Anarky - Skills, Abilities, and Resources

Skills, Abilities, and Resources

Grant developed Anarky as a gadgeteer—a character who relies on inventions and gadgets to compensate for a lack of superpowers—and as a child prodigy. In early incarnations, he was portrayed as highly intelligent, but inexperienced, lacking in many skills, and surviving largely by his ingenuity. In accordance with this, he would often quote the maxim, "the essence of anarchy is surprise". A 1991 profile of the character, described that "Lonnie's inventive genius is equaled only by his computer wizardry." However, the character was still not yet as capable and skilled as he would become. Later, during the two Anarky series, his abilities were increased, and he was portrayed as having enormous talents in both engineering and computer technology, as well as developing skills in martial arts. This was indicated in several comics published just before the Anarky miniseries, and later elaborated upon within the series itself. According to Alan Grant, the urgency with which Anarky views his cause has necessitated that the character forsake any social life, and increase his abilities drastically over the years. "The kid's whole life is dedicated to self-improvement," wrote Grant for the Batman: Anarky introduction, "with the sole aim of destroying the parasitic elites who he considers feast off ordinary folks."

This evolution in Anarky's abilities was criticized as having overpowered the character in a Fanzing review of the Anarky ongoing series. The rapid development was seen as preventing the suspension of disbelief in the young character's adventures, which was said to have contributed to the failure of the series. This view stood in contrast with that of Breyfogle, who considered Anarky's heightened skill set to be a complementary feature, and contended that Anarky's advanced abilities lent uniqueness to the character. Breyfogle wrote, "Anarky's singularity is due partly to his being, at his age, nearly as competent as Batman."

Tactics

The character often utilizes cunning, improvisation, and intelligence as tools for victory. During the Knightfall saga, the character states, "The essence of anarchy is surprise -- spontaneous action ... even when it does require a little planning!" Depicted examples include an improvised conflict, in which he avoided a gang of villains too dangerous to fight, choosing instead to use a flare gun to anonymously signal for Batman to come, and then pitted the two groups against each other. A later example includes a planned confrontation with Batman in which Anarky achieves victory by confusing the hero with holographic projections long enough to attack and subdue him. When in need of assistance for intelligence gathering, or a diversion, he would call on the help of the homeless community in Gotham, who had supported him since his first appearance. Anarky's skill in improvising cunning plans was continued in the Anarky ongoing series. During the "War and Peace" storyline, Anarky allows himself to be defeated in combat, purposely falling into the hands of an enemy. Feigning defeat, he reveals false information that leads to his opponent's downfall.

Equipment

Early descriptions of the character's gadgets focused on low-tech, improvised tools and munitions, such as flare guns, swing lines, throwing stars, small spherical explosives with wick fuses (mimicking those stereotypically associated with 19th-century anarchists), gas-bombs, smoke bombs, and his primary weapon, a powerful electric stun baton shaped as a golden sceptre. A grappling hook was later incorporated into the sceptre itself, allowing dual functionality.

Combat skills

In 1995, Grant described Anarky as having begun to train in martial arts, following the character's time in juvenile hall. By 1997, this ability was described as having progressed remarkably, and to have included training in multiple styles, including aikido, karate, jujutsu, and kung fu, which he "integrated" into a hybrid fighting style.

Logistics, technology, and enhanced intelligence

As a wanted criminal, Anarky's methods and goals were described as leaving him with little logistical support amongst the heroic community, or the public at large, relegating him to underground operation. In his earliest incarnations, he was described as having developed skills as a computer hacker to steal enormous sums of money from various corporations. This addition to the character's skill set made him the second major hacker in the DC universe, being preceded by Barbara Gordon's debut as Oracle, and was quickly adapted by 1992 to allow the character to gain information on other heroes and villains from police computer networks. By 1997, the skill was further increased to allow him to tap into Batman's supercomputer, and the Justice League Watchtower.

In 1996, Anarky was described as using the internet to earn money through his online bookstore, Anarco, which he used as a front company to propagate his philosophy. A second front organization, The Anarkist Foundation, was also developed to offer grants to radical causes he supports. Grant also used a Biofeedback Learning Enhancer as a plot device to increase Lonnie's abilities. The cybernetic device was described as being capable of amplifying brain functions by a multiple of ten. In the Anarky series, this augmentation was described as having "fused" the hemispheres of his brain, in a reference to bicameralism. With this enhanced intelligence, and the increased financial independence described above, Anarky went on to create an on-board AI computer, MAX (Multi-Augmented X-Program); a crude but fully functioning teleportation device capable of summoning a boom tube, and secretly excavated an underground base below the Washington Monument.

Portrayed as an atheist by Grant, Anarky espoused the belief that "science is magic explained", and was shown to use scientific analysis to explain and manipulate esoteric forces of magic and energy.

Abilities as Moneyspider

In Fabian Niciza's stories for Red Robin, Lonnie Machin's abilities as Moneyspider were revamped, with the character taking on the persona of an "electronic ghost." Comotose, Moneyspider was free to act through his mind via connections to the internet, and interacted with others via text messaging and a speech synthesizer. In this condition, he acts to "create an international web that will the ins and outs of criminal and corporate operations." Within virtual reality, the character's augmented intelligence was described as a "fused bicameral mind", able to maintain a presence online at all times, while another part of his mind separately interacted with others offline.