Absolute Batman Just Got Bruce Wayne’s Best Alter Ego Killed

Absolute Batman just made another massive change to Batman’s lore. This time, it’s killed off the main universe Bruce Wayne’s best alter ego: Matches Malone. In the Absolute Universe, the new Matches Malone is his own character, a longtime friend of Bruce and his supervillain friend group. He’s known to be a good but shady guy, always on the lookout for a new angle to make money. Bruce reached out to him to get some fabricated work papers so that he can investigate Ark M, the mysterious black site prison that’s being built off the shore of Gotham City. After getting Bruce the papers, Matches is mysteriously murdered by a bacteria controlled by the new Absolute Mr. Freeze.

Of course, this is a major break away from the traditional Matches Malone character, because in the mainline universe, Matches Malone is Bruce Wayne.

How Did Batman Become Matches Malone?

Initially, just like the Absolute Universe, Matches Malone was his own character. He was a small time gang leader with a New Jersey accent who originally appeared in Batman #242 from 1972. Batman tracked him down to assist him in his all-out war against Ra’s al Ghul, but Malone refused to talk and ran out the back door. When Batman attempted to follow him, Malone whipped out his gun and fired wildly, leading to him catching a stray ricochet bullet and dying. There were no witnesses, so Batman saw an opportunity to assume Malone’s identity as his own.

The Dark Knight would disguise himself as Matches Malone as a way to infiltrate the criminal underworld in a way that the Batman couldn’t. Malone was already seen as a criminal with a kind heart, and well respected among his unsavory peers. With Batman taking the helm as the new Malone, he became an even more trusted criminal, cosying up to plenty of Gotham’s most notorious underworld dealers outside the law. He played up Malone’s distinct signature look; sunglasses, a mustache, and a stick hanging out between his lips, and of course his perfect Jersey accent.

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Over the years, Batman would adopt the Matches Malone identity many times, using it to get details on cases where the Caped Crusader would hit a wall. He earned quite the reputation in Gotham as either the luckiest or unluckiest criminal around, considering every time he got close to someone they always seemed to get busted, but Malone never did. There was once a time when the crime boss Vanya “Hunky” Triplet thought Malone was a police plant and tried to off him, but Malone escaped as he always does.

The Matches Malone Identity Led to Some Interesting Stories

Batman’s use of his classic gangster identity led to some hilarious and impact stories over the years, such as when Malone was operating a sting to catch two criminals who had stolen from a fundraiser that Robin was in charge off, leading to Robin (disguised as Batman) also trying to take down the criminals at the same time, and a whole fight between the two ensued. Or the time Damian Wayne disguised as Lil’ Matches, Malone’s son. There’s also far more tragic incidents, such as the “Gang War” storyline where Stephanie Brown as Robin stumbled upon a plan of Batman’s where Matches Malone would set up a meeting between all of Gotham’s major criminal heads, and lead to stopping most of the street crime in Gotham. Unfortunately, Robin was unaware that Matches Malone was Batman’s alter ego, and the meeting fell apart, leading to a criminal war that killed Bat Family member Orpheus and ended Stephanie’s criminally short tenor as the Girl Wonder.

Throughout the long, storied career of Matches Malone, one thing has remained constant; how much fun the character is. There’s something that will always be funny about the gruff, hardened character of Batman throwing on a fake mustache, chewing a stick between, and talking in a most likely exaggerated New Jersey accent. Plenty of superheroes have criminal alter egos they use when the need arises, such as Wolverine’s Patch, or Daredevil’s Mike Murdock, the twin brother of Matt Murdock who can see. Say what you will about Matches Malone, but at least Bruce did something to disguise himself.

It’s a shame that we’ll never get to see the Absolute Bruce Wayne glue on that stache and try out the accent, but perhaps that’s for the best. I don’t think any pair of sunglasses could distract from how absurdly large his frame is. Frankly, if a crime boss with a reputation like Malone’s shows up and he’s about as wide as a semitruck, I would just assume that he’s the brickhouse that it’s Batman and run for the hills. So rest in peace Absolute Matches Malone, you will be missed.

Absolute Batman #7 is on sale now.