On Leather Wings

Did You Know?

• Lon Grahnke of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the episode two stars, but noted that his six-year-old son thought the premiere was "awesome".
• Jim Bullard of the St. Petersburg Times wrote that the episode was extremely well-written and drawn, an unusual combination in cartoons.
• The episode was the second to be broadcast, following "The Cat and the Claw, Part 1", which premiered the day before.

Plot

When a giant bat-like creature is sighted over Gotham City and later attacks a guard at Phoenix Pharmaceuticals, Batman is suspected as the culprit. Detective Harvey Bullock requests permission from Mayor Hamilton Hill to form a tactical squad to capture Batman, but Commissioner Gordon denies the request, believing Batman is not responsible. Hill authorizes the strike force anyway, and District Attorney Harvey Dent promises to imprison Batman if Bullock succeeds. Convinced he was set up, Batman investigates and discovers two similar robberies at other pharmaceutical companies. He infiltrates Phoenix Pharmaceuticals, inadvertently alerting security guards who call the police. Bullock's strike force arrives, but Gordon informs him that another pharmaceutical company has just been robbed across town, clearing Batman. Batman escapes with a recording of the attack and a fur sample. The next day, Bruce Wayne visits bat expert Dr. Robert March at the Gotham Zoo, but March is reluctant to help. March's daughter Francine and her husband Dr. Kirk Langstrom agree to analyze the samples. March later reports that the sound combines starlings and brown bats, and the fur matches those species. The Batcomputer rules both out, so Batman returns to the zoo to investigate March. He finds Kirk Langstrom working late; Kirk explains that after developing a formula to create a new species—neither man nor bat—he tested it on himself and became addicted, driven by the creature inside him to steal chemicals needed to complete the formula. Kirk then transforms into a giant bat-like creature, the Man-Bat, horrifying Batman and Francine. Man-Bat escapes, but Batman grapples with him over Gotham, eventually overpowering him and taking him to the Batcave. Batman creates a chemical to reverse the serum's effects and returns the restored Kirk to Francine, though he warns that the Man-Bat may not be truly gone.

Production

For the debut of Batman: The Animated Series, Bruce Timm deliberately selected Man-Bat. He felt the character aligned with the show's intended blend of mystery, mood, drama, and superhero action. Unlike the Joker, Man-Bat carried no baggage from previous portrayals, allowing the creative team to avoid audience expectations shaped by actors like Jack Nicholson or Cesar Romero.