In the story, a secret diary published by the Earth-2 Batman sometime prior to his death accuses his former allies, the Justice Society of America, of being collaborators with the Nazis during World War II. With some help by the younger members of the team, the Justice Society go to court to determine the validity of this "diary" and what purpose it was actually created for.
This mini-series provides examples of:
- Alternate History:
- On Earth-2, Senator Joseph McCarthy died in a car crash in 1951, and thus his place was taken by Senator O'Fallon, who focused his lens on the Justice Society and tried to force them to unmask publicly.
- In All-Star Squadron Annual 3, the JSA was unable to prevent the murder of an innocent child by Ian Karkull's plans. So the citizens of Earth-2 now live in an Alternate History of what their original timeline should've been; the child would've grown up to become a U.S. president. It was not stated outright who it was in the original story, but it is confirmed in this one.
- Arbitrary Skepticism: Senator Hopkins criticizes some of the JSA's cases as far-fetched (the JSA fought fairies?), Wonder Woman counters by asking if they are more ridiculous than an amazon princess like herself, an extra-terrestrial from a doomed planet (Superman), or a ring giving magical powers (Green Lantern).
- As You Know: Mostly Justified due to the nature of the hearing, but played straight at least once by Degaton, who says "as you well know" to Robin before reminding him of his three RetGoned attempts to Take Over the World.
- Batman Gambit: The Trope Namer pulls this, accusing the JSA so that they'd be forced to retell all their adventures, believing that examining their past exploits will lead to someone figuring out the Cover Up behind Professor Zee's disappearance. Robin does.
- Big Bad Duumvirate: O'Fallon takes advantage of the doubt resulting from Batman's diary to incite a Kangaroo Court to frame the JSA, because he just knows they killed his dad. Meanwhile, there's Per Degaton, who is otherwise uninvolved with the proceedings but ultimately turns out to be Batman's real target when writing the diary and who the JSA have to stop from potentially disrupting the timeline yet again. They're only technically a duumvirate because O'Fallon was funding Degaton's laboratory as an Enemy Mine in case the trial didn't work out.
- Big Bad Wannabe: O'Fallon is just a normal guy, albeit deluded and wanting to take down the JSA. He helplessly watches as the JSA win back public support and is then confronted by Degaton, who gives him an Eviler than Thou speech and promises to grant him his revenge by killing the JSA... and plunging the world into the dark ages too, while he's at it.
- Biting-the-Hand Humor: Wonder Woman has an unusual disdain for their early 1949 adventures, calling them unmemorable and the one-off villain Dr. Egri "lackluster".
- Broken Masquerade:
- Helena struggles with whether to reveal Batman's identity to the world, as it would cast doubt on the diary's words (Bruce Wayne opposed the JSA in his later years). Ultimately, Batman's secret is safe.
- Played straight with the reveal of the Ian Karkull adventure, which the JSA hid from the public after realizing its implications could throw their nation into turmoil, but are forced to explain in the hearing alongside everything else.
- Cain and Abel: Not in potentially lethal terms, but Dick and Helena find themselves in opposing sides. Dick stands with Batman's accusation that the JSA were Nazis, even if it means condemning his teammates. Helena stands with the JSA and their innocence, even if it means condemning her father as a liar. Dick is Denying the Dead Parent's Sins, believing his late mentor was in the right, regardless of what he wrote, while Helena is Parents as People, knowing her father had flaws, such as an irrational hatred for the JSA near the end of his life. Fortunately, the revelations reconcile the two.
- Card-Carrying Villain: Or at least, "Card-Carrying Lunatic" - Degaton suspects that O'Fallon's attempts to defame the JSA are because he didn't think the former was crazy enough to actually try to attack them again.
- The Cavalry:
- Superman is this in both versions of the JSA's first adventure. In the true event, he stops the Nazis from bombing the Capitol. In the Batman's Diary, his presence intimidates the Nazi-collaborating JSA into stopping their mission to kill the President.
