Jack Hammer, known as Takeshi Ibukuro in the Japanese version, is a minor antagonist in the video game Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney. Specifically, he is the posthumous main antagonist of the Turnabout Samurai chapter.
History[]
Jack Hammer was a famous action star, who appeared in various successful movies. In 2011, Global Studios producer Dee Vasquez was overseeing a fight scene between Jack Hammer and a fellow actor named Manuel at Studio 2. An accident occurred during filming when Hammer accidentally pushed Manuel onto a sharp fencepost, impaling and killing him. Due to Vasquez's mob contacts, and also thanks to Wendy Oldbag keeping the picture for herself, the accident never leaked to the press. Vasquez then used the death of Manuel to blackmail Hammer over the next five years, forcing him to act in TV villain roles for little pay, most notably the Evil Magistrate in The Steel Samurai.
Five years later, having had enough, Hammer planned to murder Vasquez. At first, it was thought to be solely for revenge over the blackmail, but it later turned out that he also hated the fact that his co-star Will Powers was more famous than he was. As such, he came up with a plan to frame Powers for his murder of Vasquez.
On the day Hammer enacted his plan for revenge, Powers injured his ankle during a run-through of The Steel Samurai; during lunch break, Hammer drugged him with sleeping pills and stole the Steel Samurai costume, dragging his leg in order to emulate Power's injury and fool anyone who saw him into thinking he was his co-star. Traveling to Studio 2, he attacked Vasquez with the Steel Samurai spear, resulting in a struggle that ended in Vasquez pushing him to his death in self-defense. Ironically, he died the same way as Manuel - being impaled on the same fencepost that impaled his co-star five years prior.
Despite his death, Hammer's actions still manipulated everyone into framing Will, who almost had his life ruined. He also almost got Wendy Oldbag, who was a fan of his, arrested for murder. His actions were close to getting defense attorney Phoenix Wright and his assistant, Maya Fey, killed. Hammer even ruined Vasquez's career, as well as director Sal Manella's. In the end, everything he cared about was being famous and making money.
Personality[]
Little is known of Hammer's personality, as he died before Wright could meet him unexpectedly. However, his actions seem to point out that Manuel's death and the following extortion turned him into a bitter and argumentative man. He had a deep disdain towards Vasquez, but was also very resentful towards Powers. Hammer was forced to play a hated villain in a show in which Powers landed the lead heroic role.
To act in a way that makes a displeasing situation worse, he was then paid "peanuts" for his great deal of endurance. Upset with every hit to his widespread belief, he was driven to attempted murder. So Vasquez indirectly states that the death of Manuel was not an accident, but Hammer had intentionally done it. It is unconfirmed if what she says is true, although she does make a reasonable point of the reason behind Hammer allowing her to ruin his life.
Trivia[]
- Jack Hammer is the first villainous victim of Ace Attorney.
- In the anime adaptation, Jack Hammer is portrayed in a more sympathetic light, while Vasquez is portrayed as a more villainous character; the latter's motivation for blackmailing the former was simply for her own amusement, with her displaying no emotion to Manuel's death. Additionally, Hammer's plan to frame Will Powers for Vasquez's murder is omitted; he is instead portrayed as having respected Powers as a friend and co-star, and donned the Steel Samurai costume to feel like a hero after spending so long portraying the villain and to catch Vasquez off-guard. His drugging of Powers to steal the costume is also omitted.
