Turnabout Samurai


 * This page is about the third episode of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney. For other uses, see Samurai (disambiguation).

"Cody Hackins"

- The Steel Samurai always wins!

Episode 3: Turnabout Samurai is the third episode of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney. It revolves around a murder that occurs during a production of the fictional television show The Steel Samurai: Warrior of Neo Olde Tokyo. This case introduces the recurring Samurai franchise and features the first time Phoenix Wright and Maya Fey work together as an investigative team. It also features the first appearance of Will Powers and the formidable Wendy Oldbag.

Prologue
Two costumed men appear to be fighting in an epic struggle, namely the Steel Samurai and his archenemy the Evil Magistrate, characters from the popular action television show The Steel Samurai: Warrior of Neo Olde Tokyo.

Oct. 16
In the morning, Maya Fey called Phoenix Wright to inform him that Will Powers, the actor who played the Steel Samurai, was arrested for murder. The victim was Jack Hammer, the actor who played the Evil Magistrate, and he was found in his costume with the Samurai Spear prop thrust into his body. Powers called Fey to request Wright's services. Wright and Fey went to the detention center to see Powers, whose appearance surprised Fey. Powers explained that he must keep his face concealed with the Samurai mask due to his unattractive face. He then told Wright what happened and gave them directions to Global Studios and a letter of request to get in.

When Wright and Fey arrived at the main gate, a grumpy and talkative security lady confronted them. She claimed to have seen Powers head for Studio One, where she and others had discovered Jack Hammer's body. She only let Wright and Fey pass by when they showed Powers's letter, though she refused them access to the Employee Area, by detective Dick Gumshoe's orders.

Heading to the studios, Wright found Gumshoe, who told him that the security lady had given him a decisive piece of evidence against Powers. Wright also discovered that the path for one of the studios had been blocked since the day of the murder due to strong winds, and that the other studio was locked. Wanting to have a look at the evidence, Wright tried to talk to the security lady again, but she didn't tell him anything except that the camera on the gate took a photo automatically each time someone passed under it. However, they were now allowed into the Employee Area.

Wright and Fey walked down to the Employee Area, entering into Powers' dressing room. They got a cardkey that allowed them to enter the Studio One, the crime scene. There, Wright met an stagehand called Penny Nichols, who told him some information about the day of the murder. The assistant said that she sensed someone else at the crime scene. When Wright talked about this to the security lady, she went off to search for the assistant. Without her around, Wright and Fey took a look at the security computer and printed the decisive evidence: a photo showing the Steel Samurai heading to the studios.

Trial
Prosecutor Miles Edgeworth first called detective Gumshoe to the stand to lay out the facts. Soon afterward, he called the security officer to the stand; her name was Wendy Oldbag. Oldbag started to flirt with Edgeworth, much to the latter's chagrin. She testified that only Powers had gone by her before the murder. Wright countered with the photo of the Steel Samurai, saying that while Powers did play the character, it did not mean he was the person in the costume. Oldbag explained that the figure in the photo was dragging his leg; earlier in the day, while Powers and Hammer were doing a run-through of some action scenes, Powers had sprained his ankle and broken the Samurai Spear. Oldbag was the only one who had managed to witness this. In response, Wright pointed out another problem with the photo; it had been registered as the second photo taken that day, but it had also been the only photo stored in the computer. Only Oldbag could have erased the previous photo. Oldbag acknowledged this and revealed that the person in the photo was only a young fan. Edgeworth jumped on this, saying that a young boy could have not have the strength to wield the Samurai Spear, thus making Powers the only possible suspect. The judge called for a recess to allow both sides to consider the information so far.

In the Defense Lobby, Wright pressed Powers on his innocence, considering that someone wearing his costume had been caught on camera. Powers insisted that he had kept the costume in his room, but he had left the door unlocked. Anyone could have taken and worn the costume. Wright decided he had to point out another possible suspect in order to extend the trial.

Court reconvened, and Wright fingered Oldbag as a possible suspect. Oldbag had no alibi, and she had known about Powers' injury. To his surprise, Edgeworth did not object to this possibility. Oldbag declared that she had no reason to kill Hammer; Wright replied that Powers did not have a feasible motive either. Oldbag then tried to include the young fan as a suspect, but Wright pointed out that the boy could not have had a keycard necessary to access the scene of the crime, nor could he have had access to the murder weapon. Angered at being suspected of the crime, Oldbag confessed that she had been told to hide the fact that there were other people at the studio, namely the director, the producer and some bigwigs.