- The Justice Society near the end of the story, when Per Degaton is ready to shoot Dick Grayson to cover up the murder of Professor Zee.
- Cool Old Guy: Starman tells the court about their 1940 battle against Ian Karkull, the foe's destruction causing the JSA to be bathed in his temporal energy, allowing them to maintain their prime stamina & vitality even as they age to their sixties.
- Continuity Cavalcade: Many panels portray multiple adventures from the JSA's past, as without this trope, trying to recap everything they did in four issues would be impossible.
- Continuity Nod: Too many to count, such as Batman recalling his Early-Installment Weirdness of using a gun.
- Corrupt Politician:
- Senator William Hopkins heads the Joint Committee. Despite his promises to keep an open mind, he has been paid by O'Fallon to find the JSA guilty.
- When Doctor Mid-Nite makes a noble speech, his teammates whisper why he didn't go into politics. "Too Many Principles?"
- Courtroom Episode: For the Justice Society in general.
- The Cynic: Wildcat has low hopes that the public will actually believe their side of the story and makes an informed decision.
- Death of a Child: Green Lantern recalls the death of a child that took place during his battle of Wotan, an event that affected him so greatly that he resigned for several years as the Justice Society's chairman. The death, as it turns out, was that of a child that Ian Karkull realized would someday become a United States President.
- Dented Iron: Sandman had a stroke and is obviously in poor health because of it. The other members try and protect him from exerting himself too much, which he doesn't appreciate.
- Denying the Dead Parent's Sins: Robin's loyalty blinds him to questioning the reliability of his late mentor's accusation that the JSA were traitors.
- Died on Their Birthday: Professor Zee arrives through time-travel on what would be his 100th birthday. However, mortally wounded (by Per Degaton from his starting travel point in 1947), he collapses dead.
- Disney Villain Death: The Brainwave almost does this, but ends up being saved by his robe being caught by a pole. He maintains the illusion that he has fallen to his death so he could set up his plan of revenge.
- Driven to Suicide: Per Degaton, who was fingered for the murder of Professor Malachi Zee of the Brain Trust.
- Eviler than Thou: Degaton, when revealing he's going to take matters into his own hands, gives O'Fallon a dressing-down by calling him a fool who was blinded by his father's death, before gloating that at least the money he gave him was put into good use.
- Evil Laugh: The Brainwave in a splash panel in the third issue.
- Evil Old Folks: Degaton is clearly getting on in his years as a consequence of taking The Slow Path. His advanced age was apparently a motivator for his early parole, as his health was failing him. He kills himself partly due to not wanting to go back to prison at his age.
- Faking the Dead: The Wizard admits that he faked his own suicide via an illusion so he could escape from the Justice Society.
- Grand Theft Me: Averted. One of the surprise witnesses is Dr. Robert Crane, whose brain (formerly inside Robotman) now lives inside the body of Dr. Charles Grayson. However, this was a legal transplant, as Grayson's will stated after his death from brain cancer, Crane will inherit his still healthy and functioning body. So, it is not a theft.
- Hoist by His Own Petard:
- The Brainwave mined the approaches to his lair with explosives to prevent the Justice Society members from rescuing their captured companions. Johnny Thunder's Thunderbolt gets through, though, and ends up replanting the explosives under the Brainwave's tower, so when he pushed the detonator plunger, he blew up his own lair instead.
- Degaton slipped up and made jokes referencing the Hundred-Year Club or living to a hundred one too many times in front of Bruce while he was getting paroled. If he had kept his mouth shut, Wayne would likely not have suspected him of being involved in the Professor's disappearance, which was what motivated him to write the diary and culminated in Robin and the JSA confronting him.
- I Can Still Fight!: Or in Sandman's case, he can still sit alongside his JSA teammates at the Hearing despite recovering from a stroke.
