Ventriloquist (character)

The Ventriloquist is the name of multiple supervillains appearing in comic books and other media published by DC Comics. All of the Ventriloquist's versions are enemies of Batman, belonging to the collective of adversaries that make up Batman's rogues gallery.

Ventriloquist
Arnold Wesker with his dummy, Scarface
Art by Norm Breyfogle
Publication information
PublisherDC Comics
First appearanceWesker:
Detective Comics #583 (February 1988)
Riley:
Detective Comics #827 (March 2007)
Belzer:
Batgirl #20 (July 2013)
Created byWesker:
John Wagner (writer)
Alan Grant (writer)
Norm Breyfogle (artist)
Riley:
Paul Dini (writer)
Don Kramer (artist)
Belzer:
Gail Simone (writer)
Fernando Pasarin (artist)
Voiced byGeorge Dzundza (1992-2000)
Dan Castellaneta (The Batman)
Larry Brisbowitz (Batman: The Telltale Series)
Dave B. Mitchell (Lego DC Super-Villains)
In-story information
Alter egoArnold Wesker
Peyton Riley
Shauna Belzer
Team affiliationsWesker:
Secret Society of Super Villains
Black Lantern Corps
AbilitiesWesker:
Criminal genius
Suffers from dissociative identity disorder (which manifests itself in his psychotic dummy, Scarface)

The character has been featured in various media adaptations, such as feature films, television series and video games. Andrew Sellon portrays a character named Arthur Penn in the television series Gotham. In the fifth season he finds the dummy Scarface and becomes the Ventriloquist.

Publication history

There are currently three incarnations of the Ventriloquist: the first and original incarnation, Arnold Wesker, first appeared in Detective Comics #583 (February 1988) and was created by John Wagner, Alan Grant and Norm Breyfogle;[1] the second Ventriloquist, Peyton Riley, was introduced in Detective Comics #827 (March 2007) by Paul Dini and Don Kramer;[2] in September 2011, The New 52 rebooted DC's continuity and, in this new timeline, the third and final incarnation of the character was introduced, Shauna Belzer, first appearing in Batgirl #20 (July 2013), as created by Gail Simone and Fernando Pasarin.[3]

Fictional character biography

Arnold Wesker

A meek, quiet man named Arnold Wesker (the first Ventriloquist) plans and executes his crimes through a dummy named Scarface, with the dress and persona of a 1920s gangster (complete with pinstripe suit, cigar, and Tommy gun). His name comes from the nickname of Al Capone, after whom Scarface is modeled.[4]

Born into a powerful organized crime family, Wesker develops dissociative identity disorder after seeing his mother assassinated by thugs from a rival family. Growing up, his only outlet is ventriloquism.

Showcase '94 #8-9 establishes an alternate origin story: after a barroom brawl in which he kills someone during a violent release of his repressed anger, Wesker is sent to Blackgate Penitentiary. He is introduced to "Woody" — a dummy carved from the remains of the former Blackgate gallows by his cellmate Donnegan — who convinces him to escape and kill Donnegan in a fight which scars the dummy, thus resulting in the birth of Scarface.

Wesker lets the Scarface personality do the dirty work, including robbery and murder. He is totally dominated by Scarface, who barks orders at him and degrades him with verbal (and even physical) abuse. Wesker is unable to enunciate the letter "B" in his words while throwing his voice and replaces them with the letter "G" instead (for example, Scarface often calls Batman and Robin "Gatman" and "Rogin").

In the 1995 Riddler story Riddler: The Riddle Factory, it is revealed that a gangster named "Scarface" Scarelli had once been active in Gotham City, though he had apparently died long before Batman's era. A supernatural aspect to Scarface was hinted at in Wesker's alternate origin story in Showcase '94 #8-9, when Wesker's cellmate creates the first Scarface dummy from pieces of wood from the remains of Blackgate Prison's gallows. Batman/Scarface: A Psychodrama (2001) reinforces this and shows the dummy to be indirectly responsible for two accidents while separated from Wesker (with at least one fatality). The dummy also retained his speech impediment while operated by a young boy and seemed to even show awareness of his name during this period.

