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
superheroBatman,[1] 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 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 and father Abraham.
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
Batman fighting the Man-Bat in the textless cover of Man-Bat (vol. 3) #3 (August 2006), art by
Mike Huddleston
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.[5] The extract works, but it has a horrible side effect: it transforms him into a monstrous human/bat hybrid creature.[6] 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.[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 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.
Infinite Crisis and beyond
Francine Langstrom as she appears in Batman and the Outsiders (vol. 2) #9 (September 2008), art by
Julian López
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 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.[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 LanternSolomon 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
The Man-Bat in Batman: The Dark Knight (vol. 2) #28 (April 2014), art by
Ethan Van Sciver
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 (vol. 2) #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. It was later revealed that
Emperor Penguin was the one who released the virus.[20] 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.[21]
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.[22] The back-up 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.[23]
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.[24] 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.[25] 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 (because no one would miss them) before being stopped by Batman, though he is able to plead temporary insanity to avoid going to prison.[26]
DC Rebirth
In the Watchmen sequel Doomsday Clock, which is part of DC Rebirth, 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.[27] The Man-Bat later accompanied
Black Adam in his attack on the White House.[28]
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
By taking his bat gland extract, 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, resiliency, speed, and agility are all augmented to inhuman levels. He possesses an extra set of digits in his leathery wings that allows Langstrom 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 Dr. Langstrom remains in the Man-Bat form for long periods of time, he looses control over his bestial side that works purely on instinct, plus making him prone to harm friend or foe alike.[29]
As Langstrom, he is a highly intelligent scientist in the fields of biochemistry and
zoology (particularly chiropterology).
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 demands 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]
During the "
Batman R.I.P." story line, Talia al Ghul sends the Man-Bat Commandos to destroy Jezebel Jet's airplane.[30]
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.[31] 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.[32]
Abraham Langstrom
Back when Thomas and Martha Wayne were still alive, Kirk Langstrom had a father named Abraham whose company, Patriarch Biopharmaceuticals, competed with Wayne Enterprises. Years after the death of Thomas and Martha, Abraham continued his shady deals, which involved exploiting his son's Man-Bat serum which he planned to profit from. He soon became addicted to the upgraded serum. When he became a Man-Bat, Abraham targeted the homeless people of Gotham City, draining them of their blood. This caused Batman to team up with Kirk Langstrom to fight Abraham.[33] 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 transform 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 was wary of the fact that Batman may catch him if he ever makes a mistake.[34]
In the alternate timeline of the Flashpoint event, the Man-Bat is killed by Miranda Shrieve, the granddaughter of
Matthew Shrieve.[35] In a flashback, the Man-Bat is invited by Lt. Matthew Shrieve to be a new member of the
Creature Commandos and then betrayed. Miranda also kills his entire family.[36] It is revealed that the Man-Bat was working with General
Sam Lane, who is responsible for the deaths of Miranda's family.[37]
The Man-Bat as depicted in Batman: The Animated SeriesThe Man-Bat as depicted in The Batman
Kirk Langstrom / the Man-Bat appears in series set in the
DC Animated Universe (DCAU), voiced by
Marc Singer while Man-Bat's vocal effects were provided by special sound effects.[39]
First appearing 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, which originated from his father-in-law, Dr. March, who helps keep Langstrom's identity hidden from the authorities. In the episode "
On Leather Wings", the Man-Bat commits a series of chemical thefts and is mistaken for Batman, who proceeds to investigate him. 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", helping Batman analyze a 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. However, it is eventually revealed that his wife
Francine became "She-Bat" after she was accidentally exposed to a different Man-Bat serum created by Dr. March. 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", attending 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 injected with
vampire bat DNA, transforming him into a Man-Bat. Bruce Wayne later cures him.
Kirk Langstrom / the Man-Bat appears in The Batman, voiced by
Peter MacNicol while special sound effects provide the Man-Bat's vocal effects.[39] This version is an employee at
Wayne Enterprises who conducted research on bats and appears to have
albinism. His Man-Bat transformation can also spit sticky slime to trap his enemies. 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 to Langstrom and Batman destroys one of the scientist's serum vials. However, Langstrom drinks another vial, transforms back into the Man-Bat, and kidnaps
GCPD Detective Ethan Bennett. Batman confronts the Man-Bat once more before the latter turns back into Langstrom and is taken 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 foils the Penguin's plans and cures Langstrom, who is taken to Arkham alongside the Penguin. 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 episode "Last Bat on Earth!". They are intelligent, anthropomorphic inhabitants of
Kamandi's post-apocalyptic future who encounter Batman when he travels to the future to stop
Gorilla Grodd and his ape army. They are initially hostile, but later gain respect for Batman and assist him and Kamandi in defeating Grodd.
The Man-Bat appears in the Scooby-Doo and Guess Who? episode "What a Night for a Dark Knight!". After the Man-Bat 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 the Man-Bat as part of a plot to get the password to Bruce Wayne's bank accounts.
