| rdfs:comment | - Later still, Mean Machine Angel was resurrected by Krysler and teamed up with his brother Fink in another attempt on Dredd's life. On that occasion, Fink died too, but Mean survived and returned to bedevil Dredd on several occasions before apparently being cured of his homicidal tendencies, which were the result of unnecessary cybernetic surgery carried out on him as a child on Pa's instructions (he felt that the peaceful, gentle Mean was letting the side down). Years later, it was revealed that Pa and Junior had also survived their initial clash with Dredd, but they were subsequently jailed and haven't been seen since (writer John Wagner later admitted that resurrecting them was a mistake).
- The Angel Gang were created by the writers John Wagner and Alan Grant and the illustrator Mike McHanon 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 of. The Angel Gang were "hugely popular with readers", leading Wagner to introduce a fifth Angel, Fink Angel, in Prog 193 (first published in 1981). In the same storyline, Wagner also introduced the background character of Ma Angel in a flashback.
- In the "Judge Child" storyline, the Angels (except for Fink) have escaped from detention in Texas City, and are anxious to get off-planet. Hearing of the Judge Child's precognitive abilities, they obtain him from a carnival worker who's using him in a fake fortune-telling racket and take him along. The value of a child who could see and perhaps even influence the future was obvious, but the Angel Gang had to travel a long way before they could find a way to turn a decent profit from his capture. They finally arrived on the Planet Xanadu, where a mysterious and dangerous robot called the Grunwalder ruled over his own independent Kingdom. Pa Angel was keen to do a deal with the robot, hoping to exchange Owen Krysler for considerable riches - as well as protection from the Mega-City One Judge
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| abstract | - In the "Judge Child" storyline, the Angels (except for Fink) have escaped from detention in Texas City, and are anxious to get off-planet. Hearing of the Judge Child's precognitive abilities, they obtain him from a carnival worker who's using him in a fake fortune-telling racket and take him along. The value of a child who could see and perhaps even influence the future was obvious, but the Angel Gang had to travel a long way before they could find a way to turn a decent profit from his capture. They finally arrived on the Planet Xanadu, where a mysterious and dangerous robot called the Grunwalder ruled over his own independent Kingdom. Pa Angel was keen to do a deal with the robot, hoping to exchange Owen Krysler for considerable riches - as well as protection from the Mega-City One Judges. However, Dredd caught up with the Angel Gang on Xanadu and he was prepared to kill them all in his quest for the Judge Child. Link was the first to fall, followed by Mean Machine, then Junior and finally Pa. Later, Fink comes to Mega-City One to avenge his kinsfolk, only to be imprisoned, and "Mean Machine" is resurrected by the Judge Child to be sent back for revenge on Dredd. There have also been some stand-alone stories featuring the Angel Gang, notably one where they were travelling in time after Mean Machine hijacked a time machine from a university and, not knowing what to do, decided to go back in time and find his Pa, who was always able to come up with a clever plan. In 2000AD Prog 958's Dredd story 'Awakening Of Angels', John Wagner 'resurrected' Pa and Junior Angel by revealing that when Dredd 'killed' them by throwing them into a volcano, they never actually died but were instead trapped in a crystal-like substance which held them in suspended animation. This proved an unpopular plotline. Many readers felt it was cheesy and out of keeping with the spirit of 2000AD, which was never afraid to kill off its characters. Wagner later regretted the move, 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."
- Later still, Mean Machine Angel was resurrected by Krysler and teamed up with his brother Fink in another attempt on Dredd's life. On that occasion, Fink died too, but Mean survived and returned to bedevil Dredd on several occasions before apparently being cured of his homicidal tendencies, which were the result of unnecessary cybernetic surgery carried out on him as a child on Pa's instructions (he felt that the peaceful, gentle Mean was letting the side down). Years later, it was revealed that Pa and Junior had also survived their initial clash with Dredd, but they were subsequently jailed and haven't been seen since (writer John Wagner later admitted that resurrecting them was a mistake). The Angel Gang also appeared in the 1995 Judge Dredd movie, in which they were depicted as cannibal religious fantatics (see individual members pages for actor details).
- The Angel Gang were created by the writers John Wagner and Alan Grant and the illustrator Mike McHanon 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 of. The Angel Gang were "hugely popular with readers", leading Wagner to introduce a fifth Angel, Fink Angel, in Prog 193 (first published in 1981). In the same storyline, Wagner also introduced the background character of Ma Angel in a flashback. 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". 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. He was seemingly killed off once more in a 2015 story appearing in Judge Dredd Magezine. In Prog 958 (first published in 1995), Wagner reintroduced Elmer and Junior Angel, retconning their deaths. 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". Since 2007, the appearances of the Angel Gang in 2000 AD have largely been restricted to flashbacks and strips set prior to their deaths. The 2007 strip "Before They Wuz Dead" by Simon Suppier fleshed out the character of Link Angel and explored the relationships between the family members. In 2008, Wagner introduced another member of the Angel Gang, Ratfink. Ratfink made a second appearance in 2012. The Angel Gang returned in 2015 in "Angelic", a strip by Gordon Rennie that further explored their backstory. As of 2015, the surviving members of the Angel Gang in the current storyline are Elmer Angel, Junior Angel, Ratfink, and Mean Junior.
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