The Ventriloquist is one of many villains in the Batman's rogues gallery to be confined to Arkham Asylum when Batman apprehends him. One particularly memorable series of events concerning him took place during the Knightfall storyline, after Bane had destroyed Arkham and released its inmates.[5] Unable to find Scarface, the Ventriloquist uses a sock puppet in his place for a short time (aptly named Socko). After an ill-fated team-up with fellow escapee Amygdala,[6] he procures a number of other hand puppets to fill in for Scarface, including one of a police officer which he refers to as "Chief O'Hara". Later, when Wesker does indeed find Scarface, Scarface and Socko are set at odds until a standoff occurs, and the puppets shoot each other, leaving Wesker unconscious and bleeding from two wounded hands.[7]

During the events of the Cataclysm story arc, the stress caused by the earthquake apparently triggered the release of another personality within Wesker in the form of the 'Quakemaster', who claimed to have caused the earthquake himself over a video and threatened to trigger another unless he was paid $100 million. However, the seismologist Quakemaster had captured to provide him with information deliberately feeds him inaccurate scientific data to provide detectives looking for her with information as to her location. Robin subsequently deduces 'Quakemaster's' true identity, due to his speeches always taking great effort to avoid saying any words with the letter "B".

In one issue, Wesker is apparently killed, and in a bizarre twist, Scarface appears to still talk and act alive before he is destroyed. This death appears to have been retconned in "One Year Later" (presumably due to the events of the Infinite Crisis crossover). Wesker appears as one of the members of the Secret Society of Super Villains that faces the Jade Canary, who pitches Scarface off the top of a roof.

The death of the first Ventriloquist (Arnold Wesker). Art by Don Kramer.

In Detective Comics #818, an issue later included in the trade paperback Batman: Face the Face, Wesker is murdered by an unseen assailant. The dummy Scarface is stepped on and its head crushed. The dying Wesker uses Scarface's hand to leave a clue regarding his murder: a street name. Later in the storyline, it is revealed that Tally Man, acting as an enforcer for the Great White Shark, is responsible for the murder.[8]

During the Blackest Night crossover, Wesker is among the many deceased villains that receive a black power ring and is reanimated into a Black Lantern. Using his power ring, Wesker creates a construct of Scarface made of black energy. He is shown murdering many police officers.[9]

In September 2011, The New 52 rebooted DC's continuity. In this new timeline, Arnold Wesker was never killed. He appears in Batman: The Dark Knight #2. Implied to be in possession of the Venom steroid, he clashes briefly with Nightwing.

During The War of Jokes and Riddles, Wesker and Scarface are seen as part of the Joker's gang in his gang war against the Riddler's gang.[10] In Harley Quinn: Rebirth, after turning on the Penguin, the Ventriloquist and Scarface join up with the few remaining crime lords of New York that managed to escape from the Penguin's giant penguins and they help Harley Quinn to fight back. Afterwards, he is put in charge of Coney Island's Mafia.

Peyton Riley
The second Ventriloquist (Peyton Riley). Interior art of Detective Comics #827 (March 2007), art by Don Kramer.

A new female Ventriloquist, Peyton Riley, called "Sugar" by Scarface, soon surfaced in the pages of Detective Comics. Batman responded to a police scanner call - witnesses said Catwoman had been shot. He got to the body, which had a note on it that read "dummy." A counter started at four seconds - he got out as the place exploded. When he got back to his car, there was a dummy posing as Robin. He shot it with a grapple and it, too, exploded.

