ANARKY (Lonnie Machin)	BIOGRAPHY
Created by Alan Grant and Norm Breyfogle

Anarky (Lonnie Machin)

PERSONAL DATA

Real Name: Lonnie Machin
Occupation: President, CEO and Primary stockholder of Anarco
Citizenship: American
Marital Status: Single
Known Relatives: Linda Penman (mother); Mike Machin (adoptive father; deceased); Roxanne Machin (adoptive mother; deceased)
Base of Operation: Washington D.C.
Gender: Male
Height: 5'7"
Weight: 170
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Red
First Appearance: Detective Comics #608 (November 1989)
Creators: Alan Grant and Norm Breyfogle

For Aristotle, human life and sovereign consciousness were the universe's greatest values... For Plato, human life is worthless, to be endlessly sacrificed to "higher" causes and ideals. Which one do you think the world followed, Yap? - Anarky, lecturing his dog on human nature Quote taken from Anarky Vol. 1 #2

OVERVIEW

Anarky wanted to strike at all the things that were wrong with society, beginning by dealing with the causes of complaint in a Gotham City newspaper letter column. He wielded gas bombs made in a school laboratory and a taser disguised as a walking stick, and Batman was horrified when he discovered that this wrong-headed vigilante was a minor. When confined to a juvenile detention centre, Lonnie Machin became Moneyspider, a computer hacker who channelled money from corporate accounts to the third world. An admirable aim, perhaps.

More recently, Anarky has had brushes with real power, temporarily possessing a Green Lantern ring and having the two hemispheres of his brain fused together. His efforts have been severely curtailed in the wake of a calculation made by his computer, claiming that his natural father is really the Joker. This news traumatised him a great deal, and the only public appearance he has made since this time was a brief encounter with Young Justice and other young heroes when he and they were advance-aged to adulthood; perhaps the increased maturity this brought with it was enough to overcome his emotional upset over the Joker being his father.

[N.B.: The truth (or otherwise) of Anarky's parentage has not been verified].

HISTORY

Anarky first made himself known in Gotham City on the eve of the dedication ceremony of the new Gotham Euro-U.S. Bank project. By rallying homeless people of the area and leaving his mark, he hoped to scare the developers into using the land to make low-cost housing he failed, and thus resorted to destroying the construction site. Batman appeared and he fled, but not before Batman managed to strike him with some piping. Batman followed him into the Gotham Insurance Company, where Mike Machin attempted to turn himself in for the crimes of Anarky. Batman knew Mike was not Anarky, because when he had struck him, he felt no resistance, thereby guessing Anarky to be a child. There, he found 13-year old Lonnie Machin in a closet (Detective Comics #608-609).

Lonnie was sent to juvenile hall, which proved unable to hold him. As he would sneak out of his room at night, Anarky would be at work in many subtle ways. When the mad god of vengeance, Eclipso was terrorising the world, Anarky used his black diamonds to destroy structures he thought to be oppressive to the people (Robin Annual #1).

Later, Lonnie set up the Anarkist Foundation, through which he began selling political and philosophical tracts over the Internet. The business flourished and Lonnie made a fortune of over five million dollars, which he used to further his cause. One of the recipients of the Anarkist Foundation funds was Malochia, a prophet of doom. Malochia however turned out to be a madman and Anarky's involvement almost cost him his life as Melochia strapped him to a zeppelin filled with explosives, along with Batman and Joe Potato. Anarky managed to free the two others but got caught in a rope himself and was only freed himself seconds before the zeppelin blew up as the rope was cut when Robin tried to save him from the ground. Seeing the opportunity, Lonnie faked his death (Batman: Shadow of the Bat #40-41).

