| Man-Bat | |
|---|---|
) The Man-Bat from Who's Who in the DC Universe #12, art by Michael Golden | |
| Publication information | |
| DC Comics | |
| First appearance | Detective Comics #400 (June 1970) |
| Frank Robbins (writer) Neal Adams (artist) Julius Schwartz (concept) | |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Robert Kirkland Langstrom |
| Species | Metahuman |
| Team affiliations |
|
| Notable aliases | Kirk Langstrom |
| Abilities | When transformed into "Man-Bat form":
|
Man-Bat (Dr. Robert Kirkland "Kirk" Langstrom) is a fictional supervillain, and anti-hero appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. Introduced in Detective Comics #400 (June 1970) as an enemy of the superhero Batman,[1] the character has since endured as one of the Dark Knight's most prominent villains, and belongs to the collective of adversaries that make up his rogues gallery.
Man-Bat originated as an anthropomorphic, feral, bat-like creature, lacking sentience and acting purely on instinct; the result of Langstorm testing a serum that could supposedly give humans a bat's acute sonar sense on himself. Batman managed to reverse the effects, but Langstrom would return as Man-Bat time and time again, albeit not neccessarily 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 and father Aaron.
Since his debut at the end of the Silver Age of Comic Books, Man-Bat has been featured in various media adaptations, including television series and video games. In 2017, Man-Bat was ranked as IGN's 16th best Batman villain.[2]
Publication history
The character made his first appearance in Detective Comics #400 (June 1970) and was created by Frank Robbins and Neal Adams in collaboration with editor Julius Schwartz.[3] The Man-Bat was the star of his own eponymous series in 1975–1976,[4] which proved to be unpopular and was cancelled after only two issues.
Fictional character biography
Dr. Kirk Langstrom, a zoologist who specialized in chiropterology, developed an extract intended to give humans a bat's acute sonar sense and tested the formula on himself.[5] The extract worked, but it had a horrible side effect: it transformed him into a monstrous human/bat hybrid creature.[6] This side effect made him so distraught that it temporarily affected his sanity and he went on a mad rampage until Batman found a way to reverse the effects.[7]
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.[8]
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 that had reached Earth following the explosion of Krypton. The Man-Bat calms the maddened Superman and then summons Hawkman, who helps Superman overcome the radiation.
Kirk and Francine have a daughter, Rebecca ("Becky"), and a son, Aaron. Because of the effects the serum had on Aaron's DNA, he is born with a deadly illness. Francine turns him into a young Man-Bat to save his life. This occurred 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.[9]
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 formula. 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.[10]
)
In Gotham Underground, the Man-Bat is apprehended by the Suicide Squad.[11] He is one of the villains seen in Salvation Run.[12] Francine has appeared 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 appeared, seemingly healthy and also aiding Francine.
In the 2008 miniseries Final Crisis, the Man-Bat has been turned into a Justifier and was shown attacking Switzerland's Checkmate Headquarters.[13]
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.[14]
During the 2009–2010 Blackest Night storyline, Francine tracks down Kirk (as the Man-Bat), having created a cure, and revealed that Kirk's next transformation would be permanent if he did not drink it.[15] 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 (the latter of whom is already at the scene, trying to prevent Kirk from taking the cure). Distraught at Francine's injuries, Kirk transforms into the Man-Bat, seemingly permanently.[16]
In Batgirl (vol. 3) #10-11, the Man-Bat is seen under the control of the Calculator as a techno-zombie.[17]
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.[18]
The New 52
)
In The New 52 (a 2011 reboot of the DC Comics universe), the majority of Kirk Langstrom's history is rebooted. The Man-Bat serum first appears in Detective Comics #18 (May 2013). 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".[19]
In Detective Comics (vol. 2) #19 (June 2013), 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 (the last remaining Man-Bat) as his anti-virus cures the remaining citizens of Gotham.[20]
Langstrom re-appears in Batman Inc. (vol. 2) #10 (June 2013) apparently giving Batman the serum. He claims to be working on an aerosol antidote to the serum as well.[21]
The backup feature of Detective Comics (vol. 2) #21 (August 2013), 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.[22]
During the Forever Evil storyline, the Man-Bat is among the villains that were recruited by the Crime Syndicate of America to join the Secret Society of Super-Villains.[23] The Scarecrow and the Man-Bat attempt to steal the frozen Talons (assassins that are associated with the Court of Owls) 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.[24]
The final issues of the Batman: The Dark Knight series 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 (because no one would miss them) before being stopped by Batman, though he is able to plead temporary insanity to avoid going to prison.[25]
DC Rebirth
In the Watchmen sequel Doomsday Clock, the Man-Bat is featured on the news as an example of the "Superman Theory" where the government has been experimenting on humans to give them superpowers.[26] The Man-Bat later accompanied Black Adam in his attack on the White House.[27]
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.
