Angel Gang

Angel Gang

The Angel Gang breaking the fourth wall on the cover of 2000 AD prog 160, art by Mike McMahon. From left to right: Link Angel, Elmer "Pa" Angel, Mean "Mean Machine" Angel and Junior Angel.
Publication information
Publisher Rebellion A/S
First appearance 2000 AD prog 160 (1980)
Created by John Wagner[1]
Alan Grant[1]
Mike McMahon[1]
In-story information
Base(s) Cursed Earth, north of Texas City[2]
Member(s) Elmer "Pa" Angel
Ma Angel
Fink Angel
Link Angel
Mean "Mean Machine" Angel
Junior Angel
Ratfink Angel
Mean Junior

The Angel Gang is a fictional group of villains appearing within the Judge Dredd comic strip in the weekly comic book 2000 AD. They are "a family of scruffy, backwoodsy, outrageously cruel thugs" from the Cursed Earth near Texas City who vie with the titular Dredd.[3]

Publication history

The Angel Gang were created by the writers John Wagner and Alan Grant and the illustrator Mike McMahon for the Judge Dredd comic strip in 2000 AD. They first appeared in Prog (issue) 160 of 2000 AD as the antagonists of the "Judge Child" storyline, during which each of the four members were killed off.[4] The Angel Gang were "hugely popular with readers", leading Wagner to introduce a fifth Angel, Fink Angel, in Prog 193 (first published in 1981).[3] In the same storyline, Wagner also introduced the background character of Ma Angel in a flashback.[2]

Wagner reintroduced Mean Angel in the Destiny's Angels storyline that ran from Prog 281 to Prog 288 (first published in 1982), stating "he was just too good a character to throw away, and somehow he suited miracle rebirth".[3][5] Mean Angel went on to become a recurring antagonist until Prog 1536 (first published in 2007) in which he was effectively written out of ongoing storylines.[3][6] He was seemingly killed off once more in a 2015 story appearing in Judge Dredd Megazine.[7]

In Prog 958 (first published in 1995), Wagner reintroduced Elmer and Junior Angel, retconning their deaths.[8] The "resurrection" of Elmer and Junior proved unpopular with readers, with author John Wagner later stating in an online interview: "We got away with resurrecting Mean Machine, I think. He was just too good a character to throw away, and somehow he suited miracle rebirth, but I confess in hindsight Pa and Junior were a step too far. I don't think I'll be using them again".[3]

Since 2007, the appearances of the Angel Gang in 2000 AD have largely been restricted to flashbacks and strips set prior to their deaths.[3] The 2007 strip "Before They Wuz Dead" by Simon Spurrier fleshed out the character of Link Angel and explored the relationships between the family members.[1] In 2008, Wagner introduced another member of the Angel Gang, Ratfink.[9] Ratfink made a second appearance in 2012.[10] The Angel Gang returned in 2015 in "Angelic", a strip by Gordon Rennie that further explored their backstory.[11]

As of 2015, the surviving members of the Angel Gang in the current storyline are Elmer Angel, Junior Angel, Ratfink, and Mean Junior.

Fictional biography

Members

Storylines

Elmer "Pa" Angel and his wife, "Ma" Angel are outlaws, formerly in the employ of the gangster Dil Grimczi.[1] They live in a shack in the Cursed Earth to the north of Texas City. Elmer and Ma have four children, Fink, Link, Mean and Junior, with Ma dying giving birth to Junior. Elmer vows to raise the four boys to be "the most vicious, orneriest, baddest family the world's ever seen."[2]

As his sons grow up, Elmer becomes concerned that Mean is not vicious enough. He kidnaps a surgeon from Texas City and forces him to implant a dial in Mean's forehead that controls his temperament, along with replacing Mean's right arm with a bionic substitute.[2] Mean is later briefly engaged to the outlaw Sarah "Seven-Pound Sadie" Suggs. Suggs leaves Mean before the wedding, but not before he has fathered a son with her.[16] Meanwhile, Fink becomes increasingly solitary, ultimately leaving his family to live alone in the Cursed Earth, with Elmer occasionally summoning him to assist the Angel Gang with their schemes, including an attempt to purloin Grimczi's legendary treasure in 2101.[1][2]

Judge Dredd first encounters the Angel Gang in 2102 during his quest to locate Owen Krysler, the "Judge Child". Elmer, Link, Mean and Junior have escaped from detention in Texas City, and are anxious to escape the planet. Hearing of the Judge Child's precognitive abilities, they obtain him from a carnival worker, intending to sell him, and unleash a monster on the pursuing Dredd before fleeing Earth. Dredd tracks them to the planet of Xanadu, where they commit many murders. Realising that Dredd is in pursuit, Elmer instructs Link and Mean to set an ambush for Dredd in the town of Drybone while he and Junior leave with the Judge Child. Mean and Link ambush Dredd, but are killed when Mean inadvertently headbutts a gas pump, causing an explosion. Dredd pursues Elmer and Junior into the "Robot Free State" ruled by a robot, The Grunwalder. Dredd wounds Elmer with a 12 km shot from a long-range rifle and Junior is left behind to ambush him while Elmer seeks the Grunwalders protection. He outflanks Junior and sentences him to death by throwing him into the volcano, enraging Elmer who attacks Dredd before also falling into the crater - but survives by grabbing an outcrop of rock. The Judge Child then uses his telekinetic abilities to deflect Dredd's bullets, and crack the rock, causing Elmer to fall to his death. This act also confirms Dredd's opinion that the Judge Child is evil and unsuitable to rule MegaCity One.[3][4]