The Man-Bat makes cameo appearances in Harley Quinn as a member of the
Legion of Doom in the first and fourth seasons.
Film
The Man-Bat was considered to appear in an unproduced script for the unmade Batman 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[40] and due to be played by
Mark Linn-Baker or
Martin Short. However, both projects never came to pass.
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.[39] Langstrom works with
Ra's al Ghul in an attempt to create a Man-Bat army to strengthen the
League of Assassins. To ensure his complicity,
Deathstroke captures Langstrom and takes his wife
Francine and daughter Rebecca hostage as leverage. However, Batman and
Damian Wayne rescue the Langstroms. While the mutagen is completed, Langstrom creates an antidote to stop the Man-Bat Commandos.
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 "Animilitia". 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.
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 Batman and joined forces with
Hernan Guerra / Superman and
Bekka / Wonder Woman to form their universe's
Justice League.
An alternate universe version of Kirk Langstrom appears in Batman: The Doom That Came to Gotham, voiced by
Jeffrey Combs.[39] This version is a professor who helped found Gotham centuries prior, gaining longevity through dark magic. In the present, Langstrom is killed by an unknown assailant, leaving Batman to investigate his work and its ties to
Ra's al Ghul's cult.
The Man-Bat appears as a
boss and unlockable playable character in Lego Batman: The Videogame, with vocal effects provided by
Chris Edgerly.[41] In the
Nintendo DS version, he is unlocked through the "Villain Hunt" mini-game, while in all other versions, he can be unlocked from the Batcomputer after being defeated in the story mode.
Kirk Langstrom / the Man-Bat appears in Batman: Arkham Knight, voiced by
Loren Lester. Following an encounter on
Gotham City's Miagani Island during the story mode, a side mission sees Batman 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
Gotham City Police Department's 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 substance. 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.
Kirk Langstrom and the Man-Bat Commandos appear in Gotham Knights.[citation needed] The former was a member of the
Court of Owls who secretly conducted work with their enemies, the
League of Shadows. After the Court discovered Langstrom's treachery and killed him for it, the League steals his research and combine it with Lazarus Pit chemicals to create an army of mutant Man-Bats, which are defeated by the Gotham Knights.
The
DCAU incarnation of Kirk Langstrom / Man-Bat appears in The Batman Adventures #21. He is forcibly transformed into the Man-Bat and recruited by Dr.
Emile Dorian, who hopes 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 he is defeated by Batman and arrested by the
Gotham City Police Department.
The DCAU incarnations of Kirk and Francine Langstrom appear in the Batman Beyond tie-in comic. In flashbacks, the Langstroms lived peacefully, studying sonics and going on to have two children. However, Francine developed an aggressive form of
Parkinson's disease and was given a short life expectancy. In response, Kirk attempted to perfect the Man-Bat serum to save her, but she died before he could do so. Following this, his children left him, angered that he did not spend time with her during her final days. Devastated, Kirk turned to his perfected serum, became the Man-Bat once more, and lived in secret. During this period of time, he rescued a girl named Tey from the Jokerz, injected her with the serum, and fell in love with her. In the present, Kirk builds a cult of Man-Bats with the intention of using Kanium to help him and his cult control themselves more effectively. Bruce Wayne tries to reason with him, but Kirk views them both as monsters and attempts to use a bomb to kill themselves. After the new
Batman rescues them, Kirk tells Wayne to use his second chance wisely before killing himself with his bomb.
The Man-Bat appears in Smallville (season 11) as an inmate of Arkham Asylum. After acquiring a yellow ring of
Parallax and becoming a
Yellow Lantern, Man-Bat and other empowered inmates battle Batman and
Nightwing until
Superman intervenes long enough for
Emil Hamilton to reboot the rings and depower the inmates. Following Parallax's defeat, the inmates are returned to Arkham.
A new incarnation of the Man-Bat appears in issue #4 of the Beware the Batman tie-in comic book. Tim Quan, an acquaintance of
Barbara Gordon's, sneaks into Kirk Langstrom's laboratory and ends up mutating into a Man-Bat. Having become more unstable than Langstrom, Quan goes on a rampage and kidnaps Barbara. Batman teams up with Langstrom to find and cure Quan, at the expense of Langstrom's own cure.
^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.
ISBN978-1-4654-5357-0.
^McAvennie, Michael (2010). "1970s". In Dolan, Hannah (ed.). DC Comics Year By Year: A Visual Chronicle.
Dorling Kindersley. p. 168.
ISBN978-0-7566-6742-9. 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.
^
abcdefgh"Man-Bat / Dr. Kirk Langstrom Voices (Batman)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved January 1, 2024. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its opening and/or closing credits and/or other reliable sources of information.
^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.
Publications are listed alphabetically by published titles. Storylines are listed in publication order. Compiled without respect for canon or "current" continuity.