Batman
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Real Identity: Kirk Langstrom
Affiliations: Gotham University and Justice League
Appearances (Movie): Justice League: Gods and Monsters
Appearances (Chronicles): Twisted
Appearances (Comics): Hunger, Genesis Part One, Part Two, and Part Three
Powers/Skills: Vampirism, Knowledge of Sciences and Technologies, Unarmed Combat, and Enhanced Physical Attributes
Voiced By: Michael C. Hall
Kirk Langstrom was born and raised in Ellis, a town in Nebraska. A boy prodigy, Langstrom failed to fit in and soon became an outsider. He won awards and received a scholarship to attend Gotham University. Despite this, Langstrom's parents turned their back on him. His one friend in Ellis was his first girlfriend, Francine Lee. At Gotham University, Langstrom studied with Dr. Lex Luthor for three years. While living in Gotham City, Langstrom was diagnosed with lymphatic cancer. As a man of science, he refused to give in and sought to beat it. He tried to cure himself of the cancer with a compound named Bat-Venom. It became his project at the University. On graduation day, Langstrom left to finish his lab work amid a flimsy promise to go to a party that night with his friends Will Magnus and Tina. That night, Magnus and Tina found Langstrom asleep in a lab and woke him up. Langstrom revealed he thought he was getting close to perfecting his Bat Venom. The coefficient on the blood coagulants were almost matching.
Langstrom wanted to stay and keep working but Tina convinced him to go the party for her. Tina, the designated driver, took Magnus and Langstrom back to their apartment. He noticed Magnus brought his project home, nanites constructing a ship in a bottle. Langstrom got an idea and asked if the nanites could be applied to organics. He wanted Magnus to program the nanites to acts as agents in the Bat Venom and stabilize it. He suddenly collapsed. After being taken to a hospital, Langstrom was scolded by Tina for not admitting to how far his cancer had come. Magnus looked through Langstrom's research and agreed to try and help. Five days later, one of the lab mice survived the trials. The mouse's erythrocyte count was still up and its agglutination was still normal. Magnus wanted to run another rest but Langstrom was cognizant of the time he had left. Langstrom held the syringe to his arm but couldn't go through with it. Magnus took it and injected Langstrom for him. In a feverish state, Langstrom was taken to his bedroom by Tina.
The Bat Venom was a success but Langstrom was turned into a pseudo-vampire as a result. He tore up his room then jumped out the window. Staggering through Gotham, Langstrom was stopped by two criminals. Langstrom suddenly had super strength, agility, and speed. He threw one in a dumpster and dodged bullets before tackling the second to the ground. Overcome by the sight of blood, Langstrom bit into him. Langstrom saw his reflection in broken glass and saw what he became. Without regular consumption of blood, the cancer would return. Gotham City looked different to him. Darker, more twisted and radiant with evil. The first person Langstrom completely fed on was an abusive drunk named Joseph. To his astonishment, Langstrom was stabbed in back with a kitchen knife by Joseph's wife. He saw she somehow loved him, maybe even hoped she could redeem him.
Langstrom returned to Ellis to do some soul searching. Langstrom was rejected by his parents. He went to the town bar, Swifty's, and ended up talking to Francine. Langstrom tried to apologize for not keeping in touch but was interrupted by Francine's wife and one of his childhood tormentors, Harv. Langstrom tried to leave but Harv insisted he stay have fun like the old days. Langstrom snapped and threw him through the front glass window. He returned to Gotham believing he was too dangerous and unpredictable to be around people and opted to lock himself away in his makeshift laboratory in order to burn out his bloodlust. However, he began to hear a voice that urged to embrace the fact he was now a creature of the night. Langstrom donned a ski mask and gloves and let his hunger lead him to the darkest corners of Gotham City. He preyed on criminals and told himself he was doing the world a favor. Rumors about him spread and grew into myth and the news began covering a vampire killer they named Batman. Langstrom approved of the name.