Investigation
Wright and Fey returned to Global Studios in order to talk to the director and producer about the day of the crime. They first came upon Nichols, who was temporarily filling in for Oldbag while she was being investigated. She explained that the studio was trying to protect the producer; she had "saved" the studio at one time.

Later, they found the director, Sal Manella, in Will Powers' dressing room. After the introductions, he suddenly declared that Fey's clothing had "triggered [his] CR34T1V3 P0W3RZ" to come up with the "Pink Princess", a follow-up to the Steel Samurai. Despite that, Wright managed to get Manella to answer his questions about the day of the murder. Manella explained that from around lunchtime until 4 in the afternoon, he, the producer, and numerous bigwigs had been in meetings at the Studio Two trailer. Seeing that he had a likely alibi, Wright and Fey left the dressing room to find the producer to confirm it.

Upon walking into the Employee Area they saw a young boy in green, wielding a camera in his hands. He introduced himself as Cody Hackins, a die-hard fan of the Steel Samurai. Thinking that he was the fan that had snuck in on the day of the murder, Wright asked if Hackins knew anything. Hackins admitted that he had seen something, but was not willing to tell them. He ran off, but not before knocking an empty medicine bottle of sleeping pills off the lunch table. Wright wondered what the bottle's presence meant, then pocketed it.

After some running around, Wright and Fey managed to speak with Dee Vasquez, the producer. They asked her if anyone could have left the meeting in Studio Two. Her response was to show them the large broken head of their studio mascot, Mr. Monkey. She revealed that it had fallen at 2:15 PM, blocking the pathway. Attempts to remove it had begun at 3 p.m., meaning no one could have left for Studio One and murdered Hammer at 2:30.

With leads drying up, Wright and Fey returned to the office to plan their next move. Maya channeled Mia, who then reminded Wright of the fanboy. The two returned to the studios and managed to corner Hackins in the dressing room. This time, he was charmed with Mia's presence, and he gave her a copy of his Path of Glory scrapbook, a collection of photos featuring the Steel Samurai's victories. His answers about the murder, however, did not prove to be helpful, as he claimed to have seen the Steel Samurai defeat a bad guy. Detective Gumshoe overheard this and quickly brought Hackins under police protection.

Trial
Prosecutor Edgeworth called Manella to the stand, intending to prove that no one at Studio Two was involved. Manella testified that after overseeing the action run-through, he went to Studio Two for a meeting and did not leave his seat for the entire time. Wright asked Manella who ate at the table outside the trailer. Manella admitted that he and Vasquez had a break to eat a T-Bone steak lunch. Wright pressed for more details on the break, but stopped short of implying that someone left the studio to kill Hammer. (If Wright did imply this, he was penalized.) Edgeworth reminded the court of the fallen mascot head that trapped everyone in the studio, which would have made such a feat impossible. Edgeworth then dismissed Manella and requested a recess so that he could prepare the next witness.

After the recess, Hackins was called to the stand. The judge was dismayed that the boy had a camera with him, as cameras were not permitted within the courtroom. Edgeworth explained that Hackins was only willing to testify if was allowed to bring it. Hackins added he was still trying to get used to it as it was new, but he still carried it wherever he went. Hackins then testified that he snuck into the studio that day and found the Steel Samurai in battle, making him wish he had his camera. Wright quickly objected, pointing out that his testimony contradicted his claim of constantly having his camera with him. Edgeworth pounced on Wright for being harsh on the child. Wright countered, "I don't care if he's a child or a prosecuting attorney! No one should lie in court!" The judge asked Hackins if he could testify on the matter.

In his second testimony, Hackins claimed he had been constantly watching the Steel Samurai's fight, up to the point when the opponent stopped moving. Wright insisted on actual details of the fight and Hackins responded that the Steel Samurai had used moves like "Samurai Slap" and "Samurai Kick". Wright was not satisfied; the testimony was vague and, most importantly, lacked a description of the killing blow, despite Hackins' claim that he had payed attention to the entire fight. Wright concluded that the witness was trying to take a picture only to be stymied by the camera's controls.

Hackins testified that he was about to get a picture of the finale, but the lens did not open in time so he did not take any pictures. Wright called his bluff, and Hackins quickly changed his testimony, saying his shots were too late and that he had erased the photos. Wright asked Hackins why he erased the photos instead of keeping them for his Path of Glory scrapbook. The judge took a look at the album and noted that there were no pictures from the day of the murder. Wright then guessed the meaning behind the lack of photos: Hackins had seen the Steel Samurai lose the fight and was in denial.

