| SuperFriends Comic Book Character | |
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| Information | |
| Species: | Metahuman |
| Abilities: | Bat like senses and flight |
Man-Bat is actually Kirk Langstrom, who was transformed into a Werebat.
Powers and Abilities[]
Super Powers[]
- Transformation: Upon injection of his bat gland extract, Kirk Langstrom can transform himself into a half-human/half-bat creature. Once the serum wears off, the Man-Bat returns back to human form.
- Flight: Man-Bat can fly by way of artificially generated leather wings.
- Sonar Sense: Man-Bat can navigate through the air by way of echolocation, similar in function to a bat's sonar.
- Claws: The Man-Bat has sharpened claws which are strong enough to easily tear through flesh and muscle.
- Fangs: Man-Bat also has incredibly sharp teeth.
Abilities[]
Background Information[]
Dr. Kirk Langstrom, a scientist specializing in the study of bats, develops an extract intended to give humans the bat's sonar sense and tests the formula on himself because he is becoming deaf. While it works, it has a horrible side effect: it transforms him into a hideous man-sized bat.
The serum also takes away his intelligence, so he goes on a mad rampage until Batman reverses the effects.
Later, Langstrom takes the concoction again, and Man-Bat returns. He also coaxes his wife, Francine, 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.
Kirk and Francine have a daughter, Becky and a son Aaron. Because of the effects the serum had on Aaron's DNA, he was born in Man-Bat form.
Etrigan was originally summoned by the wizard Merlin as part of a last-ditch defense of Camelot against the evil witch, Morgaine le Fay. When it became clear that the kingdom would fall regardless, Merlin sent the demon away and changed him into a human named Jason Blood to wait until he was summoned. One account retconned this, so that Blood was now an actual human, bonded involuntarily to the demon as his punishment for aiding Morgaine le Fay in overthrowing Camelot. The latest series co-written and penciled by John Byrne states that the Demon is a monster possessed with the soul of a human, that being Jason Blood, who existed only to bring out his true demon self when absolutely necessary.
Centuries later, Jason was called to the crypt of Merlin and discovered a poem that could change him into Etrigan. Unfortunately, he was followed by the long-lived Morgaine who lusts for Merlin's secrets. That led to Etrigan's first major battle, and to the solidification of Morgaine as a major enemy. In addition, he later gained another enemy in Klarion the Witch Boy, a permanently prepubescent mage who creates trouble with his magic.[1]
Continuity from SuperFriends Comic Book[]
On October 31, 1979, Ivor Hale was attending a Halloween party, dressed up as the Man-Bat. But Felix Faust, wanting to force wealthy partygoers to turn over their gems, used his magic to make everyone's costume irremovable. This gave Ivor the ability to fly just like the real Man-Bat.
Appearances[]
- Super Friends #28
Notes[]
- The Man-Bat never appeared on the series. He only appeared in the comic book.
- The Man-bat was created by Frank Robbins and Neal Adams.
- He first appeared in Detective Comics, vol. 1 #400[2] (June 1970)
External Links[]
- See Man-Bat at the DC Database
- See Man-Bat at the Wikipedia.org
Appearances in Other Media[]
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References[]
- ↑ Background Information is from Earth-One continuity.
- ↑ Go to the DC Database for more on Detective Comics, vol. 1 #400