Batman had the police exhume Arnold Wesker's body, but the coffin was empty. Bruce uses one of his disguises, small-timer Lefty Knox, to see what the underground was saying. Within a week, he heard the Ventriloquist was making a comeback at the Iceberg Lounge. "Lefty" attended the big show - as the curtains parted, the deceased Wesker sat with Scarface in his lap. A beautiful blonde whom Scarface calls "Sugar" knocked over the dead body, picked up the dummy, and continued on. When she was questioned by an audience member, she shot him. Scarface told the room he was working on a plan to take over the city, but would have to remove Batman from the equation first. He called Batman out, knowing that he would be in the audience. Bruce threw his voice and made it look like one of the other criminals was confessing. A batarang flew and took out the lights, causing Scarface to open fire. Batman swooped in and grabbed the woman and the dummy. He separated them and realized the dummy was a bomb, forcing him to dispose of it and allowing the woman to escape. Batman then informed Gordon of what had happened.

Sugar is a more compatible partner than Wesker, since Scarface no longer substitutes "B" with "G", and she is far more willing to commit violent crime. When nearly captured by Batman and Harley Quinn (who had been close to Wesker after he tried to cheer her up when she was initially sent to Arkham while the Joker was still on the loose), Sugar has Scarface say, "Save yourself." Unlike Wesker, who is horrified at any damage to Scarface, Sugar rigs her dummies to explode, using this to cover her escapes. She has numerous identical dummies at her hideout, easily switching from one Scarface to another as needed.

During Gotham Underground #2 (January 2008), Sugar and Scarface, along with Lock-Up, the Firefly, and Killer Moth are told by the Scarecrow that the Penguin is working for the Suicide Squad. They attack him, but end up meeting a team of criminals working for the Penguin. While they try to escape, they are brought to a dead end by the Scarecrow. Tobias Whale shoots Scarface, but lets Sugar live, although he informs one of the men escorting her that she is to be "hurt".[11]

In Detective Comics #843 (April 2008), Scarface kidnaps a rival gangster, Johnny Sabatino, and takes Bruce Wayne hostage. While alone, Sugar breaks away from Scarface and talks to Bruce in what appears to be her 'real' personality. She reveals that she was engaged to Wayne's friend, Matthew Atkins, "years ago." Her real name is revealed to be Peyton Riley, and she expresses remorse for her crimes before the Scarface persona reappears and interrupts their conversation.[12]

In the following issue, Riley reveals that her father, an Irish Mafia boss named Sean Riley, wanted to marry her off to Sabatino, forming a permanent alliance between Gotham's Irish and Italian gangs. Atkins is beaten severely, leaving him in intensive care. Sean's alcoholism gets worse, and Peyton was forced to marry Sabatino. This does not lead to the hoped-for gang alliance, as Sabatino proves to be an inept gangster. He and Peyton are eventually taken to see Scarface, as Sabatino had cheated him on a weapons deal. Both Scarface and Wesker were impressed by Peyton's intelligence, and gave Sabatino a second chance, taking 30% of his profits.[13]

In Detective Comics #850 (November 2008), she and Tommy Elliot bond over their mutual resentment of their families, and vow that they will escape together when Elliot comes into his fortune. However, Elliot's ailing mother does not approve of their relationship, and when Tommy refuses to stop seeing Peyton, she writes him out of her will. Peyton subsequently runs the departing family lawyer off of the road and kills him (calling in a favor from some of her father's men to "take care of the details"), while Elliot murders his mother. Peyton declares that they can finally be free together - only to be abandoned by Elliot, who later describes her as a "sweet girl, but too needy."[14]

When Scarface's hold on the mob begins to crumble, Sabatino, now a crime boss in his own right, decides to cement his own position by wiping out the Rileys. After killing his father-in-law, he personally shoots his wife in the head. She survives, however, and regains consciousness just as the Tally Man is killing Wesker nearby. Peyton finds the body of Wesker, and is shocked to hear Scarface talking to her. Although she suspects she may be hallucinating, she forms a partnership with him when he expresses sympathy and says that he will help her get revenge.

Scarface and Peyton plan to throw Sabatino over the side of his own yacht. After Bruce is rescued by Zatanna, he assumes the role of Batman and proceeds to rescue Sabatino while Zatanna tries to talk down Peyton, explaining that dolls and puppets have powerful magic. Before she can have any effect, a thug named Moose hits her with an oar. While Batman protects Zatanna from Moose, Peyton makes another attempt to throw Sabatino over the side, but gets too close, and he begins to strangle her with the rope around his wrists. Scarface quietly says, "Jump, Sugar", and Peyton sends them both over the side. Before they hit the water, Scarface says "G'bye, kiddo. I loved y..." Riley has not appeared again ever since and is presumed to have drowned with Sabatino.

