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Scarface
Scarface

Scarface

46 appearances · Copper/Modern Age · 1988–2025 · 1 key issues
Who is Scarface?

Scarface is a scarred ventriloquist's dummy who first appeared wielding criminal authority over Gotham City's underworld, with his meek human partner doing the talking — and the time. The puppet's menacing personality drove their shared life of organized crime.

Few villains in Gotham's rogues' gallery have made quite the impression that Scarface has — a pint-sized wooden puppet with an outsized menace, debuting in Detective Comics #583 in 1988 courtesy of the legendary creative team of John Wagner, Alan Grant, and Norm Breyfogle. A Copper Age creation through and through, Scarface has haunted the pages of Detective Comics and Batman for nearly four decades, sharing the spotlight with the Dark Knight himself, Bruce Wayne, and the notorious Two-Face, which tells you exactly what tier of Gotham villainy this character occupies. Inextricably linked to Arnold Wesker — better known as The Ventriloquist — Scarface is one of those wonderfully unsettling concepts that only comics can pull off, blurring the line between puppet and puppeteer in ways that have kept readers guessing for 37 years. With a key issue to the character's name and appearances stretching all the way to 2025, Scarface is a genuine Gotham institution worth every collector's attention.

★ First appearance
Detective Comics #583
Feb 1988

Top series

Covers through the years — 1988–2023

Detective Comics #583 1988
Detective Comics #583
Hawkworld #9 1991
Hawkworld #9
Batman / Judge Dredd: Vendetta in Gotham #[nn] 1994
Batman / Judge Dredd: Vendetta in Gotham #[nn]
Batman: Prodigal #[nn] 1997
Batman: Prodigal #[nn]
Batman: Shadow of the Bat #81 1999
Batman: Shadow of the Bat #81
Batman: Gotham Adventures #45 2002
Batman: Gotham Adventures #45
Robin #129 2004
Robin #129
Gotham City Sirens #13 2010
Gotham City Sirens #13
Gotham City Sirens: Songs of the Sirens #[nn] 2012
Gotham City Sirens: Songs of the Sirens #[nn]
Batman #13 2017
Batman #13
Batman and Robin Adventures #2 2018
Batman and Robin Adventures #2
Batman: City of Crime - The Deluxe Edition #[nn] 2020
Batman: City of Crime - The Deluxe Edition #[nn]
Batman #137 (902) 2023
Batman #137 (902)

Appearances

Detective Comics (1937)
Batman Monthly (1988)
#25
Hawkworld (1990)
#9
Batman / Judge Dredd: Vendetta in Gotham (1993)
Batman: Prodigal (1997)
The Batman and Robin Adventures (1995)
#17
Batman: Shadow of the Bat (1992)
#81
Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight (1992)
Batman: Gotham Knights (2000)
#14
Batman (1940)
Batman: Gotham Adventures (1998)
#45
Batman Adventures (2003)
#1
Robin (1993)
The Batman Strikes (2004)
#5
Gotham City Sirens (2009)
#13
Batman: The Brave and the Bold (2009)
#19
Gotham City Sirens: Songs of the Sirens (2011)
Batman: Arkham Unhinged (2012)
Batman / Judge Dredd Collection (2012)
Batman: Li'l Gotham (2013)
DC Comics Presents: Harley Quinn (2014)
#1
Batman: Rebirth Deluxe Edition (2017)
#1
Batman and Robin Adventures (2016)
#2
Harley Quinn & the Gotham City Sirens Omnibus (2018)
Batman: City of Crime - The Deluxe Edition (2020)
Harley Quinn: 30 Years of the Maid of Mischief The Deluxe Edition (2022)
Batman: White Knight Presents: Generation Joker (2024)
Harley Quinn & the Gotham City Sirens: DC Compact Comics Edition (2024)
Batman by Tom King (2024)
#1
DC Finest: Harley Quinn: The Birth of the Mirth (2025)
DC Finest: Batman: The Killing Joke and Other Stories (2025)