Man-Bat
Man-Bat is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Introduced in Detective Comics #400 as an enemy of the superhero Batman, the character belongs to the collective of adversaries that make up his rogues gallery. Originally portrayed as a supervillain, later incarnations show the Man-Bat as a sympathetic villain or antihero.
In the original version of the story, Kirk Langstrom was a zoologist who tried to give humans a bat's acute sonar sense. He managed to develop an extract that could supposedly do this. Upon testing it on himself, he transformed into an anthropomorphic feral half-bat hybrid, lacking sapience and acting purely on instinct. Batman managed to reverse the effects, but Langstrom would return as the Man-Bat time and time again, albeit not necessarily as a villain, as Langstrom would sometimes retain enough sanity to use his powers for good. Several other characters have since appeared as similar Man-Bat creatures, including Langstrom's wife Francine, his father Abraham Langstrom, and some League of Assassins operatives that make up the Man-Bat Commandos.
Since his debut at the end of the Silver Age of Comic Books, the Man-Bat has been featured in various media adaptations, including television series and video games. In 2017, the Man-Bat was ranked as IGNs 16th-best Batman villain.
Publication history
The character made his first appearance in Detective Comics #400 and was created by Frank Robbins and Neal Adams in collaboration with editor Julius Schwartz. The Man-Bat was the star of his own eponymous series in 1975–1976, which proved to be unpopular and was cancelled after only two issues.Fictional character biography
Dr. Kirk Langstrom, a zoologist who specializes in chiropterology, develops an extract intended to give humans a bat's acute sonar sense and tests the formula on himself. The extract works, but it has a horrible side effect: it transforms him into a monstrous human/bat hybrid creature. This side effect makes him so distraught that it temporarily affects his sanity. He goes on a mad rampage until Batman finds a way to reverse the effects. Later, Langstrom takes the concoction again and the Man-Bat returns. He also coaxes his wife, Francine Langstrom, into drinking the serum and she goes through the same transformation, becoming the She-Bat. Together, they terrorize Gotham City until Batman once again restores them to normal.On some occasions, Langstrom takes the serum and retains enough sanity to work for the forces of good. During one of these periods, he works with the detective Jason Bard. On another occasion, in Action Comics #600, Jimmy Olsen inadvertently puts Superman into a cave occupied by the Man-Bat to protect him from kryptonite radiation. The Man-Bat calms the maddened Superman and then summons Hawkman, who helps Superman overcome the radiation. Kirk and Francine have a daughter, Rebecca, and a son, Aaron. Because of the effects the serum has on Aaron's DNA, he is born with a deadly illness. Francine turns him into a young Man-Bat to save his life. This occurs in issue #3 of the Man-Bat miniseries by Chuck Dixon.
''Infinite Crisis'' and beyond
The Man-Bat is sighted in Alexander Luthor Jr.'s Secret Society of Super Villains during the events of the 2005–2006 storyline Infinite Crisis.In the aftermath of that storyline, both Kirk and Francine are shown to be alive in the 2006 "One Year Later" storyline. Talia al Ghul binds and gags Francine, and then threatens to poison her if Kirk does not give her the Man-Bat Serum. After Langstrom gives her the formula, she releases Francine as promised. Talia utilizes the Man-Bat to turn some generic members of the League of Assassins into Man-Bat Commandos.
In Gotham Underground, the Man-Bat is apprehended by the Suicide Squad. He is one of the villains seen in Salvation Run. Francine appears in Batman and the Outsiders, serving as the team's technical advisor, and her assistant Salah Miandad operates the "blank" OMAC drone known as ReMAC. In issue #10 of that series, Kirk appears, seemingly healthy and also aiding Francine.
In the 2008 miniseries Final Crisis, the Man-Bat is turned into a Justifier and is shown attacking Switzerland's Checkmate Headquarters. During the 2009 "Battle for the Cowl" storyline, following Batman's apparent death, Kirk is haunted by nightmares of becoming the Man-Bat and killing his wife. When Francine disappears, he takes the serum and tries to follow her. After an altercation with the Outsiders, he returns to his human form and is captured by Doctor Phosphorus, who reveals that the serum is not necessary to trigger the change. Kirk discovers that Phosphorus has also captured Francine and becomes the Man-Bat to save her.
During the 2009–2010 Blackest Night storyline, Francine tracks down Kirk, having created a cure, and revealed that Kirk's next transformation would be permanent if he did not drink it. Kirk attempts to take the cure, but his Man-Bat persona will not let him. Just as Kirk is about to drink it, Francine is wounded in the crossfire of the battle between Black Lantern Solomon Grundy and Bizarro. Distraught at Francine's injuries, Kirk transforms into the Man-Bat, seemingly permanently. In Batgirl #10-11, the Man-Bat is seen under the control of the Calculator as a techno-zombie. In the "Collision" storyline of Red Robin, following Red Robin's actions against Ra's al Ghul and the League of Assassins, the latter attempts to murder people related to the Bat-Family. The Man-Bat, following Red Robin's orders, protects Julie Madison, a former lover of Bruce Wayne, against Ra's al Ghul's assassins.
