Batman: The Animated Series
Episode 64
Read My Lips
This episode gets a lot of love from fans and the initial shock value of the episode is exciting. Overall it really doesn’t hold-up in rewatches. The creator’s take on Scarface is a great deviation from the comic book but his personality is so annoying. Scarface in the comic is the product of the The Ventriloquist who’s actually really bad at throwing his voice. It’s a silly gag in the comic.
The show took a more serious approach. Scarface has a great mind for crime. He exists in the mind of the timid Ventriloquist who suffers from multiple personality disorder. He’s an old-time 1940s mobster villain. These are all awesome nuances that make the concept work.
What doesn’t work is the character’s personality is that of a huge jerk. Yes, it’s deliberate, he’s a bad guy but there’s nothing entertaining about how cruel he is. The Joker is a psychopathically evil criminal but he’s entertaining when he does it. His lunacy is exhilarating. Scarface is actually grounded and almost sane except for the multiple personalities. Scarface just talks down to everyone all the time, he’s arrogant, he knows there’s a connection between him and The Ventriloquist but is willing to kill Ventriloquist and thus himself in the process. It’s a nice plot twist for the episode but hard to really like the character after the gimmick plays out.
Written by
Joseph Ammendolea
Owner/President
“I Like To Play With Toys” Productions®
ILikeToPlayWithToysProductions@Yahoo.com
