Arnold Wesker was a timid orphan whose deep repression erupted in a barroom brawl, resulting in him being sent to Blackgate Prison. There he encountered the puppet Scarface, and promptly murdered the man who'd carved the puppet.
The two are now inseparable, with Scarface directing a series of criminal activities. While most believe that Wesker is simply acting out a second personality through the puppet, Wesker sees himself as a reluctant lackey who merely does his puppet's bidding.
Bio[]
When he was very young, his parents took him to the Gotham City shipyards to see an albatross. The albatross was something of a local attraction, but Wesker was terrified of it. He yelled at his father, demanding that he take him home. A Spivey's Display Dummies truck screamed down the street striking Arnold's parents, instantly killing them before the young boy's eyes. Wesker was convinced that the albatross was an omen that brought doom to his family. The shock of witnessing his parents' death forced Arnold to repress all emotion. He bottled up his anger and hostility for many years to come. As an adult, Wesker suffered a psychotic break and killed a man during a bar-fight. He was arrested and sent to Blackgate Prison.
Incident Reports[]
Arkham Shadow Incident[]
Arnold Wesker tried and convicted for killing a man by stabbing him 27 times. Wesker insisted that the man "walked into my knife" and when pressed on the fact that the man had 27 stab wounds, Wesker said the man had been "very determined". He was sent to Blackgate Prison on July 6th, sharing a cell with another inmate named Donnegan. Wesker didn't remember where he came from; only recollecting bits and pieces, like "an albatross".
Donnegan had a dummy he had named Woody which captivated Wesker. That night, he asked Donnegan where Woody came from. Donnegan informed him that a tree near Death Row, used for hangings, was struck by lightning and that he had saved some of the wood from the incinerator and had carved Woody from the wood himself. On July 7th, Wesker "borrowed" Woody and took it to group therapy, where Dr. Harleen Quinzel encouraged him to use it to hold a dialogue with himself and his "shadow", a Jungian concept representing the more negative aspects of a patient's psyche. Dr. Jonathan Crane, Quinzel's supervisor, found the exercise ludicrous and removed Wesker from the group session, encouraging him to "volunteer" for Scarecrow's own research study, in which the "shadow" was explored via chemical means.
That night, Donnegan confronted Wesker about taking Woody without asking. Donnegan insisted that Woody belonged to him, but Wesker insisted that Woody spoke to him. Donnegan found the idea absurd, but at that point "Woody" spoke up in agreement with Wesker. Later that night, Donnegan was dead, and Wesker was panicking, saying that it was like before. "Woody" chastised Wesker, demanding that Wesker help him clean up. Days later, the cleanup had apparently worked, as Donnegan's death was being treated like a suicide. Wesker claimed Woody as his own.
During one of Wesker's nighttime sessions for Crane's research study, Batman interrupted while chasing Crane. Wesker insisted that Crane was helping him.
On the night of the Rat Cult's Day of Wrath, the Rats began attacking the guards of the prison. Fires were lit, cells were opened, and "Woody" directed Wesker to pick up a gun on the ground for him. "Woody" then shot a guard, and told Wesker to start looking for a boat so they could escape to Gotham City.
After Arkham Shadow Incident[]
The Ventriloquist and Scarface made their marks in the Gotham underworld through the sale and distribution of a designer drug called Fever. Processed in Tijuana, Mexico, they had the drugs smuggled into Gotham City inside of human cadavers. This earned them the attention of Gotham's nocturnal vigilante, the Batman. The Batman raided Rizzo's Funeral Parlor, where the Ventriloquist and Scarface were busy extracting drugs from the remains of a dead gangster. Batman fought through the Ventriloquist's armed men and apprehended the drug lord and his puppet master.
Between Arkham Origins and Assault on Arkham Incident.[]
After being psychologically evaluated, Arnold Wesker was found to be insane. He was sent to Arkham Asylum along with Scarface.
Assault on Arkham Incident[]
The Ventriloquist was not present but Scarface is found in a box in the Arkham Storage Facility.
