Scarface (DC animated universe)

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The Penguin
Played by George Dzundza Appeared in First appearance I've got Batman in My Basement No. of appearances 6 episodes Current status Aprehended Adapted from Scarface Wesker carving a new Scarface dummy
Characteristics
Alter ego Arnold Wesker Affiliations Gotham city underworld
Created by
Alan Grant John Wagner

Scarface and the Ventriloquist (Arnold Wesker), a DC Comics supervillain and enemy of Batman, consistently appeared in Batman: The Animated Series, and several of the related series created by Bruce Timm and Paul Dini, played by George Dzundza. In this depiction, Wesker is a master ventriloquist and can pronounce every sound perfectly as Scarface. Despite not having any super powers, his crimes stand out as cleverand meticulously plened to detail. He is also well known and respected among the villain community of Gotham City.

Contents 1 Appearances 1.1 Cameos 2 DCAU Biography 3 Design 4 Action figure 5 Rhino and Mugsy 6 See also 7 External links

[edit] Appearances

1. Read My Lips
2. Trial
3. Catwalk
4. Lock-Up
5. Double Talk
6. Over the Edge

[edit] Cameos

1. A Better World (Justice League)

[edit] DCAU Biography

In his first appearance, "Read My Lips," his activities and persona were unknown to the authorities. When Gotham Police are baffled by a series of crimes executed with clockwork-like precision, Batman investigates the case and discovers that the crimes are planned by a mob boss known as Scarface. He traces Scarface to his lair — a deserted mannequin warehouse — and discovers, to his astonishment, that the crime czar is a wooden dummy, manipulated by a mild-mannered man called the Ventriloquist. Even worse, as he makes further developments, he realizes Arnold Wesker, the ventriloquist, has split personality and it is the dummy who manipulates the Ventriloquist.

Scarface and his gang prove to be very effective when they managed to capture Batman by developing the spying device he put on the Ventriloquist tie and organize a fake hit to get the vigilante. Probably as a homage to the classic villain plots from the 1960s Batman TV series, Scarface ties and hangs Batman and sets him to fall into a pit full of mannequin hands with sharpened nails pointing up. 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. That way, he made enough time to set himself free and defeat the gang. During the fight, Muggsy, one of the main Scar-face thugs, accidentally shoots and destroys him, apparently traumatizing Wesker.

However, the Scarface is far from death, actually, although Wester suffers it most times, the scenes when the dummy is destroyed became recurring in his future appearances, leading to Scarface's temporary "deaths" until a new dummy is made or the old one is fixed. In "Trial" he didn't even die after his head was accidentally chopped off by The Scarecrow. At the end of Read My Lips, locked in Arkham Asylum, Wesker is shown in one of the workshops shaping some wood. After a nurse congratulates him, he rolls it over revealing it was a new dummy head. He takes a knife and makes a "scar" across the face as the one from original.

After "Read My Lips," one of the last episodes of the first season, the character became so popular that when the series returned for a second season (The Adventures of Batman & Robin), he was cast as a regular among the enemies of Batman, making three more appearances (two more than The Penguin). A reference to his sudden popularity was made in Harlequinade, when listing all their friend to the Joker she tries to mention him but she forgets his name. In Trial, his first appearance that season, his among the Arkham Asylum crowd behind the kidnapping of Batman and Janet Van Dorn, to put the bat on trial. Scarface was the deputy sheriff of the court. In Lock-Up, he is called along with Harley Quinn and the Scarecrow to give testimony of Lyle Bolton's abusive behavior as warden of the asylum, and as tough as Scarface is, after Bruce Wayne claims there is no problem with Bolton after all, he follow his imates outburst of desperate yeling.

In Caltwalk, the Scarface is once again with his gang and gets to show his criminal and cheating talents once again as he trick Catwoman into taking the fall for stealing a reare stuffed tasmanian tyger.

Later, in The New Batman Adventures episode "Double Talk," Wesker is released and after some mind messing thanks to Rhino and Mugsey's evil and manipulative interference, the ventriloquist finally stands up to and destroys Scarface, thus ridding himself of his alternate personality. However, in his last appearance in Batgirl's dream in Over The Edge, it is implied that a normal life may be always just out of Wesker's reach.

In an episode of Justice League entitled A Better World, the League visits an alternate dimension populated by their alter egos the Justice Lords. In the alternate reality's Arkham Asylum, several lobotomized patients appear before them, courtesy of the alternate world's Superman. Wesker is present in the dayroom, and though his forehead is unmarked, Scarface intriguingly bears the two burn scars indicative of the treatment, which apparently had the same psychological effect on Wesker.