Powers and abilities
By taking his bat-gland formula, Kirk Langstrom can transform himself into a bat-like creature. By taking an antidote or if the bat-gland formula wears off, he can return to human form.
As the Man-Bat, his strength, agility and endurance are all enhanced to superhuman levels. Kirk possesses an extra set of digits that form leathery bat wings that allow him to fly, super-sensitive hearing, and sonar. He emits high-pitched sound waves and can hear the echoes they make when they bounce off nearby objects, enabling the Man-Bat to navigate perfectly in pitch black darkness.
If in the Man-Bat form for a prolonged time, he loses control over his bestial side and works purely on instinct, making him prone to harm friend and foe alike.
Other characters named Man-Bat
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 formula. Kirk gives in to Talia al Ghul's commands where she uses the Man-Bat formula on some generic members of the League of Assassins to turn them into the group's Man-Bat Commandos.[10]
In The New 52 (a reboot of the DC Comics universe), various Man-Bats have appeared under the control of Talia al Ghul in her plot to destroy Batman.[28] It is later explained that Talia al Ghul had an agent steal the serum from Langstrom's laboratory to use on her soldiers to create the Man-Bat Commandos.[20]
During the "Forever Evil" storyline, some Man-Bat Commandos were used to help the Crime Syndicate hunt down the Rogues. The 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 a solid wall of ice upon arriving in Mr. Freeze's territory.[29]
Abraham Langstrom
Back when Thomas and Martha were still alive, Kirk Langstrom had a father named Abraham whose company Patriarch Biopharmaceuticals competed with Wayne Enterprise. Years after the death of Thomas and Martha, Abraham continued his shady deals which involved exploiting his son's Man-Bat serum which he plans to make a profit on it. He soon became addicted to the upgraded serum. When he became Man-Bat, Abraham targeted the homeless people of Gotham City and draining them of his blood. This caused Batman to team up with Kirk Langstrom to fight Abraham.[30] Because the skin of Abraham's Man-Bat form was tough, Batman injected himself with the cure and tricked Abraham into drinking his blood enough to regress back to normal. Batman then handed Abraham over to the police. After evading incarceration by claiming that he had no knowledge on what his Man-Bat form did, Abraham returned to his company, though he is weary over the fact that Batman will catch him when he makes a mistake.[31]
Other versions
Countdown to Final Crisis
In Countdown to Final Crisis: The Search For Ray Palmer, an alternate version of the Man-Bat was shown. He is from Gotham by Gaslight (Earth-19), and has experimented with bats similar to his mainstream counterpart. He is later defeated by the Blue Beetle and Batman.
