Judex (real name Jacques de Trémeuse) is a fictional French vigilante hero created by

Louis Feuillade Louis Feuillade (; 19 February 1873 – 25 February 1925) was a French filmmaker of the silent era. Between 1906 and 1924, he directed over 630 films. He is primarily known for the crime serials '' Fantômas'', '' Les Vampires'' and '' Judex ...

and

Arthur Bernède Arthur Bernède (5 January 1871 – 20 March 1937) was a French writer, poet, opera librettist, and playwright. Bernède was born in Redon, Ille-et-Vilaine department, in Brittany. In 1919, Bernède joined forces with actor René Navarre, who ...

for the 1916 silent film ''

Judex Judex (real name Jacques de Trémeuse) is a fictional French vigilante hero created by Louis Feuillade and Arthur Bernède for the 1916 silent film ''Judex''. Judex (whose name is Latin for "judge") is a mysterious avenger who dresses in black and ...

''. Judex (whose name is Latin for "judge") is a mysterious avenger who dresses in black and wears a slouch hat and cloak. He was originally conceived as a heroic version of the criminal character

Fantômas Fantômas () is a fictional character created by French writers Marcel Allain (1885–1969) and Pierre Souvestre (1874–1914). One of the most popular characters in the history of French crime fiction, Fantômas was created in 1911 and appear ...

. (Feuillade had directed the popular 1913 serial ''

''.) The character has since appeared in other films, in novels, on stage and in comic books. Judex appears to have been an inspiration for the American pulp hero

The Shadow The Shadow is a fictional character created by magazine publishers Street & Smith and writer Walter B. Gibson. Originally created to be a mysterious radio show narrator, and developed into a distinct literary character in 1931 by writer Walter ...

, who was himself an inspiration for Batman.Xavier Fournier, ''Super-héros : une histoire française'', Huginn Muninn, 2014, p. 69-73

Creation

had already made two earlier serials, ''

'' (1913) and ''

Les Vampires ''Les Vampires'' is a 1915–16 French silent crime serial film written and directed by Louis Feuillade. Set in Paris, it stars Édouard Mathé, Musidora and Marcel Lévesque. The main characters are a journalist and his friend who become invol ...

'' (1915), which were popular with audiences, but drew criticism for glorifying criminals. As a consequence Feuillade decide to create a heroic persona, Judex, but one who had all of the sinister trappings of the flamboyant villains who were popular at the time. Judex was conceived by Feuillade and novelist

, who also published a novel based on the script and adapted the original film for the stage in 1923.

Description

After his father committed suicide as a result of being ruined by the villainous banker Favraux, Jacques de Trémeuse adopted the guise of Judex and assembled an organization of ex-criminals and circus people to bring down Favraux and his lethal mistress Marie Verdier. He anticipated later pulp heroes and superheroes in many respects. He was a masterful fighter and an expert at disguise, and boasted a secret headquarters. In the subterranean passages beneath a ruined castle Judex had a base outfitted with technological gadgets. He also had a secret identity: "Judex" (the Latin word for judge) was merely a nom de guerre he had adopted in his quest for revenge. Although the original ''Judex'' serial derived from the first ''

'' also directed by

, the story bore several similarities with '' The Count of Monte Cristo''. While in the first serial, Judex acted solely out of personal revenge, the second one, ''Judex's New Mission'', showed him acting as a

vigilante Vigilantism () is the act of preventing, investigating and punishing perceived offenses and crimes without legal authority. A vigilante (from Spanish, Italian and Portuguese “vigilante”, which means "sentinel" or "watcher") is a person who ...

and a defender of the innocent.

Films

The character Judex first appeared in the 1916 serial film ''

''. Though ''Judex'' was made in 1914, the outbreak of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

delayed its release. It finally premiered in December 1916, and subsequently went into wider release in 1917–1918. A sequel serial titled ''Judex's New Mission'' (''La Nouvelle Mission de Judex'') was released in 1917. A remake, also named ''

'', was made in 1934, directed by Maurice Champreux, and starring René Ferté as Judex. Another remake, again named ''

'', was filmed in 1963 by director

Georges Franju Georges Franju (; 12 April 1912 – 5 November 1987) was a French filmmaker. He was born in Fougères, Ille-et-Vilaine. Biography Early life Before working in French cinema, Franju held several different jobs. These included working for a ...

