Literally so psyched I got a comment on GLB today of someone saying they caught the “Malone” thing!!!
I have Plots and Thoughts about the next few phases of GLB where this is going to come up, so I’m just gonna post this for anyone it may concern!
Okay so basically my understanding of the canon is that during Bruce’s training (preparing himself for Batman) he studied under folks who were experts in their field. So in addition to Ninja Shit, he sought out tutors like Zatara (Zatanna’s dad. I think Bruce thought he was just an escape artist and not a real sorcerer) and Henry/Henri Ducard (a manhunter who finds and assassinates the slipperiest of wanted criminals).
Bruce also briefly shadows a famous FBI agent named Arthur Mckee, where Bruce learns the value having a second alter ego who is trusted in the criminal underground.
Bruce tries several identities and disguises (including blackface 😒) but is always immediately outed as a narc. Gotham's goons and gangs may be kinda dumb sometimes, but they’re careful about feds.
So early into Batman's career (pre-Dick), this guy Matches Malone moves to Gotham with his brother Carver. They run an arson scam helping business owners defraud insurance companies.
Matches and Carver have a falling out over the profit split which ends up in Carver’s death. Bruce works with Harvey (pre-acid DA Harvey) to bring Matches in for Carver’s murder, but discovers Matches has offed himself alone in his apartment.
Bruce, having failed every attempt to have an “in” in the criminal underground realizes that he’s the only person who knows that Matches is dead and decides to assume his identity as an alter ego. Which is so creepy! But it works!
In my fic, MC assumes a secret identity for the sake of clubbing unbothered. She is also a pretty bad liar, so when Lucia sees Dick talking to her, Lucia tries to lie for her by making up a fake name (Martha-Jean/Jane). MC supplies the last name Malone as an inside joke between her and Dick, which will have consequences later lmao
Basically, MC is hanging out with Carmine Falcone’s niece while essentially introducing herself as the daughter of a known name in the Gotham criminal underground.