SECRET ORIGINS #39: Dr. Langstrom, I presume.

[starwolf_oakley]

Part of the Secret Origin of Man-Bat ties into the secret origin of Batman. Mainly, a bat wouldn't fly through a closed window just because Frank Miller thinks it looks cool.











Gotham City: Home of the wacky coincidence. When I first heard about this, and thought the Langstroms were experimenting on the ground of Wayne Manor without Bruce and Alfred knowing.

To Monday Morning Quarterback the Dark Knight Trilogy, I would have added Francine Langstrom as a sonar expert working for Lucius Fox. (I also would have added Nora Fries as an expert on freezing technology, explaining why Batman just doesn't break the ice rescuing Gordon.) Nolan needed a few more female characters for his trilogy as well as a few more "out there" references to the Batman mythos. Even if they didn't use Man Bat and Mr. Freeze, references to them would be cool.

Comments

[skemono]

"It's just a bat, Kirk! You can get another one."
"You don't understand! There's so much paperwork involved in animal testing, it'll take me weeks to requisition a new bat! Heck, the last time I ordered some, they sent me two rabbits instead."

[icon_uk]

... and three years later Bunnyman and Cottontail made their Gotham debut.

[randyripoff]

As an FYI, the bat flying through the window goes back to the original origin from 1940.

[starwolf_oakley]

Yeah, but that story had the widow being open.

[althechi]

I don't think she had much to think about after Thomas got shot, to be honest.

[icon_uk]

Ba dum tish!"

[mastermahan]

Bravo.

[cainofdreaming]

Silly Kirk. Bats aren't actually blind. That's just a metaphor.

[q99]

Yea, but they still can't see well at night. When it's dark he's basically correct.

[cainofdreaming]

Actually the bug eating bats, which this probably was since the whole echolocation angle is played, seem to have a high concentration of rods (rods and cones being the two types of receptors) in their eyes, which usually mean high light sensitivity. At least in humans. So they probably see pretty good in dark.

[leoboiko]

Good enough to see a transparent glass window?

[cainofdreaming]

Dunno. The stuff I read didn't really go into that. I'd guess they're as likely to fly into windows as any other night flier; owl, nighthawk, what have you. It's just that stuffing their ears wouldn't be the deciding factor in that.

[q99]

Birds do run into windows sometimes, but bats don't, because to them transparent glass is a wall in echolocation, but, well transparent with eyesight.

[cainofdreaming]

Well, I must admit I didn't think it that way. Guess it would be the deciding factor then.

Though I find it kind of weird that a bat would try to enter a lit room. I kinda remember the fireplace being lit at least.

[q99]

Yea, it's not too likely the bat'd want to go in, but it's possible.

[q99]

Hm, good point.

Still, they could mistake a window for an opening.

[icon_uk]

Didn't Miller suggest the bat in his version was rabid or something?

[bradygirl_12]

I don't know, but that sounds like Miller. Fitting!

[thanekos]

He lost a bat, into the air/it went to ground, he knew not where..