After Paul Dano's chilling performance as the Riddler in The Batman, fans are wondering which Batman villain will be portrayed next on the big screen. Of the many baddies that Batman has fought, few are more of an antithesis to him than Man-Bat. His name is literally Batman's name in reverse.
Introduced in 1970 in Detective Comics #400, Man-Bat has been a recurring threat to Batman appearing in many decades worth of comics, games, and even shows. As a result, Man-Bat has gone through many different story arcs and changes that have led to a litany of things that the casual fans might not know about him.
Man-Bat Forever
Typically, Man-Bat is a villain limited to the confines of the dark and grimy Gotham City. Rarely is he even spotted in any huge DC events, but he did have a role in the Blackest Night storyline.
However, the events of Blackest Night caused Kirk Langstrom to transform, and for a while, was unable to change back into his human form. A permanent Man-Bat didn't last, though it was a neat idea considering he could no longer be Kirk for his wife and children.
Part Of Supervillain Teams
During the Forever Evil story, Man-Bat ed a team of villains known as the Secret Society of Super-Villains where he worked with the likes of Scarecrow, Poison Ivy, Mr. Freeze, and more.
On the more anti-hero side, Man-Bat became a part of Injustice 2 prequel comics in which the Squad consisted of other monsters such as Killer Croc and Orca.
There Is A She-Bat
In the comics, Kirk Langstrom's wife is subjected to the same serum that transforms him into a villainous creature. Francine Langstrom transforms into the She-Bat and much like her husband, she loses herself to the creature's personality.
She was able to be cured for a period before an atomic blast triggered her to transform into a more heroic version of She-Bat. This idea of Francine becoming the She-Bat was utilized in Batman: The Animated Series via the episode "Terror in the Sky."
A Tragic Ending
Kirk and Francine were good people who tried their hardest to not only cure themselves but also use their Man-Bat curse to help people. They even raised kids of their own but as is the case with Batman villains, they don't get a happy ending.
In the Batman Beyond comics, Francine lived with an advanced form of Parkinson's disease. Kirk knew that transforming her into She-Bat would save her life but the creature's personality would take over. So, he let his wife away which earned him the resentment of his children.
Created An Army Of Man-Bats
Genetic power is something that comes with the burden of something like the Man-Bat. As a result, Talia al Ghul, one of Batman's best female villains in DC Comics, took advantage of Kirk Langstrom by holding Francine captive. She then forced him to create an army of Man-Bat operatives for the League of Assassins. Ultimately, Kirk Langstrom got help from Batman to free both him and Francine from Talia's clutches.
Fought His Own Father
Like father, like son. Kirk's father was Thomas Wayne's rival and a cruel man who never respected his son — as if Man-Bat wasn't already a tragic enough DC villain. Abraham Langstrom would even go as far as to steal Kirk's Man-Bat formula to modify it and turn himself into a Man-Bat.
Abraham used his new form to stalk and kill the homeless population of Gotham City. In his mind, they served no purpose in the city so they became his food. Obviously, Kirk and Batman did not approve of this, which led to the two working together to defeat Abraham.
Justice League Dark
At one point, the Kirk Langstrom and Man-Bat personas merged together to create a new anti-hero version of Man-Bat. He allowed himself to be taken prisoner to pay for his crimes of the past and became a model citizen of Blackgate.
This allowed him to a new version of Justice League Dark that was led by Wonder Woman. He was able to transform into Man-Bat to help with any threats and he was the team's science expert.
Can Transform Without The Serum
For many years, the only way for Kirk to trigger his transformation into Man-Bat was through the formula he created. However, that changed during the Batman: Battle for the Cowl storyline.
Doctor Phosphorus kidnapped Francine thus luring Kirk into a trap. But Kirk learned how to trigger the transformation himself. The formula was not a permanent part of Kirk's biology and he learned to access it; willing to do anything to save the woman he loves.
Change In Origin Stories
The New 52 changed many characters in of design and origins. Man-Bat was given an altered backstory where instead of a zoologist who tried to give humans the sonar sense of bats, Kirk Langstrom was a geneticist trying to cure his own deafness.
Kirk tried to use bat DNA as the means to not only cure himself but develop a way to help all deaf people on Earth. This is very similar to Michael Morbius from the Marvel universe and also like that character. Alas, the science goes wrong and transforms Kirk Langstrom into Man-Bat.
Became An Elseworld Batman
With the majority of Man-Bat incarnations, Kirk Langstrom transforms into a massive bat-like creature similar to how a man transforms into a werewolf. However, one Elseworld throws a twist on the idea where the formula transformed Kirk into the world's deadliest vampire.
This Elseworld first came about as the brainchild of the Batman: The Animated Series creatorsm who created Justice League: Gods and Monsters as both a movie, web series, and comic book. It showed a darker alternate universe where Superman is General Zod's child, Kirk Langstrom is a vampiric Batman, and Wonder Woman is from New Genesis.
