The Batman (TV Series) Episode: The Man Who Would Be Bat

While pursuing the Batmobile one night, Detectives Bennett and Yin follow an airborne trail of bats to the Wayne Enterprises building. Neither conclude that Bruce Wayne is the Batman, as the bats turn out to be the property of Wayne Enterprises researcher Kirk Langstrom, who has converted part of hi

The Man Who Would Be Bat is an episode of season 1 of The Batman. It premiered on October 2, 2004.

Synopsis for "The Man Who Would Be Bat"

While pursuing the Batmobile one night, Detectives Bennett and Yin follow an airborne trail of bats to the Wayne Enterprises building. Neither conclude that Bruce Wayne is the Batman, as the bats turn out to be the property of Wayne Enterprises researcher Kirk Langstrom, who has converted part of his lab into a bat habitat so he can more easily analyze their genetic material. After Bennett and Yin leave, Bruce confronts Langstrom and threatens to fire him for his unprofessional behavior, but Langstrom convinces him to stay his hand by explaining that the research is to cure his niece's deafness.

Bruce quickly learns, however, that Langstrom had lied; his niece has perfect hearing. When he confronts Langstrom again, Langstrom reveals his real motivation: he wants to be feared, just like the Batman. With the genetic extracts from his bats, he has created a serum that turns him into a vicious humanoid bat creature. After a quick battle, Bruce manages to lock the mutated Langstrom inside a petri dish freezer, but Langstrom escapes nevertheless, and begins to prey on livestock around Gotham.

After Batman pursues Langstrom across the city's skyline, the serum wears off, and Langstrom transforms back into a human being. In the midst of the confusion, Bennett and Yin arrive and arrest Langstrom, suspecting him of being the Batman. Langstrom, however, manages to swallow another dose of the serum and re-trigger his transformation, at which point "Man-Bat" (as Yin dubs him) abducts Bennett to use as an emergency food source. Batman tracks Man-Bat into the sewers, and after rescuing Ethan, triggers a flood of sewer water that suffocates Man-Bat into submission until the serum wears off again.

In the aftermath of the incident, Bennett and Yin discover that all of Langstrom's research material has mysteriously vanished from Wayne Enterprises. Meanwhile, Langstrom is committed to Arkham Asylum, where he quietly plots his return.

Appearing in "The Man Who Would Be Bat"

Featured Characters:

• Batman

Supporting Characters:

• Alfred Pennyworth
• Ellen Yin
• Ethan Bennett

Antagonists:

• Man-Bat (First appearance) (Origin)
• The Joker (In a photograph only)

Other Characters:

• Marlene
• Carly (Single appearance)

Locations:

• Gotham City
  • Wayne Industries
  • Gotham City Police Headquarters
  • Wayne Manor
  • Batcave
  • Gotham Sewers
  • Gotham Zoo

Items:

• Batsuit
• Utility Belt
• Batarang
• Batrope
• Batwave

Vehicles:

• Batmobile

Notes

• This episode first aired in the United States on October 2nd, 2004.

Trivia

• No trivia.

See Also

• 1 Images from The Batman (TV Series) Episode: The Man Who Would Be Bat
• Episodes of The Batman (TV Series)
• Images from The Batman (TV Series)
• Gallery for the The Batman (TV Series) series

Recommended Media

• None.

Links and References

• None.

Footnotes