Man-Bat

**Robert Kirkland "Kirk" Langstrom** is a Human male and zoologist. He also specializes in chiropterology, but eventually became the literal incarnation of a humanoid Bat-Man, the enemy of Batman, referred to as **Man Bat**.

## **History**

Kirk Langstrom was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, but when he was a boy, he fell into a cavern and remained lost for nearly 6 weeks. During this time, he came to like the bats that lived within the cave. A massive police search was formed and they were able to find him. At some point, Kirk found himself meeting a young Bruce Wayne and telling him his time within the cave. He did however, embellished the tale with human-bat hybrids.

When he became an adult, Kirk tended Gotham University, where he met Francine Lee, then became a zoologist following graduating college. He was employed by the Gotham Natural History Museum, where he specialized in nocturnal mammals. During that time however, Langstrom was slowly going deaf, so using his scientific intellect and knowledge on bats, he developed a serum that would enhance the hearing of humans. Ambitious, Kirk injected himself with the serum and it immediately showed results, as not only his hearing was enhanced, but his body was altered to the point where he had claws and elongated ears to enable echolocation. He dubbed himself Man-Bat and decided to use his abilities to aid in defending Gotham. He took action against a gang of thugs called the Blackout Gang, who attempted to rob his place of employment and with the aid of Batman, took down the thieves. The Dark Knight was grateful for the assistance, but Man-Bat shied away following Batman's compliment on his disguise.

Langstrom attempted to find a cure for his new mutations, but was unsuccessful due to the advancement of his condition. Now he was sporting leather-like bat wings. His animal instincts also became stronger, which led him to find an ideal cave for his new dwelling. Unfortunately for him, the cave he came across was the Batcave, causing his first battle with Batman and he was defeated. Batman took a sample of Langstrom and began working on an antidote, but when Langstrom recovered, he refused Batman's help and escaped. Batman gave the antidote to Francine in hopes she would be able to give it to him, but she refused as well. To prove her love for Langstrom, Francine took the same serum as he did and became She-Bat, which led to them deciding the wed. They disguised themselves and had guests at the wedding, but Batman revealed them to their guests and defeated both of them when he used the church bell's sound to incapacitate them and inject them with the antidote.

Once they were back to normal, Francine and Kirk were wedded properly with Batman being their best man. Following the wedding however, Kirk relapsed into his identity again. He's had several more run-ins with Batman, had moved back to Chicago with his wife, even went to use his abilities to fight crime, then eventually had 2 children and moved back to Gotham, where they were trying to lead normal lives while raising their family and deal with their transformations as Man and She-Bat.

## ***Superwoman: The Series***

### Season 5

Man-Bat was at the Amusement Mile warzone, where he remained atop a nearby crane on the pier. He was also amongst the villains that Ultrawoman was sent to put back in line, alongside Killer Croc and Clayface.

## **Powers & Abilities**

### Powers

* **Man-Bat Physiology:** Following his injection, Kirk had gained the abilities and physique of a humanoid bat-like creature. As such, he has used these abilities for both good and evil. Following his many years of exposure to the serum, Kirk is able to now transform at will.
	+ **Echolocation:** Like actual bats, Kirk is capable of navigating by means of echolocation, where he both emits and reflects sound off objects. He can use this ability even in darkness.
	+ **Sound Manipulation:** Kirk is capable of emitting a sonic screech which can cause other people auditory harm, as well as capable of breaking glass.
	+ **Animal Empathy:** Kirk is capable of reaching out to other bats empathically and call upon their aid.
	+ **Claws:** Langstrom possesses powerful claws capable of cutting through muscle and flesh.
	+ **Flight:** Through giant leather bat-like wings, Langstrom is capable of achieving flight.

### Abilities

* **Biology:** Langstrom possesses an expertise in chiropterology, the study of bats and other mammals.
* **Chemistry:** Langstrom possesses a knowledge in biochemistry.

## **Weaknesses**

* **Sensory Overload:** As Man-Bat, Kirk senses are highly sensitive, therefore if he's exposed to loud noises, it causes him great pain. He also prefers dark areas, as his bat-like abilities possess an aversion to extremely bright light.

## **Characteristics**

### Physical Appearance

Langstrom is a human male, however following taking his serum, Langstrom became a human sized bat, standing at 7' 4" tall and weighing in at 315 lb. In his Man-Bat form, Langstrom has all brown fur and skin. He has 2 massive wings that are connected to his torso and arms, which allow for flight and huge bat ears to enable echolocation. He typically wears a pair of blue jeans with no shoes and massive clawed feet which enable him to hang upside down when not in flight.

### Personality & Traits

As a man, Kirk Langstrom is a kind man who truly means well by helping humanity with his research. As Man-Bat however, Langstrom is extremely violent and uncontrollable, doing anything to ensure his survival and even the survival of his family. Even after being returned to normal. Kirk did wish to use his powers as a means of fighting crime, while also living a normal life.