Misfits and Memoirs- A History.
Foreword.
Gotham City is home to all manner of criminals. From users to street peddlers to the kingpins at the top. From the barrel scrapers like Condiment King all the way to the Joker. If you can think of a crime, any crime, chances are it's happening in Gotham as we speak. Or rather, it would normally. Welcome to a new age, the age of Arkham City. Now all those crimes are still happening of course, there's just now a wall separating them from honest folk like you or me. But what makes someone honest? Can you truly say you've never commited a felony? Even as small as opening a letter that isn't you, or taking a pack of gum without paying? There used to be a saying. Honour among thieves. That saying no longer applies to the breed of criminals housed in Arkham. For the most part. Except then there's the Misfits.
Their members will argue the specifics all day long, the extent of their code, whether they even have a code, how were they founded, when they were founded, why they were founded. Maybe it's all true, in some roundabout way. But I will say this, this isn't justice. We were all there when Julian Day unleashed hell on Gotham. We were there when Charles Brown, Leonard Fiasko, Joseph Rigger and so many others paid for his sins. Yet despite that, they still reside in Arkham's walls. You may not know them by name, only by their chosen moniker, but there's no denying now the impact of this tightly knit group of felons. And this, is their story.
-Vicki Vale.
The following extracts were given on January 20th, 2019. These have been published with the full consent of the participants.
Chapter One- Garfield Lynns "Firefly"
"Right. Before we get started, I gotta make one thing clear- Drury likes to say the Misfits were founded alongside a godamn backing orchestra,
singing our hearts out like some kind of nonsense out of Hamilton. It's what he told the wife, it's what he told Rigger- who actually *believed* him! It's all shit. The Misfits were founded on a rainy night in a back alley in Little Italy. And it was just me, him and the pencil. Don't know why he'd claimed Mr Incognito was part of the crew, but he did. Now we weren't hitmen- Drury didn't have the stomach, but we did work for the Roman- odd jobs mostly. Whenever there was a shootout, Drury was sent to bail them out, using those dumb lanterns of his. Me, I carried out arsons, which suited me just fine, believe me, and Fiasko cleaned up our messes. Pretty good system. That is until the Long Halloween fucked things up, and suddenly old Carmine wasn't too fond of us "Freaks." Back then, Drury called us the Three Musketeers (maybe that's why he brought in Cavalier a month later), or rather he did until Carmine gave us a different name, as he chased us out his office."
Chapter Two- Leonard Fiasko "The Eraser"
"You misfits are nothing you understand! Nothing!" Yeah, that was it. And so the name stuck. Whoopee. Not even sure if Drury knew it was an insult back then. Heck, Lynns' may be the only person who does know what goes on inside that head. It was around this point we started to expand. I was never really on board with the supervillain schtick if I'm honest. Too much attention, too much noise. And I'll tell you who didn't help. Thomas Blake. What a fuckin' dickhead. Always puffed out his chest and had teeth as white as the clown's face. Kept trying to bring women onto the team. It never lasted. Guy thought he ran the show, he really did. Brought not one, but two psychos into the fold."
Chapter Three- Charles Brown "Kite-Man"
"You mean Chancer? ... Chancer came later than the rest of us. Brought in to replace Gar, when he'd decided he'd be better off solo. And maybe he was right. He certainly moved up the ladder without us.
Before the kid, it was me- that is to say Kite-Man, Tom- The Catman, Morty- Cavalier, the "holy trinity" of Gar, Drury and Len, and lastly... Julian.
Drury found me in a bad place. My son had died, and well, I suppose all I really wanted was to join him. That was really why I started hang gliding across Gotham... A death wish, if I'm honest. Drury's twins played with Charlie a lot when they were young... Probably would be going off to college together right about now. Drury lost his brother when he was a kid, and we were both going through divorces when he approached me. Why, we must have been the only family men in the group.
So what was The Misfits? It was a pact. A promise. To stick up for one another, protect our fellow C-Listers, or Barrel Scrapers.
The group's had steady membership over the years, though of course, some have come and gone, that's life. Joey (Joey Rigger) was never a full time member, and we were hesitant to keep Zodiac around either. Morty Drake is, uh, still hiding from the IRS somewhere. The last time he surfaced... Heh, that would've been Dru's wedding anniversary. I'm not pretending we were good guys. I mean, look at Julian, or how Chancer was a while back, but we did care for each other. A lot. Even if a lot of them were too tough to show it."