Batman continued to kill and feed on criminals. Three in one week. Seven in the Southside. He was credited with scaring the syndicate out of Crime Alley. Batman believed he was serving the greater good but a part of him doubted his crusade as an excuse to let out the monster inside him. Batman infiltrated a building where all of Gotham's crime families were set to meet. His target was the head crime lord, Lew Moxon - who evaded arrest for years and lived above the law. Moxon admitted he was impressed with Batman's abilities and tried to hire him. Instead, Batman killed his second in command Joe Chill then Moxon. As Langstrom, he attended Moxon's funeral with the intent to study the criminal associates who came. Instead, he became fixated on the genuine anguish and grief from Moxon's wife Angela and son Jeremy. He felt ashamed and became obsessed with figuring out how they could love such a monster. He stalked Jeremy Moxon for weeks and concluded he was a compassionate and decent man, the complete opposite of his father.
At a gallery, Langstrom approached Moxon and commented on Vincent Van Gogh's inner demons. The two struck up a friendship and Batman's lonliness subsided. He caged the monster inside him and began robbing blood banks instead of feeding on people. Weeks later, Langstrom confessed his vampiric condition to Moxon. To his surprise, Moxon accepted him with genuine compassion and the two began work on a cure. Langstrom began to hope again but felt guilt for not admitting to killing Moxon's father. Jeremy Moxon and Kirk Langstrom found the former's mother murdered in the Moxon home. Moxon admitted there was a rumor his father kept a detailed record of all his criminal activities and associates. His mother's death was a clear message. Langstrom promised to send a message back. For weeks, Batman tore through the criminal underworld and sorted through rumors, half-truths, deceptions and fabrications. In time, he learned there were two crime lords fighting each other to take over Lew Moxon's place. One was a mystery while the other called himself "The Sovereign."
Batman stormed Sovereign's hideout and was shocked to discover he was an undead Joe Chill. Batman shot at Chill but the bullets were ineffectual. Chill had a genetic disorder since birth that somehow allowed him to absorb Batman's antibodies and after several weeks, he rose from his grave in a new, more powerful state. Chill vowed to feed on Batman then take out Jeremy Moxon. Batman mustered his strength and used an axe to chop him to death. For weeks, Batman studied Chill's body and discovered he was a possible key to a cure. However, he abandoned his goal for a cure when he found out Jeremy Moxon was the other crime lord fighting for control of Gotham. He confronted Moxon but Moxon admitted all along he knew Batman killed his father and didn't care. Moxon believed the two of them could accomplish so much and were kindred. Batman killed Moxon.
In the middle of one fateful night, while on the run and pursued by authorities, Batman was at the docks with a rat in his mouth when he met Superman for the first time. From then on, they were friends. Batman came to believe Superman saved him and helped put him back together after life broke him apart. Reports of Batman remained vague and inaccurate. No one was sure who or what he or it was. The only thing concrete was the trail of dead bodies drained of blood left in his wake. Lois Lane believed behind that hero's mask was just another monster. Lex Luthor took an interest in the Batman. He combed through the hyperbolic reports, the blurry cellphone videoes, and surveillance tapes. Luthor concluded Batman fashioned himself into something resembling a hero but was motivated only by raw hunger and not noble ideals.
Some time later, Batman linked the kidnapping of eight year old Anna Hernandez to Adrian Jacobs. He freed the girl then lay in wait for Jacobs. Batman dodged Jacobs' gunfire and broke his wrist then fed on him. Batman returned to Hernandez to her bedroom and watched the reunion with her mother from a roof nearby. Some time later, Batman struggled to go another day without killing someone. Superman appeared to him and tried to offer reassurance. Batman did not like being mocked and lunged at him. Superman reminded him they both had hungers and both walked a tight rope. Batman gathered himself and apologized. Superman gave him a vial of blood then asked what he knew about Jackson Alpert. Batman recalled Alpert was a constant topic at Gotham University when he attended.
