History Characters / PhoenixWrightAceAttorneyTheContemptOfCourt

* {{Leitmotif}}: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUhtVEZkuv4 Intimidation Personified]], reflecting his reliance on scare tactics.

* MeaningfulName: His surname is from the capital of the state of Queensland in Australia, which in turn is named after the Brisbane River, after Sir Thomas Brisbane.

* LonersAreFreaks: He claims to have had all the talk behind his back for most of his life. He claims that Brisbane is his OnlyFriend.

--> '''Brisbane:''' [[spoiler:I woke up. Simple as. [[LampshadeHanging And in VERY good timing, too]], wouldn't you say, "Your Honor"?]]

** ThemeMusicPowerUp / TriumphantReprise: [[spoiler:[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s154t9cvz7A Intimidation Returns]], when he [[BigDamnHeroes shows up in court just in time]] to scare Hemlock into staying.]]

* OnlyFriend: [[spoiler:To Renwick, as revealed in ''The Ensnared Turnabout''.]]

* PunctuatedForEmphasis: Very often.

* ScaryBlackMan: His theme is even called "Intimidation Personified"! Though in the past he was a...

* {{Leitmotif}}: Reflects his over-the-top hardboiled detective persona, renamed [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJAQwpDHuE8 Bad Coffee and All That Jazz]]

** He manages to out-do himself in Turnabout of the Snow: Wright points out to the court that the murder weapon doesn't have Snow's fingerprints at all. So what does Brisbane do? Why, bring Snow's decorative stiletto dagger and claims it's the real murder weapon on the basis that it has Snow's fingerprints and that it wasn't kept on the rack where it usually was. And of course as it is proven that the dagger is NOT the murder weapon, Brisbane earns a penalty.

* HatedByAll: By the time of [[spoiler: ''Turnabout of the Snow'']], barely anyone can stand him. Even the usually confused Judge shows no patience with him.

* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: [[spoiler: At the time of Turnabout of the Snow, Wright cannot corner him for the murders of Maplethorpe and Docks, despite more evidence pointing to him and Snow. Just as the judge is about to allow another day of investigation, one would expect Vulper to laugh in Wright's face for all this. He instead suffers a sudden panic attack and immediately CONFESSES to all these murders. Let that sink in for a moment: This unapologetic {{Jerkass}} suddenly confesses to the murders he could escape from and outright BEGS for death.]] Also see ObfuscatingStupidity.

* WalkingSpoiler: His role in Turnabout Scapegoat may not be a huge spoiler anymore but what happens afterwards with him spoils quite a few significant plot-points...

* KilledOffForReal: [[spoiler: In the opening scene of Turnabout Scapegoat.]]

** [[spoiler: [[PlayedStraight Guess what winds up happening to him around the start of]] ''[[PlayedStraight Turnabout of the Snow?]]]]'' [[spoiler:Maplethorpe is indeed a dead man, for which Vulper was framed.]]

* LastOfHisKind: [[spoiler: More specifically, Cedric is, or was as of ''Turnabout of the Snow'', the last living member of the Maplethorpe family. There are no living relatives to speak of, meaning the Maplethorpes are now extinct. With his death, Maris is pretty much the manager of the hotel.]]

* RedHerring: [[spoiler: His rather suspicious behavior in The Haunted Turnabout understandably raises suspicion in Phoenix' eyes (and possibly a few players' too). As it turns out however, Terry himself has nothing to do with Stan Nyph's murder.]]

* MasterOfDisguise: [[spoiler:His Robert Snow disguise, not to mention his ability to flawlessly imitate voices. By the time of his reveal, he states a desire to pursue more advanced methods of disguise, showing an interest in the rubber masks Vulper made in Turnabout Scapegoat.]]

* AnimeHair: [[spoiler:The back of his hair looking like a pointed tail.]]

* BetterToDieThanBeKilled: In ''Turnabout of the Snow'', [[spoiler:he gives a FalseConfession to the murders of Perry Docks and Cedric Maplethorphe just as he is about to be let off the hook, because he's afraid that if he isn't given the death penalty, he will instead be directly murdered by Hemlock, who framed him for the murders with the intent of getting him executed to begin with]].

* LastStand: During ''Turnabout of the Snow'''s final trial day, [[spoiler:or rather, what would have been the penultimate day of the case of Perry Docks and Cedric Maplethorpe's deaths if Vulper didn't suddenly confess]], Vulper makes a final plea of innocence of both murders, after he had been so adamant that he had nothing to do with either of the victim's deaths. Surprisingly, it worked because Phoenix had no decisive evidence that "screamed he [Vulper] did it".

