Man-Bat facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Man-Bat |
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The Man-Bat from Who's Who in the DC Universe #12,
art by Michael Golden |
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| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | Detective Comics #400 (June 1970) |
| Created by | Frank Robbins (writer) Neal Adams (artist) Julius Schwartz (concept) |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Robert Kirkland "Kirk" Langstrom |
| Species | Metahuman |
| Team affiliations |
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| Partnerships | Khalid Nassour |
| Notable aliases | Dr. Kirk Langstrom |
| Abilities | (As Langstrom):
(As the Man-Bat):
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Man-Bat (Robert Kirkland "Kirk" Langstrom) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Introduced in Detective Comics #400 (June 1970) 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, but upon testing it on himself, he transformed into an anthropomorphic feral half-bat hybrid, lacking sentience 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 and father Abraham.
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 IGN's 16th-best Batman villain.
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. 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 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 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 (vol. 2) miniseries by Chuck Dixon.
Film
- 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.
- Kirk Langstrom / the Man-Bat appears in the Batman Unlimited series of films, voiced by Phil LaMarr.
- He first appears in Batman Unlimited: Animal Instincts. Langstrom was working on a serum to help the deaf and blind, but accidentally turns himself into the Man-Bat. The Penguin uses this to his advantage, giving Langstrom cures in exchange for the Man-Bat's help with crimes and Langstrom creating robotic beasts to bolster the Penguin's "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.
- Langstrom returns in Batman Unlimited: Mechs vs. Mutants. As of this film, he now works as a robotics expert for Bruce Wayne.
- The Man-Bat appears in Lego DC Comics Super Heroes: Justice League: Attack of the Legion of Doom, with his 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 a non-speaking cameo appearance in The Lego Batman Movie.
See also
In Spanish: Man-Bat para niños
- List of Batman family enemies
Images for kids
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Batman fighting Man-Bat in the textless cover of Man-Bat (vol. 3) #3 (August 2006). Art by Mike Huddleston.
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Francine Langstrom as she appears in Batman and the Outsiders (vol. 2) #9 (September 2008). Art by Julian López.
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The Man-Bat in Batman: The Dark Knight (vol. 2) #28 (April 2014). Art by Ethan Van Sciver.
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The Man-Bat in The Batman.