Flashpoint
In the alternate timeline of the Flashpoint event, the Man-Bat is killed by Miranda Shrieve, the granddaughter of Matthew Shrieve.[32] In a flashback, the Man-Bat was invited by Lt. Matthew Shrieve to be a new member of the Creature Commandos, but the Man-Bat then betrays him, killing his family.[33] It is revealed that the Man-Bat had been working with General Sam Lane, who is responsible for the deaths of Miranda's family.[34]
JLA: The Nail
In the Elseworlds story JLA: The Nail, a captured Man-Bat makes an appearance in Professor Hamilton's Cadmus Labs.[35]
Batman Beyond
In the Batman Beyond comic series set decades after Batman: The Animated Series, it is revealed that shortly after Batman cured Francine of the Man-Bat serum, she and Kirk started to live a peaceful life as they started studying sonics and had two children. However, Francine developed an aggressive form of Parkinson's and had a short life expectancy, leading Kirk to try and perfect the Man-Bat serum to save her life, but by the time he did it, it was too late. Following this, his children left him, angered that he did not spend as much time with her during her final days. Devastated by "losing" his family, Kirk turned to the serum, which has been perfected to the point where he is able to talk and control his actions, and had been living in secret as the Man-Bat ever since. Three years prior, he rescues a girl named Tey, who was a hostage of the Jokerz, and injects her with the Man-Bat serum, leading the two to fall in love. In the present, Kirk, now as a white-bearded Man-Bat, tries building his own cult of Man-Bats, plans to use Kanium to help his cult control themselves better in their Man-Bat forms and sets up a destructive weapon that concerns the police. Bruce tries to reason with Kirk, but it only results in Kirk viewing both of them as monsters and setting up his bomb to destroy the two of them. However, Batman rescues Bruce in time. The Man-Bat tells Bruce to use his second chance wisely as he detonates the bomb to kill himself.
Smallville Season Eleven
The Man-Bat appears in the Smallville comic Smallville Season Eleven. In Gotham City, the yellow rings of Parallax head to Arkham Asylum. There, Batman and Nightwing are doing their best to contain the newly powered inmates of Arkham, including the Man-Bat, who have already been transformed into Yellow Lanterns. Luckily, Superman arrives just in time to offer assistance to Batman and Nightwing. Superman is fighting with the Man-Bat and before taking him down, Superman says to the Man-Bat that, if there is more man than bat inside of him, then he takes no joy in this. Emil Hamilton succeeds into finding a way to reboot the rings, so when he does, all the Yellow Lanterns, including the Man-Bat, are released from the influence of fear and lose their powers, with the rings turning black. After their rings get rebooted and they lose their powers, the inmates of Arkham fall from the sky, unable to do anything to escape from their eventual death, but Superman manages to save them all. After Parallax's defeat, all the now-depowered criminals return to Arkham Asylum.
Injustice: Gods Among Us
In the Injustice: Gods Among Us prequel comic, the Man-Bat appears in the villain's exclusive bar World's End, attempting to enjoy a drink when Wonder Woman and the Flash arrive in their search for Mirror Master. In Year Five, the Man-Bat meets with Black Mask, the Bronze Tiger, the Mad Hatter, the Scarecrow, and Tweedledum and Tweedledee until their meeting is crashed by Damian Wayne. When the villains start to overwhelm Damian, Deadman arrives where he possesses the Bronze Tiger and knocks out the villains before calling for help.
Injustice 2
In the prequel comic to Injustice 2, the Man-Bat is shown to be a member of this universe's Suicide Squad. He is eventually murdered when Grodd usurps Solivar and Ra's al Ghul, who previously held custody of the Squad.[36]
In other media
Television
)
- Kirk Langstrom / Man-Bat appears in The Batman animated series, voiced by Peter MacNicol while the Man-Bat's vocal effects were provided by special sound effects. This version is an employee at Wayne Enterprises who conducted research on bats and was apparently afflicted with albinism. In the episode "The Man Who Would Be Bat", Bruce Wayne begins to cut off the funding for his project. Langstrom claims that he needs the project to cure his niece's deafness, but when Wayne discovers Langstrom was lying, he goes to the latter's office and learns of the scientist's obsession with Batman. When Langstrom arrives, he reveals that he wants to be feared like Batman and created a formula to help him achieve that. He drinks it, transforms into the Man-Bat, attacks Wayne, and escapes. Batman later confronts the Man-Bat in Gotham City's skies and brings him down, where he reverts back to Langstrom and Batman destroys one of the scientist's serum vials. However, Langstrom drinks another vial, transforms back into Man-Bat, and kidnaps GCPD Detective Ethan Bennett. Batman confronts Man-Bat once more before the latter turns back into Langstrom and is taken away to Arkham Asylum, where he attempts to recreate his serum. In the episode "Pets", the Penguin attempts to use a sonar device to gain control of a giant condor, unaware he has one that only works on bats. When he uses it, remnants of the Man-Bat serum in Langstrom's body cause him to transform into the Man-Bat and fly to the Penguin's side. While the Man-Bat proves to be the Penguin's loyal servant, Langstrom is furious at being used and threatens retaliation. Batman later intervenes to foil the Penguin's plans with his own sonar device, causing the Man-Bat to revert back to Langstrom, who is taken to Arkham alongside the Penguin. In the episode "Rumors", the vigilante Rumor captures Langstrom, among other supervillains. As of the episode "Attack of the Terrible Trio", Langstrom has renounced his Man-Bat identity and helps Batman develop an antidote for a mutagen that the Terrible Trio developed using his research.
