Batman Symbolism: What 15 Most Famous Villains Really Mean

12. Man-Bat - An Exaggerated Version Of Same Theme

Man-Bat is Kirk Langstrom and he takes the theme Batman uses to strike fear in to his enemies and goes one step further. By using a bat-gland formula of his own creation on himself, with the intention of giving him a sonar sense to compensate for the fact that he was going deaf, he transformed in to a giant humanoid bat-like creature. As a result, he became the fearsome creature that Batman tries to appear to be, went on a rampage, and has subsequently been mistaken for Batman by terrified criminals on several occasions - though the serum took away his intelligence and it was down to Batman to cure him. In simpler terms, he is a literal bat-man, as opposed to a man whose costume is themed as such. He is a bat in man form as opposed to a man in bat form. Fairly simple symbolism, in this case, really.