- I Reject Your Reality: O'Fallon is convinced beyond reason that the JSA murdered his father because he helped shut them down. Notably, even Degaton calls him out on "everyone knows it was an accident" and laughs at O'Fallon actually thinking the greatest heroes on Earth would murder anyone.
- Irony: Robin, in his civilian clothes, is held at gunpoint by Degaton. Degaton, who is unaware of Robin's Secret Identity, criticizes him for attempting to defy him when he's "not even a superhero".
- I'm a Doctor, Not a Placeholder: Wildcat in the third issue: "I'm a crime-buster, not a politician."
- Kangaroo Court: Wildcat cynically believes the Hearing is just this. Secretly, Committee Judge Senator William Hopkins intends to treat it as such.
- Karma Houdini: We never do find out if O'Fallon was ever convicted of anything. Technically speaking, he didn't commit any crimes, even though he tried to defame the JSA (as he didn't write the diary) and worked with Degaton (who had been paroled by Batman).
- Kryptonite Factor: The arresting military forces come prepared with Kryptonite handcuffs to apprehend Superman.
- Last Words: Dick gets to see Professor Zee's last words as he accuses his assistant of his murder before passing away from blood loss. It would've been enough to put Degaton behind bars again, if not for the latter being Driven to Suicide.
- Mind Wipe: Batman's fatal battle with Bill Jensen revealed his identity as Commissioner Bruce Wayne. Doctor Fate altered the public's memories so that two men were killed with Jensen: Batman and Commissioner Wayne.
- Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: The Wizard's inflammatory testimony against the JSA is all but disregarded after he tries to run off without going back to jail and the JSA heroically stop him, frustrating O'Fallon to no end.
- Parents as People: Dick comes to terms with the fact that Batman wasn't perfect.
- Police Are Useless: When Wonder Woman decides to leave the court, security block her way. The result is what one would expect.
- Posthumous Character: The late Batman, who is the instigator of this story.
- Real Life Writes the Plot: This was inspired by the discovery and publication of the so-called Hitler Diaries around that same time period.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: Congressman Phillips remains reasonable and impartial throughout the hearings. Phillips' colleague Congresswoman Vasquez is more hostile toward the JSA. Still, she does ultimately agree that the hearings should be canceled after the star witness (an imprisoned super villain) demonstrates his untrustworthiness by trying to use the hearings as an opportunity to escape.
- Recap Episode: Mostly comprised of retellings (some by Unreliable Narrators, some not) of the JSA's history, with the trial (excuse us, hearing) as the Framing Device.
- Red Herring: With Degaton being seen lurking in the shadows watching the trial, the reader might think he's responsible for the events in some way. He's not; while he's revealed to have collaborated with the man creating this media circus, he's entirely uninvolved, and in fact, he sees the trail as a potential risk to his plans. The only reason he's watching at all is because he's biding his time waiting for Zee to arrive in the present and because he's hoping the JSA really will get locked up.
- Running Gag: At least three times in Wonder Woman's retelling of Per Degaton's exploits, whenever he is made to forget those events, he ends up talking to Professor Zee about having dreams of being the ruler of the world, and Professor Zee responds by telling him to clean up his test tubes. This is a nod to the ending of all JSA stories where Degaton tries to alter the past, as they always have this exact conversation, with the same panel either redrawn or at least quoted. However, the Running Gag gets Running Gagged in this story, where Degaton's fate is rather different...
- Sand In My Eyes: Emotionally overwhelmed over confirmation of both the innocence of the JSA of treason and the truth behind Batman writing the diary, Dick Grayson hides his Manly Tears from the Huntress.
- Secret Diary: The plotline centers on the Batman Diary, which accuses the JSA of following Adolf Hitler and spending World War II secretly helping the Third Reich.
- Secretly Dying: At the end, Huntress reveals to Dick that Bruce had been suffering from cancer towards the end of his life, and had he not died in battle with Bill Jensen, he would have been dead within a year anyway.
- Shrink Ray: The Brainwave subjected eight members of the Justice Society to one so he could hold them hostage.
