Man-Bat
| Man-Bat | |
|---|---|
Cover to Man-Bat (vol. 3) #3 (August 2006)
Art by Mike Huddleston |
|
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | Detective Comics #400 (June 1970) |
| Created by |
Frank Robbins Neal Adams Julius Schwartz |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Robert Kirkland Langstrom |
| Species | Human |
| Place of origin | New Earth |
| Team affiliations | Secret Society of Super Villains |
| Notable aliases | Kirk Langstrom |
| Abilities | Can transform himself into his half-human/half-bat form, granting him superhuman strength, claws, flight, and echolocation Sound Manipulation |
| Man-Bat | |
| Series publication information | |
| Schedule | Monthly |
| Format |
(vol. 1) Ongoing (vol. 2) Limited series (vol. 3) Limited series |
| Genre | |
| Publication date |
(vol. 1) January – March 1975 (vol. 2) February – April 1996 (vol. 3) June – October 2006 |
| Number of issues |
(vol. 1) 2 (vol. 2) 3 (vol. 3) 5 |
| Creative team | |
| Writer(s) |
(vol. 1) Gerry Conway, Martin Pasko (vol. 2) Chuck Dixon (vol. 3) Bruce Jones |
| Artist(s) |
(vol. 1) Steve Ditko (vol. 2) Henry Flint (vol. 3) Mike Huddleston |
| Colorist(s) |
(vol. 2) Eduardo Barreto (vol. 3) Lee Loughridge |
Man-Bat (Robert Langstrom) is a fictional character, a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics.
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. Man-Bat was the star of his own eponymous series in 1975–1976, which lasted two issues before being cancelled.
Dr. Kirk Langstrom, a zoologist who specialized in the study of chiropterology, developed an extract intended to give humans a bat's sonar sense. He tested the formula on himself because he was becoming deaf. The extract worked, but it had a horrible side effect: it transformed him into a hideous man-sized bat. The serum also took away his intelligence, so he went on a mad rampage until Batman found a way to reverse the effects.
Later, Langstrom takes the concoction again, and Man-Bat returns. He also coaxes his wife, Francine Langstrom, into drinking the serum, and she goes through the same transformation, becoming She-Bat. Together, they terrorize Gotham City until Batman can once again restore them.
On some occasions, Langstrom takes the serum and retains enough intelligence 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 Man-Bat to protect him from Kryptonite radiation that had reached Earth following the explosion of Krypton. Man-Bat calms the maddened Superman and then summons Hawkman, who helps Superman overcome the radiation.
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Wikipedia