Hackins broke into tears, affirming Wright's conclusion. Wright argued that everyone was in error about the identity of the Steel Samurai in the security photo. Wright stated that person in the costume was, in fact, Hammer, who also knew of Powers' injury and could have fake-limped to incriminate him. The judge was perplexed at the idea, but Hackins popped in, revealing that he saw the Steel Samurai moving strangely that day, as if a different person was wearing the suit. He followed up by revealing that he did save a photo from that day.

Looking at the photo, Wright discovered that it was taken at the gate to Studio Two, meaning the murder had taken place there instead of at Studio One, where the body was found. Wright pointed out the significance of this revelation, namely that Vasquez and Manella were at the scene of the crime at that time; due to the fallen mascot head, they were the only ones with access. Edgeworth objected, saying this still did not explain Wright's theory that Hammer stole the costume, and asked for proof that he did. Wright brought out the empty bottle of sleeping pills, theorizing that Hammer drugged Powers so he could easily steal the costume. He asked the court to have the bottle checked for Hammer's fingerprints, as it would undoubtedly confirm his theory.

Seeing that Hackins' testimony had brought new possibilities regarding what happened on the day of the murder, the Judge ordered the trial to be extended for one more day, and asked Prosecutor Edgeworth to reconsider his stance.

Investigation
Back at the office, Wright informed Maya of how the trial had gone and that the next day of the trial would be the last due to the initial trial system. They returned to the detention center to speak with Powers again to learn more about Vasquez, Manella, and Hammer: the producer had appeared at Global Studios five years prior to the case at the same time Hammer fell from stardom. Manella had also been a minor straight-to-video director until he met Vasquez. Powers knew not much else, though he said that he had heard rumors about Hammer and Vasquez.

Wright and Maya returned to Global Studios and gathered the information they needed from Detective Gumshoe: Powers' plate from lunch on the day of the murder contained traces of sleeping pills, and Jack Hammer's fingerprints were found on the sleeping pill bottle, confirming Wright's theory.

They went into their client's dressing room and met Nichols, who was grateful for their work but had to inform them that The Steel Samurai was going to be canceled, much to Maya's dismay. Global was also going to change its programming policy to exclude all future children's shows. Wright showed Hackins's album to Nichols, saying that Global should not halt production of kids' shows, as this would disappoint many children like Hackins. Convinced, Nichols decided to tell Wright and Maya about the incident from five years ago: Jack Hammer was working on a movie, but during shooting, he accidentally pushed a fellow actor to his doom. Dee Vasquez managed to keep the accident silent but used it to control Hammer for five long years.

With this new information, Wright and Maya confronted Oldbag, who immediately defended Hammer once they mentioned the accident from five years ago, and his crime of stealing the Steel Samurai costume from Powers. When asked for proof, Wright presented both the plate from which Powers had eaten his steak and the sleeping pill bottle with Hammer's fingerprints on it. Defeated, the security lady told them more about the accident and Vasquez: she had ties to the mafia. With her ties, a photographer who had taken a photo of the accident had been silenced by Vasquez's ties. However, Oldbag had managed to steal the photo; she handed it to Wright to use as evidence against the producer.

They went to Studio 2 to confront Vasquez about the issue from five years earlier. When presented with the photo, Vasquez asked them to come into the trailer. They insisted that Vasquez had reduced Hammer to working on children's shows for little change. Vasquez denied that it had been an accident and proposed that Hammer had intentionally killed the other man. Would Hammer really let Vasquez run his life for five years over a simple "accident?" She wanted the photo, but they could not give it to her, as it was valuable evidence. That was when she summoned four mobsters out of nowhere to "erase" Wright and Maya. Just in time, Gumshoe burst in and arrested Vasquez. The motive for murder now clearer, Wright and Maya prepared to take on Dee Vasquez in court to reveal the truth behind Jack Hammer's death.

Trial
At the start of the trial, Wright noticed that Edgeworth was feeling edgy, as if the latter had lost control of his witness. Vasquez took the stand and testified that she was in Studio 2 that day for a meeting, which had stopped at 2:30 for a 15 minute break. She and Manella had eaten T-bone steaks and driven the van to get to Studio 1. Upon cross-examination, Wright pointed out that there were no bones left on the plates at the studio and claimed that the witness hadn't eaten the steak but had thrown it into the incinerator; she had met the Steel Samurai, and fought and killed him.