Shauna Belzer

In The New 52, a new Ventriloquist debuted in the pages of Batgirl. Shauna Belzer grew up in the shadow of her twin brother Ferdie, whom their parents treated as a favorite while ignoring her; other children, meanwhile, idolized Ferdie while bullying her. When Shauna learned she could move things with her mind, she used her newfound powers to murder one of her tormentors. She would later use these powers to kill her hated brother and make it look like an accident. Shauna was trying to find her place in the world when she first met Ferdie, the dummy. She saw him at a birthday party and killed the clown who was using him. Shauna would later go on to kill her parents and start doing ventriloquist acts that would usually end with a dead audience.

Shauna is one of six individuals who are kidnapped by a man identifying himself as the Mockingbird, and sealed inside a shipping container on the bottom of the ocean. Besides Shauna, the others are the Catman, Big Shot, Black Alice, Strix] and Porcelain. After escaping, this group becomes known as the new Secret Six.[15] The Mockingbird is eventually revealed to be the Riddler, who believes that one of the six stole a priceless diamond from him, but he does not know who. The thief is revealed to be the ventriloquist doll Ferdie, who had stolen the diamond and hidden it within his own wooden body, his persona being so separate from Shauna's that she did not even realize that her doll was the thief. In the final issue of the Secret Six series, Shauna betrays the team and abandons Ferdie when he insists that they remain loyal to the group. Shauna is incarcerated in Arkham Asylum, where she is now using a sock puppet as her new doll.

Powers and abilities

The first Ventriloquist has no superhuman powers and is not a good hand-to-hand combatant. He is a skilled ventriloquist and his Scarface persona is a skilled criminal strategist. However, he is unable to pronounce any word with a letter "B" in it accurately without moving his lips, giving Scarface a speech impediment in which he says every "B" in a word as a "G". Wesker usually carries a handgun of some kind, while Scarface carries a trademark Tommy gun. However, Wesker tends to show that he and Scarface hold two different personalities and he and Scarface can sometimes argue amongst each other, which tends to work as an advantage to Batman in several occasions.

The second Ventriloquist is much more skilled in ventriloquism than her predecessor and is capable of pronouncing all speech patterns with more proficiency when in her Scarface persona. Unlike the first one, the second Ventriloquist's personality does not contradict Scarface's and is much more willing to commit cruel acts, especially since she believes that she and the dummy are in a romantic relationship. Coming from an elite mob family, she is also a brilliant criminal mastermind.

The third Ventriloquist is, possibly, a metahuman capable of controlling other beings. Her psychotic mind often leads those to gain their own personalities.

Other versions

DCAU continuity

In the DCAU-continuity comic books, Scarface has his speech impediment from the mainstream DC Universe version. This was explained by Scarface claiming that, while "in prison" after one of Wesker's arrests, he was involved in a fight where a fellow inmate tore his lips off.

Superman/Batman

In Superman/Batman, an amalgamation of the Toyman and Ventriloquist, called Ventrilomaker, appears among the mercenaries recruited into the Brotherhood of Injustice and, thanks to Terranado, who had gone undercover within the Justice Titans, they were able to attack the Justice Tower.[16]

Batman: Arkham Unhinged

In Batman: Arkham Unhinged, the Arnold Wesker incarnation of the Ventriloquist and Scarface are seen participating in Two-Face's trial against Joker as a juror, where Wesker voted guilty due to Joker forcefully taking Scarface from him.[17]

Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

In the Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles crossover, Arnold Wesker's Ventriloquist appears mutated into a macaw by the Shredder and the Foot Clan to attack Batman and Robin. Batman is captured, but Robin manages to escape. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Splinter then arrive, where Splinter defeats the mutated villains, while Batman uses his new Intimidator Armor to defeat the Shredder and the Turtles defeat Ra's al Ghul. Later, Gordon tells Batman that the police scientists have managed to turn all of the Arkham inmates, including Wesker, back to normal and they are currently in A.R.G.U.S. custody.[18]