Chapter Four- Drury Walker "Killer Moth"
"Oh, I loved the Misfits. But it just didn't work. We'd started out as criminals obviously, no point denying it. But it was... never personal. We'd promised then and there, that is over a pint at My Alibi, to never to stoop to their level. The methods of the mob, the A-Listers, the big leagues. We just wanted a name. A legacy. Then Gar left... The guys... Heh, they all called him "Pretty" before, well, let's say the incident. He really was the looker out of us all. Old school handsome, not like Blake. But when Gar left, I don't know... He was my best man at my first wedding, and he'd be my best man at my second. Without him to back me up, things fell apart. Len was never really ok with the legacy thing, he just wanted a steady income. He got it with the bar, and retired shortly after. Have I ever told that story? Heh, back when Gar and I started out, we torched Tony Bressi's bar, and- Nevermind, point is, with a few renovations, it was good as new. My Alibi was under new management! And I was another man down. And another with Chuck, who left after a back injury. That may have been my lowest point. Left with Jules and Blake, I got more antsy, aggressive. Knew I went too far when I kidnapped three hostages, and tried killing them- even though they'd paid the ransom. I just didn't want to be forgotten. That's what created the Charaxes serum"
Chapter Five- Miranda Gaige "Tiger Moth"
"Yeah... Charaxes. No, I didn't know Drury'd had Langstrom whip up a mutagen for him. If I had, I would've shattered the bottle myself, and it would've saved us a lot of grief, and couples counseling.
I had, it's silly... It was a schoolgirl's crush. Ever since he burst into Dad's office, lantern in hand, stripey tights pulled all the way up his chest... Well, I fancied him. What should've been a one night stand became so much more than that. Sure, he calls himself Killer Moth, but he's really quite sweet. I'd been doing the masked stuff long before we'd started dating (though I *did* name myself after him, the stories are true), and in a male dominated "workplace," we tend to get noticed, and propositioned an awful lot. Leading the charge, Tom Blake of course. Don't think he ever got over the fact that I would sooner marry "Killer Moth" than go out with him. Course, marriage doesn't really stop a man like him. Bullets tend to though. Sorry, sorry. Shortly after we'd got more serious, Chancer was shot in the head. I'd only met him once, maybe twice, but the Misfits... they took it hard. He was maybe 19 then. But life went on, even through earthquakes and viruses. And when Gar returned to the Misfits, a lot more grizzled (or griddled) than when he left, Drury was happier than I'd ever seen him before. The boys were back.
Chapter Six- Joseph Rigger "Firebug"
Gar wasn't gone that long really, but that didn't stop Drury from recruiting me as the new fire guy. Didn't last of course, but it was fun! Gar didn't think much of it all, but that was Gar. It was a while before things got bad again. With what happened to Chancer, Drury was reluctant ta do anything about the Misfits. It was just a phase, right? Around then Catman met up with some guys in the Super Seven, or something and now Calendar Man was the only one of the OGs left. Guess that's why he ended up... Like that. But Gar was back! Drury was happy! There was finally a woman on the team! That had ta mean something. So they gave it another shot- and they ran over Fred Larson. Think that was his name. Undeterred, our brave heroes carried on, and Drury reached out to a rising star in the underworld, who he said he'd met the night Ned was run over, and..."
Chapter Seven- [Redacted]
"So Lightning Bug. No, not that one. The original. What a fucking mess. Before these, uh, Misfits were just a nuisance, but now, the A-Listers were watching."
Chapter Eight- Thomas Blake "Catman"
"And it was like it'd never happened. Some new kid- Walker's kid, got the armour just in time for him to tie the knot. The salmon, was delicious. After a honeymoon, which probably involved a whole lot of viagra, and yet not a lot of action, Walker came home with news. Ms Gaige was pregnant. Somehow. And so it fell on us (well me) to support his growing family. Not the glorious return any of us were hoping for (Drake was right to get out when he had the chance). It just wasn't right. I was a hunter, an apex predator, and yet there I was, being treated like an idiot, and worse... A beta. If I didn't take that card from Scandal, they'd probably still ignore me... Godamn Signal Man then had to ruin the fun with those nukes of his, which *we* never got any credit for helping stop! Sure helped Walker become mayor though. I was the one who brought in Ragdoll! Was nice to have someone on my side for once, even if he was a [redacted]"
Chapter Nine- Montgomery Sharpe "Chancer"
"So I came back. Went a bit mad, but I hear that's what happens when there's a bullet in your brain. Ok, I'm not a scientist... When Drury became Mayor, it was almost like we were his private army- without the cash. It's a shame Chuck and I missed out on that battle against the Society... Heh. Well, could be worse, I heard Blake actually slept in during it all! Hey, I wonder if the gas was what made Calendar Man-"
End of Extract. For Full Book, pay $13.99
Misfits and Memoirs- A History.
