''Keluang Man'' is a Malaysian

comedy Comedy is a genre of dramatic works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. Origins Comedy originated in ancient Greec ...

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a fictional character who typically possesses ''superpowers'' or abilities beyond those of ordinary people, is frequently costumed concealing their identity, and fits the role of the hero, typically using their ...

animated television series aired on TV1 from 1998 to 2005. Based on the

fruit bat Megabats constitute the family Pteropodidae of the order Chiroptera. They are also called fruit bats, Old World fruit bats, or—especially the genera ''Acerodon'' and ''Pteropus''—flying foxes. They are the only member of the superfamil ...

(), his costume and appearance is based on

DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...

Batman Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...

. It is created by Kamn Ismail, best known for his directorial role in '' Usop Sontorian''. A live-action

film adaptation A film adaptation transfers the details or story of an existing source text, such as a novel, into a feature film. This transfer can involve adapting most details of the source text closely, including characters or plot points, or the original sou ...

is set to be released in May 2025.

Overview

''Keluang Man'' was created by Kamn Ismail and his team of animators in June 1997, following the end of '' Usop Sontorian'' as he wanted the presence of "National Hero" at the time. A few months later, the team was augmented by a group of new junior animators. Production halted for a while due to the economic crisis in 1997 and 1998, but later continued in 2000 until the series finally ended in 2005.

Synopsis

Set in Tumpoi, a fictional city inspired by the real city of Tampoi,

Johor Johor, also spelled Johore,'' is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia in the south of the Malay Peninsula. It borders with Pahang, Malacca and Negeri Sembilan to the north. Johor has maritime borders with Singapore ...

(near

Johor Bahru Johor Bahru, abbreviated as JB, is the capital city of the Malaysian state of Johor. It is the core city of Johor Bahru District, Malaysia's second-largest district by population and the second-largest district economy. Covering an area of ...

), Keluang Man made his first appearance in an alley where a man is trying to rob a girl. Since then, Keluang Man has been media's most wanted. Keluang Man's real name is Borhan and he is actually one of the mental patients in Tampoi Mental Hospital (). The hospital security makes it hard for Keluang Man to act during daylight, so he decided only to fight for justice at night. However, the existence of Keluang Man as a justice fighter did not make Inspector Shahab, the local police chief sit very well in his position. He sees Keluang Man as an annoying hero who always disturbs the police's business until he ordered that Keluang Man be arrested but was unsuccessful. In the second episode of the first season, Tiong Man makes his first appearance as a counterpart, holding a similar role as Robin in the Batman series. Both superheroes work together to fight supervillains such as Badut (The Clown), Mata Batu Johan Hitam, Samsir, Majid Kilat, Meow The Cat Girl and many more with the hope that the town of Tumpoi will turn back into a peaceful place for everyone.

Broadcast

''Keluang Man'' start aired on TV1 in August 1, 1998 and spanned seven seasons until 2005 with reruns until 2007. In 2008, ''Keluang Man'' was re-aired on TV9.

Adaptation

Comic

A comic based on the series was released on June 1, 1999.

Live-action film

Iconic Animation Studio, which owns the intellectual rights of ''Keluang Man'', signed a deal with

Astro Shaw Astro Shaw Sdn Bhd (stylised as astro SHAW) is a Malaysian film studio that has produced films for the local and regional markets and is pursuing expansion into international film investments. It also provides a marketing and distribution servic ...

to produce and bring ''Keluang Man'' to cinema based on agreement in

Astro Astro may refer to: Entertainment and media * Astro (South Korean band), a South Korean boy band * Astro (UB40) (born Terence Wilson) (1957–2021), rapper and member of the British reggae band UB40 * Astro (Chilean band), a Chilean indie ro ...

HQ in

Bukit Jalil Bukit Jalil is an affluent suburb in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is bounded by the National Sports Complex on the east, the Shah Alam Expressway on the north, city boundaries to the west, and the Puchong–Sungai Besi Highway in addition to cit ...

. The film will directed and produced by Anwari Ashraf with scriptwriting by Astro Shaw's Writers' Room and planned to release in 2025.

Notes

References

Bibliography

* {{Portal bar, Malaysia, Cartoon, Animation, Television 1998 Malaysian television series debuts 2005 Malaysian television series endings 1990s Malaysian television series 2000s Malaysian television series Malaysian children's animated action television series Malaysian children's animated adventure television series Radio Televisyen Malaysia original programming Malay-language television shows