. The story was shortened and simplified but remained true to the original. American magician Channing Pollock played the title role.

Cast

Books

Novels

Judex: Published in 1917, by

and Louis Feuillade, based on the 1916 serial, and reissued in 1925 as ''Les Nouveaux Exploits de Judex (Judex's New Adventures)''.Coolfrenchcomics Judex Page
/ref> Black Coat Press published an adaptation by Rick Lai in 2012. Judex' New Mission: Published in 1919, by Arthur Bernède and Louis Feuillade, based on the 1918 serial, and reissued 1925 as ''La Dernière Incarnation de Judex (Judex's Last Incarnation)''. Black Coat Press published an adaptation by Rick Lai in 2013, titled ''The Return of Judex''. In 2013, Black Coat Press published a new screenplay by Robert L. Robinson, Jr., of a new adaptation of the Judex character.

Short stories

Tales of the Shadowmen ''Tales of the Shadowmen'' is an American anthology of short fiction edited by Jean-Marc Lofficier and Randy Lofficier and published by Black Coat Press. The stories share the conceit of taking place in a fictional world where all of the character ...

, Volume 1: The Modern Babylon'': Published in 2005, Judex appears in two short stories, "Mask of the Monster" by Matthew Baugh, and "Penumbra" by Chris Roberson. ''

, Volume 2: Gentlemen of the Night'': Published in 2006, Judex appears in one short story, "Lost and Found" by

Jean-Marc Lofficier Jean-Marc Lofficier (; born June 22, 1954) is a French author of books about films and television programs, as well as numerous comics and translations of a number of animation screenplays. He usually collaborates with his wife, Randy Lofficier ( ...

. ''

, Volume 3: Danse Macabre'': Published in 2007, Judex appears in one short story, "Two Hunters" by Robert L. Robinson, Jr. ''

, Volume 7: Femmes Fatales'': Published in 2010, Judex appears in two short stories, "What Rough Beast" by Matthew Baugh and "Faces of Fear" by Matthew Dennion ''

, Volume 8: Agents Provocateurs'': Published in 2011, Judex appears in two short stories, "Judex vs Belphegor" by John Gallagher and "The Affair of the Necklace Revisited" by

Randy Lofficier Jean-Marc Lofficier (; born June 22, 1954) is a French author of books about films and television programs, as well as numerous comics and translations of a number of animation screenplays. He usually collaborates with his wife, Randy Lofficier ( ...

''Night of the Nyctalope'': Published in 2012, Judex appears in one short story, "Justice and Power" by Christofer Nigro ''The Shadow of Judex'': Published in 2013. Contains all the above Judex short stories and 16 additional ones.

Reference books

Shadowmen: Heroes and Villains of French Pulp Fiction: Published in 2003, by

and

, published b
Black Coat Press
is an encyclopedic guide to some of the most important characters from French Fiction, including Judex.

Comics

French comic magazine ''Hurrah!'' published by Editions Mondiales in June 1940 began a comic series of Judex, which was in actuality, a French translation of the American syndicated ''

Shadow A shadow is a dark area where light from a light source is blocked by an opaque object. It occupies all of the three-dimensional volume behind an object with light in front of it. The cross section of a shadow is a two-dimensional silhouette, ...

'' comic strip. As an homage, writer

Matt Fraction Matt Fritchman (born December 1, 1975), better known by the pen name Matt Fraction, is an Eisner Award-winning American comic book writer, known for his work as the writer of '' The Invincible Iron Man'', '' The Immortal Iron Fist'', ''Uncanny ...

featured Judex as a member of a team of European superheroes of the early 20th century, in a 2012 issue of '' The Defenders''.Avant-Première VO: Review Defenders #8
''Comic Box'', 5 July 2012

References

External links

''The Judex Codex'' by Dennis Power

Movies

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Judex Characters in pulp fiction Characters in French novels of the 20th century Fictional amateur detectives Fictional French people Film serial characters