(crackling)
(digital music)
- [Narrator] In the Batman Prey story arc
from the early 1990's, the villainous Hugo Strange
discovers the Dark Knight's secret identity as Bruce Wayne.
What happened next is not particularly relevant
to this video but go read the story sometime.
It's pretty okay.
What you're about to see is a hypothetical scenario
of what could have happened.
- Order, order, order in my court
'cause I'm the judge, I say judge stuff.
Professor Strange, you're the one who chose
to represent yourself so I hope
that you can maintain your composure
for at least the length of this YouTube video.
- I simply do not know why I am the one on trial here
when Bruce Wayne...
- See, no, no, no that is exactly why right there,
you revealed my client's secret identity to the public.
- You've gotta be kidding me.
Bruce... - Batman.
- Yes, Your Honor, motion to refer to my client
as Batman instead of his once secret identity
for the remainder of this trial.
- I'm pretty sure that's not how court stuff happens
but I got the gavel so gavel.
- Fine.
Batman is a criminal, Your Honor.
Surely he should be the one on trial
for his illegal activities.
Damage to public property, breaking and entering,
contaminating crime scenes, obstruction of justice.
- I am justice.
- Let the record show that my client is, in fact, justice.
- I'll allow it.
- No, he's a vigilante who needs to be held accountable
for his crimes against this city.
- I'm sure that will be another court case
all unto itself.
- Uh, what? - But right now,
Mr. Batman is suing you for invading his privacy
and exposing his secret identity.
- Your Honor, it couldn't be more cut and dry.
Anyone who invades the privacy of another is subject
to liability for the resulting harm
to the interests of the other.
- I'm not really good with all this legalese.
- Well Your Honor, do you recall a big party
at Wayne Manor last week?
- Do I remember it?
I was there.
Wayne Manor is enormous.
They have their own bowling alley,
they have their own golf course.
They even have a bust of William Shakespeare
with a button inside of it.
You, you have to go.
You're probably not invited
'cause the whole suing thing.
- There was also the shooting.
- You know that does ring a bell
but can we talk about his bell collection?
Oh man, he has all of 'em.
- Ding ding.
- Sure, but also Penguin arrived uninvited
and started shooting up the place
to get to my client.
- You didn't invite me
so I crashed.
- You're not seriously putting that on me.
Clearly Penguin should be the one...
- The law is clear, Professor Strange.
Penguin found out about Batman's secret identity
because of you.
You invaded my client's privacy and you...
- You keep saying that.
You keep saying that I invaded Mr. Wayne,
Batman's privacy
but how?
I didn't break into his home, I didn't stalk him
to his bat cave.
- Oh come on, Hugo, you're smarter than that.
You know that intrusion of privacy
doesn't have to involve breaking and entering.
I think we all remember a few years back
when the Joker threatened to kill innocent people
if Batman didn't reveal his identity and turn himself in.
- You want order in Gotham.
Batman must take off his mask and turn himself in.
Oh and everyday he doesn't, people will die.
- [Lawyer] In that case, Joker was forcing my client
to give up private information
he wouldn't have otherwise revealed.
It was hostile coercion, an invasion of privacy
that was of such a character that it would have shocked
the ordinary person to the point of emotional distress.
- But Batman's not an ordinary person.
He's Batman.
- Yeah, I'm Batman. - Oh shut up.
It's not like you have any superpowers.
- Yeah, well even still, it doesn't matter.
The law is judged by a standard of an ordinary,
reasonable person, not a superhero.
- Wow, that is fascinating.
Man the law is so interesting.
I'm so glad that they let me in today.
- I fail to see why any of this even matters.
I didn't force Batman's hand, I didn't blackmail
or threaten him, I didn't even try to physically unmask him.
I simply figured out his secret identity
with my sheer intellect and I'm far from the only one.
Riddler, Bane, at least one of the Robins, I'm sure.
- That's, that's news to me.
- Your Honor, we come back to where we started
with a simple question.
Why?
Why am I the one on trial here
when all I did was use common sense
to figure out the identity
of the world's greatest detective?
- Because that isn't all you did, was it?
- I beg your pardon.
- You just couldn't keep that information to yourself,
I mean, how could you?
You, the great Professor Strange, figured out
the secret identity of Gotham's Dark Knight
and you had to let the world know.
- Well I never...
- Your Honor, this man revealed private information
about my client to the public.
- Coleman Reese.
- Who, who, who is, who is that?
Is that you, is that you, is that your name?
- Oh no, the script just says my name is lawyer.
- Ah then you might know him.
