Judge Guthrie

Judge Guthrie
Guthrie undercover (painted by Carlos Ezquerra)
Publication information
Publisher	Rebellion Developments
First appearance	2000 AD prog 971 (1995)
Created by	John Wagner and Carlos Ezquerra
In-story information
Full name	Irwin Guthrie
Team affiliations	Wally Squad Judges

Judge Irwin Guthrie is a fictional character in the Judge Dredd comic strip in 2000 AD.

Guthrie first appeared in the comic strip as an undercover judge (known as the Wally Squad) in 2000 AD prog 971. The criminal gang he infiltrated had corrupted some of the judges in City Sector 301, including Guthrie's handler Judge McDade, and when his investigations became too successful she exposed his identity. When Guthrie managed to escape, his handler tried to kill him herself. Guthrie killed her and two other rogue judges in self-defence, but not knowing who to trust he became a fugitive hiding in the underworld. He even went so far as to break into the local Judges' HQ and hold Judge Dredd at gunpoint in order to explain his side of the story (which was rather difficult, since Guthrie used a lot of street slang which sometimes made him hard to follow). Judge Dredd eventually arrested Guthrie and cleared his name, as well as using information from him to arrest several corrupt judges. Guthrie returned to uniform duties, and his inside knowledge of the Sector 301 branch of the Frendz Mob helped to bring them down.

As a uniformed judge, Guthrie proved himself in combat during both the war against the Sector 301 Frendz Mob and in the Second Robot War. Loyal to Dredd, he served with him on several further cases, including as part of a team sent in to raid a Sov gulag to retrieve Mega-City prisoners in 2126.

In 2127 Guthrie was severely wounded by a bomb, losing most of his limbs, and was unable to return to normal street duty. He became despondent and asked Judge Giant to help him die, but Giant was able to convince him to live. Guthrie was later fitted with a new cybernetic body, enabling him to return to active duty as a catch-wagon driver, transporting newly arrested criminals from arrest scenes to holding cells. Although his duties no longer routinely involve investigating crime or making arrests, his body suit is equipped with a variety of weapons systems. He is currently running an off-shore Iso-Block that previously served as the vigilante "House of Pain".

Guthrie was played by Francis Chouler in the 2012 film Dredd.