There are currently three incarnations of the Ventriloquist: the first and original incarnation, Arnold Wesker, first appeared in Detective Comics #583 (February 1988) and was created by John Wagner, Alan Grant, and Norm Breyfogle;[1] the second Ventriloquist, Peyton Riley, was introduced in Detective Comics #827 (March 2007) by Paul Dini and Don Kramer;[2] in September 2011, The New 52 rebooted DC's continuity and, in this new timeline, the third and final incarnation of the character was introduced, Shauna Belzer, first appearing in Batgirl #20 (July 2013), as created by Gail Simone and Fernando Pasarin.

Showcase '94 #8-9 establishes an alternate origin story: after a barroom brawl in which he kills someone during a violent release of his repressed anger, Wesker is sent to Blackgate Penitentiary.

The dummy also retained his speech impediment while operated by a young boy and seemed to even show awareness of his name during this period.

[5] Unable to find Scarface, the Ventriloquist uses a sock puppet in his place for a short time (aptly named Socko).

After an ill-fated team-up with Amygdala,[6] he procures a number of other hand puppets to fill in for Scarface, including one of a police officer which he refers to as Chief O'Hara.

Robin subsequently deduces 'Quakemaster's' true identity, due to him taking great effort to avoid saying any words with the letter "B".

A new female Ventriloquist, Peyton Riley, called "Sugar" by Scarface, soon surfaced in the pages of Detective Comics.

"Lefty" attended the big show - as the curtains parted, the deceased Wesker sat with Scarface in his lap.

When nearly captured by Batman and Harley Quinn (who had been close to Wesker after he tried to cheer her up when she was initially sent to Arkham while the Joker was still on the loose), Sugar has Scarface say, "Save yourself."

During Gotham Underground #2 (January 2008), Sugar and Scarface, along with Lock-Up, the Firefly, and Killer Moth are told by the Scarecrow that the Penguin is working for the Suicide Squad.

[11] In Detective Comics #843 (April 2008), Scarface kidnaps a rival gangster, Johnny Sabatino, and takes Bruce Wayne hostage.

Her real name is revealed to be Peyton Riley, and she expresses remorse for her crimes before the Scarface persona reappears and interrupts their conversation.

Peyton subsequently runs the departing family lawyer off of the road and kills him (calling in a favor from some of her father's men to "take care of the details"), while Elliot murders his mother.

"[14] When Scarface's hold on the mob begins to crumble, Sabatino, now a crime boss in his own right, decides to cement his own position by wiping out the Rileys.

While Batman protects Zatanna from Moose, Peyton makes another attempt to throw Sabatino over the side, but gets too close, and he begins to strangle her with the rope around his wrists.

In the continuity resulting from DC's 2011 reboot of its entire monthly line of books, The New 52, a new Ventriloquist debuted in the pages of Batgirl.

[volume & issue needed] Shauna is one of six individuals who are kidnapped by a man identifying himself as the Mockingbird, and sealed inside a shipping container on the bottom of the ocean.

In the final issue of the Secret Six series, Shauna betrays the team and abandons Ferdie when he insists that they remain loyal to the group.

[volume & issue needed] The first Ventriloquist has no superhuman powers, but possesses some basic hand-to-hand combat skills, though as a side-effect of his mental illness he possesses some degree of telepathic immunity; when the supervillain Psycho-Pirate attempted to use his emotion-manipulating powers to instill Wesker with fear, Wesker responded by punching Psycho-Pirate as Scarface quipped, "No one controls the Ventriloquist!

[citation needed] The second Ventriloquist is much more skilled in ventriloquism than her predecessor and is capable of pronouncing all speech patterns with more proficiency when in her Scarface persona.

Unlike the first one, the second Ventriloquist's personality does not contradict Scarface's and is much more willing to commit cruel acts, especially since she believes that she and the dummy are in a romantic relationship.

[citation needed] The Arnold Wesker incarnation of the Ventriloquist and Scarface appear in media set in the DC Animated Universe (DCAU), both voiced by George Dzundza.