Psi-Division is a fictional organization in the Judge Dredd and Anderson: Psi-Division comic strips in 2000 AD and Judge Dredd: The Megazine. It is the branch of Mega-City One's Justice Department that deals in supernatural phenomena, using Judges with psychic abilities. Psi-Judges are often highly-strung and eccentric as a result of the strain of their abilities. While Judge Anderson is its most famous operative, Psi-Judges Janus, Karyn and Corey have also proved notable. The current head of Psi-Division is Judge Shenker.
Psi-Judges fulfill many roles on behalf of the Justice Department, including reading the minds of prisoners unwilling to disclose information, providing for warning of great events to affect Mega-City One and others, and providing a skilled force of specialist Judges to counter supernatural threats to the city, such as the Dark Judges.[1] During the time when the Dark Judges were imprisoned in a vault beneath the Hall of Justice, a team of Psi-Judges were on hand to provide a constant watch over the malignant spirits, suppressing any psychic activity should they become restless.
The average Street Judge tends to look down on Psi Judges, considering them flaky and overemotional. The Psi's are indeed flippant, high-strung, and everything they're accused of, but this is both down to their powers (they cannot block out the suffering of others)[2] and because they're well aware that they live in a world where mutants are loathed outcasts, that their mutation is quietly tolerated, and are expected to enforce this system.[3]
Sub divisions[]
Exorcist Judge in action
Like the rest of the Justice Department, Psi-Division contains several smaller sub-divisions. These include:
- Exorcist Judges, who deal with exorcising demonic activity
- The Department of Magic, tasked with examining magic and how best to police & weaponise it[4]
- The Dream Police.[5]
- Auxiliaries: citizens like Juliet November who have psi abilities and are allowed to remain cits as long as they perform whenever Justice Department calls on them
History[]
According to the 1996 novel The Medusa Seed by Dave Stone, the original psis were developed in the twentieth century by the US National Security Agency by carrying out illegal experiments on children. This has not been followed up.
Psi-Div revealed to the public
Officially, Psi-Division formed in 2057 as one of Hollins Solomon's last acts and was treated as the 'light relief' story by the press during the handover to Clarence Goodman.[6] In reality, a predecessor group had been formed as a deeply secret project in the early 2040s. The psis discovered the Russian government had already had its own equivalent for years beforehand, and they were almost wiped out; however, their presence prevented Russia from causing Justice Department to be framed and shut down.[7] In 2047, a secret civilian group of psis was discovered and exterminated after they'd tried to depose Justice Department.[8]
In 2082, a Judge Valkenburgh was referred to as the implied head of Psi-Div.[9] In 2115, Barbara Jong was referred to as one of the "founders" of the Division in 2070 and had been in charge until 2100, when she stepped down to tutor Cadet psis.[10]
By Griffin's term, Judge Ecks was in charge.
Feyy gets almost everything right
Psi-Division was once a well-respected and influential division, having a permanent presence on the Council of Five from at least 2101, and Psi-Div chief Omar died saving the city from the Seven Samurai. It went on to lose much of its prestige due to its failure to predict several major disasters, instead gaining a reputation for failure and relying too heavily on star performers like Anderson.[11] Notably, their greatest precog - Feyy, with an 88.8% accuracy rating - died in 2102, and he'd managed to foresee Owen Krysler destroying the city in 2120 as saving it.[12]
In 2116, Shenker proposed shutting down the Exorcist Judges on grounds that their existence was encouraging belief in demons & thus interdimensional incursions, while proving to have too high a casualty rate.[13] (In the end, his replacement plan didn't happen)
In 2117, Psi-Judge Judy Janus underwent an initiation ceremony and learned "the truth we in Psi-Division keep secret", which if the other Judges knew about "they'd put us all in the cubes and throw away the key." [14] (Whatever that was has never come up again in a story)
Psi-Div's nadir came when Nero Narcos took over the city and Shenker had to protest that they had seen this coming - meaning a single junior precog. Chief Judge Hershey removed Shenker from the Council as one of her first acts so he could 'focus on rebuilding' [15] (its place being taken by the Wally Squad division). Years later, in the aftermath of Total War's nuclear bombing, it was seen going to extreme lengths to salvage its reputation: torturing a psi-active perp to get better predictions out of her.[16] Despite all of these setbacks, Shenker himself has remained in charge of Psi Division even as other division leaders have come and gone.
