Judge Goodman
Encyclopedia
Chief Judge Clarence Goodman is a fictional character in the Judge Dredd
stories published in the British comic 2000 AD. He appeared in the first episode of Judge Dredd in March 1977 (although he was not named until issue 86), and was the first regularly recurring supporting character.
's term in office, and later continued as deputy under Chief Judge Solomon
after Fargo resigned. When Fargo botched a suicide attempt, Goodman helped Solomon to fake Fargo's death. In 2057 Goodman became Chief Judge of Mega-City One
and immediately created the Council of Five
to assist him and began to arm up the Judges to the extent that they could challenge the military. He attempted to convince President Robert L. Booth
not to initiate a world war, but to no avail, and after the Atomic Wars
in 2070 he deposed Booth and became head of state, establishing the Justice Department as a stable new government.
Goodman was well liked by his people. There were three major crises during Goodman's time in power. The first of these was the outbreak of civil war between Mega-City One and Texas City, when Texas declared full independence. With the Cursed Earth
a near impenetrable barrier between the cities, Goodman eventually conceded that the civil war was futile and - in a move not entirely popular with all of his colleagues - he recognised Texas City's independence. (These events apparently took place between 2083 and 2086, and were mentioned on the cover of an issue of 2000 AD and adopted in a Judge Dredd novel and the role-playing game. However they may have been retcon
ned by the story "Origins
" which implied that the cities may have become independent by mutual consent following the Atomic Wars.)
The second crisis occurred at the start of 2099 when Goodman was possessed by a malevolent psychic mutant known as the Monkey, who forced him to lead the city into anarchy before Dredd killed it.
The third crisis came when the robot
s of Mega-City One rebelled against their masters and the Robot War
claimed millions of lives. The Chief Judge had previously clashed with Judge Dredd
on the issue of banning highly intelligent robots and when he refused to do this Dredd actually resigned. The advent of the robots' rebellion saw Goodman change his mind extremely fast and Judge Dredd took up his badge once more to put down the revolt. The Chief Judge knew just how much the city owed Dredd and how much it depended on him, so when he was forced to convict Judge Dredd of murder after he was framed by Deputy Chief Judge Cal
, Goodman found it very hard to come to terms with his decision. Even after Judge Dredd had demonstrated his innocence, the Chief Judge was a broken man and Cal was free to plot his demise.
His reign finally came to an end when he was murdered on the orders of his own deputy in 2100 or 2101.
and died in #89 (March 1977–November 1978). He also appeared as a major character in the story Origins
(2006–2007), appearing in flashback
s.
directly, or whether Judge Solomon
served in between. This was eventually settled by the story "Origins"
in 2006. However, his stated term of office contradicts an earlier mention in prog 1187 that Goodman was not yet chief judge in 2079.
He was succeeded by his deputy, Judge Cal
.
Judge Dredd
Judge Joseph Dredd is a comics character whose strip in the British science fiction anthology 2000 AD is the magazine's longest running . Dredd is an American law enforcement officer in a violent city of the future where uniformed Judges combine the powers of police, judge, jury and executioner...
stories published in the British comic 2000 AD. He appeared in the first episode of Judge Dredd in March 1977 (although he was not named until issue 86), and was the first regularly recurring supporting character.
Biography
Goodman was joint deputy chief judge at the end of Chief Judge FargoChief Judge Fargo
Chief Judge Eustace Fargo is an important fictional character from the Judge Dredd comic strip in 2000 AD. He is Judge Dredd's clone father....
's term in office, and later continued as deputy under Chief Judge Solomon
Judge Solomon
Chief Judge Hollins Solomon is a fictional character from the Judge Dredd stories in the comic 2000 AD. His first appearance in the comic was in a flashback in #68, in the 1978 story The Cursed Earth. However his main appearance is in the story Origins , as a recurring character in a series of...
after Fargo resigned. When Fargo botched a suicide attempt, Goodman helped Solomon to fake Fargo's death. In 2057 Goodman became Chief Judge of Mega-City One
Chief Judge of Mega-City One
Chief Judge of Mega-City One is the title of several supporting characters in the Judge Dredd comic strip published in 2000 AD. The chief judge is dictator and head of state of Mega-City One, a fictional future city of around 400 million people in 22nd-century America...
and immediately created the Council of Five
Council of Five
The Council of Five is a fictional legislature and court in the Judge Dredd comic strip appearing in 2000 AD. It first appeared in 2000 AD prog 86 ....
to assist him and began to arm up the Judges to the extent that they could challenge the military. He attempted to convince President Robert L. Booth
President Robert L. Booth
Robert Linus Booth is a fictional character from the British comic strip Judge Dredd in 2000 AD. He was the last President of the United States and the man who initiated the Atomic Wars.-Fictional character biography:...
not to initiate a world war, but to no avail, and after the Atomic Wars
Atomic Wars
The Atomic Wars or Great Atom War is a fictional event in the Judge Dredd universe.In 2070, the possibly psychotic President Robert L. Booth started World War III by starting a nuclear war which dragged in all the major superpowers....
in 2070 he deposed Booth and became head of state, establishing the Justice Department as a stable new government.
