Matches Malone
(just some guy)
by Phil Perich for the Before the Bat Podcast
You heard his name on Gotham last week. M. Malone. His name is familiar to Batman comics readers. “Matches Malone” first appeared in Batman #242 (June 1972).
For many years Matches Malone was a disguise used by Batman to infiltrate the criminal underworld and gain information. The name Matches came from the signature match he always had dangling from his mouth. After years of using Matches to gather info on them, some of Gotham City’s criminals grew suspicious of the disguised Batman. On one such occasion Batman asked Nightwing to impersonate him and throw him disguised as Matches through a bar window to seem as if Batman and Matches were two different people and enemies. This took place in Batman #588 (April 2001).
Batman later describes how he came to create the Matches identity when the real Matches Malone returns. Matches and his brother were Hoboken born arsonists that used their skills to commit insurance fraud. In the first year of his career, Batman suspected Matches in the death of Matchesbrother. Batman finds a dead body in a fire later that he believes to be Matches. At that point Batman buried the body next to Matches brother and then decided to use Matches identity against the local criminal underworld. But 10 years later, Matches returns. After being shot by the gangster Scarface, Matches confesses to Batman before he dies that his brother had committed suicide all those years ago and Matches had faked his own death to get Batman off his tail.
It was just announced today that Gotham has cast the character for the second half of season 2. Patrick “Matches” Malone will be portrayed by actor Michael Bowen. The officialdescription of show character is "One of Gotham's deadliest killers, Matches Malone is a weathered, philosophical hitman who may be the triggerman behind one of the most important crimes in Gotham's history.”
Will it be Bruce & Alfred who track down this version of the character? Let me know what YOU think:
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You can hear me and my friends talk Gotham and all things Batman on our weekly podcast, Before the Bat: the Gotham podcast. I also write 2 other blogs, the Flash/Arrow blog and the True Believers blog. All of my podcasts, blogs, and those of others can be found at www.southgatemediagroup.com
That’s it for this time. Until next week, be good. Remember, don't take everything at face value!