The Batman Who Laughs

In The Batman Who Laughs, the Arnold Wesker incarnation of the Ventriloquist is depicted as killed by the Joker during his penultimate act of terror against the Batman.[19]

Batman: White Knight

The Arnold Wesker incarnation of the Ventriloquist has a minor appearance in Batman: White Knight. Wesker, along with several other Batman villains, is tricked by Jack Napier (who in this reality was a Joker who had been force-fed an overdose of pills by Batman, which temporarily cured him of his insanity) into drinking drinks that had been laced with particles from Clayface's body. This was done so that Napier, who was using the Mad Hatter’s technology to control Clayface, could control them by way of Clayface's ability to control parts of his body that had been separated from him.[20] Wesker and the other villains are then used to attack a library, which Napier himself was instrumental in building in one of Gotham City’s poorer districts. Later on in the story, the control hat is stolen by the Neo-Joker (the second Harley Quinn, who felt that Jack Napier was a pathetic abnormality while the Joker was the true, beautiful personality) in an effort to get Napier to release the Joker persona.

Flashpoint

In the Flashpoint alternate timeline, Arnold Wesker is still a criminal in Gotham City; he was subdued by Catwoman and Batman following their partnership together.[21]

In other media

Television

Live-action
  • The Ventriloquist appears in Gotham, portrayed by real-life ventriloquist Andrew Sellon. In the series, the character is reimagined as Oswald Cobblepot's mild-mannered accountant Arthur Penn, who made his debut in the fourth season. Prior to working for Copplepot, Penn was a criminal associate of mob boss Carmine Falcone and his daughter Sofia. In the fifth season episode "Penguin, Our Hero", during the No Man's Land event, he is presumably killed off after being shot by a street gang calling themselves the Street Demonz. In the episode "Nothing's Shocking", Penn is revealed to be alive as he approaches both Cobblepot and his friend Edward Nygma; Penn explains that he woke up in the GCPD Morgue and made his way to an abandoned magic shop where he found an unsold ventriloquist dummy named Scarface, triggering the creation of split personality with Scarface as the dominant personality, treating Penn as "his" lackey. Penn and Scarface threaten to kill Cobblepot so Scarface can become the dominant mob boss in Gotham City. Cobblepot manages to "kill" Scarface by blowing his head off, which frees Penn from the dummy's control. Moments later, however, Nygma shoots Penn dead arguing that he can no longer be trusted. Originally, Penn's role as the Ventriloquist was going to be cut from the season due to it being shortened down to 10 episodes. But after Fox extended the season up to 12, it allowed the creative team to continue with their original plan.[22]
  • The Arnold Wesker incarnation of Ventriloquist makes a cameo appearance in Titans, portrayed by an unknown stunt double. In the first season finale, titled "Dick Grayson", the eponymous character is placed in a dream world created by Trigon, where Batman has gone on a killing spree, taking out his greatest enemies one by one; the Ventriloquist is among them, since his dead body (as well as his puppet Scarface) can be seen inside his cell at Arkham Asylum.[23]