Later in 2102, Fink Angel and his companion Ratty journey to Dredd's home of Mega-City One to take vengeance on Dredd and his team from the Judge Child mission, having learned of his family's fate from a discarded newspaper. Fink is ultimately defeated by Dredd and Judge Hershey and imprisoned.[2] In 2104, Mean Angel is magically returned to life by Owen Krysler using a "resurrection elixir" to take revenge on Dredd for abandoning Krysler on Xanadu. Mean joins forces with the freed Fink and attacks Dredd in his apartment. Fink and Ratty do not survive this second encounter with Dredd, but Mean Angel is captured.[5]

In 2117, 15 years after their apparent deaths, Elmer and Junior Angel are revealed to still be alive, having been placed in suspended animation.[8] They are subsequently brought to Mega-City One by Dredd and used as a bargaining chip to persuade Mean Angel to assist Dredd.[17] The three family members were later incarcerated together in the supermax prison "Iso-Block 666".[12]

Over the following years, Mean repeatedly escapes from prison, only to be recaptured each time.[3] During one of his escapes, Mean encounters his now 13-year-old son, Mean Junior, who he unsuccessfully attempts to instill criminal tendencies in.[16] Mean's periodic escapes continue until 2129, when he is rendered docile when his dial and claw are removed via microsurgery and released into the custody of Mean Junior.[6] Upon the release of the Chaos Bug in 2134, Mean is infected, temporarily returning him to his murderous personality. Upon recovering, a guilt-ridden Mean parts from his son and exiles himself from Mega-City One, where he dies heroically helping free a group of slaves.[7]

The final member of the Angel Gang to encounter Dredd was Ratfink, a poisoner and highwayman, in 2130. Ratfink was ultimately captured by the Judges at considerable loss of life, with Dredd ordering him interrogated and executed.[9] In 2134, Ratfink escapes from custody and captured Dredd, torturing him until Dredd took him prisoner once again.[10]

In other media

The Angel Gang in the Judge Dredd movie.

Judge Dredd movie

The Angel Gang appeared in the movie version of Judge Dredd, wherein they were represented as religious fanatics and cannibals. Pa Angel was played by Scott Wilson; Mean Machine by Christopher Adamson; Link by Phil Smeeton; and Junior by Ewen Bremner. Fink did not appear in the film. Dredd encounters them when his shuttle is downed by them and they capture him, but he quickly frees himself and kills them in combat.

The novelization based on the film took Pa's fanaticism even further—to "keep out evil spirits", Pa had sewn shut his ears, eyes, and mouth. He thus communicated in a series of muffled words and grunts.

Mean Angel's costume and prosthetics in the movie were designed by 2000 AD artist Chris Halls.[3]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Simon Spurrier (2007). Before They Wuz Dead. Judge Dredd Megazine volume 5, #258 to #262 (Rebellion Developments).
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 T.B. Grover (1981). The Fink. 2000 AD, Prog 193 to Prog 196 (IPC Magazines).
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Duane Swierczynski (7 November 2013). Judge Dredd #9. IDW Publishing. pp. 25–.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 John Wagner and Alan Grant (1980). The Judge Child. 2000 AD, Prog 160 to Prog 181 (IPC Magazines).
  5. 1 2 3 4 John Wagner and Alan Grant (1982). Destiny's Angels. 2000 AD, Prog 281 to Prog 288 (IPC Magazines).
  6. 1 2 3 4 John Wagner (2007). Fifty-Year Man. 2000 AD, Prog 1536 (Rebellion Developments).
  7. 1 2 3 Michael Carroll (2015). Tales from the Black Museum: Rising Angel. Judge Dredd Megazine volume 5, #358 (Rebellion Developments).
  8. 1 2 John Wagner (1995). Awakening of Angels. 2000 AD, Prog 958 (Fleetway Publications).
  9. 1 2 3 John Wagner (2008). Ratfink. Judge Dredd Megazine volume 5, #273 to #277 (Rebellion Developments).
  10. 1 2 3 John Wagner (2012). Ratfink's Revenge. Judge Dredd Megazine volume 5, #328 to #330 (Rebellion Developments).
  11. ↑ Gordon Rennie (2015). Angelic. Judge Dredd Megazine volume 5, #356-359 (Rebellion Developments).
  12. 1 2 3 T.B. Grover (1995). The Ballad of Devil Angel. 2000 AD, Prog 965 to Prog 966 (Fleetway Publications).
  13. 1 2 Mean! Surly! Vicious! Brutal!. Judge Dredd Yearbook 1994 (Fleetway Publications). 1994.
  14. 1 2 John Wagner (1991). Travels With Muh Shrink. 2000 AD, Prog 730 to Prog 736 (Fleetway Publications).
  15. ↑ Simon Spurrier (2007). Pizen: Impossible. Judge Dredd Megazine volume 5, #263 to #265 (Rebellion Developments).
  16. 1 2 3 John Wagner (1994). Son of Mean. Judge Dredd Megazine volume 2, #63 to #72 (Fleetway Publications).
  17. ↑ John Wagner and Trevor Hairsine (1995). The Three Amigos. Judge Dredd Megazine volume 3, #2 to #7 (Fleetway Publications).

External links

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