- Shout-Out: One of the observers of the Congressional hearing mentions the 1980s TV show V.
- The Slow Path: Degaton is currently unable to time travel due to the loss of Zee's time machine, and so must wait until it returns, which happens to be the day of the trial. In the meantime, he busied with himself with less far-out crimes like getting involved in the Injustice Society or teaming up with Brainwave, which led to his imprisonment.
- Spanner in the Works: Batman's journal ended up being this to Per Degaton; his plans hinged upon everyone forgetting about him until the time machine returned, but the inquiry discussed the JSA's past in such detail that his name kept getting mentioned.
- Spear of Destiny: This as well as the Grailstone is mentioned as one of the reasons the Justice Society couldn't stop World War II from happening, as both items in the hands of the Axis world power leaders created a sphere of influence that affected all magic-based heroes as well as Superman.
- Split Personality: Evidently this is what happened to Commissioner Bruce Wayne in his final months. Dying of cancer, he learns of Per Degaton's future plans of world conquest on the 100th birthday of the missing Professor Zee. Knowing he will die before that date happens, but still too hostile to the JSA to inform them of his suspicions, Bruce's subconscious took over as the Batman, writing the Diary and giving it to Dr. Nichols under the promise that it will be released to the public near Degaton's planned date.
- Superhero Packing Heat: In his Diary, Batman admits to using a handgun in his early days.
- Surprise Witness: Several witnesses arrive to either support the JSA's innocence (The Shining Knight, Bob Crane) or their guilt (The Wizard).
- Take Over the World: Degaton's plan, which he admits is always his plan.
- Taking the Bullet: In the JSA's first adventure, the Atom saves Franklin Roosevelt from the full brunt of Valkyrie's attack. According to Batman's Diary, the complicit Atom accidentally stumbled in his ally's assassin attack.
- Time-Delayed Death: Played With in the case of Professor Zee, who after so many years of suffering They Killed Kenny Again at the hands of his assistant, meets his end with a bullet to the chest. However, due to stumbling back onto his time machine and being sent forward while in this state, his death only came decades later from when he was fatally shot.
- Time Travel: An essential part of the story. Professor Zee intended to travel in time to the point of his 100th birthday and then return back to his own time in 1947, but Per Degaton shot the professor, intending to take his time machine so that he could conquer the world. However, the professor fell into the machine and inadvertently activated it, sending him into the future. Per Degaton was waiting for the moment that the professor would re-emerge from his time travel for years, still intending to use the machine for his evil purposes. Apparently Batman figured this out, and so he wrote the diary with the purpose of having the Justice Society apprehend Per Degaton at the moment Professor Zee would appear to finger his former assistant as his murderer.
- Vigilante Man: The Batman Diary begins with a focus on the costumed crime-fighters taking the law into their own hands.
- Villain Has a Point: Degaton calls out O'Fallon for being a fool and clinging to a delusional belief that his father was murdered by the JSA, telling him that he was warped by his father's death. Not to give him some kind of epiphany, mind you; He just wanted to rub it in his face that he collaborated with him over something that wasn't true.
- Villain Protagonist: The Batman's Diary accuses the Justice Society of America (with exception of Superman) as collaborators of Hitler and the Third Reich.
- We Used to Be Friends: While only an honorary member, Batman used to be part of the JSA only for his growing paranoia to drive a wedge between them, even going as far as paroling Per Degaton due to what he saw as his 'mistreatment' by the JSA. Nonetheless, the JSA still sees him as a great man, and he may have gotten over his hangup eventually since he died in costume.
- Ye Olde Butcherede Englishe: The Shining Knight is originally from Arthurian times and talks in a Thor-esque way.
- You Don't Look Like You: Degaton was disgusted that Brainwave brought him back to life with black hair.
- You Killed My Father: O'Fallon blames the JSA for the death of his father, the Senator who forced their retirement in 1951. Turns out the fire that caused his death was accidental.