- A race of Man-Bats appear in the Batman: The Brave and the Bold animated series episode "Last Bat on Earth!". They are highly-intelligent, anthropomorphic inhabitants of Kamandi's post-apocalyptic future. Batman travels to this future to stop Gorilla Grodd, who has taken command of an army of apes. When Batman goes to the Batcave with Kamandi and Dr. Canus, they encounter a colony of "Man-Bats" and defeat their leader to drive them off. Having gained respect for the dark knight, the Man-Bats later assist him and Kamandi in defeating Grodd.
- Kirk Langstrom / Man-Bat appears in the Beware the Batman animated series, voiced by Robin Atkin Downes. In the episode "Doppelgänger", Dr. Langstrom was working on a cure for diseases with bat DNA before Professor Pyg and Mister Toad raided his laboratory and forced him at gunpoint to take a corrupted version of his formula, which mutated him into a man/bat hybrid. Pyg and Toad used a drug-filled mechanical collar to control the Man-Bat and force him to rob chemicals so that they can recreate Dr. Langstrom's formula and turn more humans into human/beast hybrids. However, Batman and Katana free the Man-Bat, who helps them defeat Pyg and Toad before leaving to find a cure for his condition. In the episode "Alone", Katana recruits the Man-Bat, among others, to help Batman fight Deathstroke.
- The Man-Bat appears in the animated special Lego DC Comics: Batman Be-Leaguered, with vocal effects provided by Dee Bradley Baker.
- The Man-Bat appears in the Scooby-Doo and Guess Who? animated series episode "What a Night for a Dark Knight!" After he kidnaps Alfred Pennyworth, Batman and Mystery Inc. join forces to save him. At first, the former suspects Kirk Langstrom, but rules him out upon realizing he is incarcerated at Arkham Asylum. After rescuing Pennyworth, the heroes discover the Joker had dressed up as Man-Bat.
- Man-Bat makes cameo appearances in the DC Universe animated series Harley Quinn. In the episode "L.O.D.R.S.V.P.", he is established as a member of the Legion of Doom. In the episode "There's Nowhere to Go But Down", Man-Bat is selected to represent Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy in a kangaroo court held by Two-Face and Bane, though no one could understand what he was saying. In the episode "The Runaway Bridesmaid", Man-Bat attends Ivy and Kite Man's wedding and takes part in the fight between the attending supervillains and the GCPD.
DC Animated Universe
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- Kirk Langstrom / Man-Bat appeared in the DC Animated Universe, voiced by Marc Singer while Frank Welker provided vocal effects for Man-Bat:
- The character first appeared in Batman: The Animated Series. This version is a zoologist at the Gotham City Zoo who developed a formula that would allow humans to "evolve" by granting them bat-like traits. The concept of the Man-Bat serum started from Langstrom's father-in-law Dr. March, who helped to keep the Man-Bat's identity hidden from the authorities after Langstrom's transformation. Introduced in the episode "On Leather Wings", the Man-Bat commits a series of chemical thefts and is mistaken for Batman, who investigates the appearance of this human-bat hybrid creature. He eventually discovers that the Man-Bat is Langstrom and captures him after a battle across the Gotham City skyline before taking him to the Batcave to cure him. The cured Langstrom later appears in the episode "Tyger, Tyger", wherein he helps Batman analyze the chemical that Dr. Emile Dorian used for his experiments. In the episode "Terror in the Sky", Langstrom is believed to have taken the Man-Bat formula again when a new bat-like creature appears in Gotham. It is eventually revealed that Langstrom's wife Francine became "She-Bat" after she was accidentally exposed to a different Man-Bat serum created by her father, who was trying to alter Langstrom's work. In the end, Francine is cured by Batman and reunited with her husband.
