Batman's oldest allies has finally been killed after 53 years. While Matches Malone was definitely an underrated member of the Bat-Family, he was undeniably an important one, who helped Batman for decades, and now he has officially been laid to rest.

As seen in the preview for Absolute Batman #7, written by Scott Snyder, with art by Marcos Martin, the Park Row crew gathered to pay respects to one Mitchell "Matches" Malone. His nickname came from his willingness to take on dares, and it seems that his risk-taking nature finally caught up with him.

Absolute Batman has just finished its first story arc and is already quickly moving into the next one, which opens with the surprising death of a long-time Bat-Family member. The Absolute Universe is very different from DC's Prime Universe, and one of those major differences is that Matches Malone was apparently a real person.

"Matches Malone" Has Long Been One Of Batman's Most Important Alter Egos

Absolute Batman #7; Written By Scott Snyder; Art By Marcos Martin; Color By Muntsa Vicente; Lettering By Clayton Cowles

Every superhero needs a good secret identity, but sometimes heroes need more than just one. While most people know that Batman has the secret identity of Bruce Wayne, he also has the identity of Matches Malone. While the Bruce Wayne identity exists to act as a belligerent and spoiled playboy, someone who could clearly never be Batman, that persona doesn't help much with gathering information on criminals. Bruce Wayne can't walk into the nearest dive bar and start chatting people up, not unless he wants to very quickly get mugged.

That's why Bruce ended up creating the secondary identity of Matches Malone, a seedy conman who could easily talk to anyone in Noonan's Bar or anywhere else; his personality allowed Batman to really get close to criminals and learn who was planning what, as well as learning who he could manipulate and pump for information. It was a great identity and Batman used it for decades in the Prime Universe. Batman once had a plan to control crime in Gotham City, and it all hinged on the Matches Malone personality to make the plan work.

Matches Malone Was A Real Person In DC's New Absolute Universe Continuity

Does He Inspire Batman's Iconic Persona?

In the Prime Universe, Matches was just a personality that Bruce made up to help him achieve his goals. Among the many changes in the Absolute Universe, it seems that Matches was a real person that Bruce Wayne grew up alongside. It's currently unclear what the exact nature of their relationship was, and if this will inspire Batman to create a similar persona later on in his career. For now, all fans know is that this is just another person in Batman's life that he has had to lose.

Batman's Bruce Wayne persona has been killed off more times than Matches.

It's not unusual for of the Bat-Family to die. Pretty much every single Robin has either been killed or thought to be killed at some point. Orpheus was killed so hard that he's never returned, and the majority of fans don't even him, but this is the first time in the history of the Batman comics that Matches Malone has been killed off. In fact, Batman's Bruce Wayne persona has been killed off more times than Matches. It seems that as the Absolute Universe continues on, fans will just see more and more surprising changes to Batman's life.

Absolute Batman #7 will be available April 9, 2025 from DC Comics.