Judge Kraken

In the Judge Dredd comic strip featured in the long running UK comic 2000 AD, Judge Kraken was originally one of the Judda, a tribe of rogue clones of Chief Judge Fargo created by the renegade Judge Morton Judd and based beneath Ayers Rock in what is left of Australia (See Oz).

Kraken was taken prisoner by Mega City One judges following the failed Judda teleporter incursion into the Grand Hall of Justice, after which he underwent a lengthy process of deprogramming in order to overcome his loyalty to the Judda. He was then trained with the intention of eventually replacing Judge Dredd (technically his clone brother), who had been showing increasing signs of disillusionment with the judge system.

Matters finally came to a head in the events recounted in the story Tale of the Dead Man, when Dredd was asigned Kraken to assess his suitability to adopt the role as a full street judge. Kraken performed impeccably, his skills and judgement outshining even those of his assessor. However Dredd was able to detect lingering traces of loyalty to the creed of the Judda, and failed Kraken, who was then sentenced to death by lethal injection.

Immeadiatly following this assessment, Dredd announced his resignation from the judges, and took 'the long walk' into the Cursed Earth. However, Chief Judge Silver had secretly ordered that Kraken be spared from execution, and, over-ruling Dredd's decision, appointed him a full judge. He furthermore covered up Dredd's disappearance from the city by using Kraken to assume his identity (See Countdown to Necropolis).

Shortly afterwards Kraken was visited by the Sisters of Death, who, by manipulating his doubts and confusion, were able to control his mind. They used him to trap Psi Judge Kit Agee, whose body they used as a psychic dimension bridge between Mega City One and Deadworld, then to bring back the Dark Judges themselves from dimension limbo, thus creating Necropolis.

Dredd, with assistance from Judge Anderson, Chief Judge McGruder and a handful of Cadet Judges, was eventually able to defeat the dark judges. Kraken, who was by now himself a dark judge, was summarily executed by Dredd for his crimes against the city.