Professor Dredd I
- We're science: we're all about coulda, not shoulda!
- —Patton Oswalt, "The Miracle of Childbirth", on Werewolves and Lollipops (2007)
- This article is about the original Professor Dredd. Information on the Rogue Professor Dredd can be found here.
Professor Dredd is my second transplant from the Protector server (the first having been Ebon Thunderbolt). He was originally envisioned as an amoral (as opposed to evil) scientist, with a twist that he is aware that he is perceived as a "mad" scientist, and has fun with it.
Force Fields
Personality
Dredd seems to relish the role of a mad scientist-but has often demonstrated a hold on rationality that could make one wonder if his madness is truly real, or it is something he feigns for his own amusement.
He possesses a dry and urbane wit, accepting his losses with a shrug, knowing he'll be back to fight another day. This lighter outlook has kept him from falling into the depths of madness other scientists have when their schemes fall apart.
It is important to realize that Dredd doesn't see himself as evil; he sees himself more as amoral, not actually caring about the harm his work can do. He would be just as happy working for heroic organizations if they paid as well as villainy did-or at least, as well as his villainy does.
Dredd has a deep and abiding dislike for magic and the arcane. It follows no rules but its own undefined strictures, which he finds quite insulting. He has pencilled in some time to try to quantify magic at some point in the future, but it is not his highest priority. Science remains supreme in his eyes, and those who wield technology's power are best suited to be in charge. Even if the authority is a quiet one.
Powers
While Professor Dredd has no inherent powers-unless one counts his advanced intellect-he has invented a number of tools that make him the equal of any super-powered beings.
Robotics
Dredd has manufactured hundreds-perhaps thousands-of combat robots stored in a pocket-dimensional space. Due to the power requirements of these robots, he is limited as to how many he can bring to earth at a time. The artificial intelligences displayed by the robots are shards of the central AI in their storage hub; a glitch in the trinary programming of the AI causes the robots to occasionally display atypical behavior.
At present, Dredd has revealed three models of robot. The XR-7 series Shock Trooper robots are designed to overwhelm enemies with force of numbers and focused fire. The XR-8 series Steel Guardian robots are capable of projecting force shields around the other robots, and can repair other robots in the field; it can also field an impressive array of weapons on its own. The XR-9 series Rampart Busters are the heaviest weapons he can field at this time, capable of demolishing buildings on their own.
The power requirements needed to channel energy to the Earth-bound robots limits Dredd to using three Shock Troopers, two Steel Guardians, and a single Rampart Buster at this time. Dredd is continually working to improve the robots to bring more over.
As an outgrowth of his robotics experiments, Dredd can retrieve a pulse rifle of his own design to support his robotic minions.
Force Fields
Dredd is able to create force fields of varying types via equipment he has hidden under his lab coat. A side effect of the technology used to create such fields allows him to propel a force bubble towards an enemy, knocking him back away from the villain.
Additional Powers
Professor Dredd's inventive genius has created other bits of technology which has assisted him in his crimes.
Leadership
A combat analyzer of Dredd's design points out weaknesses in the fighting styles of opposition, allowing him to direct his robots-and any other allies-to strike with greater effect.
Flight
A null-gravity field inducer permits Dredd to fly, increasing his mobility for both strategic and tactical purposes.
Fitness
While nobody can accuse Dredd of being a physically perfect specimen, use of high-technology tools has allowed him to increase his stamina substantially. A careful diet plan has aided his resistance to disease, and a pocket health regenerator has helped him recuperate from injury.
Abilities
Professor Dredd is a genius, skilled in many technological and scientific fields. He has independently made advances in robotics, weapons design, energy field manipulation, dimensional travel, and power generation.
Weaknesses and Limitations
Dredd's primary weakness is his confidence that his genius can work a way out of any situation, solve any problem. Dredd doesn't handle surprise very well, and can be goaded into making rash decisions. Dredd is at his best when following a carefully mapped out plan.