Foreword.
Gotham City is home to all manner of criminals. From users to street peddlers to the kingpins at the top. From the barrel scrapers like Condiment King all the way to the Joker. If you can think of a crime, any crime, chances are it's happening in Gotham as we speak. Or rather, it would normally. Welcome to a new age, the age of Arkham City. Now all those crimes are still happening of course, there's just now a wall separating them from honest folk like you or me. But what makes someone honest? Can you truly say you've never commited a felony? Even as small as opening a letter that isn't you, or taking a pack of gum without paying? There used to be a saying. Honour among thieves. That saying no longer applies to the breed of criminals housed in Arkham. For the most part. Except then there's the Misfits.
Their members will argue the specifics all day long, the extent of their code, whether they even have a code, how were they founded, when they were founded, why they were founded. Maybe it's all true, in some roundabout way. But I will say this, this isn't justice. We were all there when Julian Day unleashed hell on Gotham. We were there when Charles Brown, Leonard Fiasko, Joseph Rigger and so many others paid for his sins. Yet despite that, they still reside in Arkham's walls. You may not know them by name, only by their chosen moniker, but there's no denying now the impact of this tightly knit group of felons. And this, is their story.
-Vicki Vale.
The following extracts were given on January 20th, 2019. These have been published with the full consent of the participants.
Chapter One- Garfield Lynns "Firefly"
"Right. Before we get started, I gotta make one thing clear- Drury likes to say the Misfits were founded alongside a godamn backing orchestra,
singing our hearts out like some kind of nonsense out of Hamilton. It's what he told the wife, it's what he told Rigger- who actually *believed* him! It's all shit. The Misfits were founded on a rainy night in a back alley in Little Italy. And it was just me, him and the pencil. Don't know why he'd claimed Mr Incognito was part of the crew, but he did. Now we weren't hitmen- Drury didn't have the stomach, but we did work for the Roman- odd jobs mostly. Whenever there was a shootout, Drury was sent to bail them out, using those dumb lanterns of his. Me, I carried out arsons, which suited me just fine, believe me, and Fiasko cleaned up our messes. Pretty good system. That is until the Long Halloween fucked things up, and suddenly old Carmine wasn't too fond of us "Freaks." Back then, Drury called us the Three Musketeers (maybe that's why he brought in Cavalier a month later), or rather he did until Carmine gave us a different name, as he chased us out his office."
Chapter Two- Leonard Fiasko "The Eraser"
"You misfits are nothing you understand! Nothing!" Yeah, that was it. And so the name stuck. Whoopee. Not even sure if Drury knew it was an insult back then. Heck, Lynns' may be the only person who does know what goes on inside that head. It was around this point we started to expand. I was never really on board with the supervillain schtick if I'm honest. Too much attention, too much noise. And I'll tell you who didn't help. Thomas Blake. What a fuckin' dickhead. Always puffed out his chest and had teeth as white as the clown's face. Kept trying to bring women onto the team. It never lasted. Guy thought he ran the show, he really did. Brought not one, but two psychos into the fold."
Chapter Three- Charles Brown "Kite-Man"
"You mean Chancer? ... Chancer came later than the rest of us. Brought in to replace Gar, when he'd decided he'd be better off solo. And maybe he was right. He certainly moved up the ladder without us.
Before the kid, it was me- that is to say Kite-Man, Tom- The Catman, Morty- Cavalier, the "holy trinity" of Gar, Drury and Len, and lastly... Julian.
Drury found me in a bad place. My son had died, and well, I suppose all I really wanted was to join him. That was really why I started hang gliding across Gotham... A death wish, if I'm honest. Drury's twins played with Charlie a lot when they were young... Probably would be going off to college together right about now. Drury lost his brother when he was a kid, and we were both going through divorces when he approached me. Why, we must have been the only family men in the group.
So what was The Misfits? It was a pact. A promise. To stick up for one another, protect our fellow C-Listers, or Barrel Scrapers.
The group's had steady membership over the years, though of course, some have come and gone, that's life. Joey (Joey Rigger) was never a full time member, and we were hesitant to keep Zodiac around either. Morty Drake is, uh, still hiding from the IRS somewhere. The last time he surfaced... Heh, that would've been Dru's wedding anniversary. I'm not pretending we were good guys. I mean, look at Julian, or how Chancer was a while back, but we did care for each other. A lot. Even if a lot of them were too tough to show it."