Afterwards, he ran to a hideout he had previously set up, where he began a rigourous schedule of four hours physical training and eight hours on his feedback devices a day, ultimately resulting in the hemispheres of his brain fusing. He also set up a new company called Anarco to continue where the Anarkist Foundation had left off and quickly his fortune exceeded 199 million dollars. Using some of the money earned through Anarco he designed a machine designed to open men's minds. For the machine to work Anarky needed a power sources and he sought out Etrigan and Darkseid (using a home-built Boom Tube). Batman caught up with him, and the machine only served to open his mind further. Anarky now understood his mistakes, and escaped to find a better way in which to save the world.

Lonnie had always been an incredibly intelligent, independently thinking child. He did successfully at school and had a happy home life with his parents, Mike and Roxanne Machin. Lonnie had a natural aptitude for computing and reading, often forcing his father to take him to local bookshops and buy him something new to read. He read his way through most philosophers' work especially interested by political and geographical commentary.

Lonnie had a foreign pen-pal Xuasus. He had written to Xuasus every week since he was eleven and was incredibly interesting in his tales about his country and his conditions where there was a lot of war, famine and strife. Then one day Xuasus stopped writing. Inquisitive, Lonnie visited the library and started to research the history and modern politics of Xuasus' country. He discovered that it had been destroyed by war and famine, had been manipulated and ravaged by politicians. Lonnie lost his faith and love for America and became disenheartened with the American way.

Lonnie felt that he needed to do something about the state that politicians had left the world in and read more political works including many with extreme views, many to do with the ideology, Anarchy. Lonnie then read the work 'Universe' by Skudder Klyce and it opened his eyes to the way that the world should be. He felt compelled to follow his newfound views to Anarchy. He took on the visage of his self-styled hero, Anarky and began his war on Gotham's rich and influential. Targets everyone else didn't seem to want to bother with.

Anarky designed his costume and began his training. His small height wasn't enough to intimidate the weak that he intended to target so he added a head to his costume above his own. He donned an enormous red cloak and supplied himself with a great arsenal of villain beating weapons. He researched Gotham's elite including the famous Batman and began his war.

Anarky made his debut as an avenger by taking out the drug dealing rock Star Johnny Vomit leaving him electrically shocked. He then made an appearance on TV showing up the dodgy dealings of a businessman who was polluting the environment. Anarky had made his presence but it aroused the interest of the Batman, who didn't want him on his territory.

Batman hunted down Anarky when he was attempting to liberate the homeless' homes on the site of the new Gotham Law House. He chased him back to hid father's work where his Dad, Mike had figured out Anarky's identity. He tried to cover for his child but Batman had already deduced his guise as a child and captured him.

Batman did know that Lonnie wasn't a bad child, though, and pleaded for the police to treat him well. He did hope that they wouldn't tangle again. He was wrong.

Anarky felt that when he was released from detention centre that he had to devote more time to his quest. He couldn't do this though when he had to upkeep a civilian identity as well as his preferred Anarky guise. He faked his own death on an exploding hot air balloon, leaving a message to his parents about his death. He had actually gone underground to work as Anarky.

After Gotham's earthquake, Anarky faced Batman again among the ruins of the city. Batman forced Anarky out, as he didn't want a turf war with the boy. Before he left, he visited his parents' house and found it destroyed with no sign of them anywhere. Fearing them dead, he fled Gotham immediately and set up base in Washington DC underneath the Washington monument. Equipped with his self-programmed computer, MAX. He began a new war on politicians and the evil that they do.

Anarky had millions of dollars in his bank account and so expanded his base buying the best computers and setting up the best information system available. He requested that MAX research his parents to find out if they were still alive but what MAX found out was very different - his parents weren't his real parents, he was adopted. His mother was Linda Penman, a showgirl. We don't know the identity of Anarky's father but we know that he considers him a 'madman'.

POWERS AND WEAPONS

Anarky possesses a genius intellect, further enhanced by the fusing of his brain, and is also expertly trained in multiple martial arts, melded together with is superior intellect. Also, he carries a taser stick.

CHRONOLOGY

For a definitive list of appearances of Anarky in chronological order click here

PROFILE REFERENCES

DCU Heroes Secret Files #1 (February 1999)

Who's Who in the DC Universe #14 (November 1991)