Animation
The Ventriloquist and Scarface in Batman: The Animated Series.
  • The Arnold Wesker incarnation of the Ventriloquist appears in the projects of the DC animated universe, where he and Scarface are both voiced by George Dzundza. Both Rhino (voiced by Earl Boen) and Mugsy (voiced by Joe Piscopo in Batman: The Animated Series, Townsend Coleman in The New Batman Adventures) have appeared alongside the Ventriloquist in the animated series.
    • The Ventriloquist and Scarface appear in Batman: The Animated Series. In this depiction, he is a master ventriloquist and can pronounce every sound perfectly as Scarface, a decision Bruce Timm fought for, even though DC Comics wanted Scarface to substitute 'B' with 'G', as in the comics.[24] In his first appearance "Read My Lips", Batman investigates a series of robberies and discovers that the crimes are planned by a mob boss known as "Scarface" who has been having his minions Rhino, Mugsy, and their new recruit Ratso (voiced by Neil Ross) commit them. He traces Scarface to his lair at a deserted mannequin warehouse and discovers that the crime czar is a wooden dummy, manipulated by a mild-mannered man called 'the Ventriloquist'. As he makes further developments, he realizes Arnold Wesker (the ventriloquist) has a split personality and it is the dummy who manipulates Wesker. Scarface and his gang capture Batman by discovering the bug he put on the Ventriloquist's tie and organizes a fake heist to get Batman. Scarface ties and hangs Batman and sets him to fall into a pit full of mannequin hands with sharpened nails pointing up while destroying the bug. Batman even admitted that he allowed Wesker to let him get close to Scarface. At this point by faking and projecting the voice of the Ventriloquist, Batman plays both of Wesker's personalities, setting them to fight against each other. This gets to the point where Scarface orders that Wesker be shot, an order no one carries out, so Scarface tries to shoot Wesker himself until Batman cuts off his hand with a batarang. While the duo argue, Batman manages to free himself safely and take out the gang. During the fight, Scarface's minion Mugsy shoots at Batman, but accidentally destroys Scarface. At the end of the episode, Wesker is shown in one of Arkham Asylum's workshops working on a project. After a nurse congratulates him on his recovery, he rolls it over revealing a new dummy head. He takes a knife and makes a scar across the face similar to the original Scarface's, as Wesker is rebuilding Scarface. In the DVD commentary to "Read My Lips", Timm stated that the Fox Kids censors allowed the recurring destruction of Scarface because he was not a "living" character, which allowed the production staff to vent their darker impulses by finding a more gruesome way of destroying the dummy each time, culminating in grinding him to sawdust in a building's ventilation fans in a later episode. In the episode "Trial", the Ventriloquist and Scarface act as bailiffs in Batman's trial after the inmates at Arkham Asylum take control of it. When they try to stop Batman from escaping the asylum, Scarface is accidentally decapitated by the Scarecrow's scythe. In the episode "Catwalk", the Ventriloquist and Scarface hire Catwoman to pull off a robbery for them, though it turns out to be a ruse for Scarface to steal some valuable stuffed animals and leave Catwoman to take the fall. Angered, Catwoman destroys Scarface by throwing him onto a conveyor belt and dropping a pile of logs on him, crushing him and burning the remains. She very nearly kills the Ventriloquist as well to ensure Scarface will never return, but Batman stops her at the last moment.
    • The Ventriloquist and Scarface appear in The New Batman Adventures. In the episode "Double Talk", Wesker is deemed sane by Arkham and released into the community. Now free of his domineering other personality, Wesker is supported by Bruce Wayne, who gives him a job at Wayne Enterprises and keeps tabs on him as Batman. After a while, Wesker begins hearing Scarface's voice ordering his "dummy" around again and even to the part where Rhino and Mugsy try to get him back to Scarface's side. In addition, Rhino and Mugsy enlist dwarfish con-man Hips McManus (voiced by Billy Barty) into posing as a living version of Scarface. Wesker relapses when he finds Scarface planted in his apartment, resulting in a confrontation with Batman and Batgirl atop the Wayne Enterprises building that leads to Wesker holding Batman at gunpoint, with Scarface pushing Wesker to shoot Batman. When prompted by Batman to take control, Wesker turns on Scarface and shoots him repeatedly, causing him to fall onto a fan, destroying him and finally setting himself free.
    • In Batman Beyond, a Scarface dummy is seen on display in the Batcave in the episodes "Rebirth", "Out of the Past", and "Blackout".
    • In Justice League, the character makes two cameos. In part two of the episode "A Better World", an alternate dimension version of the Ventriloquist and Scarface is among the several lobotomized patients courtesy of the Superman of the Justice Lords, a Justice League who goes to extreme measures to ensure peace and is not bound by a "no killing" policy (the Ventriloquist's forehead is unmarked, while Scarface intriguingly bears the two burn scars, indicating that the treatment apparently had the same psychological effect, which means he was the "brain", but still using Wesker as a vessel). In part three of the episode "Starcrossed", another Scarface dummy is in another glass display case in the Batcave.
The Scarface robot holding Wesker in The Batman.
  • The Arnold Wesker incarnation of the Ventriloquist appears in The Batman, where he and Scarface are both voiced by Dan Castellaneta. In the series, Wesker is a ventriloquist who snapped when he was booed off the stage one night and turned to a life of crime with his first successful caper being the robbery of each and every person in the audience who had booed him. Scarface's costume is updated to one reminiscent of that worn by Al Pacino in Scarface. In his debut episode "The Big Dummy", Wesker arranges for the theft of various gadgets, which are used to construct a giant Scarface robot which holds Wesker in its hand in a reversal of their roles. However, Scarface still needs Wesker to actually move and talk, as he is just an oversized "Dummy". In the end, Scarface is destroyed when he is run over by a train. Wesker is then taken to Arkham Asylum. In the episode "Fistful of Felt", Wesker returns with a rebuilt Scarface. It is then revealed that Wesker once had a TV show called Cockamanee Junction, which was cancelled. After Batman prevents them from stealing dollar molds from a treasury, Wesker and Scarface are seen in Arkham during Hugo Strange's therapy group with the Joker and the Penguin. Strange considers Wesker his main patient and "frees" Wesker from Scarface by simply removing the puppet and prohibiting access to him. Wesker seems to recover and starts to do kids' parties with a puppet named Mr. Snoots, until Strange begins the next phase of his plan. He places Scarface in Wesker's apartment, perhaps to see if Wesker is completely cured and able to stand up to Scarface's overbearing demands. Upon seeing the puppet, the voice of Scarface begins to speak from the dummy. In a confrontation with Batman in a newly opened building for children, the Mr. Snoots puppet confronts Scarface. Scarface and Mr. Snoots start fighting and are both once again destroyed by a train. Wesker is then returned to Arkham. In "Rumors", Wesker and Scarface are among the villains captured by Rumor and have been placed in separate cells. Wesker and Scarface both make their final appearance in the series in the season five episode "The End of The Batman", being assisted by the Wrath and Scorn.

