Bane

Origin

Born into a life sentence for the crimes of his father, the boy who would become Bane was raised from birth within the harsh prison known as Peña Dura (“Hard Rock”), in the Caribbean Republic of Santa Prisca. He was named by the warden after committing his first murder as an adolescent. As he grew to adult hood he became feared and respected, the “king,” of Peña Dura. Gifted with physical prowess and natural intelligence, he spent his time in study, meditation and exercise, honing his body and mind to the peak of human potential.

A new inmate from Gotham City, Bird, told Bane of another “king” known as the Batman. Meanwhile, the Warden, attempting to rid himself of Bane, nominated him to participate in an experimental process to create a super powered soldier, which included the drug known as Venom. Believing him to be dead, Bane was tossed into the sea, where he freed himself. Returning to the prison, Bane held the Warden hostage and escaping by means of a helicopter, along with Bird and his longtime allies Zombie and Trogg. Bane and his trio traveled to Gotham, intent on taking over.

Creation

Bane was created by Chuck Dixon, Doug Moench, and Graham Nolan and first appeared in Batman: Vengeance of Bane #1. He was conceived as a darker take on Doc Savage, with inspiration from the Count of Monte Cristo and Mexican luchador culture. The steroid Bane uses appeared previously in the Batman story Venom.

Character Evolution

Characterized initially as an amoral product of a corrupt prison system and an unscrupulous super-soldier program, yet ultimately fated for greater things, Bane was shown to be savage in physical combat and shrewdly calculating in matters of strategy. Venom made him more powerful than most of his foes, allowing him to defeat the likes of Killer Croc, Robin and even Batman himself. Jean Paul Valley, assuming the mantle of the Bat, exploited this reliance on the drug and handed Bane a crushing defeat.

In Vengeance of Bane II, Bane would defeat his addiction to Venom and turn away from his desire to conquer, deciding he was “innocent.” Resolving to find his father, Bane’s search for his past, and subsequent redemption, would be the driving force for several years, with occasional lapses, influenced by Ra’s Al Ghul.

Scott Beatty was the writer to reveal that Bane was the son of Edmund Dorrance, aka King Snake. Finally meeting his father, Bane found him wanting. This saw a turn in characterization, back towards a more overt menace. Gail Simone wrote Bane into the Secret Six, exploring his own approach to surrogate fatherhood with Scandal Savage, as well as his lingering craving for Venom and his lack of direction since defeating Batman. He was shocked to find that he was destined for Hell, making him question his self perceived “innocence.”

Often portrayed in other media as more of a brute, and less of a tactician, this take characterized his first appearance in the New 52, heavily influenced by the popular video game Arkham Asylum.

Major Story Arcs

Bane escaped Peña Dura, along with his friends Trogg, Zombie, and Bird. He was fascinated with Gotham City, viewing it like the prison he had grown up in, a place where fear ruled: in this case, fear of Batman. Bane was convinced that the demonic bat that haunted his dreams since childhood was related to the Batman, and believed his destiny was to take his place as the ‘king.’

Aware that a direct assault on Batman would be foolish, Bane destroyed the walls of Arkham Asylum, allowing a horde of its deranged inmates, including the Joker, the Scarecrow, the Mad Hatter, the Ventriloquist, Firefly, Two-Face, and Zsasz to escape into Gotham City. While Batman spent the next weeks and months rounding them up, bringing himself to the point of exhaustion, Bane consolidated power in the Gotham underground. When the time was right, Bane set up a gauntlet of his three associates for the Dark Knight, which he barely survived. Then, when Batman returned to Wayne Manor, Bane was waiting. The fight was quick and one-sided, as Batman simply had nothing left. As the coup de grâce, Bane broke Batman’s back, leaving him paraplegic.

Bane was firmly established as ruler of Gotham’s criminal underworld, and saw no challenge. Desperate, Bruce Wayne passed the mantle of Batman to Jean-Paul Valley, also known as Azrael. Utilizing a sophisticated combat suit in place of the traditional Batman uniform, he fought Bane and defeated him by severing the tubes that pumped the Venom into his bloodstream, causing severe withdrawal. Valley then gave the weakened Bane a vicious beating, leaving him alive, but broken.

In Blackgate Penitentiary, Bane rehabilitated himself and beat his addiction to Venom. He then escapes, and begins a journey to unravel his past, most notably the identity of his father. Before leaving Gotham he encounters a similarly rejuvenated Bruce Wayne, once again Batman. Together they defeat a group of Venom-enhanced bank robbers. Parting ways, Bane states that he is “innocent,” and Batman should leave him be.

