Man-Bat’s latest rampage through Gotham brings him into conflict with a gang that appeared in the Arrowverse.
WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Man-Bat #1 by Dave Wielgosz, Sumit Kumar, Romulo Fajardo Jr. and Tom Napolitano, on sale now.
Kirk Langstrom’s disastrous forays into the Man-Bat serum have always caused him grief. It’s destroyed his marriage, tanked his credibility, and made him an enemy of Batman more times than either of the two would care to count.
But prior to his joining the Justice League Dark, Kirk seems to have hit his lowest point yet when he consumed a stronger version of the Man-Bat serum in Man-Bat #1. Only this time, not only did it bring him into conflict with Batman, but it also put him in the crosshairs of the Blackout Gang, a criminal group most well-known as part of the Arrowverse.
After an emotionally charged argument with his wife in Man-Bat #1, Kirk Langstrom once again succumbs to his addiction and takes the Man-Bat serum. The resulting transformation sends him on a wild flight through the Gotham skyline. But this time, Man-Bat was determined to prove that he was a force for good, rather than the destructive beast he has been in the past. Using his echolocation, he discovers a crime in progress as the Blackout Gang attempts to abscond with a sonic cannon.
Man-Bat’s rash assault on the criminals triggered a highspeed chase through the streets and finally drew the attention of Batman, who tried to stop Man-Bat before anyone else was hurt. Unfortunately, this latest version of Man-Bat was much stronger than Batman was used to. Batman was unable to prevent Langstrom from attacking the Blackout Gang. And in their desperation to escape Man-Bat, the gang tried to use the sonic cannon on him. But Man-Bat’s flailing knocked the already unstable weapon onto the ground and triggered a sonic explosion that injured hundreds and deafened those closest to the blast. The Blackout Gang got away and Man-Bat escaped custody to pursue them, hinting at further conflict between the two.
The Blackout Gang is most known for appearing in the Arrowverse, more specifically the season 7 episode “Training Day.” Much like in the comics, the Blackout Gang steals and sells weapons to the highest bidder, making them the criminal underworld’s largest supplier. But like many of Arrow’s concepts, a lot of it was translated from Gotham City to Star City. The Blackout Gang itself was not a creation of the CW show, but had already existed in comics for quite a few decades.
They first debuted in 1970’s Detective Comics #400 by Frank Robbins and Neal Adams. Much like their television counterparts, they stole weapons for criminals and performed crimes at night while wearing infrared goggles and wearing black suits, thus explaining their name. Interestingly enough, they do have a history with Man-Bat, so their conflict with him now is not simply random. They had been attempting to rob a bank when Batman and Man-Bat teamed up to stop them. It was one of the few times Man-Bat proved himself to be a force for good, so their reappearance now could lead to Kirk Langstrom’s redemption.
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