Ventriloquist
The Ventriloquist
wKZcrog.jpg
Portrayed by George Dzundza
Statistics
Full Name Arnold Wesker
Age 55
Height 5'7"
Build Stocky
Eyes Blue
Hair White/Bald
Factions N/A
Occupation Crimelord
Alignment Villain

Claim to Fame

Arnold Wesker, also known as 'The Ventriloquist', is an older gentleman with a case of multiple personality disorder. This manifests in his puppet, Scarface- which takes on the role of a sadistic 1920's styled gangster in the form of a stylized ventriloquist's puppet who seeks to become Gotham's greatest crimelord, among other side pursuits such as becoming rich. Scarface does not like it when you speak to Arnold while addressing him.


Reputation

The Ventriloquist is known primarily for the eccentricity of his mannerism. A shy, meek guy controlling a puppet that is a sadistic and loud mafia boss that is known as Scarface that really runs the show- and appear to really be two unique individuals to the point of oddity. A smart and cunning individual, Scarface is slowly trying to take over the Gotham underworld a little at the time - while also committing crimes to further their goals and resources- with his 'assistant' of course.%r%rThe Ventriloquist owns a nightclub in lower Gotham called 'The Ventriloquist Club", a slight trendy nightspot, and his base of operations. It is primarily also know for it's hulking bouncer known as 'Rhino' who also acts as the enforce for Scarface's gang. He has many outstanding warrants for his arrest including crimes such as murder, manslaughter, carrying and using a deadly weapon and grand larceny. He is considered extremely unstable, armed and dangerous.


Biography

Arnold Wesker was born into a mafia family- and didn't take to it at all as he grew up. Rather than becoming a mean and bold enforcer- he was rather a meek and pathetic individual who couldn't bring himself to do the violent things required of his position- and therefore, often chickened out. It was not a thing his parents were proud about- and his father often threatened to kick him out of the 'the family'. He would try and try again and often fail. He however, took to accounting for the family quite well. Not what his family wanted- but it made him useful enough.

To take up his time and- to hide from his depression- he took to learning Ventriloquism as a hobby- and escape that let him express his feelings as someone else in the form of a puppet. It was an escape from reality he enjoyed and took to the hobby quite well and naturally.

However, things changed on one fateful day. A rival family came and gunned down his mother in front of him. The violent and unspeakable act fractured his weak mind, and two separate identities began to manifest, Arnold Wesker- the meek and pathetic accountant, Wesker- and a bold, sadistic mafia boss-like personality of 'Scarface'.- which did not have a proper name at the time. He began to submerge this new personality into killing his emotions, which just exacerbated the issue. This pent up emotion exploded when he killed a man in a bar. By his account, it was accidental.

He was arrested, and convicted, where he was sent to Blackgate Prison. There, he languished in depression until he met an inmate by the name of Donnegan- his new cellmate- who had carved a dummy he called 'Woody' out of an old tree on the property that used to exist on the property where inmates were hanged in the past. Arnold Wesker of course took immediate interest in the dummy and it's owner. Attempting to touch it, he was punched in the face and told that 'NO ONE Touches Woody!'. His meek nature stopped him from pressing the issue further as the pain of the hit recoiled through his face again and again every time he thought about it.

He continued to become more depressed until he decided to attempt to commit suicide by hanging. As Donnegan slept, his puppet began talking to him. At first he thought it was a trick, but slowly he realized the dummy was acting independent of Donnegan- of course, being his Scarface persona speaking through the dummy. It told him about Donnegan's secret tunnel he had been digging over fifteen years, and that they should escape together. However, Donnegan awoke and enraged that Wesker was touching woody- brandished a shiv and attacked, leaving a large scar along the dummy's face. Wesker responded by hitting Donnegan over the head with a brick that had come loose during the altercation and- urged on by the dummy- kept beating him until he was dead.

