DC Absolute Evil | Comic Dub

[calm, controlled] Gentlemen of the House Un-American Activities Committee… you called me to this closed-door session to answer certain questions. I’ve thought long and hard about the answers.

[serious, measured, smug] During my covert work as the Hawkman, my true identity has remained my own secret. Now you say I have to give that secret up. My face, my name, my life–I do consider these my own business. But sometimes, business takes a back seat to pleasure…and you know what? It’ll be a real pleasure to inform on the commie rats nibbling away at this great country. What do you want to know, boys?

[cold and stern, raspy voice] Questions...?

[casual, amused, talking on the phone] Ha! You heard that, huh? You got me, kid. Guilty as charged. I'm practicing my party piece. The whole robin hood bit.

[frustrated, building intensity] No, it’s... look, I told you about his island, right? All those private flights, they're just kids... [break] Because he’s bought the cops, Roy! He’s bought the courts! The system was BUILT for guys like this!

[frustrated, determined] Don’t tell me to calm down–Roy, I mean it. You can be in or out, but I’m serious.

[self-important] Sure, sure, but…you know who I am, right? My business is worth more than most countries. I need to be in contact with the office.

[sarcastic, annoyed] Yeah, yeah, sure. Should I take off my belt and shoes?

[smug, irritated] Sure. And maybe when I’m in there, I’ll talk to your boss about the attitude. See how well that goes for you.

[professional, composed, calm] Glad you could finally join us. Veronica Cale, national security adviser. I’m the boss. You had something to say?

[professional] Thank you. Let’s begin. New York, 1939. Chemist Wesley Dodds gets rich off his patents for improved anesthetic compounds. Soon after, a masked detective called the Sandman appears, armed with a nonlethal sleep gas. Then Dodds is found shot dead in his Sandman suit, his laboratory ransacked. A year later, the U.S. military acquires new and very lethal nerve gas weapons. Was it made from Dodds’s stolen notes? Ask the conspiracy theorists. Did it win us the war? Ask the historians. They’ll say yes.

[authoritative, calm] You all have private resources, as do I. As National Security Advisor and Director of Area 41, I have additional government resources. But if we don’t put all those together… if we don’t work together… these monsters will take our world apart.

[stern, commanding] No... This room is not for games. It is not for play. Speak of work or do not speak.

[calm, intimidating] I am Ra's al Ghul. If you do not know what that name means, be glad. And be silent.

[cold, final, somewhat amused] That is how we solve problems, Mr. Hammond. Not in a month–in a day. No sitting around the table. No chump change. No games… And no jokes.

[dismissive] As convenient as an alliance might be for you, I don’t see the need to be in each other’s pockets. It’s not as if we’re friends…

[dry, condescending] I have to side with Mr. Al Ghul on this. Our time is more valuable than any resource on Earth, Hammond. Far too precious to waste on your little "jokes."

[professional] I’m going to share some recent research from a particle physics laboratory under my aegis. Needless to say, this is proprietary information. If any of what I’m about to tell you reaches any ears outside this room… I'll take it seriously.

[holding back anger, restrained] The fundamental forces of this universe trend in one direction… and now we know that includes societal forces. Gravity distorts the universe–and so the river runs, the curtain falls, the yoke is heavy, we accept that a man is tethered to the Earth. We do not believe a man can fly.

[frantically puzzled, bewildered, still serious] Imagine thinking it a "fallacy..." That the world is just.

[calm, reflective] Sunset and green tea. It’s a wonderful life, isn’t it?

[professional, over the phone] This is Lex Luthor speaking. How can I help?

[reflective] I was an angry young man, Dora–envious of others for their power, their popularity, even their looks. But right here, in this moment, I can’t think of a single thing I want.

[warm, content] Well, I certainly think so.

[gentle, affectionate, flirting] Can’t you? Because the children are in bed…

[lightly teasing] Ugh. That phone! Always the worst timing.