Francine Lee (Earth-One)

Francine Lee was the fiancee of scientist Kirk Langstrom at the time that she first encountered the Batman. In fact, it was the Dark Knight who first revealed to Francine that her husband-to-be, had mutated himself into a hideous Man-Bat.^[1] Batman tried to provide a cure for Langstrom with Francine's help, but Man-Bat refused help. Instead, he convinced Francine to use the Man-Bat Serum on herself as proof of her love and once turned into a She-Bat, the two monsters tried to get married in a church, until Batman stopped them and forced them to take the antidote to revert their mutations.^[2]

Francine Lee 004 — Francine as the She-Bat

Shortly after, Francine and Kirk got married with Batman as their best man, and she became Francine Langstrom. Unfortunately, a few days later Kirk had a relapse and transformed into Man-Bat once again. Francine tried to talk sense into him, but it was Batman once again who managed to return Kirk into a human.^[3] Months later, it was Francine who needed Batman's help, when she transformed into the fearsome She-Bat again, after being exposed to a rare species of bats during an investigation in the desert of Las Vegas, Nevada. Francine was taken to a hospital, where she would received a blood transplant, to clean the traces of the bat serum in her blood.^[4]

However, Francine and Kirk decided to delay the treatment until she was stronger, but with time they forgot about it. A year later, Francine was manipulated by a sorcerer called Baron Tyme, who used her to murder people, turning her back into the She-Bat. Kirk Langstrom became the Man-Bat again and used hypnosis to break Baron Tyme's hold over her. Kirk defeated Tyme and the sorcerer apparently died in his tower chamber when the room caught on fire.^[5]

Afterwards, Kirk and Francine moved to his home town of Chicago where she lived with him at the Lakeshore Manor Apartments and was provided the treatment she needed for her "bat" problem.^[6] Unfortunately, the Langstroms were threatened by yet another mystical being called Doctor Thanatogenos, who tried to use their bodies and capabilities as a source of energy,^[7] but Man-Bat managed to stop the evil scheme for good and saved Francine from a terrible fate.^[8]

New York City

Following Batman's advice, Kirk and Francine moved to New York, where Kirk resumed his Man-Bat activities. By this time, Francine became pregnant with their kid.^[9] Certain day, Francine was visited by the private detective, Jason Bard, who informed Francine that a serial killer known as Shotgun Sniper had murdered some of her previous boyfriends and he suspected that Kirk was the killer. Francine couldn't tell Bard the truth about Man-Bat and by not doing so, she endangered everyone's lives, including her own.^[10] When the Shotgun Sniper was finally captured, Francine informed her husband that they were about to become parents.^[11] Francine was taken to a hospital and after a few hours, she gave birth to their daughter, which she named Rebecca Langstrom.^[12]

After their daughter was born, Kirk decided to retire as Man-Bat. However, a new bat creature started prowling the city at night and Francine assumed Kirk was not being true to his word.^[13] Later on, Francine learned that it was her who was transforming into She-Bat subconsciously and she was only able to control the transformations after she learned the truth.^[14]

Back to Gotham

Shortly after curing their daughter from a terrible illness,^[15] Kirk Langstrom became obsessed with the Batman and this caused him to lose his job and his money. Francine and Kirk were forced to move to the worst part of town in Gotham; Crime Alley. When Kirk used a stronger version of the Man-Bat serum and didn't return in more than a week, Francine started to think that perhaps her husband had changed into the monster permanently.^[16] Desperate to find Kirk, Francine sought Bruce Wayne's help, but due to her strain, she fainted upon arriving at Wayne Manor. When she recovered, Francine was reunited with her husband once again, thanks to the Batman.^[17]

Unfortunately, Man-Bat had a relapse and Batman asked Francine to help him. Thanks to her assistance, Batman was able to revert Man-Bat's transformation one more time.^[18]

Powers and Abilities

Powers

Transformation: Upon injection of the bat gland extract, Francine Langstrom could transform herself into a half-human/half-bat creature. This form mutated further when she was infected with blood from a vampire bat.
- Wings
  - Flight: She-Bat could fly by way of artificially generated leather wings.
- Claws: The She-Bat had sharpened claws which were strong enough to easily tear through flesh and muscle.
- Echolocation: She-Bat could navigate through the air by way of echolocation, similar in function to a bat's radar.

Weaknesses

Vulnerability to Sound: As the She-Bat, Francine was vulnerable to high-pitched frequencies. These frequencies caused her a great deal of pain and often left her disoriented.

Notes

This version of Francine Langstrom, including all history and corresponding appearances, was erased from existence following the collapse of the original Multiverse in the 1985–86 Crisis on Infinite Earths event and later restored following the rebirth of the infinite Multiverse during the Dark Crisis of 2022-2023. Even though other versions of the character may have appeared, this information does not apply to those versions.

Trivia

Francine's hair color has changed many times over the years. When first introduced, her hair was red. In the short-lived Man-Bat ongoing series, her hair was colored blond.

Francine Lee (Earth-One)

Contents

History

Man-Bat