''The New 52''
In The New 52, the majority of Kirk Langstrom's history is rebooted. The Man-Bat serum first appears in Detective Comics #18. Ignatius Ogilvy also comes into possession of the Man-Bat serum, which he uses as an airborne virus to spread throughout Gotham City's "900 Block".In Detective Comics #19, Kirk Langstrom first appears where he and his wife Francine are escorted by Batwoman to Batman's location. Langstrom reveals that he is the creator of the serum, intending to help deaf people. Taking responsibility as the creator of the serum, he uses a sample of the serum Batman had obtained to inject himself. This creates an anti-virus which also spreads through the air. Langstrom is turned into a Man-Bat as his anti-virus cures the remaining citizens of Gotham. It was later revealed that Emperor Penguin was the one who released the virus. Emperor Penguin later made use of Langstrom's Man-Bat serum when he combined it with the Venom drug and one of Poison Ivy's plant concoctions to empower himself.
Langstrom re-appears in Batman Inc. #10 apparently giving Batman the serum. He claims to be working on an aerosol antidote to the serum as well. The back-up feature of Detective Comics #21, focuses on Langstrom and his wife. He changes from the Man-Bat form into his human form and becomes addicted to the Man-Bat serum, taking it every night. He apparently does not remember his actions from the previous night, yet worries that a string of reported killings are his fault.
During the "Forever Evil" storyline, the Man-Bat is among the villains recruited by the Crime Syndicate of America to join the Secret Society of Super-Villains. The Scarecrow and the Man-Bat attempt to steal the frozen Talons from Blackgate while the Penguin is having a meeting with Bane. Bane arrives at Blackgate as the Man-Bat and his fellow Man-Bats are attempting to transport the Talons to Mr. Freeze and is able to keep one from leaving. The final issues of the series Batman: The Dark Knight would establish that Kirk is the son of a corrupt wealthy pharmaceutical businessman named Abraham Langstrom, who considers his son as a failure when compared to Bruce Wayne, the son of his business rival Thomas Wayne. Abraham would steal his son's serum, make some of his own improvements and use it to target the homeless before being stopped by Batman, though he is able to plead temporary insanity to avoid going to prison.
''DC Rebirth''
In Doomsday Clock, the Man-Bat is featured on the news as an example of the "Superman Theory", stating that some metahumans were given their powers by the government. He later accompanies Black Adam in his attack on the White House.In Harley Quinn Rebirth, Langstrom's wife goes on a rampage against Harley and her friends, turning Harley and her friend Tony into Man-Bats as part of the Penguin's plan to break Harley's spirit. Their other friends get Langstrom released and he helps them find the antidote before predictably escaping himself.
The Man-Bat later becomes a founding member of the second incarnation of Justice League Dark.
Powers and abilities
As Kirk Langstrom, he is a highly intelligent scientist in the fields of biochemistry and zoology.By taking his bat gland extract that became known as the Man-Bat Serum, Kirk Langstrom transforms himself into a bat-like creature. When taking an antidote or if the serum wears off, he reverts to human form. As the Man-Bat, his strength, resilience, speed, and agility are all augmented to inhuman levels. He possesses an extra set of digits in his leathery wings that allows Kirk to fly. With his sonar radar, Kirk can emit high-pitch sound waves and hear those echoes when they bounce off of nearby objects, thus enabling him to navigate perfectly in the darkness. If in the Man-Bat form for long periods of time, he loses control over his bestial side that works purely on instinct, plus making him prone to harm friend or foe alike.
Other characters named Man-Bat
Francine Langstrom
Man-Bat Commandos
As mentioned above, Talia al Ghul captured Kirk Langstrom and threatened to poison Francine if he did not give her the Man-Bat Serum. Kirk gives in to Talia's demands and she uses the Man-Bat Serum on some members of the League of Assassins to turn them into Man-Bats.During the "Batman R.I.P." storyline, Talia sends the Man-Bat Commandos to destroy Jezebel Jet's airplane.
In 2011, The New 52 rebooted the DC Universe. Various Man-Bats have appeared under the control of Talia al Ghul in her plot to destroy Batman. It is later explained that Talia had an agent steal the Man-Bat Serum from Langstrom's laboratory to use on her soldiers to create the Man-Bat Commandos.
During the "Forever Evil" storyline, some Man-Bat Commandos were used to help the Crime Syndicate hunt down the Rogues. Mirror Master managed to trap some of them in the Mirror World. When a Man-Bat snatches up the Weather Wizard, the other Rogues members chase after it until it crashes into an ice wall upon arriving in Mr. Freeze's territory.