Bane’s search for his unknown father began with his birthplace in Santa Prisca. Finding the oldest inmate, who was a Jesuit Priest, Bane would learn that one of four men could have been his father. One suspect was a revolutionary hated by the Santa Priscan government (who would later become dictator of the island), another was an American doctor (later revealed to be Thomas Wayne), the other was an English mercenary (Edmund Dorrance, long before he was known as King Snake), and the last was a Swiss banker. Deciding to take his chances with the Swiss banker, Bane traveled to Rome in search of his possible father only to run afoul of the League of Assassins.

Bane is recruited as the new right hand man for Ra’s Al Ghul, traditionally known as Ubu, and works alongside both Talia Al Ghul and her father, as they plotted against both Gotham City and the world. Bane impressed Ra’s, leading to the Demon’s Head offering Bane his daughter’s hand in marriage. However, Ra’s choice of Bane only came from his daughter’s desire to spite her true love, Batman. After Ra’s attempts to release the Legacy virus into Gotham failed, Bane was humiliated, having been defeated by the man he once broke. Seeking revenge by turning Batman’s beloved city into an irradiated wasteland, he hijacked a mobile nuclear power plant and sailed it towards Gotham. However, the combined efforts of Batman, Robin, and Nightwing thwarted Bane’s plans.

After his failed attempt at destroying Gotham City, Bane escaped and sought to replenish his resources by selling Venom to General Webez, a would be ruler of Santa Prisca. Batman dispatched Azrael to capture him. Initially getting the better of Azrael, Bane is captured and returned to Gotham City when Azrael uses Banes lingering craving for Venom against him. As they land in Gotham and are about to turn him over to the police, a Cataclysm occurs, allowing Bane to briefly escape, before Azrael chases him down once more. Bane attempted to convince Azrael to join him in a life of crime, but Valley refused, and, taking advantage of an aftershock, apprehends him again. Bane would soon find himself in the employ of Lex Luthor during Gotham City’s status as a No Man’s Land. Attempting to rebuild and take over the ruined city, Bane is sent to destroy all official records of the city. Even though Bane is successful, Lucius Fox discovered copies of the original documents and foils Luthor’s attempts to take over the city.

Bane later encounters the Joker, and a battle ensues. Batman intervenes and convinces Bane that Luthor is not to be trusted. Bane leaves Gotham to it’s fate. Seeking revenge against Ra’s Al Ghul for his recent treachery, Bane travels around the world on a campaign to locate and destroy every Lazarus Pit. During this quest, Bane encountered Black Canary.

Tabula Rasa/Veritas Liberat

Returning to the search for his father, Bane is convinced that his biological father is the American doctor that the Jesuit priest spoke about. Upon closer investigation, Bane realized that the doctor who was close to his mother was none other than Dr Thomas Wayne, the father of Bruce Wayne. Upon realizing this, Bane was convinced that he and Batman were in fact biologically related. Sharing this discovery with Batman as he returned to Gotham, Bane found himself not only staying at Wayne Manor, but also working alongside with the Batman as well. A series of murders involving tattoo’s coming to life were investigated by this new “dynamic duo.” They found it was a traumatized girl named Pix who had used her technological the powers to cause her tattoos to attack the men who had assaulted her. Meanwhile, a blood test revealed Bane was not biologically related to Bruce. Even after learning this, when Batman was in need of assistance in dealing with Pix, Bane came to his aid, ultimately saving Batman’s life. Upon sharing his discoveries with the hero, Bane set off to continue his search for his father, now with the financial backing of Bruce Wayne.

With additional help from Dr. Leslie Thompson, Bane set off on his quest, eventually arriving in the remote mountains of Kangchenjunga after learning that his father was possibly located within the area at an old Lazarus Pit. His sources proved correct and he located the man known as Sir Edmund Dorrance, AKA. King Snake. Barely alive and malnourished, Snake had been there stuck there since an encounter with Robin. Bane and Dorrance shared their sides of the story, agreeing that their relationship was likely. After years of built up anger and resentment, Bane found his father to be largely unrepentant, and was about to strike him down when the cult known as Kobra interrupted them. Bane chose to bide his time when Snake used a post hypnotic suggestion implanted in Kobra to take command of the small force.