Vasquez claimed that she could not have wielded the Samurai Spear as she was "a woman of petite stature". However, the defense countered that the Samurai Spear was not the murder weapon at all. The handle of the spear was broken and fixed with duct tape, making it unfeasible as a murder weapon, especially when used against someone wearing a thick costume. When asked for the real weapon, Wright presented Oldbag's five-year-old photo to show the court the real method of murder: the spiky fencepost near the trailer. He explained that all that Vasquez had to do was to push Hammer off the stairs and onto the fence, killing him like he had killed a fellow actor years before.

Vasquez challenged Wright: If the murder had occurred in Studio Two, how had Hammer ended up in Studio One wearing his Evil Magistrate costume? Wright pointed to the studio van on which she had testified earlier; Wright theorized that she and Manella had disposed of the now bloody Steel Samurai costume, redressed Hammer in his Evil Magistrate costume, and hid him in the van till it was time to go to Studio One. With that, Vasquez conceded the possibility, but pointed out there was no true physical evidence that actually implicated her. Edgeworth agreed, but he too seemed suspicious of Vasquez.

With nothing to hold her, Vasquez's cross-examination was set to end. In a surprise move, Edgeworth insisted on more testimony, fumbling around until he found something to ask about, namely the discovery of Hammer's body. Wright and Maya speculated that Edgeworth might have seen Vasquez as the real murderer as well. Vasquez testified that she, Oldbag, Manella, and Nichols had been the first ones to discover the body. After she called the police, Powers had come in, causing Oldbag to finger him as the murderer. Vasquez then claimed she had left the investigation proceedings that followed and returned to her trailer to retrieve her script and direction notes before going home. Wright pointed out they were doing some rehearsing, so he asked why she had not taken the script with her to Studio One. Vasquez answered that she had known that there wasn't going to be any rehearsing, especially with a murder having happened.

Edgeworth objected, claiming that the only way Vasquez would have known that the rehearsal would be canceled was if she had known about the murder. The judge was amazed at the observation, and inquired Edgeworth as to whether he was going have a career change to defense. Edgeworth said not to worry, as he only wanted a proper explanation from the witness, regardless of what his own perceived role in the courtroom was. Vasquez, amused that both defense and prosecution were going after her, explained that she had known that Hammer was injured, and therefore couldn't perform for the rehearsal. Wright quickly pointed out that Powers, not Hammer, had been injured in the run-through. Vasquez blamed Manella for the mix-up, but Wright reminded the court that Manella had been at the run-through, so he would have known. Wright explained Vasquez's confusion as the result of Hammer pretending to be Powers, injured leg and all.

Undaunted, Vasquez claimed that she had nothing to gain from Hammer's death, as he was a star, albeit a fallen one. Wright revealed to the court how Vasquez had treated Hammer since that accident five years ago, making him work low-profile roles for petty change. The judge noted that this would have given Hammer a motive to kill Vasquez, but not the other way around. Wright concurred with the judge; it was Hammer who had had a plan to commit murder that day. Hammer had stolen the Steel Samurai costume and worn it in order to frame Powers, and then he had gone to Studio Two to kill the woman who had cruelly treated him for five years, only for her to kill him accidentally in self defense. The truth revealed, Vasquez admitted to killing Hammer and recounted the previous incident in which the other actor, named Manuel, had died. After Vasquez left the stand, the judge praised Wright for pulling off another miracle. A surly Edgeworth replied that Powers being found innocent was only natural, and not a miracle. On that note, the court found Powers not guilty of the charge of the murder of Hammer.

Defendant lobby
In the defense lobby, Powers was shocked that Hammer had wanted to frame him, and asked Wright why he wanted to do so. Wright pointed how that Powers was a big star, so Hammer may have been jealous of Powers's position. Powers replied that if Hammer had just told him about his problems, Powers could have switched roles with him.

Maya congratulated Powers for his verdict, but Edgeworth appeared, quickly interrupting the festivities. Wright thanked Edgeworth for his help in taking Vasquez down. Edgeworth told Wright that he had not expected to see him again, and that Wright had caused Edgeworth "unnecessary feelings" of unease and uncertainty. Edgeworth warned Wright not to come across him again.

Aftermath
News of the Powers trial caused a stir due to the revelation of the cause of Manuel's death. Global Studios decided to stick with children's programming after all, and Manella's "Pink Princess" concept became a reality, with Will Powers starring again as the Pink Princess.

Note
This is the first case in the Ace Attorney series in which the culprit committed manslaughter or killed out of self-defense, rather than committing an actual murder.

Case title in other languages

 * Japanese - 逆転のトノサマン (lit. Tonosaman of Turnabout)
 * Korean - 역전의 토노사만 (lit. Turnabout's Turnabout)