Title:
Detective Comics 402
Synopsis:
Kirk Langstrom breaks into Biochem, Ltd. after learning that they possessed a compound to create a cure for his mutation inside one of their vaults. As luck would have it, a gang of thieves decides to rob Biochem on that very night. Their presence bring the Batman down upon them and Man-Bat teams up with Batman once again to stop the criminals. When the fight is over however, Man-Bat still intends to steal the formula that he had come there to acquire. Batman could not allow this and the two come to blows for the very first time. Man-Bat knocks Batman unconscious and flees.
When Batman comes to, he instinctively thinks that Man-Bat might return to the place where they first met – the Gotham Natural History Museum. Arriving there, Batman meets Kirk Langstrom’s fiancée, Francine Lee. It is then that he deduces that Langstrom and the Man-Bat are one and the same. He bursts into Langstrom’s laboratory just as the Man-Bat is preparing to consume the formula that he has stolen. Batman and Francine’s presence startles him and he drops the beaker where it is smashed upon the floor. The Man-Bat then leaps from a third-story window and the Batman gives chase. As he pursues Man-Bat towards the cliffs, Langstrom hurls himself off the edge. Plummeting towards the river below, he enters the next phase of his mutation by sprouting leathery, bat-like wings under his arms. With that, the Man-Bat is able to fly away to safety.
Man-Bat takes shelter inside of a tight crevice in the side of a cliff. He soon discovers that the crevice opened up into a greater cavern which leads all the way to the Batcave. Batman returns to the cave, hoping to create an antidote for Langstrom and he finds Man-Bat inside the Batcave. Man-Bat tries to escape, but Batman seals off the cave, eventually incapacitating Langstrom. The blow that Man-Bat took to the head was strong enough to incapacitate a human and Batman has to decide whether he should provide Langstrom with the antidote and revert his transformation at the cost of being a vegetable or let the man remain a monster capable of moving. In the end, Batman decides to create the antidote and provide Langstrom with the cure.
When Batman comes to, he instinctively thinks that Man-Bat might return to the place where they first met – the Gotham Natural History Museum. Arriving there, Batman meets Kirk Langstrom’s fiancée, Francine Lee. It is then that he deduces that Langstrom and the Man-Bat are one and the same. He bursts into Langstrom’s laboratory just as the Man-Bat is preparing to consume the formula that he has stolen. Batman and Francine’s presence startles him and he drops the beaker where it is smashed upon the floor. The Man-Bat then leaps from a third-story window and the Batman gives chase. As he pursues Man-Bat towards the cliffs, Langstrom hurls himself off the edge. Plummeting towards the river below, he enters the next phase of his mutation by sprouting leathery, bat-like wings under his arms. With that, the Man-Bat is able to fly away to safety.
Man-Bat takes shelter inside of a tight crevice in the side of a cliff. He soon discovers that the crevice opened up into a greater cavern which leads all the way to the Batcave. Batman returns to the cave, hoping to create an antidote for Langstrom and he finds Man-Bat inside the Batcave. Man-Bat tries to escape, but Batman seals off the cave, eventually incapacitating Langstrom. The blow that Man-Bat took to the head was strong enough to incapacitate a human and Batman has to decide whether he should provide Langstrom with the antidote and revert his transformation at the cost of being a vegetable or let the man remain a monster capable of moving. In the end, Batman decides to create the antidote and provide Langstrom with the cure.
Cover Date:
08/1970
Publisher:
DC Comics
Issue Number:
402
Year:
1970
Variant Number:
None
Printing:
1st
Country:
United States
Cover Price:
$0.15
Era:
Bronze Age
Genre:
Superhero
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Language:
English
Date Added:
2018-07-02 22:11:53
Series:
Vol 1
Story Arc:
Known Deposits
Automatic Estimated Value:
~$44.00
Automatic Estimated Date:
2024-10-09
Date Added:
2018-07-02 22:11:53
Writer:
Frank Robbins
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Artist:
Neal Adams
Gil Kane
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Penciller:
Neal Adams
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Inker:
Dick Giordano
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Cover Artist:
Neal Adams
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