List of Who Framed Roger Rabbit Characters - Judge Doom

Judge Doom (also known as Baron Von Rotton) is the much-feared judge of Toontown and the main antagonist of Who Framed Roger Rabbit. Despite presiding over a city of Toons, Doom is totally without mirth and passes capital punishment on Toons who break the law, placing them in a chemical vat of turpentine, acetone, and benzene (paint thinner), which he calls "The Dip" (A.K.A. "Toon Acid"). This concoction will dissolve Toons, permanently killing them when submerged. The judge employs Toon henchmen (the Toon Patrol) to assist him in hunting down Roger for the murder of Marvin Acme.

Doom wears a black ensemble which includes a trenchcoat, a fedora, gloves, and rimless yellow-tinted safety glasses; he also carries a pocket watch and a swordstick that also serves as a walking stick.

When the film first introduces Judge Doom, Lt. Santino confides to Eddie that Doom bought the election. Later, at the Terminal Bar, Doom uses the "Shave and a Haircut" trick to lure Roger out, then prepares to execute him. After a brief scuffle inside the bar, the Judge orders the weasels to capture Roger and Eddie. Roger realizes he's in trouble with Doom after him, and begs Eddie to hide him. When Eddie learns that studio head R.K. Maroon is connected to the plot to frame Roger, Eddie interrogates him, but Maroon pleads that he's "a dead man" if he confesses. Just as Maroon is about to spill everything, he's killed by an unseen gunman who nearly shoots Eddie as well.

Upon chasing the killer to Toontown, Eddie catches Jessica Rabbit, thinking she's the murderer, but Jessica reveals that Judge Doom was the one who killed Acme and Maroon. At the film's climax, Doom traps Eddie, Jessica, and Roger in the Acme Factory to explain his scheme: Literally erase Toontown from the map using a giant, mobile vat of Dip linked to a high-pressure water cannon, and then build a freeway over it. Doom then plans to retire from being a judge and control all the profits from the new road system. Doom also reveals that he is the sole stockholder of Cloverleaf Industries, and explains that he bought the "red car" (a variant on the name of the Pacific Electric Railway) for the sole purpose of putting it out of commission. He then orders Jessica and Roger to be tied up and raised into the air via skyhook to be sprayed by the Dip cannon.

Eddie escapes and defeats the weasels, then tries to rescue Roger and Jessica when he's interrupted by Doom. The two men then square off, dueling with various ACME props. During the fight, Judge Doom is run over by a steamroller. He survives; revealed as a Toon, with bulging red eyes and a high-pitched shriek, the same Toon that killed Eddie's brother. Doom taunts Eddie and exhibits his hidden Toon powers, leaping after Eddie with springs in his shoes, changing his right hand into a massive anvil and a circular saw. After Eddie breaks open a vat of Dip with a boxing glove hammer, Doom is doused in his own Dip. He dissolves to his death, shrieking the familiar "melting" lines of the Wicked Witch of the West. Following Judge Doom's death, his scheme is finally exposed and all charges against Roger are dropped.

Wizard Magazine rated him the 60th Greatest Villain of All Time.