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Legends of the Dark Knight (1989)
Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight Annual #5
Year One; Man-Bat, origin story.
Unknown Binding
First published January 1, 1995
22 people want to read
About the author
Chuck Dixon
3,429 books1,030 followersCharles "Chuck" Dixon is an American comic book writer, perhaps best-known for long runs on Batman titles in the 1990s.
His earliest comics work was writing Evangeline first for Comico Comics in 1984 (then later for First Comics, who published the on-going series), on which he worked with his then-wife, the artist Judith Hunt. His big break came one year later, when editor Larry Hama hired him to write back-up stories for Marvel Comics' The Savage Sword of Conan.
In 1986, he began working for Eclipse Comics, writing Airboy with artist Tim Truman. Continuing to write for both Marvel and (mainly) Eclipse on these titles, as well as launching Strike! with artist Tom Lyle in August 1987 and Valkyrie with artist Paul Gulacy in October 1987, he began work on Carl Potts' Alien Legion series for Marvel's Epic Comics imprint, under editor Archie Goodwin. He also produced a three-issue adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Hobbit for Eclipse with artist David Wenzel between 1989 and 1990, and began writing Marc Spector: Moon Knight in June 1989.
His Punisher OGN Kingdom Gone (August, 1990) led to him working on the monthly The Punisher War Journal (and later, more monthly and occasional Punisher titles), and also brought him to the attention of DC Comics editor Denny O'Neil, who asked him to produce a Robin mini-series. The mini proved popular enough to spawn two sequels - The Joker's Wild (1991) and Cry of the Huntress (1992) - which led to both an ongoing monthly series (which Dixon wrote for 100 issues before leaving to work with CrossGen Comics), and to Dixon working on Detective Comics from #644-738 through the major Batman stories KnightFall & KnightsEnd (for which he helped create the key character of Bane), DC One Million , Contagion , Legacy , Cataclysm and No Man's Land . Much of his run was illustrated by Graham Nolan.
He was DC's most prolific Batman-writer in the mid-1990s (rivalled perhaps in history by Bill Finger and Dennis O'Neil) - in addition to writing Detective Comics he pioneered the individual series for Robin , Nightwing (which he wrote for 70 issues, and returned to briefly with 2005's #101) and Batgirl , as well as creating the team and book Birds of Prey .
While writing multiple Punisher and Batman comics (and October 1994's Punisher/Batman crossover), he also found time to launch Team 7 for Jim Lee's WildStorm/Image and Prophet for Rob Liefeld's Extreme Studios. He also wrote many issues of Catwoman and Green Arrow , regularly having about seven titles out each and every month between the years 1993 and 1998.
In March, 2002, Dixon turned his attention to CrossGen's output, salthough he co-wrote with Scott Beatty the origin of Barbara Gordon's Batgirl in 2003's Batgirl: Year One. For CrossGen he took over some of the comics of the out-going Mark Waid, taking over Sigil from #21, and Crux with #13. He launched Way of the Rat in June 2002, Brath (March '03), The Silken Ghost (June '03) and the pirate comic El Cazador (Oct '03), as well as editing Robert Rodi's non-Sigilverse The Crossovers. He also wrote the Ruse spin-off Archard's Agents one-shots in January and November '03 and April '04, the last released shortly before CrossGen's complete collapse forced the cancellation of all of its comics, before which Dixon wrote a single issue of Sojourn (May '04). Dixon's Way of the Rat #24, Brath #14 and El Cazador #6 were among the last comics released from the then-bankrupt publisher.
On June 10, 2008, Dixon announced on his forum that he was no longer "employed by DC Comics in any capacity."
His earliest comics work was writing Evangeline first for Comico Comics in 1984 (then later for First Comics, who published the on-going series), on which he worked with his then-wife, the artist Judith Hunt. His big break came one year later, when editor Larry Hama hired him to write back-up stories for Marvel Comics' The Savage Sword of Conan.
In 1986, he began working for Eclipse Comics, writing Airboy with artist Tim Truman. Continuing to write for both Marvel and (mainly) Eclipse on these titles, as well as launching Strike! with artist Tom Lyle in August 1987 and Valkyrie with artist Paul Gulacy in October 1987, he began work on Carl Potts' Alien Legion series for Marvel's Epic Comics imprint, under editor Archie Goodwin. He also produced a three-issue adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Hobbit for Eclipse with artist David Wenzel between 1989 and 1990, and began writing Marc Spector: Moon Knight in June 1989.
His Punisher OGN Kingdom Gone (August, 1990) led to him working on the monthly The Punisher War Journal (and later, more monthly and occasional Punisher titles), and also brought him to the attention of DC Comics editor Denny O'Neil, who asked him to produce a Robin mini-series. The mini proved popular enough to spawn two sequels - The Joker's Wild (1991) and Cry of the Huntress (1992) - which led to both an ongoing monthly series (which Dixon wrote for 100 issues before leaving to work with CrossGen Comics), and to Dixon working on Detective Comics from #644-738 through the major Batman stories KnightFall & KnightsEnd (for which he helped create the key character of Bane), DC One Million , Contagion , Legacy , Cataclysm and No Man's Land . Much of his run was illustrated by Graham Nolan.
He was DC's most prolific Batman-writer in the mid-1990s (rivalled perhaps in history by Bill Finger and Dennis O'Neil) - in addition to writing Detective Comics he pioneered the individual series for Robin , Nightwing (which he wrote for 70 issues, and returned to briefly with 2005's #101) and Batgirl , as well as creating the team and book Birds of Prey .
