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Bruce Goodman
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Bruce Goodman
We can't transfer the evidence out. There are too many questions left unanswered!

Bruce Goodman was the head detective in the SL-9 Incident. He was killed when he tried to reopen the case two years later.

SL-9 Incident[]

Main article: SL-9 Incident
Battleplan

The SL-9 team.

Bruce Goodman was the head investigator of the SL-9 case, tracking down serial killer Joe Darke, along with his fellow investigators Angel Starr and Jake Marshall. The detectives who supervised the investigation were the legendary detectives Damon Gant and Lana Skye. Darke escaped during questioning and attacked Lana's sister Ema Skye. The ensuing confrontation ended in the murder of prosecutor Neil Marshall. Goodman interviewed Ema, and her testimony assisted in Darke's conviction. The aftermath of the case saw Gant rise to the position of chief of police and Lana promoted to chief prosecutor.

However, suspicion began to grow on the handling of the case. Gant fired Angel Starr and demoted Jake Marshall to patrolman. Unlike his comrades, Goodman kept his position, but he still felt the scars of the outcome of SL-9.

Death[]

Main article: Rise from the Ashes
Goodman body

Goodman's corpse.

Jake came to Goodman two years after the SL-9 Incident, wanting his help to re-investigate the case before the evidence was transferred. At first, Goodman turned him down. However, Jake was not dissuaded and he stole Goodman's I.D. card. Later, Goodman entered the police department's evidence room with Gant. Inside, he spoke out about his doubts over the case, and he asked for the case to be re-opened and to let him hand over the evidence to Jake Marshall. Gant panicked, fearing that the secret behind Darke's conviction would be revealed. He picked up Darke's knife from the evidence and killed Goodman. Gant then had Lana Skye hide the body in Miles Edgeworth's car so that Edgeworth would unwittingly transport the body to the Prosecutor's Building. When Lana returned to the car to cover up evidence, she was caught by Starr with the body and accused of the murder.

Ema went to defense attorney Phoenix Wright to request his services in court to defend her older sister. She accompanied Wright in his investigations, and they gradually uncovered the details of the SL-9 Incident. With the help of Edgeworth, they eventually unmasked Gant as the real killer in both of the murders of Bruce Goodman and Neil Marshall.

Personality[]

Mugshot-goodman

Goodman's mugshot.

According to Jake Marshall, Goodman was not a particularly gifted detective, but he was a good man. Just like Jake and Starr, Goodman had his suspicions about the resolution of the SL-9 Incident. However, it took constant pestering by Jake Marshall for Goodman to finally confront Gant with his doubts, with unfortunate consequences.

Appearance[]

Bruce had brown eyes, and black hair and beard. He wore a white coat, shirt, shoes, and hat with a black band, and a blue tie with white polkadots.

Name[]

  • Japanese - Michio Tadashiki (多田敷 道夫):
    • His Japanese surname "Tadashiki" (多田敷) comes from "Tadashī" (正しい) which means "morally right" or "correct" in Japanese.
  • English - Bruce Goodman:
    • The surname Goodman was formerly a polite term of address (in the same way "Mister" would be used today). It may have originated from the German surname "Gutmann", colloquially meaning "husband", "yeoman", or "working man" (as opposed to a "noble" or "gentleman"). In the case of Bruce Goodman, it is meant to refer to his good nature. Wright even notes in the court record that he was literally "a good man".
  • French - Eric Lebon:
    • "Lebon" comes from "le bon", meaning "the good" in French.

Unofficial[]

  • Brazilian Portuguese - Bruno Bonfim: [1]
    • "Bruno" is a similar name to Bruce, comes from the Latin "Brunus", or Germanic "Brun", and means "brown", "tanned".
    • "Bonfim" is a common surname, related to "Senhor do Bonfim" and "Jesus Christ"; It makes reference to his being a good person and to his premature end. It makes pun on "Bom fim" (Good end).

Development[]

  • The Japanese names of Goodman and Mike Meekins were apparently chosen together.

Reference to popular culture[]

When Ema and Wright find Goodman's ID card and examine the ID number on it, Ema states that she thinks letters would be better than numbers for IDs, and suggests "YABADAB" as an alternative for Goodman's. This may be a reference to Fred Flintstone's catchphrase "Yabba Dabba Doo!" in the animated television sitcom The Flintstones, which also received a live-action film adaptation in which John Goodman played the role of Fred Flintstone.

References[]

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