- Kirk Langstrom makes a cameo appearance in The New Batman Adventures episode "Chemistry", in which he attends Bruce Wayne's wedding.
- In Batman Beyond, a new trend dubbed "splicing" involves fusing bestial and human DNA. The new Batman ends up captured by the Splicers' leader, Abel Cuvier, and is injected with vampire bat DNA, which transforms Batman into a Man-Bat. He is later returned to normal by Bruce Wayne.
- Kirk Langstrom is mentioned in Justice League Unlimited episode "The Doomsday Sanction". Professor Milo mentions that Langstrom's research has proven useful in experiments that involved splicing human and beast DNA for Project Cadmus. However, a mutated common warthog was stated to have destroyed his laboratory.
Film
Live-action
- The Man-Bat was considered to appear in one of the unproduced scripts for a third Joel Schumacher Batman film, the unmadeBatman Unchained, but was dropped in favor of the Scarecrow and Harley Quinn. The Man-Bat was also meant to appear in an alternate proposal, Lee Shapiro's Batman: DarKnight script, alongside the Scarecrow.[37] He was due to be played by Mark Linn-Baker or Martin Short. However, both projects never came to pass.
- A creature closely resembling the Man-Bat briefly appears in the live-action DC Extended Universe film Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Bruce Wayne suffers a nightmare wherein he visits his deceased parents' graves before being attacked by the creature.[38][39]
Animation
- An alternate universe version of the Man-Bat hybridized with Catwoman called She-Bat made a cameo appearance in Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths. This character is a lesser member of the Crime Syndicate.
- Kirk Langstrom and the Man-Bat Commandos appear in Son of Batman, with the former voiced by Xander Berkeley and the latter's vocal effects provided by Dee Bradley Baker. Langstrom works with Ra's al Ghul in an attempt to create a Man-Bat army to strengthen the League of Assassins. Deathstroke later captures Langstrom to continue the latter's work for the former, taking Langstrom's wife Francine and daughter Rebecca hostage as leverage. However, Batman and Damian Wayne rescue the Langstroms. While the mutagen was completed, Langstrom creates an antidote to stop the Man-Bat commandos.
- Kirk Langstrom appears in the Batman Unlimited series of films.
- Kirk Langstrom / Man-Bat appears in Batman Unlimited: Animal Instincts, voiced by Phil LaMarr. This version was working on a serum to help the deaf and blind, but accidentally turned himself into the Man-Bat. The Penguin used this to his advantage, giving Langstrom cures in exchange for the Man-Bat's help with crimes and Langstrom creating robotic beasts to bolster his "Animalitia". However, Red Robin manages to get Langstrom's mind to surface in the Man-Bat, allowing him to help defeat the Penguin and defend Gotham against the Midas meteor, burning out the formula and turning him back into Langstrom in the process.
- Kirk Langstrom appears in Batman Unlimited: Mechs vs. Mutants, voiced by Phil LaMarr. As of this film, he now works as a robotics expert for Bruce Wayne.
- An alternate universe version of Kirk Langstrom appears in Justice League: Gods and Monsters, voiced by Michael C. Hall. While in college, this version became a pseudo-vampire in an attempt to cure his cancer, with his best friend Will Magnus carrying out additional research to develop a separate cure for his transformation. Langstrom went on to become his universe's version of "Batman" and joined forces with Hernan Guerra / Superman and Bekka / Wonder Woman to form the Justice League.