In 2142, Psi-Div's turf was being muscled into by the Future Crimes Unit and their time travel technology; Tek-Judge Bolsom began pushing the Chief Judge to reallocate the precog's funding and remit to FCU.Psi-Judge Kettle, a senior precog instructer, had Bolsom murdered to try and discredit the FCU - after he was exposed, he ranted about how often precogs had saved the city before he was killed by an accident he hadn't seen coming. [17]
Psi-Judges[]
Because of the Psi-Judges' special status within the Justice Department, they are entitled to more specialised equipment and procedures, such as the ability to carry silver boot knives (though Dredd was seen equipped with one and was considering recommending them as standard issue) and special silver tipped rounds for their firearms.[18]
Like most other specialist Judges (i.e. Tek and Med), Psi-Judges do not wear badges with their surnames imprinted on them. Instead their badges simply read 'PSI'. This has been apparent in several comic strips featuring the Psi-Judges (although not in all of them, with some artists simply depicting the Judge's surname instead). However, their badges do have their surname imprinted in very small letters on the reverse.[19]
Psi-Division also uses civilian auxiliaries and even prisoners to supplement its contingent of Judges, as anyone with psychic powers is potentially useful to Justice Department.[20]
According to the Judge Anderson story "Lock In", Psi-Judges cannot use the same anti-aging treatments as street Judges do, due to its effects on psionic abilities. This is inconsistent with the artwork, however, which still depicts Anderson as if she is in her mid-twenties, when in reality she would be at least 48 years old.[21]
List of Psi Division personnel[]
| Name | Abilities | Position | Current Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Judge Agee | Telepath | Standard operative | Killed during Necropolis, 2112 |
| Judge Anderson | Multiple | Department legend; veteran operative | Active |
| Judge Corey | Empath | Standard operative | Committed suicide due to her disagreeing with Justice Department methods |
| Judge Ecks | Unknown | Former head of division | Killed in Apocalypse War, 2104 |
| Judge Fauster | Witchcraft | Dept. of Magic head; traitor | Imprisoned |
| Judge Feyy | Pre-Cog | Veteran operative | Deceased |
| Judge Gistane | Extispicist | Dept. of Magic operative | Deceased |
| Gaia Innocenti | Pre-Cog | Prisoner, forced into service | Active, heavily drugged |
| Judge Janus | Pre-Cog/Telepath | Standard operative | Active |
| Judge Karyn | Pre-Cog/Telepath | Veteran operative | Possessed by superspook[22] |
| Judge Lamia | Exorcist | Standard operative | Active |
| Juliet November | Pyrokinetic | Prisoner, used when needed | Imprisoned |
| Judge Omar | Unknown | Former Head of Division | Killed due to use of Psi-Amplifier in an attempt to stop the Seven Samuarai, 2108 |
| Dr Rickard | Unknown | Head of Research | Killed in action, 2112 |
| Judge Shakta | Telepath | Standard operative | Active, blinded during Half Life mission |
| Judge Shenker | Unknown | Current Head of Division | Active |
Foreign equivalents[]
Sovs[]
The Inspectre, a Sov PsiKop
The Sov psi unit is the oldest known group on Earth, predating the block and going back to the 20th century. It was first discovered by a foreign power in the 2040s, when psis working for the Russian Federation attempted to use mind control to discredit the nascent Justice Department.[23]
By the 22nd century, the Sov psis were called PsiKops and carried out routine street patrols.[24] To bulk up their numbers, the Sovs used technology to turn regular Judges into PsiKops.[25] One agent, Vicktor Zadek, would have a precog flash of the end of the Apocalypse War and attempt to stop Kazan from carrying it out - this had him sent to a gulag and forgotten about. Later, during a period of glasnost, East-Meg Two's psis worked with Mega-City One's to stop the global Deros threat - senior figure Professor Lychenko, who ran the fortean affairs department, thought little of the city's Diktatorat or the 'minders' sent with them. [26]
Judgement Day saw many of their clairvoyants go mad.[27]
Eventually, East-Meg Two found and retrieved Zadek to work as their "Inspectre", sorting out ghosts around the ruins of East-Meg One so it could be rebuilt. He was given mechanical brain implants to control his sensitivity to psychic phenomena. Evidently, he failed as the "Megagrad" project would be abandoned, but before that he had to deal with the vengeful ghosts of rape victims, which led to the removal of senior Sov Judges (the culprits).[28]
The overseeing body, at least by the 2140s, is the Zersetzung. In 2142, the Zersetzung was run by a figure called Buratino: apparently a child with an oversized head, who was far older than he appeared. The group's precogs detected the rise of the Four Horsemen and were able to neutralise War; against orders, Buratino killed War rather than have him deployed against Mega-City One and defected from the Sov Block to assist Dredd in ending the crisis.[29]
Brit-Cit and Calhab[]
Brit-Cit Psi-Division is sometimes referred to as Psyk-Division[30]. Due to a smaller population than the Sovs and Big Meg, Brit-Cit often has to resort to using psis that suffer from severe psychiatric disorders[31] while Calhab would have barely any psis at all: empath Judge Schiehallion was the only psi in the mid-2110s, which meant reports into ill conduct would be destroyed rather than lose him.[32]
In 2116, Schiehallion went mad and became a conduit for supernatural entities that killed hundreds. This was covered up, presenting him as the hero that stopped the entities, only for his mania to continue and lead to the devastation of Calhab.[33]
In 2137, Psi-Judge Campbell had risen to command of Brit-Cit Psi Div.[34]
Nu-Delhi and Indo-Cit[]
The Indian megacities have Psi-Judges, wearing the uniforms of regular Street Judges.