Batman wondered if Alpert could cure him then realized Superman was the one thinking about going through with the upgrade process and spoke directly to the point. Batman pointed out Superman was drawn to the Forever People, others on the same level as he, but they were different. They weren't raised by poor, decent and humble people. Superman decided he needed to find out more. Batman looked into Alpert and made a rare departure from Gotham. After sightings in six cities, Batman went to San Francisco and found a man named Howard Barrison. He believed Barrison was a former hippie and member of the Hairies. Barrison feigned ignorance on the matter so Batman dropped him. Batman caught him and demanded the truth or his throat would be ripped out. Batman composed himself, apologized, and asked Barrison for everything he knew about Jackson Alpert and Doctor Psycho, another former Hairie. Batman verified Alpert and Psycho were the same person.
Batman returned home and infiltrated Gotham University, bypassing security systems, to meet with Dr. Luthor. Luthor admitted to following Batman's exploits but knew behind that hero's mask was raw hunger. Batman insisted he was no monster, but just a man and revealed his secret identity. Luthor dashed the sentiment aside and didn't remember who Langstrom was. Batman asked Luthor for help in stopping Alpert and the Forever People but Luthor didn't believe his claims and thought he, Superman, and Wonder Woman were bigger threats. He tasered Batman with his modified walking cane then continued to imagine the trio as monsters capable of devouring humanity. Luthor offered Batman to join him and work on a cure but he already left. Batman made his way to Switzerland and attempted to sneak into the Eternity Institute. He was stopped by security drones. They deemed he had no clearance and gave him five seconds to vacate. Batman was electrocuted into submission. They scanned him and determined he was neutralized then left.
Since the drones were programmed for normal humans, Batman was able to fool the drones and entered the facility. He hid in a section of the complex and hacked the computers for information. Batman eventually revealed himself to Wonder Woman. A few days later, when Superman recovered some of his strength, Wonder Woman took him to see Batman. He shared what he put together about Doctor Psycho. Wonder Woman corroborated his findings from her experience with him in the late 1960s. They were attacked by Alpert's Never People and imprisoned in containment chambers and remained unconscious for days. Alpert took DNA from Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman, incorporated it into his formula, and upgraded himself. Saved by a Forever named Fastback, they raced to stop the Forever People before they moved to take over the world. Using Psycho's research, Batman quickly came up with an unstable antidote to the Forever Formula. He coated his fangs and Batarangs. Just as Bear defeated Superman in Mumbai, Batman leaped atop him from behind and bit his neck. Bear lost his powers and fell into a coma.
Superman and Batman flew up to Bear's citadel and came to Wonder Woman's aid. Batman tossed out his Batarangs and neutralized the remaining Forevers. The Forevers were taken back to the Eternity Institute and placed in chambers for monitoring. Luthor issued a warning to the heroes and implored them to take their own advice and leave Earth. Batman warned Luthor in return. As the heroes departed, Batman told the others to try and see things from Luthor's perspective. Superman reminded him they saved the world and Psycho's body was missing. Suddenly, Alpert emerged from the mountain in his newly evolved form and renamed himself Imperiex. Batman and the others were forced to become extensions of Imperiex's will and assaulted Zurich. After being freed and teleported to Pripyat, Batman pointed out the obvious but Imperiex arose and attacked them. Despite his refusal, Batman took the injured Wonder Woman a safe distance to recover while Superman fought Imperiex alone.
Batman tried to snap her out of shock over her Mother Box's death at the hands of Imperiex. She realized the connection to Imperiex was still there among them and they could use it and the last shard of the Mother Box to defeat him. Batman returned to the battlefield and was mocked by Imperiex as the weakest of the three. Batman plunged the Mother Box shard repeatedly into his head. Acting as "psychic fangs," the fragment allowed Batman to attack Imperiex from within and drain his god-energy. Not only was the shard's power waning quickly, Batman also ran the risk of Imperiex's psyche devouring his mind and he would be lost inside Imperiex forever. Luckily, Wonder Woman rejoined the fight and pummeled Imperiex enough that he released his psychic grip on Batman. Superman joined in and Batman dug deeper. The shard then channeled their minds and fused their will into Wonder Woman's sword. Together, they gripped the sword and plunged stabbed Imperiex in the chest. They invaded his psyche and reversed his evolution.