* NotMeThisTime: [[spoiler: In Turnabout of the Snow, he's accused of murdering Cedric Maplethorpe and he's also gotten involved in another murder of a police officer by the name of Perry Docks. He denies that he's murdered either of them.]] Bizarrely enough, [[spoiler: it's DoubleSubverted. During Snow's trial, he suddenly breaks down and confesses to both murders. However, it's revealed in ''The Ensnared Turnabout'' that he was framed for them both by Hemlock and only confessed because he was afraid that Hemlock would kill him if he didn't get the death penalty.]]

* {{Leitmotif}}: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p21EC-XYN1I Robert Snow ~ Catastrophic Success]].

* TheStoic
** NotSoStoic: ...But not in the way you think. [[spoiler:After his acquittal, he sports a rather goofy grin, while proposing a celebration.]]

The owner of the Maplethorpe Hotel in Case 2. A very solemn and sombre man who rarely shows emotion.

* {{Leitmotif}}: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xpi8EEuYUpc Cedric Maplethorpe ~ Prudence and Tranquility]].

* TheStoic: He isn't a particularly expressive man, maintaining his professionalism nearly all the time. However...
** NotSoStoic: [[spoiler:Underneath all that, he's a man with SEVERE psychological issues, spurring from the death of his twin brother in the past.]]

* {{Leitmotif}}: "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtcNQn6PEKI Renwick Smith ~ The Art of Pretentiousness]]".
** [[spoiler:When Phoenix has finally caught Renwick in a time and place of which [[ButThouMust there is no possible escape, nowhere to run and nowhere to hide]], and when he confesses to Phoenix that he was essentially one-half of "The Boogeyman", Hemlock being the other half, his second leitmotif is known as "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9soi-GbV6mw A Hopeless Defence]]". The name makes sense given that because even if Renwick was acquitted of the attempted murder on Brisbane, he would still be going to jail anyway because of the crimes he committed under Hemlock's influence: perjury, accessory to murder, and obstruction of justice]].

* KickTheSonOfABitch:
** {{Subverted|Trope}} with his treatment of [[spoiler:Vex Vulper]]. It ''would'' usually count as this, were it not for the fact Hemlock seems to be a far worse person than him.
** Played straight with his murders of various members of the Codophian Smuggling Ring. While Hemlock's [[KlingonPromotion motive]] for killing them is far from sympathetic, it's hard to feel bad for them since they were members of an international criminal syndicate.

[[/folder]]

* GutturalGrowler: Often speaks in a menacingly low and quiet voice, as indicated by a low-pitched sound effect and grey dialogue text.

%%zce* ShesBack: To the police force.

** On two occasions he claims to have once tried to find a way to "be in two places at once". It's never explained how he attempted to do this, but afterwards he shudders and says "never again".

* ContinuityNod: [[spoiler:In a sense. Hemlock has been compared to the phantom from ''Dual Destinies'', as both are talented mimics and both pose as lovable detective characters]].

** [[spoiler: And that's not all. "Robert" and "Bobby" -- the names of the detectives Hemlock and the phantom pose as respectively -- are variations of the same name.]]

* MaliciousMisnaming: [[spoiler:[[ZigZaggingTrope Zig-zagged.]] "Snow", the character, is just [[AccidentalMisnaming terrible at remembering names]], but Hemlock gets people's names wrong on purpose to annoy them. However, he only does so in order to make "Snow" seem more endearing; he stops doing it after he drops the disguise.]]

* SarcasticConfession: [[spoiler: He facetiously claims he is the murderer of the third case early on. He's completely right.]]

--> '''Phoenix:''' (Well, I suppose there's no "team" in "Snow".)

* UsingYouAllAlong: [[spoiler:As Detective Snow, Hemlock aids Phoenix throughout ''Contempt of Court'' for personal gain; to locate and obtain the enigmium and to take revenge upon the two Aculeus members who, in his eyes, did him wrong. Not only did he kill Cedric Maplethorpe in prison for his incompetence during Case 2, but he pins the crime on Vulper, elevating his sentence to the death penalty.]]

* WalkingSpoiler: [[spoiler:Mostly because he's actually Hemlock.]]

* GoodScarsEvilScars: [[spoiler:The good variety.]]

* DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler: What he ended up doing out of guilt for what happened to Cedric's brother.]]

* PosthumousCharacter: Obviously, given that he's a ghost. [[spoiler: Except he isn't, but he's still dead.]]

The replacement detective for Case 3 during Snow's incarceration [[spoiler: and defendant of Case 4.]]

* TheDragon: [[spoiler:One of two for Hemlock.]]