Arkham Asylum Incident[]
Records show that Arnold Wesker had been released from Arkham Asylum by the time the Joker gained control over it at the very start he flew from Arkham Island. His sub machine gun is found in the asylum's Penitentiary area as a Riddler challenge. Scarface is later seen controlled and then thrown by Joker.
Between Arkham Asylum and Arkham City Incident[]
At some point, Harley Quinn befriended Arnold Wesker while in prison, with the two running around in the same circles. According to Harley Quinn, Peyton Riley became the new Ventriloquist and that at some point it was believed Riley met her end at the hands of Batman, but it could not be confirmed. Around this time, Jenna Duffy, a former henchman of Ventriloquist finally attempted to head home to Keystone City to start anew.
Arkham City Incident[]
Whilst Arnold Wesker was not arrested and put into Arkham City, he is mentioned through the GCPD radio frequency that he has robbed a bank, and have taken two people as hostages, meaning that he has not given up his criminal ways.
Later, he is seen participating in Two-Face's farcical trial against the Joker as a juror where he voted guilty due to Joker forcefully taking Scarface from him. He is seen carrying a Scarface doll with him. His former henchman Jenna Duffy is also present at the trial.
Arkham Knight Incident[]
By the time of Scarecrow's attack, Peyton Riley has now been fully accepted as the Ventriloquist. A gun belonging to Riley can be found in the GCPD Evidence Archive.
Suicide Squad: Kill Arkham Asylum Incident[]
Arnold, who had gained a substantial amount of weight as the years passed, was one of the inmates released during Amanda Waller's release of all the prisoners during a faux breakout after spending months torturing the inmates to get them riled up in her plans. Arnold received Scarface and his suit with Harley and Scarecrow from the inmates items lockup room. Almost immediately, Scarface told Harley to get a move on, to which Harley concurred, only to call him “little buddy”, to which Scarface angrily corrected Harley and threatened to slap her if she called him anything other than “Scarface”. She would agree to this demand, but continue to call him “little buddy” behind his back. During the riot, Harley was distracted by a guard who was bearing down on Deadshot, and immediately lashed out at the guard, the brutality of which surprising Scarface, who attempted to refocus Harley, only to be immediately frozen along with Arnold before they could react, by a member of the Arkham Enhanced Defense Solder Freeze-Fire Unit, causing Scarecrow to flee. Harley accidentally knocked Arnold over shattering and killing him & destroying Scarface in the process.
Enraged at their destruction, Harley then sought vengeance and proceeded to pound and crush the Arkham Enhanced Defense Soldier Freeze-Fire Unit to death in gruesome proportions, a sight which shocked both Amanda Waller and Rick Flag, who were watching the fight unfold through the facility's cameras.
Psychological Profile[]
Ventriloquist[]
Psychological Profile (by Dr. Young)[]
The Ventriloquist
Real Name: Arnold Wesker
Occupation: Professional Criminal
Base of Operations: Gotham City
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Brown
Height: 5 ft 7 in
Weight: 142 lb
HOW DOES HE MAKE THE BILABIAL SOUNDS? IT’S UNCANNY.
Psychological Profile: Wesker is a very special case; previously he was a classic example of avoidant personality disorder, which intensified into a violent outbreak that led to his incarceration at Blackgate Prison. While there, he graduated into a fully realized delusion that his ventriloquist dummy, "Scarface", is an independent personality exerting control over him. It is possible that Wesker is a legitimate example of multiple personality disorder. To probe this further, I've requested that he no longer be separated from his dummy during the treatment sessions.
Additional Notes:
It can be very difficult to question Wesker due to constant interruptions from "Scarface".
Wesker's delusion has led him to create a complicated backstory for "Scarface", whose personality Wesker seems to have created from poorly written, old-fashioned gangster films.
