Antarctic City is a neutral megacity in the Antarctic, surrounded by the foreign-ruled Antarctic Territories. The Atomic Wars have left a lush "Antarctic Jungle" nearby. [1]
It was introduced in the Shamballa world map and appears to be centred on the Australian Antarctic Territory.
Description[]
Antarctic City is a poorer neutral megacity, mostly a collective of mining towns with many buildings made out of shipping containers. Many of the people living there have left other cities out of desperation. Privately-run outposts surround the city and have little oversight from Antarctic law.[2] Badly regulated mines, science labs, and 'back to nature' settlements like the Amundsen Outpost are out in the territories, an even harsher and mostly lawless area.[3]
Antarctic City's neutrality has made it a destination of choice for criminals: Nero Narcos had an untouchable account at the Bank of Antarctica[4] and bent MC-1 Judges Jackson and Klee planned to flee there with stolen creds[5].
History[]
Antarctic City existed in 2080.[6]
The Antarctic Treaty was abandoned in 2090, allowing the continent to be built on. Six foreign powers built outposts, both scientific and industrial, in the mineral-rich Antarctic Territories. Criminals would hide out in the frozen wastes.[7]
Antarctica after the revolution
Soon after its formation (which took place before 2101), the nation of Antarctica voted to become a monarchy and leased the British Royal Family on a long-term contract. The very next year saw the Antarctic Revolution and the regicide of Queen Beatrice and most of her line. [8]
Into the 2110s, despite the independent Antarctic City, the foreign megacities would clash for the territory and governorships they still had. [9]
Antarctic City was beseiged by Sabbat's zombies on Judgement Day and attended the Hondo conference.
In the 2116 Nepal Olympics, Antarctic City competed in taxidermy (competitor Sibling) and mountaineering. The entire mountaineering team were wiped out in a blizzard.
The Antarctic ambassador to Mega-City One had the misfortune to be staying in a hotel room that the Howler wanted. When he objected, the Howler tortured him and his party to death.[10]
In 2117, Judge Eckhart's ship crashed in the Territories, near the abandoned Ultima Thule Mining Complex. As this was neutral ground, various megacities could travel there to fight it out for Eckhart's knowledge. Antarctic City stayed out of it.
Mega-City One's Judge Wynter was sent to patrol the Amundsen Outpost as a disciplinary measure. Many of the outpost's children were dying as the sterile environment prevented them developing an immune system and an influenza vaccine was flown out to them. Pirates under the command of Captain Smee attacked the vaccine's transport, trying to get chemical weapons on board; Wynter defeated them and secured the medicine. [11]
Later in 2117, a radio caller in Mega-City One referred to the "situation in Antarctica".[12]
Antarctic City held the 2120 Olympics.[13]
The Antarctic government handed three Total War members over to Mega-City One in 2126. Total War planned to retaliate by murdering the visiting Southern Cross sports team. Dredd prevented this - though the Judges had kept news of the plot from Antarctic City, so as to make sure the terrorists weren't aware they were being watched.[14]
When discussing states that might move against Guatemala, the Humanistas leader referred to Antarctica.[15]
Judge Smiley ran a clandestine operation in Antarctic City. In the 2140s, Barbara Hershey attempted to dismantle it.[16]
Judges[]
Antarctic Judges are equipped with heavy armour, oversized guns with harpoon/grapples, and heavily armed hoverbikes. In place of helmets, they have bulky covers for their heads to keep out the cold.
Foreign cities send their own Judges to Antarctic City to patrol their interests and use this tour of duty as a disciplinary measure. [17] Many of the Antarctic Badges are the dregs of the other megacity forces and had no other option, with Hershey calling it "a whole force of Long Walkers".[18]
"Polar Judges" in green, fur-lined winter clothes and visors were shown in Mega-Special #1: "Constantly fighting against both hostile environment (Arctic Sector) and extremely hostile mining/prospecting community. Genetically modified to survive polar conditions." As no Arctic city was ever shown in the subsequent prog 701 world map, this is likely been retconned as Antarctic. One of these Judges was seen at the Hondo conference on Judgement Day.
IDW[]
Antarctic City was one of the many cities infiltrated by the Martian Colonial Army. When these invaders were routed, heavily armed snow-dozers were at the forefront.[19]
Mongoose RPG[]
Mongoose's Judge Dredd Roleplaying Game stated that the six global powers with Antarctic interests are meant to provide assistance to each other but in practice will battle for influence instead. Some outposts are multinational, some are crewed purely by a city's nationals, and there are "island mining profiles run by close-knit communities" inbetween them. [20]
Trivia[]
Antarctica as a feuding land of foreign territories with an international judiciary was created as "a fairly detailed backstory" (to quote 2000AD Encyclopedia) for Wynter, only for only one strip to be published in the Megazine.[21] This backstory isn't presented within the strip itself and not clear in its reprints in Extreme Edition and Mega-Collection, and so Antarctic City remained a thinly-detailed bit of futurism (a megacity down in Antarctica) in most stories. The Hershey strip in 2022 would bring this backstory into the comics themselves.
In the Dredd story "Crusade", Antarctic City goes unmentioned but this is probably down to the writers being unaware of it.
References[]
- ↑ I'm Manny, Me Fly
- ↑ Hershey: The Cold in the Bones
- ↑ Hershey: The Cold in the Bones and Wynter
- ↑ Doomsday
- ↑ Megazine 4.08
- ↑ Dredd Year One: Wear Iron novella
- ↑ Megazine 2.70: Introduction page for Wynter, Black Flame glossary for Antarctic Territories
- ↑ Megazine 400
- ↑ Megazine 2.70: Introduction page for Wynter
- ↑ Megazine 2.49
- ↑ Megazine 2.70
- ↑ Skar Part 1, Megazine 2.73
- ↑ Megazine 2.46
- ↑ Terror
- ↑ Prog 2153
- ↑ Hershey: The Cold in the Bones
- ↑ Megazine 2.70: Introduction page for Wynter
- ↑ Prog 2302
- ↑ Mars Attacks Judge Dredd #2 and #4
- ↑ Mongoose Dredd Core Book
- ↑ 2000AD Encyclopedia Part Ten (U-Z)