DC is coming out with a brand new comic series centered around a bat-themed character, but it’s not who you might first expect. Man-Bat, the famous villain of Batman, is officially getting his own comic. The book will follow his perspective as he goes on a rampage throughout Gotham and focuses on the struggles of Kirk Langstrom as he is challenged by the Gotham City Police Department, and, of course, Batman himself.
This news comes as part of DC’s May comic solicitations, alongside a slew of exciting new comics such as a continuation of Batman: The Animated Series. The new Man-Bat series features the creative team of Dave Wielgosz, Sumit Kumar, and Kyle Hotz, with a variant cover by Kevin Nowlan. The series will feature Kirk Langstrom’s struggles with becoming Man-Bat and the character finally hitting rock bottom. Here’s the solicitation from DC Comics.
Man-bat is a popular DC villain, meant to serve as a contrast to Batman by being a literal flip of the character. Rather than being a human themed as a bat, Man-bat is literally half-man, half-bat, and has to deal with the issues this brings about. Part of an experiment gone wrong, Dr. Kirk Langstrom was originally working on a formula to give humans sonar by using bat DNA. Unfortunately, the serum resulted in his transformation into the monstrous creature, with the loss of his sanity being a major side effect.
For years Kirk Langstrom has struggled with his monstrous alter ego Man-Bat and the serum that transformed him. But he’s finally hit rock bottom following a devastating setback, and he’s going to take out his anger on every single citizen of Gotham City. Will the combined might of Batman and the GCPD be enough to stop Langstrom once and for all? Or will this just be the start of Man-Bat’s devastation?"
It is still unclear exactly when the comics will take place, whether they will serve as an origin told from his perspective, or a later use of the serum causing a new tale to unfold, but based on the description provided one can assume this arc will follow him a bit later in his transformation. While the description does lean towards the idea of it being a new story, it does still leave room for flashbacks to the transformation and the struggles Kirk has suffered and reflected on. It will be very interesting to see how Batman is intertwined in this story, especially being we’ve usually only seen encounters with the Man-Bat from Bruce’s side so far. For now all one can do is speculate, and wait until May - when the series comes out - for answers.
Source: CBR
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