Chapter Four- Drury Walker "Killer Moth"
"Oh, I loved the Misfits. But it just didn't work. We'd started out as criminals obviously, no point denying it. But it was... never personal. We'd promised then and there, that is over a pint at My Alibi, to never to stoop to their level. The methods of the mob, the A-Listers, the big leagues. We just wanted a name. A legacy. Then Gar left... The guys... Heh, they all called him "Pretty" before, well, let's say the incident. He really was the looker out of us all. Old school handsome, not like Blake. But when Gar left, I don't know... He was my best man at my first wedding, and he'd be my best man at my second. Without him to back me up, things fell apart. Len was never really ok with the legacy thing, he just wanted a steady income. He got it with the bar, and retired shortly after. Have I ever told that story? Heh, back when Gar and I started out, we torched Tony Bressi's bar, and- Nevermind, point is, with a few renovations, it was good as new. My Alibi was under new management! And I was another man down. And another with Chuck, who left after a back injury. That may have been my lowest point. Left with Jules and Blake, I got more antsy, aggressive. Knew I went too far when I kidnapped three hostages, and tried killing them- even though they'd paid the ransom. I just didn't want to be forgotten. That's what created the Charaxes serum"
Chapter Five- Miranda Gaige "Tiger Moth"
"Yeah... Charaxes. No, I didn't know Drury'd had Langstrom whip up a mutagen for him. If I had, I would've shattered the bottle myself, and it would've saved us a lot of grief, and couples counseling.
I had, it's silly... It was a schoolgirl's crush. Ever since he burst into Dad's office, lantern in hand, stripey tights pulled all the way up his chest... Well, I fancied him. What should've been a one night stand became so much more than that. Sure, he calls himself Killer Moth, but he's really quite sweet. I'd been doing the masked stuff long before we'd started dating (though I *did* name myself after him, the stories are true), and in a male dominated "workplace," we tend to get noticed, and propositioned an awful lot. Leading the charge, Tom Blake of course. Don't think he ever got over the fact that I would sooner marry "Killer Moth" than go out with him. Course, marriage doesn't really stop a man like him. Bullets tend to though. Sorry, sorry. Shortly after we'd got more serious, Chancer was shot in the head. I'd only met him once, maybe twice, but the Misfits... they took it hard. He was maybe 19 then. But life went on, even through earthquakes and viruses. And when Gar returned to the Misfits, a lot more grizzled (or griddled) than when he left, Drury was happier than I'd ever seen him before. The boys were back.
Chapter Six- Joseph Rigger "Firebug"
Gar wasn't gone that long really, but that didn't stop Drury from recruiting me as the new fire guy. Didn't last of course, but it was fun! Gar didn't think much of it all, but that was Gar. It was a while before things got bad again. With what happened to Chancer, Drury was reluctant ta do anything about the Misfits. It was just a phase, right? Around then Catman met up with some guys in the Super Seven, or something and now Calendar Man was the only one of the OGs left. Guess that's why he ended up... Like that. But Gar was back! Drury was happy! There was finally a woman on the team! That had ta mean something. So they gave it another shot- and they ran over Fred Larson. Think that was his name. Undeterred, our brave heroes carried on, and Drury reached out to a rising star in the underworld, who he said he'd met the night Ned was run over, and..."
Chapter Seven- [Redacted]
"So Lightning Bug. No, not that one. The original. What a fucking mess. Before these, uh, Misfits were just a nuisance, but now, the A-Listers were watching."
Chapter Eight- Thomas Blake "Catman"
"And it was like it'd never happened. Some new kid- Walker's kid, got the armour just in time for him to tie the knot. The salmon, was delicious. After a honeymoon, which probably involved a whole lot of viagra, and yet not a lot of action, Walker came home with news. Ms Gaige was pregnant. Somehow. And so it fell on us (well me) to support his growing family. Not the glorious return any of us were hoping for (Drake was right to get out when he had the chance). It just wasn't right. I was a hunter, an apex predator, and yet there I was, being treated like an idiot, and worse... A beta. If I didn't take that card from Scandal, they'd probably still ignore me... Godamn Signal Man then had to ruin the fun with those nukes of his, which *we* never got any credit for helping stop! Sure helped Walker become mayor though. I was the one who brought in Ragdoll! Was nice to have someone on my side for once, even if he was a [redacted]"
Chapter Nine- Montgomery Sharpe "Chancer"
"So I came back. Went a bit mad, but I hear that's what happens when there's a bullet in your brain. Ok, I'm not a scientist... When Drury became Mayor, it was almost like we were his private army- without the cash. It's a shame Chuck and I missed out on that battle against the Society... Heh. Well, could be worse, I heard Blake actually slept in during it all! Hey, I wonder if the gas was what made Calendar Man-"
End of Extract. For Full Book, pay $13.99