The Ventriloquist - It Takes A Warehouse Of Millions To Hold Us Back - Niel Jacoby

Panel 1: Batman is just about to open the door to a warehouse in Gotham's warehouse district, and is talking to Oracle over a radio transmitter in his cowl.

Batman: BARBARA, I THINK I'VE NARROWED DOWN THE VENTRILOQUIST'S HIDEOUT. THIS SHOULD BE A WALK IN THE-

Panel 2: Batman has opened the door and is reacting in surprise.

Oracle: BRUCE? BRUCE?

Panel 3: We see what Batman is reacting to, a warehouse full of discarded, decrepit mannequins, with the Ventriloquist sitting on a throne made of mannequin parts, Scarface on his knee. Ventriloquist is staring blankly ahead.

Batman(whispering):BARBARA, GET NIGHTWING AND ROBIN OVER HERE FAST.

Panel 4: Same viewpoint as P3, but the mannequins are beginning to get up, and are looking towards Batman. The Ventriloquist's voice is coming out of different mannequins in different parts of the warehouse, and the speech bubbles should reflect that.

Ventriloquist(1):HELLO
V(2):GATMAN
V(3):SO NICE
V(2):TO SEE
V(4):YOU
V(1):AGAIN.

Panel 5: Batman is overwhelmed by the mannequins, who are taking off his utility belt and restraining him.

Batman: WESKER!

V(1):NOW, NOW
V(2):GATMAN
V(3):PLAY NICE
V(2):YOU WON'T
V(1):GE LEAVING
V(4):FOR A
V(5):WHILE.

Panel 6: Close up on The Ventriloquist in his throne, Scarface on his knee. The Ventriloquist's voice still doesn't come out of his mouth, but out of a mannequin head integrated into the throne

Ventriloquist: DON'T YOU LIKE THE NEW ADDITIONS TO MY ACT, GATMAN? EVEN SCARFACE HERE LIKES THEM.

Scarface: YEAH, THIS MUG ACTUALLY DID SOMETHING GOOD FER ONCE, AN GOT ME A GANG TO TAKE OVER GOTHAM WIT.

Ventriloquist: THOUSANDS OF WALKING DOLLS, ALL WITH MY VOICE... MY WILL... MY MIND.

The Ventriloquist - "The Ventriloquist's No-no / Bat-Comedy-a-Go-Go" - R.A. Wonsowski

OK, couple notes about this script. One, a local TV station has been running episodes of the '60's Batman series. It's the one show all of us at home agree on and watch as a family. We love it. Now my boys read Jeff Parker's "Batman 66" on their tablet, and they think it's a hoot. So today, we'll explore that bygone era. I think you'll find my casting choice appropriate... Two, the following jokes are not mine. A college friend of mine whose name escapes me, that introduced me to the world of stand-up comedy, did this routine in an early version of his act. He was an amazing mimic, and did the voices perfectly - I still remember it word for word, if not my friend's name. Long overdue thanks to him. So, on with this week's thrilling Bat-chapter...

Layout:
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Panel 1- the stage of an underground comedy club. ADAM WEST BATMAN sits on a wooden barstool with a microphone on a stand in front of him. BURT WARD ROBIN sits on his lap, make-up lines from the corners of his mouth straight down to his jawline, giving his face the look of a ventriloquist's dummy. BATMAN is calm and cool as he launches into his routine, but ROBIN does not look as confident...

CAPTION: What's this? The Dynamic Duo doing vaudeville at Gotham's Ha-Ha-Hacienda?

BATMAN: Say, old chum, just the other day I saw the Penguin walking his prize cocker spaniel.

Panel 2- same as Panel 1, but ROBIN's expression is open-mouthed, wide-eyed surprise, as BATMAN continues his story...

ROBIN: Holy Hound Dogs, Batman!

BATMAN: I said, Stop! Penguin, where are you going with that dog?

BATMAN: He told me that it had been biting, and was going to have to be put to sleep.