Imperiex was changed back into elderly Jackson Alpert. Before he could turn back, Alpert was executed and destroyed by Wonder Woman and Superman. They were surrounded by three advanced aircraft and met President Waller, Dr. Luthor, and Colonel Trevor. Batman understood President Waller's point about their methods and confessed he thought they should be locked away at the bottom of the Cheyenne Mountain Complex. Superman disagreed but Waller showed a report from Lois Lane talking about her hero and late father Sam Lane, who was killed in the Mumbai incident. Waller proposed they become a government task force later known as the Justice League. Looking down at the protestors outside the Tower of Justice, Batman admitted he was worried about Waller and Luthor. Superman told him he worried too much and the government had a lot to learn if they thought they could control them.
Batman entered a Gotham warehouse used by the serial killer Harlequin as a hideout. After observing her handiwork, a refridgerator full of body parts and heads, Batman came upon three over-sized jack-in-the-boxes. One contained a dead man turned into a jack with his lower body removed. Batman found a blonde woman, still alive, tied up in another box. Harlequin attacked them with her mallet. While the woman ran out the warehouse, Batman went further in and clutched the ceiling of a hall filled with cracked mirrors. Harlequin caught up and the fight continued. Batman punched her through one of the mirrors and revealed an entrance into her inner sanctum populated with her "family" - a dead man, woman, boy, and eldery woman with expressions stapled in place, stitched up, and festering with flies. Harlequin came at Batman with a chainsaw. He dodged her attacks and tossed her onto a television set then tricked her into swinging into a concrete pillar. The chainsaw came apart and wounded Harlequin. She surrendered and requested to be taken to jail. Batman had no intention of doing so, bit Harlequin's neck, and fed on her blood.
Batman joined Superman and Batman on a raid on terrorists occupying a bunker under the Kasnian embassy in Metropolis. Batman killed several of the men such as breaking necks and punching through chests but he had a more difficult time with the terrorist known as Blockbuster. Unable to hurt him with punches or kicks, Batman was caught in a bear hug. He sank his fangs into Blockbuster's neck and fed. Blockbuster tried slamming him into a wall but it was too late. Blockbuster was weak from the blood loss and fell over. Steve Trevor showed up when the battle was over and read the League the riot act. Batman pointed out they weren't police so the bunker wasn't off-limits to them. Back at the Tower, at Superman's behest, Batman revealed the Justice League had a 22% approval rating domestically and 29% worldwide. Superman noted revolutions were built on less and thought briefly about taking over the world. Batman returned to his home near Gotham City that night. While making a batch of plasma, he received a call from Magnus.
Magnus asked him if the League could look into the disappearance of Ray Palmer, an old classmate, upstate a couple days ago. After contemplaing jurisdiction, Batman promised to check into it. The next day, Batman recalled Superman and Wonder Woman to the Tower. He presented them with reports on the recent murders of three scientists - Victor Fries, Ray Palmer, and Silas Stone. Superman realized someone was framing the Justice League for these murders. Batman noted all three worked together at one time or another on government projects. Since Stone was a visiting professor at Gotham University, Batman elected to sneak into his office in the Physics Department. While looking through Stone's emails, Batman noticed one where all three of the scientists were CC'ed along with Magnus. A Project Fair Play. Batman copied Stone's files then noticed an old graduation photo he was in and remembered his graduation day. A janitor approached the office. Batman removed his flash drive and went out the window. After the janitor turned her back, Batman leaped off the window sill and flew off.