Film

Video games

Lego series
Main article: Lego Batman

Batman: Arkham
  • While the Arnold Wesker incarnation of Ventriloquist is not depicted in Batman: Arkham Asylum, he is referenced numerous times and Scarface is even afforded a cameo appearance. During the game's opening sequence, the asylum administrator Quincy Sharp may be heard claiming that Wesker is among those who have been rehabilitated by his institution. Later on, Scarface may be glimpsed on display in Sharp's cluttered office. Shortly afterwards, a hallucinating Batman, who has been drugged by the Scarecrow, sees an apparently self-sufficient Scarface making an absurd speech welcoming him to madness. Well into the storyline's final stages, the Joker appears using Scarface to entertain himself. He subsequently discards the latter in disgust after a mock dialogue stating that Scarface is going back to the Ventriloquist. Observant players have noted Scarface's trademark Thompson submachine gun can be found mounted on a wall in one of Arkham's many cell blocks. Closer inspection will automatically unlock the Ventriloquist's biography and patient report. He is also one of the villains who is listed on the party list.
  • In Batman: Arkham City, the game's background information has confirmed Peyton Riley's career as the second Ventriloquist, although, unlike her comic book counterpart, she took possession of Scarface while Arnold Wesker was still living. Wesker, meanwhile, is still at large in Gotham City; listening to Batman's police scanner will reveal that he has taken a hostage in a shootout with the police. As in Arkham City's prequel, the Joker has somehow managed to procure the puppet and has forced his henchmen to create numerous copies so he may destroy each one after amusing himself. One particular Scarface was even impounded by the Penguin, and may be seen locked away inside a display case in his headquarters, and will dance if interacted with. The final appearance of a Scarface doll is in the DLC Harley Quinn's Revenge. This Scarface puppet was found in the Steel Mill where a crib has been placed with the doll inside painted the same scheme as the Joker.
  • In Batman: Arkham Knight, Peyton Riley's Tommy Gun is stored in the evidence room of the Gotham City Police Department. If the display is interacted with, Aaron Cash expresses his confusion about the relationship between Scarface and the Ventriloquist asking if it is actually the puppet's gun rather than Riley's. The status of both Riley and Wesker is unknown. Also, the Scarface puppet used by Joker is also on display.

