The Ventriloquist and Scarface
Arnold Wesker was a repressed, quiet man with dissociative identity disorder who manifested his aggressive side through a wooden dummy named Scarface, modeled after Al Capone. Tellingly, Scarface is extremely abusive towards Wesker, showering him with insults, calling him “Dummy”. Yet, somehow through Wesker, Scarface is an extremely capable criminal mastermind. There is some ambiguity as to whether or not Scarface truly is a figment of Wesker’s mind, as alternate origin stories have supernatural aspects to it. Scarface has been written as being carved from a piece of haunted gallows wood, transferred from person to person with personality intact, and even been responsible for inexplicable “accidents” while separated from Wesker. The Ventriloquist was eventually murdered by the Tally Man and appeared as an undead Black Lantern during the Blackest Night event.
A female Ventriloquist was introduced a few years later. Peyton Riley, a mob daughter and former girlfriend of Hush’s alter ego, Tommy Elliot, was shocked to hear Scarface speaking to her after Arnold Wesker’s death. She has taken over as the new Ventriloquist, apparently believing that Scarface loves her, calling her “Sugar”. A major difference between her and Wesker is that her Scarface dummies are interchangeable and expendable, whereas Wesker was deeply attached and concerned to the original.
