Belle Reve
Belle Reve Penitentiary is a fictional prison and sanitorium in the DC Universe.
Fictional background
Belle Reve Federal Penitentiary ("sweet dream" in French) is a special prison for metahumans and other supervillain. It is located in Louisiana near the Gulf of Mexico, and is surrounded by miles of swamp land. Being the prison for many supervillains, it was chosen by Amanda Waller as the headquarters of the [...] Squad. Criminals can reduce their sentences by working on the missions. Some of the more untrustworthy ones are required to carry devices, which will cause maiming or death if they try to escape.
Many, but not all of the staff, work both as prison employees and facillitate [...] Squad operations. Some of the staff are friends with the more level-headed Squad members. Mechanics work on Squad vehicles. Prison doctors treat prisoners and Squad staff alike. The existence of the Squad brings the facillity under attack many times.
The prison has been the focus of much governmental investigations, as it would be a scandal to learn that the United States is using murderous supervillains to further it's own ends. Noted reporter Lois Lane did an investigation, only partly turned away by a fake warden installed to divert attention away from Squad activities.
Barbara Gordon briefly relocated to Belle Reve to work with the [...] Squad under the alias "Amy Beddoes".
Amanda Waller actually served time in Belle Reve when she was convicted on charges stemming from her Squad operations.
Belle Reve was the site of a Mageddon-caused riot in Justice League #34, in which many guards and other prison staff members are killed, including the warden (it is not made clear if this is the same warden featured in the pages of the Squad). The villain Hector Hammond had been taken over by an emissary of Maggedon, which influences much of the riot. Members of the Justice League, namely Aquaman, Green Lantern, Zauriel and Plastic Man manage to calm the riot. Most of it is stopped by Plastic Man, who uses his shape changing abillities to fool the prisoners into thinking Batman is on the scene.
During the Day of Judgement storyline, one of the many portals to Hell opens near the prison. Plastic Man and some of the prisoners work together in containing the situation.
Alternate versions
Kingdom Come
In the DC Comics Elseworlds limited series and graphic novel Kingdom Come, Belle Reve is destroyed by Genosyde, [...] all its occupants. Belle Reve is later replaced by The Gulag, which is used as a concentration camp for all the metahuman beings who won't submit to the rules Superman and his superteam of heroes impose on Earth's metahuman community.
Appearances in other media
Justice League Unlimited
Belle Reve appears in the Justice League Unlimited episode "Task Force X." In this version, the [...] Squad is called Task Force X; their headquarters, like their comic book counterparts, are in Belle Reve Penitentiary.
Smallville
On the television series Smallville, Belle Reve Sanitarium is an insane asylum. The meteor freak villains Clark fights are almost always held here for their insanity, similar to how many of Batman's enemies end up in Arkham Asylum. In the episode, "Freak", Chloe Sullivan laments that all meteor rock-infected Smallville citizens end up either dead or in Belle Reve, indicating that insanity is a likely side effect of kryptonite exposure in humans.
See also
- List of correctional facilities in comics
pt:Belle Reve