While writing multiple Punisher and Batman comics (and October 1994's Punisher/Batman crossover), he also found time to launch Team 7 for Jim Lee's WildStorm/Image and Prophet for Rob Liefeld's Extreme Studios. He also wrote many issues of Catwoman and Green Arrow , regularly having about seven titles out each and every month between the years 1993 and 1998.
In March, 2002, Dixon turned his attention to CrossGen's output, salthough he co-wrote with Scott Beatty the origin of Barbara Gordon's Batgirl in 2003's Batgirl: Year One. For CrossGen he took over some of the comics of the out-going Mark Waid, taking over Sigil from #21, and Crux with #13. He launched Way of the Rat in June 2002, Brath (March '03), The Silken Ghost (June '03) and the pirate comic El Cazador (Oct '03), as well as editing Robert Rodi's non-Sigilverse The Crossovers. He also wrote the Ruse spin-off Archard's Agents one-shots in January and November '03 and April '04, the last released shortly before CrossGen's complete collapse forced the cancellation of all of its comics, before which Dixon wrote a single issue of Sojourn (May '04). Dixon's Way of the Rat #24, Brath #14 and El Cazador #6 were among the last comics released from the then-bankrupt publisher.
On June 10, 2008, Dixon announced on his forum that he was no longer "employed by DC Comics in any capacity."
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Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
August 31, 2023
From Four of a kind collection, i liked this one most along with poison ivy.
Its the origin story of Man Bat with a happy ending.
i loved how his girlfriend never gave up on him, and was the ultimate reason he became normal again.
Batman was helpless in this issue, he didn't even beat the thieves in the end.
I also loved the art very much, specially the cover.
Its the origin story of Man Bat with a happy ending.
i loved how his girlfriend never gave up on him, and was the ultimate reason he became normal again.
Batman was helpless in this issue, he didn't even beat the thieves in the end.
I also loved the art very much, specially the cover.
December 7, 2024
4/5 Stars
February 27, 2024
+9 Sure, the whole “scientist is defunded, tries experiment on himself” is cliché in regards to typical rabid terrifying monster stories, but the execution of such a regular origin story here is so good that the predictability is not a negative.
Alongside this, Doctor Kirk Langstrom is a sympathetic villain, only becoming the Man-Bat in a desperate attempt to cure his deafness and test his cure out. Such an ethical grey area makes Langstrom’s struggle within himself and against his girlfriend Francine and co-workers all the more thrilling to read. The B story for this annual has Batman attempting to catch a group of thieves, with him consistently failing to apprehend them - honestly loved watching him fail, try to innovate, and fail again. Francine’s determination and loyalty to Kirk and to cure him is inspiring, even with the temptation of a colleague trying to seduce her, she stays strong.
Liked the art as well, nicely drawn with good layouts and large panels of Man-Bat and Batman to show the penciller/inker Enrique Alcatena’s strengths. Apparently this story takes place over at least nine months, but it’s not clear when these time jumps happen - this should have been better portrayed by Chuck Dixon. However, fantastic annual overall.
Alongside this Batman villain origin story annual, three others were published in a collected edition called Batman: Four of a Kind, which I've also reviewed.
[Read and reviewed in February 2023]
Alongside this, Doctor Kirk Langstrom is a sympathetic villain, only becoming the Man-Bat in a desperate attempt to cure his deafness and test his cure out. Such an ethical grey area makes Langstrom’s struggle within himself and against his girlfriend Francine and co-workers all the more thrilling to read. The B story for this annual has Batman attempting to catch a group of thieves, with him consistently failing to apprehend them - honestly loved watching him fail, try to innovate, and fail again. Francine’s determination and loyalty to Kirk and to cure him is inspiring, even with the temptation of a colleague trying to seduce her, she stays strong.
Liked the art as well, nicely drawn with good layouts and large panels of Man-Bat and Batman to show the penciller/inker Enrique Alcatena’s strengths. Apparently this story takes place over at least nine months, but it’s not clear when these time jumps happen - this should have been better portrayed by Chuck Dixon. However, fantastic annual overall.
Alongside this Batman villain origin story annual, three others were published in a collected edition called Batman: Four of a Kind, which I've also reviewed.
[Read and reviewed in February 2023]
February 22, 2024
Lo tengo para releer en el Universo DC de Quique Alcatena.
March 28, 2025
A retelling of Manbat's origins, "Wings" follows Kirk Langstrom's transformation from ambitious research scientist to confused monster. Batman wrestles with how to stop the ferocious beast without killing the kind hearted person at its core and, more importantly, not letting him harm others.
This work is all about the art. While the narrative is well told and proficiently written, it is quite pedestrian and solely serves as scaffolding for some spectacular visuals from Alcatena. While I've found all work from this artist to be a stellar combination of technique and personality, this was perhaps his best. Each panel is just dripping with detail, cinematically composed, and accented by moody coloration. The aesthetic developed is the perfect creature feature vibe with just enough Gothic flair to give it that Batman feel. What a delight for the eyes.
This work is all about the art. While the narrative is well told and proficiently written, it is quite pedestrian and solely serves as scaffolding for some spectacular visuals from Alcatena. While I've found all work from this artist to be a stellar combination of technique and personality, this was perhaps his best. Each panel is just dripping with detail, cinematically composed, and accented by moody coloration. The aesthetic developed is the perfect creature feature vibe with just enough Gothic flair to give it that Batman feel. What a delight for the eyes.
January 30, 2024
Batman vs. Man-Bat en una historia unitaria que creo que años después se incluyó en el Universo DC de Quique Alcatena.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews