There has always been an enmity between the western mega-cities and the Sov Block. Most of the time this mutual distrust has merely simmered, but in some instances the cold war has boiled over, leading to catastrophic exchanges and horrifying violence. Mega-City One has suffered these exchanges many times, with Sov attacks ranging from nuclear assault to clandestine infiltration. One Sov agent above all casts a long shadow over MC-1…That man is Orlok the Assassin.
Prelude to War
The product of a brutal childhood in the Stalinist Sov Block, Orlok was raised as a weapon. Those years of training were finally put to the test when Orlok was unleashed on Mega-City One in 2104. Upon arrival in MC-1, he began to contaminate the city’s water supply with a drug designed to increase the population’s nascent aggression. Drug-fuelled and murderous, MC-1’s citizens duly sank into the bloody depths of the so-called ‘Block War’.
One by one the blocks of MC-1—towering conurbations each designed to house thousands of citizens—launched vicious and unremitting attacks on one another. With each block possessing squads of well-armed (and badly trained) militia units known as Citi-Def, these clashes resulted in huge bloodshed. As Orlok continued to poison more and more blocks, so the loss and life and collateral damage escalated. Soon the entirety of Mega-City was embroiled in escalating violence.
Orlok was finally apprehended and imprisoned by Judge Dredd, but not before the Justice Department’s resources struggled to contain the spreading chaos. It was against this background of strained Judges and a vastly depleted Citi-Def that Orlok’s Sov-Block masters revealed the true extent of their plan: the invasion of Mega-City One. The following conflagration—known as the Apocalypse War—led to the death of 400 million MC-1 citizens and the destruction of East-Meg One.
Mars and Judge Anderson
Disavowed by the Sov Block following the war, Orlok was confined in a Justice Department iso-block. He was freed by a rogue Sov agent and fled to Mars to plan the next stage of what had become a personal crusade against Mega-City One.
Assuming a new identity on Mars he encountered both Psi-Judge Anderson and the race of aliens who had created humanity. With these aliens now intent on eradicating mankind, Orlok and Anderson acted together to thwart them and save the human race.
Following the incident, Anderson resigned as a Judge and let Orlok go free.
The Trial of Dredd
In hiding on a distant planet, Orlok learned of a bounty placed on Judge Dredd by East-Meg One’s government in exile, now known as the Diktatorat. Believing that only he had the right to kill Dredd, he travelled back to MC-1 during the Second Robot War and captured not only Dredd, but the newly reinstated Judge Anderson.
With the two Judges now his captives, he found a way out of the war-torn city and brought his prisoners before the Diktatorat. There Anderson was forced to act as Dredd’s counsel for the defence as he was tried for the destruction of East-Meg One and the deaths of half a billion of its population during the Apocalypse War. The Diktatorat broadcast the trial live across the Earth.
However, a skilled defence by Anderson forced Orlok to admit Dredd acted purely in defence of MC-1 during the Apocalypse War; a war the Sovs had instigated. Cognisant the trial was being transmitted live, the Diktatorat had no choice but to find Dredd not guilty, but not before arranging for Dredd to be assassinated. The assassination failed and Orlok—enraged by his masters’ deception—killed the Diktatorat. Dredd and Anderson took this opportunity to escape to freedom, leaving Orlok behind.
Classic Moment
2000AD prog #244 / Judge Dredd The Complete Case Files 05
Cornered by Dredd at the climax of the Block War storyline, Orlok engages his nemesis in hand-to-hand combat.
Further Reading
The Trial of Orlok (2000AD prog #224–228 / Judge Dredd: Satan’s Island)
Orlok returns to Mega-City One to release a biological agent that kills 80,000 citizens. This time, however, Dredd catches Orlok, and the assassin is finally tried for his crimes…
‘This creep is one of the deadliest perps in the history of Mega-City One; he’s right up there with P.J. Maybe and second only to Judge Death. I have never stood toe-to-toe with anybody as quick as him, as tough as him, or as skilled as him. If the Sov block had cloned him the same way we cloned Fargo, the Apocalypse War would have ended a whole different way.’
Orlok’s stat line is almost on par with Dredd’s, and skills like Martial Arts Master—which allows him to roll a an extra Evade dice in close combat—ensures he can go toe-to-toe with Joe any day of the week. The Indestructible skill also means Orlok’s stats are unaffected by wounds and stun markers, and his war surveillance drone allows him to automatically dodge one successful shooting attack per game. Little wonder then that ol’ stony face himself is so wary of this master assassin.
Arch Villains of Mega City One
Mega-City One has been the target of violent coups, crime wars, otherworldly onslaughts and foreign invasions – each being the brainchild of a villain wanting to see the city, Justice Department and/or Dredd himself perish...
Sov agent Orlok the Assassin nearly brought the city to its knees with the Block Mania drug – a deadly precursor to the invasion from East-Meg forces. Judge Death, a Dark Judge from Deadworld, where life itself is considered a crime and the sentence is death.
The sole surviving member of the infamous Angel Gang, Mean Machine Angel is a psychopath with a dial on his forehead regulating his anger levels! Judge Grice was a disgraced Judge who broke out of the high-security prison on the Saturn moon of Titan. He became de facto Chief Judge during his bloody coup.
Crime Lord Nero Narcos unleashed what is sometimes referred to as the Second Robot War, tearing the Justice Department apart with his army of lethal drones, and booby-trapping the Judges’ Mark II Lawgivers.
Box contains:
- 5 Warlord resin arch villain miniatures
- Plastic bases
- 5 Character cards
- 1 Armoury card: Stealth Suit
- 1 Big Meg card: Rotten Judge
