10 Most Tragic Batman Villains

10. Man Bat

Addiction is a terrible enough thing here in the real world, one can only imagine how much it must suck in the DC universe, where you have to worry about getting hooked on a drug that turns you into a giant bat monster.

Enter Dr. Robert Langstrom, The Man Bat.

Like a lot of folks you'll see on this list, Dr. Langstrom started off as an actually pretty nice guy, all things considered. While his reasons for developing the Man Bat serum vary from source to source, originally he just wanted to be a superhero like the mysterious Batman. So, being a zoologist that focused on the study of bats, he decided to see if he could implement the biological advantages of a bat's biology onto human DNA.

Technically speaking, he succeeded. Kinda. Maybe. From a... certain point of view?

While Robert got the flight, speed, stamina, and echolocation abilities of a bat, he also adopted the animal instincts and temperament of one as well, making him a giant bat with the strength of a man.

So Batman defeats him and all's well, right? Not exactly. You can't just do that to yourself and walk away, so now Robert is hopelessly addicted to the serum. While he has put his abilities to heroic use like he'd originally wanted, such as his recent work with the Justice League Dark, his struggle with his inner animal is unfortunately one that he'll likely be fighting the rest of his life.