Tonight's episode of Fox's Gotham sees Bruce Wayne and Alfred gaining ground on the mysterious killer who took the lives of Thomas and Martha Wayne. In an exclusive sneak peek, we have a clip from the episode that features young Master Bruce (David Mazouz) and his mentor Alfred (Sean Pertwee) preparing to go after the villainous criminal known as Matches Malone, played by guest star Michael Bowen.
In addition to this exclusive clip, we've also put together a little intel on Gotham's "Villain of the Week", Matches Malone. You might not recognize him by name since he's not part of Batman's regular Rogues Gallery, but the two have a very interesting history. We're not sure just how much of that history will come into play in Gotham, but his mere existence in the show's mythology is a cool Easter egg nonetheless.
Check out our exclusive clip from tonight's episode of Gotham below, followed by more on Matches Malone and new images from "This Ball of Mud and Meanness":
BRUCE WAYNE CONFRONTS A MONSTER ON AN ALL-NEW “GOTHAM” MONDAY, MARCH 14, ON FOX
Michael Bowen (“Breaking Bad”) and Lori Petty (“Orange Is The New Black”) Guest-Star
Alfred and Selina help Bruce on his quest to find his parents’ killer, Matches Malone (guest star Michael Bowen). Meanwhile, Gordon follows up with Edward Nygma on Kristen Kringle’s whereabouts and Hugo Strange (guest star BD Wong) continues his treatment to reduce Penguin’s aggression in the all-new “Wrath of the Villains: This Ball of Mud and Meanness” episode of GOTHAM airing Monday, March 14 (8:00-9:01 PM ET/PT) on FOX. (GTH-214) (TV-14 L, S, V)
Matches Malone
Created by writer Dennis O'Neil and the late artist Irv Novick, the small-time crook known as Matches Malone made his first appearance in 1972's "Batman" #242. The New Jersey gangster gained his moniker thanks to his penchant for walking around with an unlit match between his fingers or teeth, which also hinted at his tendency to commit arson. Matches and his brother Carver, orphaned at a young age, pulled off insurance fraud scams and arsons to earn money, but never escalated into violent crime. However, when they crossed into Batman's territory in Gotham, the Malone brothers ran afoul of the city's protector, most notably when Carver turns up dead.
With Matches as the prime suspect, Batman keeps a watchful eye on the low-level crook but never managed to bring him in on charges that stuck. Batman actually intended to recruit Malone as an ally in the fight against Ra's al Ghul at one point, but a misunderstanding and an unlucky ricochet from Malone's own gun ended the gangster's life. Here's where his story takes a twist: Batman never reported the death but rather buried him next to his brother Carver and then assumed the gangster's identity as a means of infiltrating the criminal underworld. Batman's Matches Malone disguise varied from a well-dressed gangster to a shabby thug depending on the version he appeared in, so I'm curious to see how this aspect plays out in Gotham.
Check out a bunch of new images from tonight's episode of Gotham below, including looks at Bowen as Malone and guest star Lori Petty as some sort of Joker-esque character:
