Man-Bat

Man-Bat (2021) #1-5

by Dave Wielgosz, Sumit Kumar (Illustrator), Romulo Fajardo Jr. (Illustrator)

Batman's ultimate mirror image--Man-Bat--is shown in this mind-bending collection!

For years Kirk Langstrom has struggled keeping himself under control. The serum that transformed him into a monstrous alter ego...Man-Bat. But what happens when he finally hits rockbottom...after the most devastating setback he's ever experienced...will he still try to control the beast inside?

When he unleashes his anger on every citizen of Gotham--will the combined might of Batman and the GCPD be enough to stop Langstrom once and for all?

Or is Man-Bat's devastating reign just starting?

Collects Man-Bat #1-5

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Dc Comics, Batman, Comic Book, Graphic Novels Comics, Superheroes

128 pages, Paperback

Published November 9, 2021

About the author

Assistant Editor at DC Comics

Reviews

[Chad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Man-Bat tries to create a cure for deafness and fails again. But this is about Kirk finally owning up to his mistakes. Batman, Scarecrow, and the Suicide Squad all make appearances. This dovetails nicely into the Rebirth version of Justice League Dark as well. I like Sumit Kumar's art. It reminds me of a cleaner Sean Murphy.

[Subham · Rating 3 out of 5]

Its about Kirk and him wanting to save his sister Lisa with his wife Francine but she has had enough of it but he wants to do something cure one last time but he screws up and Batman and Suicide squad are after him and he faces off against them only to realize it was all a part of Scarecrow's plan as he wants him to something for him and make subliminal something for him and then the story is mostly about him trying to fight it and Batman vs him maybe and what will happen to Kirk and Man-bat?

Its a good volume and delves deeper into themes of redemption and second chances and trying to do something right but still screwing up and then ties perfectly into JLD and the beginning of it. I like Kirk's character progression as he went from being a villain of Batman to full on hero and the pencils were really good too. The simple story structure is good and sets up future sequels really well!

[L. McCoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

SUPER FAST REVIEW:
This was way better than I expected it to be.
A more in-depth take on the character with a lot of action, some suspense and twists. The art was pretty sweet at times too, suited the tone of the book very well.
This is a very good comic that I was pleasantly surprised by. Can’t think of any complaints. Definitely recommend this!

5/5

[Roman Zarichnyi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Бетмен-Навспак або Мен-Бет — про такого персонажа розповідає сценарист Дейв Велґош і художник Суміт Кумар в лімітці «Мен-Бет» («Man-Bat»), 2021 #1-5.

Мен-Бет, справжнє ім’я якого — Кірк Ланґстром, — біолог, який проводив дослідження, щоб допомогти людям з вадами слуху. Однак його спроба зірвалася, коли він створив сироватку, при вживанні якої, вона перетворює його на гігантського кажана, втрачаючи значну частину свого розуму.

Цей комікс трішки зачіпає, як саме став Кірк чудовиськом, а більше зосереджений на його внутрішній боротьбі двох особистостей, які живуть у ньому. На стосунках із його дружиною Франсін. На тома, як залежність від вживання сироватки знищила подружнє життя. На його геройських й лиховісних вчинках, та, як в цьому всьому намагається зарадити Бетмен.

Дейв Велґош зумів взяти другорядного персонажа й розкрутити навколо нього досить вартісний сюжет із прихованими сенсами. Вийшло непогано. Мені сподобалося.

[Robert · Rating 1 out of 5]

They aimed for redemption. They hit confusion.

[James DeSantis · Rating 3 out of 5]

A prelude to Justice League Dark basically. How did Man-Bat become a hero (of sorts) and join the Justice League dark? Well...it is mostly explained here. Trying to cure his sister's hearing loss, while dealing with losing himself, it is a man against time trying to survive. The art is great, the story solid, but it doesn't feel like it was...needed? Like if I never read this I'd be okay. But saying that, it is a lot better than a throwaway story so I'm torn. So for what it is, I'll give it a 3, and if you have some interest in Man-Bat check this one out.

[Guilherme Smee · Rating 2 out of 5]

Na minha humilde opinião, o Morcego Humano é um personagem com potencial que, geralmente, é bem utilizado nas histórias. Por isso resolvi investir neste encadernado. Mas me arrependi, nem o roteiro nem os desenhos aqui apresentados são bons. Além disso, cronologicamente, esta minissérie é importante. Deveria ter saído em 2022, mas a PaniniTM só lançou agora. Ela serve para situar a mudança do Morcego Humano de uma criatura bestial a um ser inteligente, sempre transformado. Neste encadernado que apela para o Esquadrão Suicida e para a Arlequina, além de desenvolver um conflito com o Batman e o Espantalho como pano de fundo, Kirk Kanstrom, o Morcego Humano, está correndo risco de morrer vítima de sua própria fórmula. Então encara uma corrida para evitar que isso aconteça. A história conta com um dos piores dispositivos de roteiro que é o de envolver o personagem em sonhos e alucinações. Acho que mesmo aqueles, como eu, que queriam preencher essa lacuna na cronologia não deverão se agradar deste encadernado que, ainda por cima, é capa dura.

[Shaun Stanley · Rating 1 out of 5]

Man-Bat collects issues 1-5 of the DC Comics series written by Dave Wielgosz with art by Sumit Kumar.

Dr. Kirk Langstrom is trying to rein vision his Man-Bat serum in order to better mankind. He has an idea that it can be used to help treat a variety of medical issues including deafness. But when the serum goes wrong, Kirk is transformed into the most powerful version of Man-Bat yet.

What started with as interesting premise turned into the exact same Man-Bat story we have been getting for over 50 years now. Is it really so difficult to come up with something different? Story wise, the only good thing about this book is that it leads to Man-Bats involvement in the Justice League Dark, but it’s really only hinted at in this book. The art greatly saves the book, but I became greatly bored with this series after the first issue and it took me over a week and a half to finish up this five issue series.

[Marius · Rating 3 out of 5]

Das Monster, welches zum Menschen wurde

Inhalt: Wielgosz "Man-Bat" nimmt uns mit in die Zeit vor der Justice League Dark. Dr. Kirk Langstroms Experimente zur Heilung von Taubheit sind gescheitert, doch der Wissenschaftler kann und will nicht aufgeben. Immer wieder verwandelt er sich in den Fledermausmenschen Man-Bat. Aber seine Zeit wird langsam knapp, denn das Serum verändert seine Zellstruktur und lässt ihn langsam sterben. Ein Wettlauf gegen die Zeit beginnt, indem sich Langstrom nicht nur Scarecrow, sondern auch den Sünden der Vergangenheit stellen muss...

Bewertung: "Man-Bat: Das Monster von Gotham" ist ein solides Werk, welches das Rad nicht neu erfindet, sondern schlichtweg unterhält. Der Autor arbeitet das schwierige Verhältnis zwischen Dr. Langstrom und seinem Alter-Ego Man-Bat sehr fein heraus. Immer wieder erlebt der Leser innere Dialoge zwischen den beiden und erkennt ihre grundverschiedenen Charaktertypen: Der gutherzige, aber schwache Doktor gegen das forsche Fledermauswesen. Nur ihre Verständigung kann die Lösung sein, doch der Weg dahin ist schwer. Darüber hinaus war es sehr interessant, wie Batman Mitgefühl für den gescheiterten Kollegen aufbringt, gleichzeitig aber die geltenden Gesetze einhalten will. Ein innerer Konflikt baut sich auf. Francine hingegen hatte ihren Mann immer wieder unterstützt, welcher sie jedoch im Gegenzug stets enttäuschte. Diese emotionale Anspannung schwächt sie zwar, gleichzeitig bleibt sie ein bewundernswert starker Charakter, der es sogar mit Scarecrows Angsttoxin aufnehmen kann. Apropos Scarecrow: Endlich mal wieder ein Comic mit dem Meister der Angst, der sein ikonisches Outfit rockt und wie immer Ziele der Gedankenmanipulation verfolgt. Crane passt gut ins Charakterensemble und ist gnadenlos wie nie. Anders als die Charaktere verbessert sich die Story gegenüber vorherigen Man-Bat-Geschichten aber leider nicht wirklich. Wie immer kämpft der Mensch gegen die Bestie in sich und muss eine Art Symbiose eingehen, um schlussendlich zu obsiegen. Standardkost! Kumars Zeichnungen passen hier dazu, da sie zwar schön sind, aber nicht wirklich ausgefallen. Hier hätte ich mir etwas Düstereres gewünscht. Leider verschenktes Potenzial.

Fazit: Solide Miniserie rund um Dr.Langstrom. Nichts Weltbewegendes. Gesamt: 3/5

[Brandon · Rating 4 out of 5]

A prequel to James Tynion IV's Justice League Dark, here we have how Man-Bat found himself among the heroes instead of the villains. A lot of running from himself, giving in to his obsession, and ruining all his remaining relationships. It's a neat little monster story! Sumit Kumar's artwork is the highlight, with some beautiful pages of Man-Bat at his battiest and Batman at his manniest. I found it had a strong start and end, but fell out around the middle in trying to involve the Scarecrow and turn it from a monster story to some sort of superhero story. I had more fun watching Langstrom slowly lose himself than I did watching the big supervillain plot unfold.

[jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

i liked this! man-bat is def in my top 10 fave batman villains and i really liked this jekyll and hyde type thing they did with his character.

scarecrow was.. interesting to say the least but i thought he was fun, and it was cute seeing the suicide squad too! i love the art i think the art really carried the story.

the ending was a bit meh. idk maybe i like my batman comics a bit more dark and depressing but i didn’t care much for the ending of the comic. probably won’t be continuing it but enjoyed it nonetheless

[James Rodrigues · Rating 3 out of 5]

A mini-series which dives into Kirk Langstrom, the person behind Man-Bat, how his desire to cure his sisters hearing drove him in the first place, and the effect the transformation had on those close to him. It's a terrific depiction of the character, desperately wanting to fix all he breaks despite his determination making everything worse. Where it falls down is bringing in the Suicide Squad and Scarecrow into the plot, cameos which felt unnecessary and detracted from this look at the central character. A shame, as this could've been a tighter and more focused tale without such characters.

