Man-Bat

History

Origin

Kirk Langstrom was a dedicated geneticist interested in extracting and isolating traits from one species and transferring them to another; however, he was so obsessed with his work he started to lose his wife and became a mockery of the field. He was hoping to use the enhanced hearing of bats to overcome his deafness. When he made a breakthrough he requested more funding but was denied. This struck him with overwhelming grief that made him lash out at his fiancee, Francine, and climaxed in him testing the experimental serum on himself. The serum succeeded and returned his hearing to him. He quickly makes amends with Francine, but Kirk's hearing has become superhuman and then it happens, he starts mutating into a man/bat hybrid. His mind is overcome by instincts and he is plagued by frequent blackouts. Kirk's transformation completes when he tries to commit suicide, and being complete for the first time, he flies away saving himself from death. Man-Bat crosses paths with Batman, but they do not get a chance to interact. Later Man-Bat finds himself returning to the same place as many of the other bats, the Batcave. Alfred discovers him when he is attacked, luckily Batman was just coming home and managed to subdue the creature and bound it down. After examination, Batman discovers that this Man-Bat is in fact Kirk Langstrom. Batman returns Kirk to Francine and she reveals that, using Kirk's notes, she has formulated a possible cure. When Kirk awakens he escapes but Francine manages to inject the cure and Kirk reverts.

Chuck Dixon

Over the course of time Kirk became more bat and less man, he became an animal only going by instinct. Eventually he returned to Gotham because of a mysterious need to see Francine. When he arrived there were murders being executed by a "Flying Man". When he managed to finally see Francine she denied him and his spirit was crushed. His last link to the human world was gone and now he was wanted for the "Flying Man Murders". Two vigilante cops managed to clip him when he was flying and he was knocked out. Killer Croc found him and brought him to the sewers and nursed him back to health. When he emerged he decided he needed to see Francine again even if she couldn't stand him. When he got there the real flying man was trying to kill Francine. It was revealed that Kirk and Francine were members of the "Secret Genetics Brotherhood". They were hoping to use Kirk and Francine's studies in genetic manipulation to make a human being without consciousness. They were horrorfied at the idea and left the brotherhood, but it turned out they stole their research and used it to make the monster that became the flying man. Kirk managed to defeat the beast and left Gotham once again. Francine discovered the son she had who almost died managed to survive but as the same kind of beast as Kirk.

Batman & Son

Gotham Underground, Salvation Run and Final Crisis

Man-Bat was captured by the Suicide Squad in Gotham Underground. He was then sent to planet Salvation. He was later seen as a Justifier.

Battle for the Cowl

During a Battle for the Cowl one-shot, Man-Bat #1, Kirk Langstrom's wife is kidnapped by Dr. Phosphorus. Dr. Phosphorus knocks Dr. Langstrom unconscious and ties him up, using his wife's capture to incite rage, and to save his wife Langstrom transforms into the Man-Bat without using his serum, marking some sort of physiological change in Kirk.

Elseworlds

Batman is quickly called in by the government in hopes of finding the stolen material and adverting disaster. He finds the underground sanctuary, and after killing Man-Bat's child Virgil (a vampiric genetic trial gone wrong), he is subdued by Man-Bat himself and enters into a debate regarding the material and its would be effects on the world.

After escaping from the cave and trying to kill the swarm of locusts before dawn (when the warmth would fully awaken the locusts and there would be no way of stopping their advance), Batman and Marilyn have to accept the certainty that they are witnessing the end of man. To both of their surprise, Man-Bat uses a cloud of bats that he has a mind link with to consume the locusts and end their threat.

POWERS AND ABILITIES