Delhi's Judge Bhaji was sent on an exchange visit to Mega-City One in 2115 and almost immediately had a precog flash of Judge Grice's attack - though too late to stop it. He played a role in saving the city. [35] Later, Delhi and Indo-City psis would cooperate in trying to retrieve Tek-Judge Eckhart in Antarctica.[36]
Sino-Cit[]
Yishan Li
The Sino Block's psis and equivalent of Exorcist Judges are overseen by Section Radical 194, aka the Ministry of Paranormal Activities. Operatives wore plainclothes. The branch worked overtime during the Festival of Hungry Ghosts to tell if any murders were vengeful spirits.
In the late 2130s, Madam-Inspector Yishan Li ran 194 and with Johnny Woo uncovered a Mega-City One psi-weapon being 'dry run' in Hong Tong.[37]
The Vatican[]
Psis are part of the Vatican's White Ops and other counter-supernatural organisations, allowing the church to carry out strikes against the infernal.In 2126, a deniable group within the Vatican began capturing psis and 'burning' out their souls in an attempt to prepare the way for the Grudhead Assumed, a mad ritual to recreate Grud under their 'advisement'.[38]
Emerald Isle[]
The Emerald Isle appeared to have no psis - Judge-Sergeant Joyce questioned if one criminal was "one o' them mental fellas".[39]
Casablanca[]
Psi-Judge Hassid, a prodigy from a long line of Islamic seers, was sent on secondment to Mega-City One when he had a vision of death on the moon - unaware he was foreseeing his own death. Priestly garb is worn instead of uniforms and drugs were allowed to having visions.[40]
See also[]
- The Medusa Seed
References[]
- ↑ 2000 AD #150
- ↑ First established in City of the Dead
- ↑ The Medusa Seed
- ↑ Introduced in the Anderson story "WMD"
- ↑ Daily Star newspaper comic strip, dated 20th November 1982.
- ↑ 2000 AD #1515
- ↑ The Judges: Psyche novella
- ↑ The Judges: The Patriots novella
- ↑ Year Three novellas
- ↑ The Savage Amusement
- ↑ Doomsday
- ↑ Judge Child and City of The Damned
- ↑ Cabal
- ↑ prog 953, House of Sighs
- ↑ 2000 AD #1178
- ↑ After the Bombs
- ↑ Progs2167-8
- ↑ Judge Dredd: Asylum, Judge Dredd Megazine Vol. 4 #5
- ↑ In Necropolis, Judge Kraken, in his assumed role as the replacement Judge Dredd, discovers he is responsible for the attack on Mega-City One when he finds Psi-Judge Agee's badge on his person. It clearly has her name embossed on the reverse.
- ↑ Juliet November: Phoenix Falling, Judge Dredd Megazine #202-4
- ↑ Assuming Anderson was 20 (the usual minimum age for a Cadet to become a full Judge, although Psi-Division may have different rules) at the time of her first appearance in 2102, she would be at least 52 in 2134.