* {{Jerkass}}: He isn't really a pleasant individual. During Snow's trial, he withheld evidence that would put doubt on Snow's guilt, along with his rather flippant and apathetic demeanor through the whole case. [[spoiler: Justified, as he's been forced to work for Aculeus.]]
** JerkWithAHeartOfGold: And at the same time, [[spoiler: he didn't tell Hemlock the location of the enigmium, as it would put Brisbane in rather great danger.]]
* {{Leitmotif}}: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtcNQn6PEKI Renwick Smith ~ The Art of Pretentiousness]].
** [[spoiler: When Phoenix has finally caught Renwick in a time and place of which [[ButThouMust there is no possible escape, nowhere to run and nowhere to hide]], and when he confesses to Phoenix that he was essentially one-half of "The Boogeyman", Hemlock being the other half, his second leitmotif is known as [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9soi-GbV6mw A Hopeless Defence]]]].
*** [[spoiler: The name makes sense given that because even if Renwick was acquitted of the attempted murder on Brisbane, he would still be going to jail anyway because of the crimes he committed under Hemlock's influence: perjury, accessory to murder, and obstruction of justice.]]

* WhiteMaskOfDoom: [[spoiler: Worn by Renwick in Case 4 when he entered Brisbane's home to steal the enigmium for Hemlock. Hemlock actually ordered Renwick to wear the mask for the sole purpose of making him look suspicious to Morag Weever, whose timely appearance to witness Renwick leave the house was also planned.]]
** [[spoiler: The Boogeyman's profile entry depicts Renwick in this disguise, foreshadowing his involvement in the Boogeyman crime spree.]]

* DetectiveMole: [[spoiler: It turns out that he was being coerced by Hemlock to use his power as the chief of police to hide evidence that would be inconvenient for him, and he was also the one who had him reinstated as the chief of police after Gant's arrest for that very reason. He's not a murderer though, but he is guilty of obstruction of justice and forgery.]]

* TheDragon: [[spoiler:One of two for Hemlock.]]

!! [[spoiler: Lyle]] Hemlock [[quoteright:70:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/caller.png]]

* BadBoss: He tries to blow up everyone in the courtroom when cornered, including his own henchmen. This leads to MistreatmentInducedBetrayal, naturally.

* BerserkButton: To say he doesn't take any slightest derailment of his plans well would be a ''massive'' understatement.

* ContinuityNod: [[spoiler:In a sense. Hemlock has been compared to the phantom from ''Dual Destinies'', as both are talented mimics and both pose as lovable detective characters.]]
** [[spoiler: Some characters including Edgeworth and Trent refer to Hemlock as a "phantom" controller/puppeteer/killer. Also "The Boogeyman", the nickname coined by Trent, could reference the nickname of "phantom" as both monikers give off a "nonexistent" vibe.]]

** [[spoiler: He also has the distinction of being a guilty defendant who gets a Not Guilty verdict for his crime, similar to Magnus McGilded from The Great Ace Attorney. Coincidentally, both were defendants of their games’ respective third cases.]]

* FauxAffablyEvil: He does speak in a rather cheerful tone towards both [[spoiler: Phoenix and Renwick]] but make no mistake, Hemlock is a foul individual who managed to put many people through hell, including [[spoiler: Vex Vulper, Renwick Smith, and Cedric Maplethorpe.]]
* FromNobodyToNightmare: He was once a con artist before being recruited by Alba in to the smuggling ring. [[spoiler:Let's just say this made him raise his ambitions something fierce.]]

* HiddenVillain: [[spoiler:He's a DevilInPlainSight, courtesy of Robert Snow.]]

* HollywoodHacking: He developed a virus that works across ''all'' mobile platforms (even on the old cell phones such as Phoenix's, Edgeworth's and Brisbane's) and can somehow make ''any'' phone explode.

--> '''Hemlock:''' [[spoiler: [[TheSpook Becoming other people is my specialty,]] Nick! It's how I managed to cope in a world of naysayers and negativity! I'll just wipe the slate, hello world, I'm someone new! [[SelfServingMemory I'll just force myself]] [[BelievingTheirOwnLies to forget this ever happened.]] Allll over again.]]
* KickTheDog: His treatment of [[spoiler: Renwick]] counts as this in spades. Five years ago, [[spoiler: he somehow managed to track Renwick down, with the knowledge of him taking the enigmium to Brisbane. He promptly gave him a SadisticChoice: Either tell him the location of enigmium, get framed for the murder of Blaine Chill or work for him as a member of the smuggling ring.]] If we trust Hemlock's word on him "being everywhere", we can safely assume that [[spoiler: he knew the location of enigmium all along. He knew and blackmailed Renwick anyway.]] So... yeah, he's kind of an asshole.
* KickTheSonOfABitch: Subverted. His treatment of [[spoiler: Vex Vulper]] WOULD usually count as this, were it not for the fact Hemlock seems to be a far worse person than him.

