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Otto Sump

Otto Sump
Real name
Otto Sump
Alignment
Universe
Base of operations
Mega-City One

Characteristics
Gender
Hair
Unusual features
Yes, very
Status
Citizenship
Marital status
Occupation
Entrepreneur
Origin
Origin
Normal human birth
Place of birth
First appearance
Death

2000 AD prog 132 (1979)

History[]

Otto Sump is a character from the 2000 AD strip Judge Dredd. He was born ugly — so much so, in fact, that as an infant his parents abandoned him on the steps of a face change clinic. After this inauspicious start in life, Otto rose to prominence when he won the game show 'Sob Story', becoming a multi-millionaire and helping Judge Dredd catch a mass murderer in the process.

Sump used his money to try to become a beautician, but succeeded only in creating a craze for extreme ugliness among Mega-City One's richer citizens. Later, he created the disgusting (but extremely fashionable) Gunge food range, made from a range of truly vile ingredients. When it started causing civil unrest because of protests from hygiene campaigners the Justice Department impounded the lot and rebranded it as Justice Department-approved generic foodstuffs (which don't require a list of ingredients). The campaigners, fed the 'new' food in their iso-cubes, were pleased at this evidence of the success of their moral crusade.

Otto also created Smart Sweets, made from harmless flavourings in a cellulose base. For legal reasons, he was careful to avoid claiming that they raised people's intelligence, but Judge Dredd accused him of deceiving the public: "You're selling a product that doesn't work to a market that's too stupid to know it!" When three criminals invaded Otto's accounts department in the belief that the Smart Sweets they had taken made them clever enough to get away with robbery, Dredd threatened Otto with five years in an iso-cube. He decided to stop making the sweets.

Sump eventually married a dancer and became wealthy enough to begin giving much of his fortune to various charities. He was ultimately murdered by his own mother, who was disgusted and humiliated by how Otto had gained his wealth.

Powers and abilities[]

Powers

The power of advertising.

Abilities

Entrepreneurial nous.

Strength level

Average human male.

Weaknesses

Not much fashion sense.

Paraphernalia[]

Weapons

His intellect.

Notes[]

In 2000 AD prog 1888 Otto Sump was shown on an advertising hoarding in the background of the Judge Dredd story.

Trivia[]

A sump is "a bog, pool, puddle (now dialect); a pit or depression into which liquid drains, such as the lowest part of a mine into which water drains." (From the Chambers Dictionary, 10th edition.)

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