Judge Doom

"Is this man removing evidence from a scene of a crime?"

- Judge Doom "I didn't come here to harass. I came here to reward."

- Judge Doom "Remember me, Eddie!? When I killed your brother, I talked, JUST… LIKE… THIIIIISSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!"

- Doom revealing himself as the toon muderer who killed Eddie's brother.

Baron von Rotten, better known as Judge Doom, is the main antagonist of the 1988 live action/animated film Who Framed Roger Rabbit. He is the (former) judge of Toontown, Eddie's arch-nemesis, and the Toon Patrol's former boss. He was portrayed by Christopher Lloyd, who also voiced Rasputin, Merlock, and The Hacker.

Biography
For the majority of the film, Doom poses as a high-ranking judge. However, he employs tactics that are at odds with traditional views of justice, such as the employment of a mob of weasel gangsters (whom he has hired as his new henchmen) and the execution of toons through a chemical paint thinner solution called the Dip, which is said to be the only way to truly kill a toon forever.

Judge Doom wishes to destroy Toontown in order to build a freeway over the entire area. He is happy to commit genocide to do so, building a huge machine by which to literally erase Toontown from existence via the use of high-powered cannons filled with Dip. His plans are in danger of being foiled if anyone finds the will to Toontown, which gives the toons rightful ownership of the land.

In an attempt to prevent this from happening, Doom murders several prominent figures who could potentially end his scheme, namely Marvin Acme and R.K. Maroon, framing the troubled Roger in the process. In desperation, Roger seeks help and advice f rom Eddie, despite his reluctance to get involved in another case involving a toon since a toon once murdered his brother. The event had hardened the once fun-loving detective and made him extremely cynical of toons.

For the majority of the film, Judge Doom is portrayed as being almost xenophobic and merciless towards toons and regards them as vermin (despite hiring some as henchmen). However, by the end of the film, it turns out to be a facade as reveals that he is a toon himself and that his genocidal plan was all part of his gag. He was also revealed to be the one that is murderously insane and the one responsible for the death of Eddie's brother Teddy a few years back.

At the end of the film, Doom and Eddie fight in the Acme Factory where Doom is squashed flat by his own steamroller. Since he is a toon, he survives this and manages to re-inflate himself before revealing his true appearance to Eddie. After failing to kill Eddie with a cartoon circular saw, Doom meets his demise when Eddie activates the Dip machine which douses the evil judge in his own concoction.

As he begins to melt, Doom shows more of his "toony" nature as he can't resist doing a direct spoof of the Wicked Witch of the West's death throes (screaming in pain, "I'm melting! Melting!") in The Wizard of Oz. He finally melts into the Dip-soaked floor and dissolves, leaving behind only his clothes and a rubber mask. When the other toons come to investigate, they all wonder what Doom really was and what he actually looked like under the mask; however, they soon realize that it doesn't matter what Doom was as they are now safe from his wrath forever and celebrate their victory.

Personality
Judge Doom is a psychopathic, sadistic man who has murdered several people. He has weasel minions that do his work for him, but at the end of the film, he attempts to kill Eddie himself, boasting that he had already done to Eddie's brother.

Appearance
He dresses ominously like most villains would, dark coat, shady glasses, and a hat that he pulls over his head a bit. He also walks with a cane, implying he is older or wants to look sophisticated.

Trivia

 * Judge Doom is very similar to Judge Claude Frollo from The Hunchback of Notre Dame: both are corrupt judges, complete monsters, and attempted to wipe out a group they despise (toons and gypsies, respectively).
 * Judge Doom is very similar to The Collector from Bonkers.
 * Judge Doom is also similar to Frieza, famous villain of the manga and anime series Dragon Ball: both act as speculators, and want to exterminate the population (the Toons for Judge Doom, the people residing in many planets in the galaxy for Frieza) for economic purposes (Doom to build the highway, Frieza to resell the planets conquered to the highest bidder in the market).
 * Before Christopher Lloyd was cast, Tim Curry (Dr. Frank-N-Furter, Wadsworth, Hexxus, Cardinal Richelieu, Long John Silver, Pennywise the Dancing Clown, Ben Ravencroft, Mr. Hector, Drake, Simon Doonan, Lord of Darkness, Professor Calamitous, Maestro Forte, El Malefico, King Chicken and Rooster Hannigan) auditioned for the role, but the producers thought his performance was too scary.
 * In an early version of the script, Valiant mentions that Doom killed Bambi's mother.
 * There are many instances throughout the film that foreshadow the fact that Judge Doom is a Toon:
 * In the bar, he backs away from the spilled Dip, which is later shown not to affect regular people. Also, when he demonstrates the Dip's effectiveness for the first time by dunking a toon shoe in the chemical, he wears a rubber glove to protect himself.  Also, when he decides to get Benny off the road so he can capture Eddie Valiant and Jessica Rabbit, he kicks the Dip and keeps a distance from it.
 * On several occasions, Doom is shown to detest laughter. Seeing as it is a Toon's role to be funny, too much laughter may have blown Doom's cover.
 * Another instance that implies that Doom is a Toon is when he falls on fake eyeballs, he trips in a cartoonish way before falling down, making the Toon Patrol laugh at him (which he once again ordered to stop). Also, when he gets back on his feet after falling, he hides one of his eyes, not because it's in pain, but so as to conceal his actual red toon eyes with the fake eyeballs he's wearing.
 * Doom's face appears to be made out of rubber, and his teeth looked fake.
 * Doom constantly performed an exaggerated toon-like turn whenever he turns his body.
 * A gust of wind almost always blows on Doom's cape even when he's in an area where there's no wind.