Man Bat
Back to Villains Main > Man Bat
Real Identity: Dr. Robert Kirkland "Kirk" Langstrom
Affiliation(s): Wayne Industries and Gotham University
Appearances: The Man Who Would Be Bat, Pets, Rumors, and Attack of the Terrible Trio
Powers/Skills: Science, Flight, Enhanced Strength, and Echolocation
Voiced By: Peter MacNicol
Dr. Kirk Langstrom was an audiometrist working for Wayne Industries. After the appearance of the Batman, Langstrom became obsessed with the vigilante and desired to be feared. He used research on deafness as a cover to derive a mutagen from test bats. Langstrom began taking regular doses of mutagen and transforming into a Man Bat. At night, he attacked animals and fed on them. Before he could make the transformation permanent, the Batman confronted him. He used a high frequency device to disrupt Man Bat's natural sonar and defeat him. Langstrom's lab and research was confiscated while he was incarcerated at Arkham Asylum. He spent his days rewriting the formula on the his cell's walls by memory alone.
The Penguin utilized a sonic emitter device and mistakingly triggered dormant traces of mutagen within Langstrom. He transformed into the Man Bat and became the Penguin's loyal servant. The Batman confronted them while trying to locate the correct frequency to control Man Bat. Afterwards, Langstrom reverted back to normal and returned to Arkham Asylum.
Years later, he was one of the villains kidnapped by Rumor. After the Batman and Robin defeated him and the villains, Langstrom was one that was remanded to police custody. The event appeared to rattle Langstrom and he completed his rehabilitation. After being accepted back into society, Langstrom took up a professorship at Gotham University. The emergence of the Terrible Trio prompted the Batman to interrogate Langstrom. He realized that his mutagen must have been recreated after a breach in his computers weeks before. After taking a sample of a man beast, the Batman assigned Langstrom to create an antidote.