* KnightOfCerebus: Contempt of Court's two other villains had certain quirks and tropes that prevented them from being this. While [[spoiler: Vex Vulper]] was a horrible person, he was LaughablyEvil enough to not be this. [[spoiler: Cedric Maplethorpe]] had a tragic backstory along with rather sympathetic motives. Hemlock has none of that. He's a man who could and WOULD track you down at any opportunity, forcing you to commit many atrocities, gleefully ruining your life in the process just like he did with [[spoiler: Renwick Smith.]] And ''none'' of it is played for laughs.

* LeaningOnTheFourthWall: Some of his comments to Phoenix during TheReveal almost feel directed at the player, such as [[spoiler: having Phoenix's Magatama stolen before he could defend "Snow" because]] he wanted to give them a chance to "play the case", and [[spoiler: calling Snow a "lovable character, but just that: a character."]]
* {{Leitmotif}}: Appropriately renamed [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-L9-wZRMjs The Puppeteer]] [[spoiler: His true leitmotif for when he is revealed is named [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zr59t5yBTXU Happiness Justifies the Means]].]]

* MasterOfDisguise: [[spoiler: His Robert Snow disguise, not to mention his ability to flawlessly imitate voices. By the time of his reveal, he states a desire to pursue more advanced methods of disguise, showing an interest in the rubber masks Vulper made in Turnabout Scapegoat.]]
* MeaningfulName: "Hemlock" is a species of poisonous plant. And the name of his organization, "Aculeus", refers to the thorns of some plants such as roses (hence the rose insignia on the order card). [[spoiler: And possibly keeping with the "floral" theme of certain members of the Cohdopian smuggling ring such as Calisto Yew and Quercus Alba.]]
** [[spoiler: Lyle sounds like "liar" and also references the Lyrebird, a bird known for flawlessly mimicking sounds.]]

* NeverMyFault: No matter what wrongs he's done, he'll keep insisting someone else-- or ''anyone'' else, really-- was to blame. [[spoiler: He even has the gall to tell Trent to his face that, really, it's Trent's own fault that he killed his wife. [[InsaneTrollLogic After all,]] if Trent never investigated him, he wouldn't have had to kill her, right?]]
** [[spoiler: At one point in the final trial when his actions as Robert Snow are brought up by Phoenix, Hemlock seems to blame ''Snow himself'' (the fictional character he played), as if he is a separate entity.]]

--> '''Hemlock:''' [[spoiler: You know you're one of the lucky few to actually know who I am? Not something I entitle to just anyone.]] I prefer the anonymity. [[IControlMyMinionsThrough Keeps them in check, you see.]] If nobody knows where I am, then they'll believe that I really AM everywhere. The faceless overlord shtick's been working wonders, so why fix what ain't broken?
* NotMeThisTime: When it becomes obvious in court that he's a criminal mastermind and leader of a smuggling ring, he claims this trope. [[spoiler: Consider that he's holding the entire court hostage, no-one buys it for a moment.]]
--> '''Hemlock:''' [[spoiler: I figured a little positive reinforcement was needed.]]
* SinisterSurveillance: [[spoiler: It is revealed his method of spying comes from Grapevine, a phone app he developed designed to spread stealthily to people's phones, effectively creating a network of mobile listening bugs]]. [[spoiler: Vulper and Renwick know of his spying and are both visibly terrified by it, not daring to say anything in case he might be listening.]] Hemlock calls Phoenix from time to time to repeat what others have been recently saying, or just to gloat that he's "everywhere". [[spoiler: At one point he even calls Phoenix to directly respond to something Phoenix said out loud to himself in his office!]]
* TimeForPlanB: [[spoiler: Hemlock has a string of predetermined plans to steal the enigmium. They date back to five years ago when he was originally trusted to transfer the enigmium, but Vulper and Crane ended up assigned to it instead. And so Plan B unfolded... then C... then D... By the time of his [[TheReveal full reveal to the court]], he's at Plan V.]]
** [[spoiler: The fail-deadly function of Grapevine -- which infects every cell phone in the courthouse and somehow turns them into digital bombs -- was Plan X.]]

