Batman’s rogues gallery is often said to be the strongest one in comics. The Joker alone is one of the most popular and instantly recognizable villains to ever exist, and even beyond him, characters like Mister Freeze and Poison Ivy stand out as incredible villains in their own right. From the Penguin to Ra’s al Ghul, there is no shortage of absolutely iconic villains for the Dark Knight to clash with. However, while the most popular villains always take the headlines, the less memorable Batman villains can still steal the show. In fact, there’s one Batman villain who was once one of his A-list threats, and while he hasn’t been the main villain in nearly twenty-five years, he’s finally back and deadlier than ever.
The Ventriloquist appears to be a meek man, but he has the potential to be a criminal mastermind, which manifests through the classic gangster personality, Scarface, who speaks through a puppet. He used to be one of Batman’s most recurring villains and a ruler of the criminal underworld. While he nearly always took a backseat to other criminals like the Penguin, he was a major threat. Yet, he hasn’t led a major storyline since the “Close Before Striking” storyline in 2001. Now, however, he’s back, and the Ventriloquist is dealier than ever.
Scars With An All-New Face
Image Courtesy of DC Comics
Batman and Robin (2023)’s “The Quiet Man” storyline started with a mysterious, quiet man being released from prison with nothing but revenge on his mind. Cyrus Mercer was once an elite soldier and attempted to sell the crime boss Falcone a large sum of silver. Penguin, Two-Face, and the Ventriloquist all tried to intercept the transfer, but while the first two worked together to make their hit surgical, the Ventriloquist went in guns blazing. The result was Mercer taking the fall and, blaming the criminal for his son’s death, he swore revenge.
After being freed from prison, Mercer went on a warpath through the Penguin and Two-Face’s men, looking for the Ventriloquist. Unfortunately for him, Wesker had actually been released from Arkham Tower, apparently cured from his mania and an amnesiac. To protect him from people like Mercer seeking revenge, Batman placed him under the care of his ally, Blair, and hid them in Gotham. Issue #28 saw Mercer finally learn where Batman had stashed the two of them, with Two-Face and Penguin trapping the Ventriloquist inside the building to make sure he didn’t get away. By the time Mercer arrived, Blair had inspired Wesker to make a break for it.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t actually Blair. When Batman went to check in on Wesker, he found Blair’s body. She’d been dead for at least a week, meaning that the person Wesker saw wasn’t Blair, but the newest evolution of his delusion. As Wesker raced through the streets, the hallucination of Blair spoke in Scarface’s signature accent, promising a “gig surprise” for the criminal, clearly returning to his roots.
Scarface Freed and Deadlier
Image Courtesy of DC Comics
Scareface has always been the representation of Arnold Wesker’s darkest and most dangerous thoughts. However, he was also his biggest weakness, as taking away the puppet rendered the Ventriloquist nothing more than a blathering old man. He could never pull off any of his schemes without the puppet to project onto, but this newest iteration of the character has changed everything. While Scarface could only exist if Wesker had a physical doll to imagine him as, now the villainous identity has taken the form of a woman whom Wesker trusts and can speak to him freely.
The Ventriloquist no longer has an Achilles’ heel because Scarface has been given a voice and body that live entirely inside of Wesker’s head, making him untouchable. Without the one silver bullet that always shuts the criminal down without much of a fight, the Ventriloquist is effectively able to operate independently, and thus doesn’t have to rely on anything. He’s unbound, meaning he can fully commit to any villainous schemes he has cooking up without delay and without any way to take away this darkness. Now, the Ventriloquist has to be stopped the same way as any other normal villain, and that makes him just as dangerous as someone like Two-Face. Heck, with how unhinged he’s clearly become, likely moreso.
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