Other games
  • The Arnold Wesker incarnation of Ventriloquist appears as a boss in the Batman: Dark Tomorrow game. He is seen engaging in a gang war with Black Mask using weapons that have been covertly supplied to both sides by Ra's al Ghul to distract Batman during his latest scheme. After defeating the Ventriloquist, Batman decapitates Scarface and sticks his head to a wall using a roped hook, though he is shown to still be animated and mocks the Dark Knight, until Batman gags him with a live fish to shut him up.
  • The Arnold Wesker incarnation of Ventriloquist appears in Batman: The Telltale Series, voiced by Larry Brisbowitz. This version of the character uses a sock puppet named Socko (also voiced by Larry Brisbowitz) to express his split personality as he does not have access to Scarface, similar to the character's portrayal in the Knightfall storyline. In the fourth episode "Guardian of Gotham", Wesker is one of the inmates of Arkham Asylum and the imprisoned Bruce has the opportunity to ask him about "John Doe".
gollark: Hold on while I acquire an osmarksnode.
gollark: Ugh, fine, I'll reencode it for you.
gollark: `ffmpeg -i badfile.mp4 -c:a copy -c:v libx265 -crf 22 goodfile.mkv`
gollark: Just use x265 or VP9 or something.
gollark: What? No.

See also
  • List of Batman Family enemies

References
  1. Cowsill, Alan; Irvine, Alex; Korte, Steve; Manning, Matt; Wiacek, Win; Wilson, Sven (2016). The DC Comics Encyclopedia: The Definitive Guide to the Characters of the DC Universe. DK Publishing. p. 319. ISBN 978-1-4654-5357-0.
  2. Detective Comics #827 (March 2007)
  3. Batgirl #20 (July 2013)
  4. Greenberger, Robert (2008). The Essential Batman Encyclopedia. Del Rey. pp. 322–323. ISBN 9780345501066.
  5. Booker, M. Keith, ed. (2014). Comics Through Time: A History of Icons, Idols, and Ideas. ABC-CLIO. p. 909. ISBN 9780313397516.
  6. Detective Comics #659
  7. Detective Comics #664
  8. Detective Comics #818-819 (June–July 2006)
  9. Blackest Night: Batman #1-3 (2009)
  10. Batman (vol. 3) #26
  11. Gotham Underground #2 (January 2008)
  12. Detective Comics #843 (April 2008)
  13. Detective Comics #844 (May 2008)
  14. Detective Comics #850 (November 2008)
  15. Secret Six (vol. 4) #1-14 (December 2014-May 2016)
  16. Superman/Batman #61 (August, 2009)
  17. Batman: Arkham Unhinged #29-31
  18. Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #6. DC Comics/IDW.
  19. The Batman Who Laughs #1 (January, 2018)
  20. Batman: White Knight #2 (January, 2018)
  21. Batman Vol. 3 #84 (February, 2020)
  22. Venable, Nick (February 19, 2019). "Gotham Is Bringing A Dead Character Back As A Surprising Batman Villain". Cinema Blend. Retrieved March 10, 2019.
  23. Schmidt, JK (December 18, 2018). "'Titans' Season Finale Reveals First Look at Batman Villains Ventriloquist and Scarface". Comic Book. Retrieved December 18, 2018.
  24. "Read My Lips" Commentary
  25. https://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?/forums/topic/143240-the-lego-batman-movie-setcmf-rumors-discussion/&page=323#comment-2741909
  26. https://m.ign.com/wikis/lego-dc-super-villains/Characters
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.