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"Matches" Malone is an alter ego sometimes used by the DC Comics character Batman.

Batman adopted the guise of Malone early in his career as a way to infiltrate the criminal underworld of Gotham City and gather information. His extensive training at disguise and acting allows him to adopt an entirely different persona when he appears as Malone, with mannerisms and vocal characteristics completely different from those he displays either as Batman or as his billionaire secret identity Bruce Wayne.

Malone usually wears a red suit and dark glasses, often in conjunction with a fedora, giving him the look of a gangster with a thin mustache and a New Jersey accent.^[1]His nickname comes from his habit of keeping a match in his teeth^[2] even though there is no evidence of him ever smoking. He is also sometimes shown as continually lighting matches and cigarette lighters, and staring at the flames.

Although there are some rumors among Gotham's criminals that Malone is a turncoat, and may even be working for Batman, his secret is maintained and his reputation is solid enough to allow him to infiltrate almost any gang, "serving" under some of his own greatest enemies, including the Ventriloquist (Batman #588). He has done this in order to gather information, to get close to his foes, or to protect someone in danger.

Matches Malone is introduced in Batman #242 (1972) as a former small-time mob leader, whom Batman had noticed various good deeds could be traced back to. When Batman begins his war with Ra's Al Ghul, he goes to Matches for help. Matches refuses and, attempting to shoot Batman, is killed by a richochet from his own gun. Batman assumes his identity, utilizing Malone's reputation to gather information.

In a 2000 storyline, he resurfaced alive (in a retcon of the above, he left a badly-burned corpse at a fire scene, and Batman, seeking a criminal identity to get into the underworld, never took the time to make sure it was Matches), only to die again at the hands of Scarface and the Ventriloquist, who thought him to be a traitor due to Batman's actions.

One of Batman's most ambitious plans involved Malone: he felt that if the crime situation in Gotham ever got completely out of hand, he would need to resort to drastic measures to contain it. Thus he developed a plan that would unite all of Gotham's underworld under a single crime boss: Matches Malone. Unfortunately, this plan was discovered by Stephanie Brown, aka Spoiler, who was serving as Robin at the time and who was unware that Malone and her boss were one and the same; she simply believed that he was an "employee" of Batman. When she attempted to implement this plan without Batman's knowledge and participation, the resulting chaos caused a massive gang war (told in the "War Games" storyline) and resulted in Stephanie's brutal death at the hands of Black Mask, a tragedy for which Batman holds himself responsible.

Other members of the Batman family have alter egos similar to Matches. In early issues of Robin Tim Drake maintained an identity as a nose-ringed street punk named Alvin Draper. In Power Company: Manhunter, Dick Grayson creates a persona he calls "Matches Jr."

Matches Malone was adapted for Batman: The Animated Series, used occasionally for Batman to go undercover. In TAS, however, he generally dressed in shabby clothes and played himself as a small-time thug, calling himself "Smith." The animated version appeared in later issues of Batman Adventures as a member of Black Mask's False Face Society.

1. ^ "When you start speaking with that flat, nasal New Jersey accent you sound exactly like one of The Sopranos" - Nightwing inBatman #588 (Apr 2001)
2. ^ In Batman #0 (Oct 1994), when buying a book of matches as part of an investigation, he explains "Like to keep it there - for purposes of trademark."

• Matches Malone history on the DC Comics message boards