GCPD Profile[]
Arnold Wesker
Batman's Database Profile[]
Wesker
Dr. Penelope Young[]
Attributes[]
- Delusional schizophrenic with multiple personality disorder
- Obsessed with his puppet, Scarface, whom he puppeteers with unsettling skill
- When teamed with Scarface, the two operate as a criminal mastermind
Tapes[]
Arkham Shadow[]
Interviewer: Dr. Quinzel[]
- Dr. Quinzel: So, what was it you wanted to talk about?
- Wesker: Oh well, I’m not trying to make any trouble for anyone…
- Dr. Quinzel: It’s all right, Arnold. I’m not one of the guards, OK? I’m here to help.
- Wesker: I'm sorry. It’s just that… D-Dr. Crane’s treatments seem to be giving me some side effects.
- Dr. Quinzel: Dr. Crane’s been treating you? I’m not seeing anything in the file about that.
- Wesker: Oh. Well he’s been testing his new formula on me and-
- Dr. Quinzel: He’s doing what?!
- Wesker: I’m-I’m sorry!
- Dr. Quinzel: No, Arnold, it’s not your fault. Please go on.
- Wesker: Well, it’s mainly headaches and nightmares from the start. Oh! And, I forget things sometimes.
- Dr. Quinzel: And what did that pompous a-… ahem. What did Dr. Crane say was the purpose of his “tests?”
- Wesker: To help me bring my Shadow to the surface so I can confront my, um… violent impulses.
- Dr. Quinzel: Look, Arnold. I don’t know what he’s been up to, but if you want to face your Shadow, there are safer ways than being a guinea pig for some untested chemical cocktail. The important thing is trying not to repress those darker thoughts.
- Wesker: But I don’t like these thoughts!
- Dr. Quinzel: And that’s OK! Acknowledging them doesn’t mean acting on them. Some people benefit from externalizing those aspects by projecting them onto an imaginary person they can talk to. It’s a way to explore those things safely by having a conversation with yourself. Do you think you could do that?
- Wesker: Well, my cellmate Donnegan, he has a puppet named Woody that’s fun to talk to sometimes.
- Dr. Quinzel: There ya go! Just imagine Woody has all those darker parts of your personality. Talk to him! Make friends with him! I promise that’ll help you more than whatever Crane is dosing you with.
- Wesker: That’s a really great idea, Dr. Quinzel! I’ll ask Donnegan if I can borrow him. Maybe he won’t get all worked up, if I tell him it’s for therapy.
Interviewer: Dr. Crane[]
- Dr. Crane: Please, have a seat, Arnold. Do you know why you’re here today?
- Wesker: Um, no? No sir.
- Dr. Crane: The public defender requested a psychological evaluation to determine if you’re competent to stand trial.
- Wesker: Oh!
- Dr. Crane: Do you understand what you’re being accused of?
- Wesker: Uh… um… I killed a guy.
- Dr. Crane: That’s correct-
- Wesker: But it wasn’t my fault! He walked into my knife!
- Dr. Crane: Twenty-seven times.
- Wesker: He was very determined.
- Dr. Crane: Clearly, there’s a part of you that craves violence. You keep it hidden. In psychology, we call this the Shadow, and yours seems to be very dark indeed.
- Wesker: Like this bunny you mean? I can also do a dog.
- Dr. Crane: Put your hands down, Arnold, it’s just a metaphor. Now, a favorable evaluation might be in the cards if you can do a little something for me. I’m recruiting volunteers to assist with a new treatment I’m testing. A compound that draws the Shadow out. Brings it to the surface so it can be confronted. Would you like that?
- Wesker: Yes! Yes, of course, Doctor. Anything you say.
- Dr. Crane: Very good, Arnold. I’ll have the guards escort you to my lab this evening.
Gallery[]
.jpg "Ventriloquist (AK).jpg (19 KB)")
Trivia[]
- While the reasoning behind Arnold being replaced by Peyton Riley is unknown in the Arkhamverse, in the comics, it was because he was assassinated under orders of the Great White Shark during a gang-war.
- He was one of the people on the Joker’s party list.
External links[]
Ventriloquist on the DC Comics Wiki