Batman went to Magnus' home and overheard an argument between Magnus and another scientist, Karen Beecher, who refused to be killed by the League next. After Beecher left, Magnus realized Batman was waiting outside. Batman asked Magnus if he was keeping anything to himself. When Magnus reiterated non disclosure agreements, Batman asked about Project Fair Play. Magnus stopped and asked how he heard of it. Batman explained the email but Magnus denied it was anything he had to worry about. Batman stepped outside concerned and was approached by Tina. She admitted he was always too clever for his own good. Batman promised he wouldn't let anything happen to her or Magnus then left. With the implication of the League's involvement in the murders hitting the news thanks to Lois Lane, Batman did not return to the Tower and instead went to Beecher's country mansion to eavesdrop on a meeting of scientists who worked on Fair Play. They contemplated on what to do next before they were killed next. The real killers soon arrived, three killer robots.
Batman engaged the Batdroid but was thrown through a window. The robots slew several scientists. After the Batdroid tore Pat Dugan in two, Batman tackled and threw it into the fireplace then kicked the Superdroid. He raced to save Tina from the Wonderdroid but was punched by the Superdroid. He watched in horror as Tina was stabbed through with a sword then Magnus was incinerated. Wonder Woman and Superman came to Batman's aid but it was too late. Superman heard a faint heartbeat. Magnus was barely alive... and a witness to their innocence. They took Magnus back to the Tower and speculated on the who the robots were. Batman didn't think they were from New Genesis since the government was trying to duplicate the Boom Tube ever since they learned about it from Wonder Woman's exploits. No closer to solving the issue of who framed them, Batman suggested Superman go see Dr. Luthor on his space ship. However, as soon as Superman left, the Superdroid blew the ship up. President Waller authorized Trevor to take the League down.
As Trevor's forces surrounded the Tower, Batman realized it was 10 years since he and Superman first met. After Superman and Wonder Woman went outside to 'talk' to Trevor, Batman raised the shield around the Tower. To his surprise, Tina appeared to Batman. Her right arm stretched out, grabbed Batman, and slammed him to the ground. Tin, a robot created by Magnus, formed a restraint around Batman. Tina showed her true form, a robot called Platinum. She revived Magnus with organic nanites and restored him to normal. He explained to Batman that Fair Play entailed lasers that could mimic red sun radiation like Krypton's sun. Batman asked about Tina. Magnus admitted he accidentally killed her a year into their marriage due to her constant urging to find a cure for Langstrom. He finally snapped and hit her but she knocked her head on a table and died. Magnus admitted he knew Tina truly loved Langstrom then explained his plan to change the world by linking all minds with his Nanite Bomb and eliminating all anguish, hatred and guilt.
Dr. Luthor boomed to the battle outside the Tower and revealed Magnus was the real culprit. Superman's assault on the Tower shield gave Batman enough momentum to kick a nearby pedastel and expose some wiring. Batman flipped Tin on it then karate chopped its head off. Magnus sent his three droids after Batman but he managed to drop the shield just in time. He dodged Superdroid's heat vision but the Batdroid pounced on him and prepared to bite. Superman decked the Batdroid. Superman and the droids battled in the city. Batman made his way to the center of the Tower then knocked Platinum away and gut punched Magnus as they worked on connecting the Nanite Bomb to Superman's ship. Magnus displayed newly acquired strength and healing factor thanks to the nanites. As Batman sneaked around, Magnus asserted if Tina didn't love him who only loved bats and test tubes - this wouldn't have all happened. Batman replied he was wrong and admitted he only loved two people but they were gone. Magnus was momentarily stunned by the admission.
Batman pulled one of Magnus' legs and threw him over, kicked him hard in mid-air then punched his face into a pulp. He stopped at the sight of Magnus' blood. Magnus implored him to take a bite. Batman mused he tasted like crap and tossed him then returned to the bomb. He was unable to stop the timer. Wonder Woman intervened and plunged her sword into it. It worked but the core in Superman's ship became unstable. Superman took the ship into space, where it detonated safely. Seeing the error of his ways, Magnus asked Batman to forgive him then deactivated his nanites. Magnus was reduced to a pile of dust. A week later, Batman was surpised to hear Superman propose no more politics or killing and that Wonder Woman was returning home with Dr. Luthor in tow. Batman and Superman immediately went to work going through the original files from Superman's ship and learning about the revolutionary applications of Kryptonian science.