, but let Middenface live anyway.
Middenface temporarily stopped drinking alcohol during the second mutant war, after being captured by four norms. He thought that if he hadn't been drunk at the time he would have defeated them easily. The norms electrocuted him to make him tell them about Johnny Alpha, but he resisted their torture and later escaped.
Johnny Alpha ended the second mutant war by blowing himself up in the norms' parliament building, which contained the architects of a plan to render New Britain's mutants sterile. Middenface (who had lost an arm in the conflict), Evans the Fist and a badly injured Johnny were all captured by the norms and held in a top-security prison on an island for fourteen months. Middenface and Evans were, in effect, used as hostages to ensure that Johnny complied with his captors' desire for him to hunt down the missing despot Jim Jing Jong, thus averting a nuclear world war.
Middenface eventually regained his freedom and started working as a freelance trouble-shooter after his bounty-hunting licence was revoked by the norms. He later seemed to get his licence back, as he was seen wearing an SD badge once more when he and Johnny saved Judge Dredd from some clones of Judge Caligula, and that was the most recent episode in Middenface's life to have been chronicled.
Powers and abilities[]
Abilities
Proficient fighter and bounty hunter. Despite his dangerous profession he has never died, not even once, so may also be naturally lucky (although he did at some point lose an arm).
Strength level
Peak human male.
Weaknesses
Alcohol.
Paraphernalia[]
Equipment
Money-belt (once saved his life when it absorbed a blaster shot from the Stix Brothers); robot arm.
Transportation
Starships; skimmers (sort of anti-gravity motorbikes); stolen police car.
Weapons
Definitely.
Notes[]
- Middenface is a heavy drinker who uses jokes to hide his frequent bouts of depression and totally unwarranted feelings of inadequacy.
- For an explanation of Middenface's marital status, see quotes page.
- The series Young Middenface, about McNulty's youth, ran in the Judge Dredd Megazine.
- Middenface featured in a one-page humour strip in the 2000 AD 40th Anniversary Special which was drawn by Patrick Goddard.
- During the course of his long and dangerous career, middenface has at various times lost his left arm and a sizeable chunk of his left foot. His arm was eventually replaced by a robotic one.
Trivia[]
Middenface was once accompanied on a job by Dougal, a dog belonging to his granny (he didn't make it back), and also had a dog of his own named Boab who accompanied him to Mega-City One on a trip through time.
Links[]
- Appearances of Middenface McNulty
- Character Gallery: Middenface McNulty
- Images that feature Middenface McNulty
- Fan-Art Gallery: Middenface McNulty
- Middenface McNulty quotations
Discover and Discuss[]
- Search News for: Middenface McNulty · Archibald McNulty · Middenface McNulty