- The Man-Bat appears in the direct-to-video film Lego DC Comics Super Heroes: Justice League: Attack of the Legion of Doom, with vocal effects provided again by Dee Bradley Baker. He is among the villains that audition for a spot on the Legion of Doom, only to eliminated by Lex Luthor.
- The Man-Bat makes an appearance in The Lego Batman Movie.
Video games
- The Man-Bat appears in the SNES version of The Adventures of Batman & Robin.
- Kirk Langstrom / Man-Bat appears in Batman: Arkham Knight, voiced by Loren Lester. Following an encounter on Gotham's Miagani Island, Batman begins investigating the Man-Bat. After catching up to him, Batman collects a blood sample and eventually learns of Langstrom. While investigating the scientist's lab, Batman learns of Langstrom's experiments in using vampire bat DNA to cure deafness and how his first attempt resulted in him transforming into the Man-Bat and accidentally killing his wife Francine. Batman synthesizes an antidote and administers it to Langstrom before taking him to the GCPD headquarters, where he is left crying over Francine's fate. If the player returns to Langstrom's lab after this, they will find Francine's body gone and a broken television screen with the words "forever my love" written on it in an unknown material. If the console or computer's date is changed to October 31 after capturing Langstrom, Batman will re-encounter the Man-Bat while free-roaming, but will not have the option to pursue him. If Batman returns to the GCPD headquarters after this, he will find two police officers looking into Langstrom's destroyed cell, commenting that he transformed into the Man-Bat again and escaped.
Lego DC series
- The Man-Bat appears as a boss and an unlockable playable character in Lego Batman: The Videogame, with vocal effects provided by Chris Edgerly.[40] In the Nintendo DS version, the Man-Bat is unlocked through the "Villain Hunt" mini-game. In the other versions, he can be purchased from the Batcomputer after being defeated in the story. Across all versions, he is non-playable in the villain-centered segment of the game. The Man-Bat appears as one of many villains broken out of Arkham Asylum and joins the Penguin's group. He attacks Batman and Robin to buy the Penguin and Catwoman enough time to carry out their plan. After defeating him, Batman and Robin wrap him up in his own wings, preventing him from escaping. The Man-Bat is later re-incarcerated at Arkham.
- The Man-Bat appears as an unlockable playable character in Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes, with vocal effects provided by Fred Tatasciore.
- The Man-Bat appears as a playable character in Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham, with his vocal effects provided by Liam O'Brien. He is unlocked after completing his side-quest that requires getting an ingredient needed to complete a formula.
- The Man-Bat appears as a downloadable playable character in Lego DC Super-Villains, via the "Batman: The Animated Series Level Pack" DLC.[41]
Web series
Kirk Langstrom as Batman appears in the Justice League: Gods and Monsters Chronicles episode "Twisted", voiced again by Michael C. Hall.
Miscellaneous
- The Man-Bat appears in issue #28 of the Super Friends comics.[42]
- The DCAU incarnation of Kirk Langstrom / Man-Bat appears in issue #21 of The Batman Adventures. He was forcibly transformed into the Man-Bat and recruited by Dr. Emile Dorian, who hoped to use his assistance to form a "House of Dorian". Additionally in another issue, Dr. Stefen Perry steals the Man-Bat serum from Langstrom and transforms into his own Man-Bat before was defeated by Batman and arrested by the GCPD.
- The Man-Bat appears in issue #12 of the All-New Batman: The Brave and the Bold comic series spin-off of the Batman: The Brave and the Bold]] animated series.
- In issue #4 of the comic book spin-off Beware the Batman, a new Man-Bat appears in the form of Tim Quan, an acquaintance of Barbara Gordon with a crush on her. He was mutated when he snuck into Kirk Langstrom's laboratory. Having become more unstable than Langstrom, Quan goes in a rampage and kidnaps Barbara. Batman teams up with Langstrom to find and cure Quan, at the expense of Langstrom's own cure.
See also
- List of Batman family enemies
References
- ^ Cowsill, Alan; Irvine, Alex; Korte, Steve; Manning, Matt; Wiacek, Win; Wilson, Sven (2016). The DC Comics Encyclopedia: The Definitive Guide to the Characters of the DC Universe. DK Publishing. p. 191. ISBN 978-1-4654-5357-0.
