After a barroom brawl in which he kills someone during a violent release of his repressed anger, Arnold Wesker is sent to Blackgate Penitentiary.
He is introduced to "Woody" - a dummy carved from a former Gallows Tree by cellmate Donnegan - who convinces him to escape and kills 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 out orders at him and degrades him with verbal and even physical abuse.
Wesker is unable to enunciate the letter "B" while throwing his voice, and replaces them with the "G" instead. For example, Scarface often calls Batman "Gatman."
Major Events
The Ventriloquist is one of many villains in Batman's Rogues Gallery to be confined to Arkham Asylum when Batman apprehends him.
One particular memorable series of events concerning him took place during the Knightfall saga, after Bane had destroyed Arkham and released it's inmates. Unable to find Scarface, the Ventriloquist uses a sock puppet in his place for a short time.
After robbing a toy store, he procures a number other hand puppets to fill in for Scarface, including a police officer which he refers to as "Chief O'Hara" (in reference to the 1960s Batman T.V. show).
Wesker uses a sock puppet to fill in as an alter-ego until he can find a suitable replacement for Scarface.
Later, 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.
During the events of the Cataclysm, the stress caused by an earthquake apparently triggered another personality within Wesker in the form of the 'Quakemaster'.
Quakemaster claimed to have caused the earthquake himself over a video and threatened to trigger another unless he was paid ten million dollars.
However, the seismotogist Quakemaster had captured to provide provide him information deliberately fed him inaccurate scientific data to provide detectives looking for her with information as to her location.
Robin subsequently deduced 'Quakemaster's' true identity due to his speeches always taking great effort to avoid any words with the letter 'B'.
In Detective Comics #818, an issue n what would later become the book Batman: Face the Face, Wesker is fatally shot by an unseen assailant.
Scarface is stepped on andhis head is 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.
Other Media
Scarface and the Ventriloquist appeared in Batman: The Animated Series and it's sequel, The New Batman Adventures voiced by George Dzundza. Creator Bruce Timm wanted Wesker to pronounce all words properly, DC Comics did not. Bruce won the argument.
Scarface appeared in Batman: Arkham Asylum in Warden Sharp's office. Later, he appears as the warden of the asylum in an Scarecrow-induced hallucination, and a the end of the game he is being controlled by the Joker. The Ventriloquist's Tommy Gun is also seen in a display case.
In the Nintendo DS version of Lego Batman: The Videogame, Scarface and the Ventriloquist can be unlocked by the "Villain Hunt" minigame, and the Ventriloquist can also be built in the character creator.
They also appear as bosses in Batman: Dark Tomorrow
Scarface and the Ventriloquist where originally going to appear as the villains in a sequel to Batman and Robin entitled Batman: Triumphant, but the project was canceled.
They are set to appear in the upcoming DC Universe Online.