- ↑ 2000 AD #1436
- ↑ The Judges novellas
- ↑ Prog 700: "Shamballa"
- ↑ Wetworks novel
- ↑ Shamballa
- ↑ The Inspectre: Requiem
- ↑ The Inspectre series
- ↑ End of Days
- ↑ "Psyk-Division" used in Dave Stone's Armitage strips
- ↑ The Mancunian Candidate
- ↑ Cal-Hab Justice: Casualty
- ↑ Calhab Justice
- ↑ Storm Warning strips
- ↑ Inferno
- ↑ Or rather, the city names were used in the same strip due to accident and it was only later a story claimed they were two seperate cities
- ↑ A Hong Tong Ghost Story
- ↑ Grud is Dead audio
- ↑ Emerald Isle
- ↑ Darkside
| Judge Dredd | |
|---|---|
| Main Characters | Judge Dredd - Judge Hershey - Judge Anderson - Judge Beeny - Judge Buell - Galen DeMarco - Dirty Frank - Judge Edgar - Chief Judge Fargo - Judge Francisco - Judge Giant - Judge Goodman - Judge Griffin - Judge Guthrie - Judge Janus - Judge Karyn - Judge McGruder - Judge Niles - Judge Rico - Judge Shenker - Judge Silver - Judge Solomon - Judge Volt - Detective-Judge Armitage - Inspector Shimura - Devlin Waugh - Johnny Woo - Judge Larter - Judge Jack - Judge Agee - Judge Bennett - Judge Castillo - Judge Dekker - Judge Goon - Deputy Cheif Judge Herriman - Judge Kruger - Judge Munn - Judge Perrier - Judge Prager - Judge Minty - Detective-Judge Steel - Detective Judge Trant - Judge Kazan - Chief Judge Ohno - Judge-Inspector Akio Anaba - Judge Marshall Lawson |
| Recurring Villains | Angel Gang - Mean Machine Angel - Elmer Angel - Junior Angel - Link Angel - Judge Bachmann - Oola Blint - President Booth - Judge Cal - Dark Judges - Rico Dredd - Armon Gill - Judge Grice - Morton Judd - Kleggs - Judge Kraken - Mechanismo - Stan Lee - Marty Zpok - PJ Maybe - Nero Narcos - Orlock - Shojun the Warlord - Judge Sinfield - Call-Me-Kenneth - Mr. Moonie - Murd the Oppresor - Owen Krysler - Don Uggie Apelino - Captain Skank - Father Earth - Kazan - Bulgarin - General Blood'n'Guts - Satanus - Satan - Fink Angel - Ratty - Rhode Island Red - Phobia - Nausia - America Jara - Cesare - Judge Mortis - Judge Fear - Judge Death - Judge Fire - Manners - Ramses - Trapper Hag - Sabbat - Wu Yang - Yin Mie - Randolph Whitely - Judge Choke - Judge Sleep - Judge Sludge - Judge Burroghs - Judge Fistula - Judge Skinner - Judge Stigmata - The Seven Samurai - Rex Peters - Slocum - Kenny Who? - Nosferatu - Grampus - Heavy Metal Kid - Ratty - Elvis - The Warlords - DeGaulle - The Joker - The Scarecrow - The Riddler - Arnold Wesker - Lobo - Judge Kurten - Pink Eyes - Aimee Nixon - Mr. Bones - Effil Drago San - Bella Bagley - Dune Sharks - Xenomorphs - Ueno Hama - Raptaurs - The Explosive Man - Judge Sherman - Ankhhor - President Clinton Box - Pamelina Oswin |
| Other Characters | Chopper - Vienna Dredd - Fergee - Yassa Povey - Jacob Sardini - Walter the Wobot - Henry Ford - Spikes Harvey Rotten - Tweak - Tony Tubbs - Otto Sump - Mrs. Gunderson - Sensitive Klegg - Jack Point - Maria - Benneet Beeny - Grunwalder - Old Joe Blind - Max Normal - Toots Milloy - Mr. Harke - Mr. Burr - Jim Grubb - Dave the Orangutan - Nimrod - The Creep - Johnny Alpha - Wulf Sternhammer - The Fargo Clan - Randy Fargo - Jubal Fargo - Hocus Ritter - Batman - Harry Henson |
| Storylines | America - The Apocalypse War - Block Mania - City of the Damned - The Cursed Earth - Day of Chaos - Democracy - The Doomsday Scenario - The Hunting Party - The Judge Child - Judgement Day - Mechanismo - Mutants - Necropolis - Origins - Oz - The Pit - The Robot Wars - Tour of Duty Trifecta - Wilderlands |
| Crossovers | Judge Dredd vs. Aliens - Judgement on Gotham - Predator vs. Judge Dredd - Mars Attacks Judge Dredd |