Matthew Perry's Batman Posts Fixate Fans

It apparently will take awhile to determine a cause of death for Matthew Perry, and in the meantime, fans are parsing his final social media posts. One thing that stands out is that his last several Instagram posts refer in some way to Batman, with Perry signing off as "Mattman." Much reading of the tea leaves is going on, but at GQ, Chris Heath writes that "some things ... may be slightly less of a mystery than they seem." Perry loved Batman, writes Heath, who reprints part of his interview last year with the actor when the topic came up. Perry talked about buying a penthouse once because the fictional Bruce Wayne had a similar one, and his phone had the Batman logo on the back. So, Heath asked Perry at the time: What gives?

"Oh, I just ... I am Batman," Perry said, adding: "Well, he's a rich loner, we both drive black, cool cars. I don't solve crime. But I've saved people's lives." Later, Perry says that he calls himself Batman so much that friends keep giving him themed gifts. "I'm going to have a whole Batman room in my new house. Like a Matt cave." People notes that the final chapter in Perry's memoir is titled "Batman," and it cites the book's closing lines: "Someday you, too, might be called upon to do something important, so be ready for it. And when whatever happens, just think, What would Batman do? and do that."

Perry is believed to have drowned in his hot tub, and one of the Instagram posts days before his death was a photo of him soaking in it, under moonlight. "Oh, so warm water swirling around makes you feel good? I'm Mattman." The "Mattman" posts were just him "having fun," a source tells People, adding that Perry was working on a related idea for a new series. He was "incredibly happy," says the insider. Still, Yahoo rounds up comments from fans who instead think Perry was putting out a distress signal of sorts. The most extreme example of that: One of the "Mattman" posts shows Perry putting what appear to be three cranberries on a table, and at least one fan drew a connection to singer Dolores O'Riordan of the Cranberries, who was found dead in her bathtub from a drowning blamed on alcohol intoxication. (More Matthew Perry stories.)