Man-Bat. Villain? Victim? Stupid?

As an obvious reversal to our hero, the Batman, Frank Robbins and Neal Adams created an actual bat man for Detective Comics #400 (1970). Kirk Langstrom is a scientist, another in a long line of unregulated, crazy, comicbook scientists. Dr. Langstrom studies chiropterology (the study of bats) and specifically their ability to use sonar. He tries to develop a way deaf people can utilize bat sonar, and creates a serum. Naturally, he tests the serum on himself, and things go sideways.

Kirk Langstrom turns himself into a human sized bat monster, The Man-Bat. At first, this character is a frenzied wild animal, and Batman has to save the day by finding an antidote. Sometimes, Dr Langstrom is a Jekyl/Hyde character, unable to keep himself from turning into his evil alter-ego. Other times, he's a naive and victimized scientist and inventor that other villains use to build armies of man-bats, or sow public chaos (or both). Sometimes his wife Francine is involved and becomes She-bat.

This character isn't terrible. But I do wish DC would agree on Man-Bat's role. Is he Dr. Jekyll, who is addicted to changing into the uninhibited Man-Bat? Is he the naive, victimized creator of a weaponized serum, often kidnapped and manipulated by criminals and terrorists? Is he in fact, just monstrous criminal muscle like the Killer Croc? Until everyone gets onboard with some agreement on this character, he will continue to seem misplaced and misused.