[A.J. · Rating 1 out of 5]

A mini-series that starts with two fantastic issues, before stumbling to be exactly like every single Man-Bat story that everyone has seen before, both in comics and on TV. If you want a good story about Kirk owning up to the mistakes he has made, read Justice League Dark by Tynion and Ram V. This is a miserable read.

[Parker J · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this origin story of sorts for Man-Bat, I'm actually pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it. Also, Sumit Kumar's art is absolutely stellar, I'd really love to see him work on a long running series because his work is a pleasure to look at.

I would highly recommend this to fans of Man-Bat or anyone who enjoyed the latest Justice League Dark run and would like to see more from its cast of characters. I'm only mad that DC gave Kirk/Man-Bat such a good mini and good character development between this and JLD series only kill him off in Detective comics a few months later and force him to be a zombie in the mid-tier Task Force Z series (which I need to get around to finishing, here is to hoping he gets undead or umm un-un-dead?)

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short and (bitter-)sweet. By no means does it reinvent the wheel in terms of the Kirk Langstrom saga, but it's never stupid (something that, alas, can't always be said of much of DC's current output), and it doesn't overstay its welcome.

Alfred, in a cameo, has a very funny line. Similarly, in the issue in which the Suicide Squad shows up, Killer-Croc is used smartly as well. Even more gratifyingly, Harley's scenes are strong, a rare example of it being remembered she IS an experienced and even, at times, empathetic, psychiatrist.

The art is good.

[Sean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Man-Bat has always been an intriguing character to me. Here, a new author to me, Dave Wielgosz, does a really good job of getting to the heart of who Kirk Langstrom is but also how his wife and Batman see him. Readers are given a very good look into the psyche of Langstrom and his family history. I enjoyed it. I would have liked if there were less DC guest stars but I understand sales. The art by Sumit Kumar was decent but at times there were some weird anatomy issues. Overall, a super solid read about an under-used character.

[Jack Bumby · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was really great. Man-Bat is probably no one's favourite Batman villain, but he's been around for a good long while (I remember him mostly from 'The Batman' TV show in the 2000s). This comic has him taking center stage and trying to reconcile the two halves of his personality.

With some incredible art and appearances that feel natural (and more than just cameos) it's a fantastic story. Kirk Langstrom is a tragic figure and he really goes through the wringer.

It's a shame that it needed to hype up the next big crossover event, but hey that's comics. A great read 👍

[Dennis Fox · Rating 4 out of 5]

MAN-BAT! MAN-BAT! MAN-BAT! Ok, this isn't perfect (why is Scarecrow lurking in the background muttering about toxic masculinity again?), but it is really good. The art is fearsome and engaging, Bat-man himself plays a big part in the story (not to mention cameos from the Suicide Squad), and Man-bat is a very believable anti-hero. I went back to read this after reading Justice League Dark, and it was cool to see where the character came from, and how he was different from his previous appearances.

[Cybernex007 · Rating 4 out of 5]

He’s not a hero, and I think they do a great job showing that off and expressing the loop of pain Kirk goes through. Now I did wish I realized this was a tie in comic to a bigger comic event before reading this or I would have waited. But overall as someone he likes seeing the more side lined characters thrive, and really getting to see some irredeemable qualities stay irredeemable, and see that cycle of pain continue, it’s a great read.

[Chris Thompson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like Man-Bat. We can sympathize with his addiction to his Man-Bat serum, despite wanting to improve his relations with Francine. In many ways, this plays as a warning about drug addiction. I thought that Scarecrow’s involvement muddled the story, but it’s an enjoyable read overall.

[Will Cooper · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed Kirk Langstrom fighting to help cure deafness, getting into trouble, trying to keep his wife, Francine, struggling against his animal side, and all the other stuff. Nice look at this fun character's change from his original form to the current Rebirth Man-Bat.

[Icezzaro · Rating 3 out of 5]

7.5/10

I liked this, it was cool to get to have a deeper and longer look into one of Batman’s lesser villains. I’d love to see more miniseries being given to his other B or C-list villains(Killer Croc pleaseee).

[Shannon McShortall · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very comicbooky story that is very much setup for a further stories, but the character work on Kirk, Francine and Scarecrow push it past what many might expect to be mediocre. The art is fun to look at it and it really goes hard into being a comicbook with it’s plotting. It’s a high 3

[J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

excellent writing,worthwhile for 1st time man-bat readers

Like me I’ve never read any man-bat comics let alone graphic novels. Well written. Not the happiest ending good ending tho.

[Scott Waldie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was great, just a tight little tale of Kirk's obsession and redemption, and it ties nicely into another comic I enjoy.

[Sarospice · Rating 3 out of 5]

This fun trade will help you decide if you like the Man-Bat character and you'll decide you do!

[Eye-ra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick read and a nice quick paced stand alone

[Pat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Perfectly competent and enjoyable man bat story with a redemptive arc.

[John Amabile · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5

[Scott E · Rating 2 out of 5]

Picks up at the finale but pretty bot overall