2. Fictional Obituary: Mitchell “Matches” Malone, Absolute Batman

2. Fictional Obituary: Mitchell “Matches” Malone, Absolute Batman Spoilers for Absolute Batman #7–8. Mitchell Malone, known to his friends as Matches, has died in Gotham. He was part of a circle of childhood friends whose lives remained closely connected into adulthood. Among them were Bruce Wayne, Waylon Jones, Edward Nygma, Harvey Dent and Oswald Cobblepot. Their shared history reached back to the school outing at Gotham Zoo that claimed the life of their teacher, Thomas Wayne. Mr. Malone carried the memory of that day for years. Thomas had gone back to help him, and the loss remained deeply personal. His later efforts to assist Bruce grew from that enduring sense of obligation and loyalty. In the days before his death, Mr. Malone took work connected to Ark M while seeking information that might help his friend. He died after exposure to an unidentified bacterium. The circumstances of his death cannot account for the whole of his place in the lives around him. To the people who grew up with him, Matches belonged to the years before costumes, investigations and the dangers that eventually divided their city. He is remembered as one of their own, a friend whose absence leaves that long-standing circle smaller.