One of the dummies, probably the one from "Read My Lips" (because of the several bullet holes), is frequently featured as one of the items of the souvenir gallery of the Bat-cave in Batman Beyond.

[edit] Design

Scarface's early look break with the previous conception of the dummy design from the comics, which has white skin color and gray hair with red lips (looking somewhat like a clown), in order to make him look more like a gangster. The dummy finishing is roughter with no eyebrowns and black eye sockets, whick also maked it look more menacing. Meanwhile, the Ventriloquist looks like a deconstruction of his features in the comics. He he still has the mirror glasses, bow tie, big nose, small mouth and the baldness that pulls his personality backwards, but the effect is pushed even further with thinness, the black color of the bow and suit and hite hair. Thise chanches makes the duo contrast even more. For The New Batman Adventures Scarface was made smaller with a bigger head and a unibrown making him look like a caricature of a Sicilian mobster. The Ventriloquist new design made him look more insane, insecure, angustiated and frustrated. He lost the bow tie and was made bolder with smaller nose and dot eyes (like Chicken Little or Egghead Jr. from the Looney Tunes).

[edit] Action figure

A Ventriloquist and Scarface action figure was released by Kenner as part of the fout pack action figure set, Puppets of Crime, along with a Batman, Robin (Tim Drake), and Killer Croc. Althoug released some time after The New Batman Adventures, the Scarface design is clearly based in the first Batman: The Animated Series. The Ventriloquist however has the head of the first design with the suit of the second.

[edit] Rhino and Mugsy

Scarface's gang consist basically of Rhino and Mugsy, they respect and address him as a person and treat the Ventriloquist as a push-over. They know perfectly how to work with Scarface’s meticulous methods and rely on him as their boss to make the plan, which they follow without questions. Even though Scarface is hard with them, he also trust them to make the hit without him.

Rhino is a really big and built man with a notorious nose and Italic features. Mugsy is an average size fit man with characteristic dropy eyes. Like Scarface, they both fashion 40s style suits with hats. For The New Batman Adventures they kept their original design.

In Double Talk, after Wesker is realeased, despered to get their old boss back, the hire a midget to disguse as Scarface and mess with the ventriloquist mind. Their effort briefly paid of as they get their boss back for a brief hit at the Wayne Tower, which is frustrated by Batman and Wesker, who ends up destroying Scarface.

In Read My Lips a rookie called "Ratso" joined the gang but he was never seen again. He is very clumsy and Rhino has to come up with an excuse for it as Scarface gets angry.

Besises Ubu they are the only henchmen adapted from the comics.

[edit] See also

• Scarface and the Ventriloquist (comics), the original version.
• Scarface and the Ventriloquist (The Batman), the original version.

Batman: The Animated Series characters
Heroes:	Batman | Alfred | Robin / Dick Grayson | Batgirl | Robin / Tim Drake
Villains:	The Joker | Harley Quinn | The Penguin | Catwoman | Two-face | Poison Ivy | Rupert Thorne | The Scarecrow | Ra's Al Ghul | Talia | The Mad Hatter | The Ventriloquist and Scarface | Clayface | Killer Croc | Mr. Freeze | The Riddler | The Phantasm | Bane | Man-bat | Firefly | The Ninja | The Clock King | Baby Doll | Roxy Rocket | Hugo Strange | Doctor Milo | Maxie Zeus | The Terrible Trio | Calendar Girl | H.A.R.D.A.C. | Red Claw | Roland Daggett
Supporting Characters:	James Gordon | Harvey Bullock | Summer Gleeson | Leslie Thompkins | Lucius Fox | Renee Montoya | Earl Cooper | Hamilton Hill | Andrea Beaumont | Carl Beaumont | Matthew Thorne | Thomas and Martha Wayne
Other heroes:	The Creeper | Etrigan the Demon | Jonah Hex | Zatanna | Supergirl | Batwoman | The Gray Ghost

[edit] External links

• The World's Finest, a site with a complete guide to the DC animated universe. It's the source of a great deal of the related images in Pop-Cult Guides.
  • Scarface Batman: The Animated Series bio
  • Scarface The New Batman Adventures bio
• DCAUResource.com, a very well documented site when it comes to DC fictional biographies.
  • Scarface at DCAUResource.com
• The Animated Batman, an Unofficial Guide, a site with a complete guide to Bruce Timm's Batman. It's the source of a great deal of the related images in Pop-Cult Guides.