Goodman was well liked by his people. There were three major crises during Goodman's time in power. The first of these was the outbreak of civil war between Mega-City One and Texas City, when Texas declared full independence. With the Cursed Earth
Cursed Earth
The Cursed Earth is a part of the fictional universe from the Judge Dredd series that appears in the UK comic book 2000 AD.-Background:...
a near impenetrable barrier between the cities, Goodman eventually conceded that the civil war was futile and - in a move not entirely popular with all of his colleagues - he recognised Texas City's independence. (These events apparently took place between 2083 and 2086, and were mentioned on the cover of an issue of 2000 AD and adopted in a Judge Dredd novel and the role-playing game. However they may have been retcon
Retcon
Retroactive continuity is the alteration of previously established facts in a fictional work. Retcons are done for many reasons, including the accommodation of sequels or further derivative works in a series, wherein newer authors or creators want to revise the in-story history to allow a course...
ned by the story "Origins
Origins (Judge Dredd story)
Origins is one of the longest Judge Dredd storylines to run in the pages of British comic 2000 AD. Making extensive use of flashbacks, it tells the story of how the Judges of Mega-City One rose to power. It was written by John Wagner and illustrated by Carlos Ezquerra, who between them created...
" which implied that the cities may have become independent by mutual consent following the Atomic Wars.)
The second crisis occurred at the start of 2099 when Goodman was possessed by a malevolent psychic mutant known as the Monkey, who forced him to lead the city into anarchy before Dredd killed it.
The third crisis came when the robot
Robot
A robot is a mechanical or virtual intelligent agent that can perform tasks automatically or with guidance, typically by remote control. In practice a robot is usually an electro-mechanical machine that is guided by computer and electronic programming. Robots can be autonomous, semi-autonomous or...
s of Mega-City One rebelled against their masters and the Robot War
The Robot Wars
The Robot Wars was the first extended storyline for Judge Dredd during which the character became the most popular in the comic 2000 AD...
claimed millions of lives. The Chief Judge had previously clashed with Judge Dredd
Judge Dredd
Judge Joseph Dredd is a comics character whose strip in the British science fiction anthology 2000 AD is the magazine's longest running . Dredd is an American law enforcement officer in a violent city of the future where uniformed Judges combine the powers of police, judge, jury and executioner...
on the issue of banning highly intelligent robots and when he refused to do this Dredd actually resigned. The advent of the robots' rebellion saw Goodman change his mind extremely fast and Judge Dredd took up his badge once more to put down the revolt. The Chief Judge knew just how much the city owed Dredd and how much it depended on him, so when he was forced to convict Judge Dredd of murder after he was framed by Deputy Chief Judge Cal
Judge Cal
Chief Judge Cal is a fictional character in the Judge Dredd comic strip in 2000 AD. He was loosely based on the real life Roman emperor Caligula, who is widely considered to have been insane...
, Goodman found it very hard to come to terms with his decision. Even after Judge Dredd had demonstrated his innocence, the Chief Judge was a broken man and Cal was free to plot his demise.
His reign finally came to an end when he was murdered on the orders of his own deputy in 2100 or 2101.
Appearances
Judge Goodman first appeared in prog #2 of 2000 AD2000 AD (comic)
2000 AD is a weekly British science fiction-oriented comic. As a comics anthology it serialises a number of separate stories each issue and was first published by IPC Magazines in 1977, the first issue dated 26 February. IPC then shifted the title to its Fleetway comics subsidiary which was sold...
and died in #89 (March 1977–November 1978). He also appeared as a major character in the story Origins
Origins (Judge Dredd story)
Origins is one of the longest Judge Dredd storylines to run in the pages of British comic 2000 AD. Making extensive use of flashbacks, it tells the story of how the Judges of Mega-City One rose to power. It was written by John Wagner and illustrated by Carlos Ezquerra, who between them created...
(2006–2007), appearing in flashback
Flashback (narrative)
Flashback is an interjected scene that takes the narrative back in time from the current point the story has reached. Flashbacks are often used to recount events that happened before the story’s primary sequence of events or to fill in crucial backstory...
s.
Succession
There used to be some controversy among fans as to whether Goodman succeeded Chief Judge FargoChief Judge Fargo
Chief Judge Eustace Fargo is an important fictional character from the Judge Dredd comic strip in 2000 AD. He is Judge Dredd's clone father....
directly, or whether Judge Solomon
Judge Solomon
Chief Judge Hollins Solomon is a fictional character from the Judge Dredd stories in the comic 2000 AD. His first appearance in the comic was in a flashback in #68, in the 1978 story The Cursed Earth. However his main appearance is in the story Origins , as a recurring character in a series of...
served in between. This was eventually settled by the story "Origins"
Origins (Judge Dredd story)
Origins is one of the longest Judge Dredd storylines to run in the pages of British comic 2000 AD. Making extensive use of flashbacks, it tells the story of how the Judges of Mega-City One rose to power. It was written by John Wagner and illustrated by Carlos Ezquerra, who between them created...
in 2006. However, his stated term of office contradicts an earlier mention in prog 1187 that Goodman was not yet chief judge in 2079.
He was succeeded by his deputy, Judge Cal
Judge Cal
Chief Judge Cal is a fictional character in the Judge Dredd comic strip in 2000 AD. He was loosely based on the real life Roman emperor Caligula, who is widely considered to have been insane...
.