#4041: The Ventriloquist with Scarface

THE VENTRILOQUIST with SCARFACE BATMAN (HASBRO) “When paired with the puppet known as SCARFACE, mild-mannered ARNOLD WESKER becomes THE VENTRILOQUIST—one of Batman’s greatest criminal foes. Wesker channels his dark side through his crime lord style dummy. When the two are together, Scarface’s evil influence over his partner in crime is absolute.” Since Batman: The Animated Series needed to fill out a syndication order’s worth of episodes, and its producers didn’t want to get too repetitive with the same few rogues, they had to delve into some of the lesser known villains. In addition to revamping older villains (most famously Mr. Freeze), they also brought in a smaller number of newer foes. One of the most recent choices at the time was The Ventriloquist, chosen because the producers felt he fit well with the pseudo period piece vibe of BTAS. It aided the character’s recognition, and helped him become a rather memorable second tier rogue, appearing in multiple shows since BTAS wrapped…