Coleman Reese was a Wayne Enterprise lawyer
in charge of looking over Mr. Batman's trust fund.
He discovered your client's double life
and threatened to go public with it on television.
Apparently didn't just threaten to,
he was moments away from exposing the truth.
- [Joker] If Coleman Reese isn't dead in 60 minutes,
then I blow up a hospital.
- If the Joker had not issued a hit
on Mr. Reese's life, perhaps he would
be before you today instead of me.
- Yeah, well do you recall Coleman Reese's motive?
He wasn't publicizing Batman's secret identity
for the sake of it.
Mr. Reese was doing so to save lives.
Joker was murdering people because Batman
wouldn't turn himself in.
Mr. Reese believed that by exposing my client,
he could save innocent people.
- What and you think me exposing Batman
won't save anyone?
- I mean, it's not for me to judge.
- Even still, you're forgetting, Hugo,
that Coleman Reese was a lawyer.
The American Bar Association addresses
the confidentiality of information
explaining that a lawyer can reveal information
relating to their client if they are reasonably certain
it will prevent death or bodily harm.
- You can't be serious.
Do you really think that applies in this scenario?
Justifying giving into terrorists' demands.
- Hugo, are you honestly saying that the...
- Yes, I did.
I did say... - Average citizen of Gotham.
- You're going out. - That their life doesn't.
- On every single limb. - Matter because we can't.
- You possibly can. - Negotiate with.
- To try and disprove me. - The terrorists.
- At every corner.
- You know cards on the table?
- Oh god, where'd you come from?
- I really think this case is just gonna get thrown out.
- Put in place. - This doesn't seem like.
- As long as you didn't like, like,
embezzle any money, you're fine.
- Uh.
- A costume and a funny. - A weird beard.
- I gotta go.
- Doesn't the public have a right
to know who Batman is?
- Okay, see now you're just sounding
like that Daily Bugle guy, Jonah something,
always trying to uncover Spider-Man's secret identity
under the guise of freedom of the press.
- Okay, I'm already confused enough as it is
without bringing in precedents
from a completely different universe.
Relevancy, sir?
- Publicizing an individual's private information
is not protected if it's not
a legitimate concern to the public.
New York arguably doesn't need to know
that Spider-Man is,
we can say it right?
- Miles Morales. - Ben Reilly, yeah.
- Peter Parker, right?
A simple freelance photographer.
That Jameson at the Daily Bugle
might hide his headhunt for Spider-Man's identity
behind the first amendment but that would only protect him
if a court ruled that Spider-Man's identity
was important information for a self-governing people.
Peter Parker's identity probably doesn't affect
a democratic society.
- Oh come on.
- I mean, take away his underroos and what do you have?
Just some kid playing hero.
- Hmm.
- What makes you think my client's secret identity
is important information to the public?
- Because he's Bruce Wayne.
Peter Parker might be some poor kid
who doesn't even exist in this universe
but Bruce Wayne is a billionaire,
a powerful CEO, a philanthropist
who has shown on multiple occasions
that he is not afraid to throw his money
and family name at politics.
He once claimed he could get Harvey Dent elected
by hosting a single fundraiser with his wealthy friends.
- One fundraiser with my pals,
you'll never need another set.
- The Wayne name is all over the city.
His identity as Batman, Your Honor,
is one of paramount importance to a self-governing people.
If a man of Bruce Wayne's stature can have this much power,
both in and out of the cowl,
I maintain that the public has a right to know.
- Fascinating.
Great arguments.
I wish I could give you both A pluses
but that is a grading scale
that is not acknowledged in the court of law.
Situations like these where I wish that there was just
a non-biased third party to just come in and,
like, mediate this kind of dispute.
I'm so sorry, duh, it does exist.
YouTube comments.
You will be judged by a jury of your peers
in the YouTube comments section.
May god have mercy on your soul.
Now if you'll excuse me, I need
to get back into my straight jacket
'cause I left Arkham a little bit early
but I'll see you guys later,
especially you, Bats.
See you on the streets.
- What?
- Hello you wonderful nerds, Scott here,
thank you so much for watching the video.
I know it's a little bit different
from the stuff that we've done on this channel before
but I really want to know your thoughts
down in the comments below.
What do you think?
Should it be illegal to unmask Batman?
To tell the world of his secret identity?
Or does the public have a right to know?
We left it open ended so that you guys
could give us your thoughts in the comments
down below and while you are writing those,
let me go ahead and thank Dylan, aka Auram,
and Ricky from Stewdippin, who both not only
participated in this video,
but Ricky actually edited most of this video.
I believe he was also the person who suggested
we turn it into a sketch instead of just
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