Equipment
Dredd may have assorted minor bits of technology available to him at any time; one example is a universal translation device, which allows him to understand any language on Earth, as well as the Rikti language. An additional tool allows his words to be translated into a preselected language as well.
Character History
Protectorate Earth
The Beginnings
Alexander Carmichael has always been a prodigy of sorts. Building things was more than a hobby for him-it was a passion. As he grew up and went through schooling, he found that anytime he ran into a problem he couldn't surmount on his own, he could build a device that would allow him to overcome that problem. Technology was the answer to all of his problems, he decided. Technology could be the answer to all problems.
Unfortunately, in order to build the tools he needed, Carmichael required money-far more than he could get even by selling the designs of his devices. With legal routes unavailable, he chose to go the illegal one. He robbed a number of banks across the country, calling himself "Professor Dredd", with a home-built robot as his muscle; unfortunately for him, he was eventually captured by a superhuman hero, and was transported to the only prison proven effective against people like him: the Zig in Paragon City.
He wasn't destined to stay there long.
The Syndicate
Within weeks, he was broken out of the Zig by Arachnos troops, staging a recruiting drive for Lord Recluse's growing organization. He managed to link up with another villain named Ebon Storm-and the two concocted a partnership. In cooperation in the Rogue Islands, they managed to amass a significant amount of wealth. Success attracted others, and between the two of them, Ebon and Dredd formed the Black Syndicate. The future was looking bright. Dredd had the money to build more robots, storing them in a transdimensional space, and under Ebon's leadership, the Syndicate looked to eventually rival Arachnos itself.
Then it all fell apart. Ebon was replaced by a fifth-rate loser after an accident at a Portal Corp lab. Examination of the man indicated that, from a genetic standpoint, he was identical to the Ebon Storm he knew-but he hailed from a different Earth. Dredd tried to manipulate the criminal, propping him up as the true Ebon Storm, but the Syndicate quickly learned the truth. This, in combination with a sustained assault by heroes of Paragon City, led Dredd to abandon the Syndicate entirely, and take a new chance-to attempt to duplicate the accident under more controlled circumstances, and follow Ebon to whatever Earth he'd ended up on.
Primal Earth
Dredd's arrival on Primal Earth was unheralded; as he would later learn, his genetic duplicate had died in childbirth, making Dredd a blank slate. That suited Dredd fine-he was more than content to begin his villainy-all in the pursuit of technology, of course!-without the hinderance of reputation. Nonetheless, Dredd developed such a reputation swiftly.
To his delight, he once again located Ebon-now calling himself Ebon Thunderbolt-and the two are once again cooperating with each other to mutual benefit. The two decided that, for the present, they would avoid bringing in others to their newly formed Syndicate, in order to prevent another potential disaster. Unfortunately for Dredd, it wasn't long before he caught the attention of various members of Hyperion Force, who managed to trash not just one, but two of his schemes-and for good measure, captured him and threw him in the Zig.
Dredd escaped the Zig during a riot that he "encouraged", promising the would-be rioters that he would take them with him when he escaped (he lied). He remained a step ahead of both the heroes of the city and the forces of the Black Syndicate of Protectorate Earth-villains who were a bit irritated by the fact that he'd he'd not only misled them about Ebon, but had also activated beacons implanted in their skulls to radiate a tracking signal keyed to every law enforcement division on Protectorate Earth. After several months, Dredd was recaptured by Hyperion Force, and has been constantly moved around from prison to prison to prevent the Syndicate from locating him before the heroes of Hyperion Force can locate and capture the rest of them. In mid-2010, Dredd was extradited back to Protectorate Earth to stand trial there for his crimes.
Affiliations
|
Organizations
|
Friends
|
Opponents
|
Trivia
- ↑ This caption shamelessly cribbed from Peter David's Captain Marvel, specifically from one of the title character's opponents, "Fredd".