"Double Talk" is the sixth episode from season one of The New Batman Adventures. After Arnold Wesker is released from Arkham, Bruce Wayne gives him a job at Wayne Enterprises to help him get back on his feet. Unknown to Wesker, however, outside forces conspire against him to force his return to crime.
Plot
The time has come for Arnold Wesker, the Ventriloquist, to leave Arkham Asylum. He leaves his cell and heads towards a park but finds that an old chest is chasing after him. Scarface starts calling out to him from the chest and Batman arrives. Rhino & Mugsy start firing their guns and Scarface escapes. Jumping onto Wesker, Scarface fires his gun directly at Wesker. Wesker wakes up from his nightmare and looks at the papers that indicate he has been rehabilitated.
The next day, Wesker talks to his therapist about the recurring dream, but she assures him that it's natural and he's just worried about leaving. She tells Wesker that as long as he keeps away from his past, he should be safe from Scarface. Wesker isn't convinced, as he isn't used to being alone.
Wesker is given an apartment at the Wayne Gardens Halfway House and a job at Wayne Enterprises. One night as he leaves work, Rhino & Mugsy confront him and start asking when Scarface is coming back. Wesker insists that Scarface is gone, but his old "friends" aren't accepting it. Fortunately, Batman arrives and starts beating the two thugs. Unfortunately, this stirs up unpleasant memories in Wesker and he runs away. Batman sternly tells the thugs that Wesker is now off-limits.
Returning home, Wesker hears Scarface's voice telling him that he's coming back.
The next day, Wesker tries telling himself that it wasn't real. However, he keeps seeing Scarface wherever he goes. At work, Wesker barely notices anyone else and accidentally drops his mail cart. Picking up the mail, he finds an envelope addressed to "Dummy". Inside is a message telling Wesker to be by his phone at 9 o'clock. Noticing that something is amiss, Bruce Wayne checks on Wesker, who runs away in panic, leaving the envelope behind. Bruce recovers the envelope and knows Wesker is in danger.
That night, Wesker waits by his phone. The phone rings and Scarface's voice is on the answering machine. Wesker insists that Scarface is gone, but Scarface tells Wesker that he's not gone and he's coming back. Desperate to escape, Wesker tells Scarface that he's not real, but Scarface tells Wesker to look across the street. There Wesker sees Scarface standing in a telephone booth. Batman, who is listening to the conversation, also notices Scarface and heads out to investigate. Scarface makes a break for it and leads Batman into a statue gallery. Here Scarface almost kills Batman by dropping statues onto him. Batman eludes injury but is unable to stop Scarface from escaping.
Later, Batgirl analyzes the phone conversation and confirms that the voice on the phone was not Scarface's. Batman also reveals that he found a speaker in Wesker's apartment. The list of suspects is short, however, and Batman already knows who's behind the harassment.
Traumatized by recent events, Wesker returns home and cuts off all communications, but discovers Scarface is there waiting for him. Unable to help himself, Wesker takes up Scarface and heads over to see Rhino and Mugsy. Their boss is back.
Elsewhere, Batman & Batgirl go to see an unscrupulous dwarf, Hips McManus, the person who dressed up as Scarface and gave Batman the runaround. McManus gives up the plan and tells Batman where to find Scarface.
Back at Wayne Enterprises, Scarface and his gang take Lucius Fox to the vault where two million in bail bonds is being kept. Fox opens the vault and is knocked out by Rhino. Mugsy & Rhino then start taking the untraceable bonds. Batman & Batgirl arrive and start beating Rhino & Mugsy but are forced to stop as Scarface threatens to kill Fox. Scarface locks them in the vault along with a bomb set to go off in mere seconds. Fortunately, Batman manages to use his Batline to safely eject the bomb through an air vent while Batgirl hacks into the voice system so they can get out of the vault.
Meanwhile, Scarface and his gang make their escape onto the roof of the building, but Scarface turns on Mugsy & Rhino. Scarface explains to Wesker that he was only playing dead until the heat was off, but Rhino and Mugsy's antics forced him to come out too early. Now, because they started thinking they were the brains of the operation instead of the muscle, Scarface is going to kill them. Rhino and Mugsy beg for mercy, pleading that they didn't mean Scarface any harm, stating that they needed their boss again. Scarface throws a bundle of dynamite onto the bridge they're standing on, causing it to break. They manage to grab the bridge railing, so Scarface then opens fire upon them. Batman & Batgirl arrive and stop Scarface from firing, but he tells Wesker to get his gun and kill them. Batman gets Wesker's attention while Batgirl goes to save Mugsy & Rhino. Wesker reluctantly prepares to kill Batman, but the Dark Knight continues to insist that Wesker doesn't have to do what he's told by Scarface. Batman punctuates his plea by stating Scarface is the puppet, not Wesker. Scarface then tells Wesker to do something right for once in his life. Wesker finally makes a choice and opens fire on Scarface, causing him to fall off the roof and land on a large industrial fan where he is completely destroyed, "killing" him once and for all.
Later, an excited Wesker talks to his building manager about how he even got his job back from Mr. Wayne. She tells him to not be such a stranger and that he should visit the rec room. Wesker says that he will, but for the moment he's happy just being by himself.
Background information
Home video releases
- Batman: The Animated Series, Volume Four (DVD)
- Batman: The Complete Animated Series (DVD)
- Batman: The Complete Animated Series (Blu-ray)
Production notes
- When Scarface blows up the bridge, the resulting explosion is reused footage from the scene of the Superman: The Animated Series episode "World's Finest, Part III" in which two Wayne/Lex T-7 droids blow up after Batman electrocutes them.
- The short scene of the docks before Scarface reveals himself to his goons is reused from the episode "Sins of the Father". Two-Face can even be seen, albeit from a distance.
Production inconsistencies
- In the brief shot where Scarface is taunting Batman & Batgirl right before locking them in the vault, the scar on his face has disappeared.
Trivia
- During Wesker's walk through the park, Lois Lane & Clark Kent can be seen sitting in the background.
- Hips McManus and Mrs. Segar are Dwarfs, and their voice actors Billy Barty and Patty Maloney are Dwarfs in real life.
- Mel Winkler replaces Brock Peters as the voice of Lucius Fox.
- Wesker is one of two members of Batman's rogues gallery who permanently reformed, alongside Harley Quinn, who was shown to have reformed in Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker.
Cast
Quotes
Scarface: When the muscle starts thinking it's the brain, it's time to amputate. |
Scarface: Better look sharp, youse mugs! Scarface is back! |
Batman: He's the puppet, not you. |
Wesker: For right now, I'm just looking forward to being by myself. |