- ^ "25 Best Batman Villains". IGN. 1 May 2017. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
- ^ Schwartz, Julius, ed. (2000). Man of Two Worlds. Harper Paperbacks. p. 129. ISBN 978-0380810512.
- ^ McAvennie, Michael (2010). "1970s". In Dolan, Hannah (ed.). DC Comics Year By Year: A Visual Chronicle. Dorling Kindersley. p. 168. ISBN 978-0-7566-6742-9.
Thanks to his appearances in Detective Comics and Batman, Man-Bat's popularity soared to the point where writer Gerry Conway and artist Steve Ditko launched the [character] into his own series.
- ^ Rovin, Jeff (1987). The Encyclopedia of Supervillains. New York: Facts on File. pp. 203–204. ISBN 0-8160-1356-X.
- ^ The DC Comics Encyclopedia. Dorling Kindersley Limited. 2004. p. 194. ISBN 0-7566-0592-X.
- ^ Greenberger, Robert (2008). The Essential Batman Encyclopedia. Del Rey. pp. 247–248. ISBN 9780345501066.
- ^ Kronenberg, Michael (October 2019). "Fright Night: Batman and the Horror Genre". Back Issue. TwoMorrows Publishing (116): 15–22.
- ^ Infinite Crisis #7 (June 2006)
- ^ a b Batman #655 (September 2006)
- ^ Gotham Underground #1
- ^ Salvation Run #2 (February 2008)
- ^ Final Crisis #4
- ^ Battle for the Cowl: Man-Bat #1
- ^ Superman/Batman #66
- ^ Superman/Batman #67
- ^ Batgirl (vol. 3) #10-11 (July 2010-August 2010)
- ^ Red Robin #12 (July 2012)
- ^ Detective Comics #18 (May 2013)
- ^ a b Detective Comics #19 (June 2013)
- ^ Batman Inc. (vol. 2) #10 (June 2013)
- ^ Detective Comics (vol. 2) #21 (August 2013)
- ^ Forever Evil #1
- ^ Forever Evil: Arkham War #2
- ^ Batman: The Dark Knight (vol. 2) #28-29
- ^ Doomsday Clock #3 (January 2018). DC Comics.
- ^ Doomsday Clock #11. DC Comics.
- ^ Batman, Inc. (vol. 2) #1
- ^ Forever Evil: Rogues' Rebellion #3
- ^ Batman: The Dark Knight Vol. 2 #28. DC Comics.
- ^ Batman: The Dark Knight Vol. 2 #29. DC Comics.
- ^ Flashpoint: Frankenstein and the Creatures of the Unknown #1 (June 2011)
- ^ Flashpoint: Frankenstein and the Creatures of the Unknown #2 (July 2011)
- ^ Flashpoint: Frankenstein and the Creatures of the Unknown #3 (August 2011)
- ^ JLA: The Nail #3
- ^ Injustice 2 #1
- ^ *Ramey, Bill "Jett" (2005-07-28). "Interview: Lee Shapiro". Batman-on-Film. Archived from the original on 2008-09-25. Retrieved 2006-11-13.
- ^ McGloin, Matt (2017-06-05). "Batman Vs. Superman Bat Crypt Creature Concept Art & Figure Revealed". Retrieved 2018-01-26.
- ^ Holmes, Adam (2017-02-02). "This Unused Bat Creature From Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice Looks Terrifying". Cinema Blend. Retrieved 2018-01-26.
- ^ Game Informer features a two-page gallery of the many heroes and villains who appear in the game with a picture for each character and a descriptive paragraph. See "LEGO Batman: Character Gallery", Game Informer #186 (October 2008): 93.
- ^ Newton, Andrew (31 August 2018). "LEGO DC Super-Villains Season Pass details revealed". Flickering Myth.
- ^ "Super Friends #28 - (comic book issue)". Comic Vine. 2008-06-06. Retrieved 2010-12-29.
External links
- Man-Bat at Comic Vine