Panel 3- same as Panel 1&2, this time ROBIN nervously smiling as BATMAN enthusiastically delivers the punchline...

BATMAN: I said, Great Scott, Penguin, is your dog mad?

BATMAN: He said, no, but he isn't happy about it either.

Panel 4- Foreground, left, we see THE VENTRILOQUIST (played by Edgar Bergen) holding SCARFACE (an appropriately dressed "Charlie McCarthy" dummy) as they laugh over the Caped Crusaders' plight. Background, BATMAN and ROBIN are facing the heckling audience of EGGHEAD (Vincent Price), MARSHA, QUEEN OF DIAMONDS (Carolyn Jones), KING TUT (Victor Buono), the SIREN (Joan Collins), and the BOOKWORM (Roddy McDowell). The JOKER (Cesar Romero) stands on his chair menacingly.

JOKER: Boo! Hiss! Your jokes stink!

VENTRILOQUIST: HAHAHA!

CAPTION: Will Batman and Robin escape from this cackling cadre of killer critics? Tune in next time...

SCARFACE: Sane Gat-Tine, Sane Gat-Channel!

The Ventriloquist – Layers Upon Layers of String – MK Stangeland Jr.

(5 Panels)

Panel 1: ARNOLD WESKER is on the floor, backing up from a walking SCARFACE doll which, unbeknownst to ARNOLD, is a contraption being controlled by TOYMAN.

SCARFACE (1): Shut up n’ stand up!

SCARFACE (2): You’re an embarrassment, you know?

WESKER: But, but…

Panel 2: The SCARFACE robot has run up to WESKER and is slapping his face.

SCARFACE (1): Blah, blah, blah!

SFX: smak! smak! smak!

SCARFACE (2): Stop waddlin’ around like a baby and stand up like a man!

Panel 3: Inside a dark room, where TOYMAN is sitting in a chair. In front of him are control panels and monitors that allow him to control and see the POV of the SCARFACE robot. He’s talking into a microphone attached to a helmet that at first glance looks like its an overly elaborate earpiece setup, but is in actuality a mind-control helmet that allows ULTRA HUMANITE to influence TOYMAN’s decisions.

WESKER: (From monitor) Please, Scarface…

TOYMAN (1): PLEASE NOTHIN’! We got work to do, see?!

TOYMAN (2): You’re a joke, you know that?

Panel 4: Similar to PANEL 3, with the view of the monitor making it look like the SCARFACE robot is still pushing WESKER around. The look of TOYMAN should nonverbally communicate that TOYMAN thinks that he’s completely in control, and enjoying it.

TOYMAN (1): But it’s time we had the last laugh, see?

TOYMAN (2): I got big plans!

Panel 5: ULTRA-HUMANITE stands in a far more elaborate looking base. He wears a laboratory coat and holds a cup of tea in his hands. He grins as he watches the monitors in front of him, some of which focus on TOYMAN, while others relay information about the SCARFACE robot. ULTRA-HUMANITE also wears a simplistic looking headpiece that he’s using to influence TOYMAN’s behavior.

WESKER: (From monitor.) Big…plans?

TOYMAN/SCARFACE (1): Shut up and do what I tells ya, see?

TOYMAN/SCARFACE (2): My plans are so big, you’ll hurt yourself if I tell your stupid brain too much about them!

(END PAGE)

The Ventriloquist - Table Manners - Grant McLaughlin

Three rows of panels.  Row one is made up of panel 1, row two is panels 2 through 5, and row three is panels 6 through 9.

1 - Wide shot of Arnold Wesker and Scarface sitting at opposite ends of a dinner table.  It's set out for a meal, with plenty of food spread out across its surface (think a salad, potatoes, ham, some additional greens, and the like).  Wesker and Scarface both have plates filled with food in front of them.  Wesker picks at his food gingerly, while Scarface is (unsurprisingly) untouched.  While the room is poorly lit, it's clear that they both are somewhat worse for wear, as if they've recently barely emerged from a serious dustup - Wesker has bruises, scratches, and torn clothes, while Scarface is dinged up, missing some teeth and a damaged eye.

