WARNING: The following contains spoilers for the story "The Quiet and Unsung Death of Kirk Langstrom" from Detective Comics #1040, on sale now from DC Comics.
As one of the most famous superheroes in pop culture, Batman also has one of the most iconic rogues galleries of all time. That makes any major shifts for them a notable event, especially when one who has been around for over half a century dies a surprisingly noble death. In Detective Comics #1040, by Dan Watters, Max Raynor, Arif Prianto and Rob Leigh, Man-Bat was just killed by a mystical threat -- and in his final moments finalized his redemption.
Kirk Langstrom -- aka Man-Bat -- made his debut in Detective Comics #400 by Frank Robbins and Neal Adams. A scientist whose ambition outpaced his skills in the lab, Langstrom's experiments resulted in him being transformed into a large bat-like creature. Despite the repeated attempts to cure him of this condition over the years, Langstrom inevitably ended up returning to his bat form. Although he was nominally a villain and member of Batman's Rouge's Gallery for years, Man-Bat has done his best to be a more heroic figure. In the DC Rebirth era, Man-Bat has even technically become a member of the Justice League, becoming the scientific expert for Justice League Dark. He had last been spotted assisting Doctor Fate at the Tower of Fate -- only to reappear in Gotham City.
After initially assuming his former enemy had become a villain again, Batman is shocked to discover that a demonic force had followed Man-Bat from the Tower of Fate. Unseen by the Dark Knight, Man-Bat is tormented by the demonic force. He does his best to contain it within himself, but it feeds on his fears and stews in his chest. Finally, it breaks his resolve and suddenly bursts out of his chest into the material world. The demon boasts about how it will feed on the fears of Gotham and spread its children across the world. But Man-Bat -- fatally wounded by the demon bursting out of him -- refuses to fear the creature and himself any longer. Man-Bat is finally able to contain the creature within himself again and stops it from spreading out across the world and killing others.
But this does not heal his wounds, leaving a smoldering hole in his chest that quickly drains him of what life he has left. With his dying words, Man-Bat asks Batman to never tell the truth of what happened to him, as the knowledge of the demon (and the ensuing fear it could cause) would allow it to return. Only Batman, unafraid of such terrors, can truly know the fate that befell him. As he tells Batman this, the Man-Bat dies in his arms. It isn't long before Kirk Langstrom is buried, with his wife Francine coming to visit his unremarkable grave.
Due to the nature of his demise, Batman can't allow for a proper funeral to celebrate a man who eventually proved himself a hero at heart. But watching Francine arrive at the funeral, the Dark Knight is tempted to tell her the truth about his heroic last deed and give her some closure -- but isn't sure whether this would allow the demon to return and to make Kirk's sacrifice ultimately useless in the long-run. The story ends with Batman watching Francine in the graveyard, unsure of what to do and what to say.
It's a tragic end to the former villain, giving his growth into a more heroic form a somber but fitting ending. Ultimately, Man-Bat proved himself to be above his animalistic side and was able to die on his own two feet as a man. His final words confirmed that he was okay being remembered as nothing but a B-List villain instead of the hero he really was, one final noble act meant to save the lives of countless others. It's a fitting end for the longtime villain and one that crystallizes his heroic -- and seemingly final -- arc.