* {{Omniglot}}: Claims to have taught himself 68 languages. It sure comes in handy when one is running an intenational crime syndicate.
* TheOmniscient: [[spoiler: Hemlock tirelessly researches everything and everyone he comes into contact with. He even knows about Psyche-locks after having the time to research Phoenix and the Kurain clan. Which was why he needed Phoenix's magatama gone after "Snow" became the defendant of Case 3.]]
* ThePollyAnna: An '''extremely''' dark example. He values happiness above everything and will do whatever it takes to reach his goals and make himself happy, human lives be damned.
* PsychopathicManchild: He has quite a weird tendency to retell the terrible events he's been involved in with the fingerpuppets of the ones involved. After TheReveal [[spoiler: it turns out this is a big part of his personality. He's obsessed with making himself happy and will do ''anything'' to ensure this, and throws a tantrum whenever anything or anyone doesn't go his way.]]

* TheSociopath: After TheReveal of his motivations, Phoenix explicitly calls him this to his face.
* TheStarscream: [[spoiler: [[DragonWithAnAgenda To Quercus Alba.]]]] It was implied by Edgeworth at the end of AAI that [[spoiler: a new ringleader would step up following the arrest of Alba -- this would be the individual known as Hemlock, who gathered [[TheRemnant the remnants]] and renamed it Aculeus. He uses the former smuggling ring members under his command as his personal task force, aiding him in furthering his ever-increasing list of (what he believes to be) honest dreams and goals.]]

* TechnoWizard: Considering he apparently has ways to listen in on anyone, anywhere, he'd have to be pretty good with technology. [[spoiler: Thankfully, [[DownplayedTrope he's not as good as he thinks he is.]] His attempt to create a digital bomb falls flat. This ultimately proves his undoing. And by a SPELLING ERROR of all things!]]
* {{Ventriloquism}}: [[spoiler: While coercing Phoenix during the first half of the final trial, he often mimics Nick's "Objection!" as a means to force Nick to speak up against the player-controlled Edgeworth's arguments. The Judge always falls for this.]]

* VillainousBreakdown: [[spoiler:Hemlock once again attempts to consult his finger puppets, but this time he hallucinates that his finger puppets are ''scolding him''. Then he repeatedly slams his head into the judge's bench, causing his head tattoos to somehow run down his face. He then throws his puppet bandoliers into the audience to rid himself of them, but the audience start throwing a shower of finger puppets back at him. Finally the puppet of Renwick Smith hits him square in the middle of the forehead, leaving a mark and knocking him out.]]
* VoiceChangeling: Hemlock has a talent for perfect voice mimicry [[spoiler: as foreshadowed by Snow]]. [[spoiler: His time as a con-man drew the smuggling ring's interest, taking him on to become the ring's top impersonator.]] He later uses this talent to [[spoiler: frame Renwick for Brisbane's attempted murder by faking Brisbane's 911 call.]]
* WalkingSpoiler: Along with his Robert Snow page, he turns the game on its head and throws it down a very dark path.

* CriticalResearchFailure: Possibly InUniverse. He knows an awful lot about many things, including the [[spoiler: magatama and Psyche-locks]], but apparently thinks that Edgeworth is still his "old" self - a prosecutor who's only concerned in a guilty verdict. So, Hemlock doesn't bother with conditioning him (like he does with Phoenix) and repeatedly offers him [[spoiler: during the portion when Edgeworth is playable]] to claim an easy win. Edgeworth, however, becomes a major SpannerInTheWorks.

* [[HesBack She's Back]]: To the police force.

* IRejectYourReality: A big part of his personality. He refuses to see things any other way but HIS way and obsessively works to change the world around him to fit his view. A big part of what makes him so threatening is that, given how much power he has, he can actually succeed in making the world conform to his twisted view of things. [[spoiler: This gets worse once he's lost his final argument in court. Unable to bear the thought of having messed up so badly, he simply resolves to wipe the slate clean and pretend it all never happened. That involves erasing all witnesses, [[KillEmAll which includes nearly the entire surviving cast, the courtroom audience and his own henchmen.]]]]

* AmbiguousDisorder: While he's got OCD, his personality and moral code is so warped that it's likely that he's suffering from genuine insanity. He also seems to talk to his puppets as if they are real people, hallucinating them attacking him when he's defeated.

* AngryBlackMan: Actually Deconstructed once we get to Case 3. [[spoiler:Turns out he has some pretty serious anger issues brought on by past trauma. Unfortunately, he was mentored by Manfred von Karma, who told him the only way to vent his anger was to win court cases. Naturally this only makes things worse once he meets Wright...]]

* TheMeanBrit: Not mean per se, but his sarcasm can turn to sardonicism at times when he is in a bad mood.

* CoatCape: A very strange example; He has one arm through the sleeve of his BadassLongcoat and lets the rest of the coat hang freely behind him.