NO COPY

2 - Focus on Wesker.  He cuts into his ham with his fork and knife.  While he's looking down at his food, it's clear that his attention is on Scarface.

WESKER: I wish you'd eat something.  You need to regain your strength after what happened.

3 - Focus on Scarface.  The dummy sits on the chair, enveloped in ominous shadow.

NO COPY

4 - Wesker has the ham going up to his mouth, but has stopped to look at Scarface and "respond".  He looks hurt.

WESKER: Please don't yell.

5 - Back to Scarface.  Move in a bit closer.  The puppet has not moved, although the shadows remain.

NO COPY

6 - Wesker has put down his knife and fork.  He is pleading with Scarface.

WESKER: I know your upset, but --

7 - Scarface.  Closer still - right up near the face at this point.

NO COPY

8 - Wesker holds his head in his hands, crying.

WESKER (quietly): I'm sorry.

9 - Scarface.  We're right up near the damaged eye, which is sufficiently creepy with the darkness.

WESKER (off-panel): I'm sorry.

The Ventriloquist - Puppet Master - J.D. Coughlan

Batman reviews video footage of a time when Arnold Wesker was put under hypnosis in order to understand the roots of the Scarface persona.

All of these panels look like a monitor screen, the image black and white and slightly stacic-y, with "REC" and maybe a date/time stamp on them.

Panel 1: Arnold sits behind a desk in a doctor's office, wearing his Arkham jumpsuit. His head is slightly slumped forward, eyes closed.

DOCTOR (O.P.): Arnold, can you hear me?

ARNOLD: (small) Yes.

DOCTOR (O.P.): How old are you, Arnold?

ARNOLD: (small) Six.

Panel 2: Same shot.

DOCTOR (O.P.): And where are you?

ARNOLD: (small) In my house. With my mommy and daddy.

ARNOLD: *sniff*

Panel 3: Same shot. Arnold looks a bit more uncomfortable.

DOCTOR (O.P.): What's the matter, Arnold?

ARNOLD: (small) I think... I think something's wrong with my mommy and daddy.

ARNOLD: (small) There was lots of noise so I came downstairs and now they're not moving and I think it's cause I'm up past my bedtime and I don't want them to be mad--

Panel 4: Same shot. Arnold even more uncomfortable now, his face screwed up, holding back tears.

DOCTOR (O.P.): Arnold, Arnold, it's alright. Stay calm. Tell me what you're feeling.

ARNOLD: *sniff*

Panel 5: Same. Arnold now looks of the verge of crying.

ARNOLD: (small) I'm scared. I duh-- I duh-- I don't wanna be alone.

Panel 6: Same shot, but now Arnold looks up, eyes open, right into the camera. There is a wicked grin on his face. The text in his speech bubble should be notably different.

ARNOLD: You ain't alone, Arnie. I'll protect ya.

ARNOLD: Nobody's gonna hurt you again.

END OF PAGE

Why the Ventriloquist?

When he was a little boy, Arnold Wesker saw his parents gunned down by mobsters and, as a result, developed a dark alter ego to cope with the trauma. Sound familiar?

The Ventriloquist has always been one of Batman's most underrated villains. He is, in a nutshell, everything the Dark Knight's rogues gallery represents: Absurd, but still dangerous. A meek, nervous, badly dressed man who expresses his darker thoughts via a ventriloquist dummy which he gives a cruel, manipulative personality.

Like most Bat-villains, the Ventriloquist also represents a form of mental illness gone wrong. In this case, dissociative identity disorder, sometimes called multiple personality disorder. To Wesker, his dummy, Scarface, is a completely different person from him. He genuinely has no idea he's the one from whom these evil ideas spring forth; it's all Scarface's fault.

Having been part of Wesker since he was a child, Scarface is very much the dominating personality. Wesker knows what Scarface does is wrong, and often tries to speak out against him, but always to no avail. Leading to the question of who is the puppet and who is the puppeteer?