| Ventriloquist | |
|---|---|
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | Wesker: Detective Comics #583 (February 1988) Riley: Detective Comics #827 (March 2007) Belzer: Batgirl #20 (July 2013) |
| Created by | Wesker: John Wagner (writer) Alan Grant (writer) Norm Breyfogle (artist) Riley: Paul Dini (writer) Don Kramer (artist) Belzer: Gail Simone (writer) Fernando Pasarin (artist) |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Arnold Wesker Peyton Riley Shauna Belzer |
| Species | Human |
| Team affiliations | Wesker: Secret Society of Super Villains Black Lantern Corps Justice League of Arkham |
| Abilities |
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TheVentriloquist is the name of multiplesupervillains appearing inAmerican comic books and other media published byDC Comics. All of the Ventriloquist's versions are enemies ofBatman, belonging to the collective of adversaries that make up Batman'srogues gallery.
The character has been featured in various media adaptations, such asfeature films,television series andvideo games. Andrew Sellon portrays a new version of the character in the television seriesGotham. In thefifth season, he finds the dummy Scarface and becomes the Ventriloquist.
There are currently three incarnations of the Ventriloquist: the first and original incarnation,Arnold Wesker, first appeared inDetective Comics #583 (February 1988) and was created byJohn Wagner,Alan Grant, andNorm Breyfogle;[1] the second Ventriloquist,Peyton Riley, was introduced inDetective Comics #827 (March 2007) byPaul Dini andDon 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 inBatgirl #20 (July 2013), as created byGail Simone and Fernando Pasarin.[3]
A meek, quiet man named Arnold Wesker (the first Ventriloquist) plans and executes his crimes through adummy namedScarface, with the dress and persona of a 1920sgangster (complete with pinstripe suit, cigar, andTommy gun). His name comes from the nickname ofAl Capone, after whom Scarface is modeled.[4] Born into a powerfulorganized crime family, Wesker developsdissociative identity disorder after seeing his motherassassinated by thugs from a rival family. Growing up, his only outlet isventriloquism.
Showcase '94 #8-9 establishes an alternateorigin story: after a barroom brawl in which he kills someone during a violent release of his repressed anger, Wesker is sent toBlackgate Penitentiary. He is introduced to "Woody" — a dummy carved from the remains of the former Blackgategallows 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 alter do dirty work, including robbery and murder. He is totally dominated by Scarface, who commands and abuses him.
In the 1995Riddler storyRiddler: The Riddle Factory, it is revealed that a gangster named "Scarface" Scarelli had once been active inGotham City, though he had apparently died long before Batman's era. Asupernatural aspect to Scarface was hinted at in Wesker's alternate origin story inShowcase '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 manyvillains in the Batman's rogues gallery to be confined toArkham Asylum when Batman apprehends him. InKnightfall, Arkham is destroyed byBane and the Ventriloquist is among the inmates who escape.[5] Unable to find Scarface, the Ventriloquist briefly uses a sock puppet named Socko in his place. After an ill-fated team-up withAmygdala,[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 finds Scarface, Scarface and Socko are set at odds until a standoff occurs and the dummy and the puppet both shoot each other, leaving Wesker unconscious and injured.[7]
InBatman: Cataclysm, Gotham City is devastated by an earthquake. The stress caused by the earthquake apparently triggers the release of another personality within Wesker named of the Quakemaster, who claims to have caused the earthquake himself over a video and threatens to trigger another unless he is paid $100 million.Robin deduces Quakemaster's identity due to him taking great effort to avoid saying any words containing the letter "B".[8]
InDetective Comics #818,Tally Man kills Arnold Wesker and destroys Scarface.[9] Wesker is temporarily resurrected as aBlack Lantern inBlackest Night and permanently resurrected inThe New 52 continuity reboot.[10][11]
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A new female Ventriloquist, called "Sugar" by Scarface, debuts in the pages ofDetective Comics.[2] 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. Riley owns multiple Scarface dummies and often uses them as explosives.
InDetective 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 prior. 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, anIrish Mafia boss named Sean Riley, forced her to marry Sabatino to form an alliance between Gotham's Irish andItalian gangs. Riley and Sabatino are taken to see Arnold Wesker, who is impressed by Riley's intelligence and gives Sabatino a second chance, taking 30% of his profits.[13]
InDetective Comics #850 (November 2008), Riley andHush bond over their mutual resentment of their families, and vow that they will escape together when Hush comes into his fortune. However, Hush's ailing mother does not approve of their relationship, and when Hush refuses to stop seeing Riley, she writes him out of her will. Riley subsequently runs the departing family lawyer off of the road and kills him while Hush murders his mother. Riley declares that they can finally be free together, only to be abandoned by Hush.[14]
When Scarface's hold on the mob begins to crumble, Sabatino decides to cement his own position by wiping out the Rileys. After killing his father-in-law, he shoots Riley in the head. She survives and swears revenge on Sabatino. Riley attempts to throw Sabatino over the side of his yacht, but he begins to strangle her with rope. Scarface quietly says, "Jump, Sugar", and Riley sends them both over the side. Riley has not appeared since then and is presumed to have drowned.[15]
A new Ventriloquist debuted in the pages ofBatgirl, part ofThe New 52 continuity reboot. 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 possessedtelekinesis, she used her newfound powers to murder one of her tormentors. She would later use these powers to kill Ferdie and make it look like an accident. Afterwards, Shauna becomes a ventriloquist and serial killer, using a dummy named after her brother.[3]
Shauna is one of six individuals who are kidnapped by a man identifying himself as the Mockingbird and sealed inside a shipping container underwater. Besides Shauna, the others areCatman, Big Shot,Black Alice, Strix, and Porcelain. After escaping, this group becomes known as the newSecret Six.[16] Mockingbird is revealed to be theRiddler, 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 Ferdie, whose persona is so separate from Shauna's that she did not even realize that her doll was the thief. In the final issue ofSecret Six, 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.[volume & issue needed]
The first Ventriloquist has no superhuman powers, but possesses some basic hand-to-hand combat skills. 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 trademarkTommy 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 on several occasions.[citation needed]
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.[citation needed]
The Arnold Wesker incarnation of the Ventriloquist and Scarface appear in media set in theDC Animated Universe (DCAU), both voiced byGeorge Dzundza.[22] The series' version of the former is a master ventriloquist who can pronounce every sound perfectly as Scarface, a decision series co-creatorBruce Timm fought for even though DC Comics wanted to maintain Scarface's speech impediment.[25] Their henchmen, Rhino (voiced byEarl Boen) and Mugsy (voiced byJoe Piscopo inBatman: The Animated Series andTownsend Coleman inThe New Batman Adventures) also appear throughout the franchise.
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