WARNING: The following article contains spoilers from Task Force Z #7, on sale now from DC Comics.
The latest issue of DC's Task Force Z gives Man-Bat a disturbing -- and horrifyingly infantile -- makeover.
In Task Force Z #7, Mister Bloom has decided to part ways with his former teammates and set off on his own, more than likely nefarious mission. Before departing the group, Mister Bloom steals the decapitated head of Man-Bat -- a formerly dead Batman villain who has been partially resurrected throughout the course of Task Force Z by the use of Lazarus Resin. Other formerly deceased DC characters such as Bane, Deadshot and others have also been revived, to some degree, because of the resin.
Mister Bloom takes Man-Bat's head and delivers it to Powers International Headquarters, where Geri Powers is attempting to produce a Lazarus Resin of her own. Overseeing the process, Mister Bloom reveals to Powers that he's placed Man-Bat's head onto an infant's body that is very much alive. "If Dr. Langstrom here has taught us anything it's that there is no shame in being your own lab rat," Mister Bloom says.
The Man-Bat baby doesn't appear again in the issue, leaving it unclear if Mister Bloom intends to continue caring for the creature or if he's simply running experiments using the resin. Elsewhere in Task Force Z #7, Two-Face meets with Powers and then returns to Task Force Z, a Suicide Squad-like team led by Red Hood/Jason Todd, only to find that a recently resurrected Dr. Freeze has stolen the group's remaining Lazarus Resin. With a number of team members needing to be revived, Todd says he only knows of one place they can turn. "The guy I gave it to?" Todd says. "He's not going to want to give it back."
Man-Bat/Dr. Robert Kirkland "Kirk" Langstrom was created by Frank Robbins, Neal Adams and Julius Schwartz, with the character first appearing in 1970's Detective Comics #400. Formerly a zoologist who worked with bats, Langstrom became the monstrous creature after using himself to test a formula that was designed to give humans the same sonar hearing as bats.
Task Force Z #7 comes from writer Matthew Rosenberg, artists Jack Herbert and Daniel HDR, colorist Adriano Lucas and letterer Rob Leigh, with cover art by Lucas, Eddy Barrows and Eber Ferreira and variant cover art by Lucio Parillo and Dan Schoening. The issue is on sale now from DC.
Source: DC