Stringing Donnegan on the noose he formerly wanted to hang himself with, he escaped through Donnegan's tunnel. Escaping towards the boathouse, and through Woody's urging- he picked up a shotgun, and killed the two guards and escaped off the island on a boat. On shore and off the island- the puppet decided that it hated the name Donnegan had given him, and insisted he be called 'Scarface' from now on. He quickly became the dominant personality of the duo, and the two were nearly inseparable.

Soon after, he started calling himself 'The Ventriloquist, and with Scarface's help- took over the nightclub of a small time gang and renamed it 'The Ventriloquist Club' which has slowly become a very trendy night spot in lower Gotham. It's here that Scarface intends to start his criminal empire, with the help of his assistant and accountant- Arnold Wesker, of course. This is no doubt going to attract the attention of various heroes— Bat or otherwise.

Character Details

Arnold Wesker himself is a timid man. He sees himself in no good light and as a failure in life and is often depressed. The only thing that gives him any purpose is following the orders of his alternate personality, Scarface- the puppet he controls. He obeys him without question and makes sure that all his books are in order for his various ventures and front companies he may have. Without Scarface, Wesker will fall into despair and depression and feel ultimately lost in the world without hope. It is not much of a life for Wesker, but it is a life he agrees with more than without. He is often seen as Scarface's assistant- though is often ignored by those who deal with Scarface on a daily basis. He sees no problem with this. He is the help. Scarface is the man to deal with.

Scarface, however, is his sadistic mobster side- and the dominant personality. Scarface acts like your stereotypical mobster, you'd expect- dressed in a pinstripe suit with a fedora and usually seen with a cigar in his mouth. He's the brains of the operation and Wesker knows it. He takes offense at people who call him a 'dummy' or when they address Wesker rather than himself- insisting that he's just some dummy assistant. Scarface has no problems killing and has no problem doing away with those he sees as problems. Scarface sometimes hides his plans from even Wesker himself as not to let the cat out of the bag in any way. Scarface wants to own all of Gotham's underworld, and many of his plans are to that effect, though some are more often than not- ones you'd expect from your standard mobster- such as bank heists or museum heists. His favorite weapon his his 'Tommy Gun', and old styled Thompson machine gun he wields with the help of his assistant with glee.


Relationships

Image Name Relation Information
nopic-m.png Character Name Friend Insert a description of the relationship here.

Notes

The Ventriloquist employs a few henchman, but the most loyal to Scarface that keep coming back tend to be three named Mugsy- a completely average mobster who dresses the part. Billy- a buck toothed mobster who wears a newsboy styled cap, and Rhino- a hulk of a man who serves as the bouncer for The Ventriloquist Club. They're gangsters of no specific note or special abilities and therefore easily trounced usually except when the plot calls for it, though Rhino is by all accounts large and harder to generally knock out.

On an OOC Trivia level, I play Wesker as a combinations of a few different versions of himself. I keep MOST of his 'Classic' back story, though I added the touch of him being a mob accountant, because it fit, and it gave him a reason to exist and job in Scarface's gang than just 'The guy with the puppet.'. I also removed the part about his parents being run over by a truck full of mannequins and the whole bit about the albatross, instead opting for the more recent version where his mother was gunned down by a rival mob hit. His appearance is based off the Batman: The Animated Series look (the first version, as his picture above.)- as also is his mannerisms and speech- evident by Scarface being able to speak perfectly.


Character Gallery


Logs

Chemical Caper!
October 11, 2014: Arnold Wesker and Scarface steal chemicals to pay a debt. It doesn't go as planned.
(log: 20141011-chemical-caper | tags: eraser gotham green_arrow luke_cage rain the-ventriloquist | posted: 28 Oct 2014 20:29)

Pretty Polly
September 20, 2014: The Ventriloquist and his goons try to take some stuff. The Boy Wonder tries to stop them. No one gets exactly what they want.
(log: 20140920-pretty-polly | tags: robin the-ventriloquist | posted: 20 Sep 2014 15:59)

Eraserscape
September 18, 2014: The Eraser is hired by Rhino to breakout The Ventriloquist.
(log: 20140918-eraserscape | tags: arkham_asylum eraser gotham the-ventriloquist | posted: 19 Sep 2014 19:45)


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