Emotionally conflicted, Bane allowed Dorrance to use the Kobra troops to harvest a weapon which had been stored there, when the Lazarus Pit was used as a Kobra base. However, he would side with Batman and his allies when they arrived to confront King Snake and his cult. Bane shielded Batman from King Snake’s machine gun fire, and threw the acidic energy source at Snake, apparently causing him to fall to his death. Kobra was defeated, and Batman revived Bane with a Lazarus Pit at his request. As he was lowered into the Pit, Bane stated “I will be like new…cleansed…healed…reborn.”

Infinite Crisis and One Year Later

Recruited into the Secret Society of Super-Villains, Bane took part in the Battle of Metropolis during Infinite Crisis. He fought the original Judomaster and broke his back, killing him.

Bane returned to a business of his own after this. He and Hourman dismantled a drug operation distributing a new version of Venom. Then he saw to elections in his home of Santa Prisca, backing one of the candidates. The election was rigged, and Bane’s candidate lost. He reacted by using his forces to put Santa Prisca under martial law and searching for the person with knowledge of the election rigging, Colonel Computron However, Checkmate was also after this man. When Bane caught up to them, he came face to face with Tommy Jagger, son of the original Judomaster.

Bane believed Checkmate was responsible for rigging Santa Prisca’s election, and he attacked. He and Jagger fought, with Jagger defeating him. He was told the only reason he was able to kill Jagger’s father was because Judomaster purposely put himself in harm’s way to protect lives. Jagger let Bane live.

Coming on hard times after this, Bane was apprehended and strong-armed into joining Amanda Waller‘s Suicide Squad. He took part in abducting metacriminals and exiling them to a far away prison world. This continued until he was betrayed along with the other villainous members of the Suicide Squad, getting sent to the prison planet as well. When the villains divide and take sides, he allied himself with Lex Luthor and became Lex’s personal bodyguard along with Deadshot.

Bane behaved loyally for as long as he was trapped on the planet, preventing Thunder and Lightning from freeing the captured Martian Manhunter. When the villains made their escape from the planet, Bane was among them to safely return to Earth.

Secret Six

Possibly due to having worked with Deadshot on the Suicide Squad and the prison planet, Bane became a member of the Secret Six. He took a special interest in Scandal Savage and began treating her as a stern father would treat a daughter and occasionally referred to her as his adopted daughter. While Scandal Savage was binging after Knockout died, Bane would constantly remind her of things to eat to help her feel better. She was often put off by his suggestions, like when he offered to let her sleep on his lap, but she did appreciate him. His strict code of honor occasionally created some tension with the other members of the Secret Six, many of whom had no such codes.

The Secrets Six’s first mission was a very dangerous assignment from a mysterious benefactor: they had to deliver Tarantula and a Get Out of Hell Free card to Gotham City. The group had a large bounty placed on their heads by a powerful and demented mob boss know only as Junior. Their path to Tarantula was riddled with opposition from many mercenaries and super villains trying to obtain the card and the bounty.

While picking up their sixth member in Las Vegas the group was ambushed and while Bane went to get a bullet wound tended to he was captured. Bane was tortured to near death by Junior, who was throwing bricks at Bane until he told him where the card was. The Secret Six did eventually rescue him but while en route to their destination Bane was slowly slipping into death. When the Secret Six finally arrived in Gotham they were ambushed by hundreds of villains and mercenaries as their secret benefactor, the Mad Hatter, watched. Bane could not do anything while the others struggled to survive but once he saw Scandal was in danger he knew something had to be done.

In order to heal quicker and fight off the attackers, he broke his promise to himself and risked relapse by ingesting a vial of Venom he always carried. Now enraged and on the war path, he grabs anybody he sees including Cavalier who he performs his signature back-breaker on. While going berserk he saw everyone as Batman and he was yelling: “Don’t you know who I am?!” “I am the one that broke the Bat!” While observing this Scandal remarks to Catman “I guess in a way the bat broke him too.” He also attacks Alex Merkel along with Scandal, Deadshot, and Catman but she fends them all off.

Bane was later seen with Ragdoll (in the guise of Robin) and Catman in an attempt to thwart an assignment they were originally offered. A group of mercenaries had been tasked with capturing multiple politicians children but that did not sit well with the team, especially Bane. Bane hated seeing children messed with or put in any kind of danger, probably because he was “raised” in a prison. The disappearance of Batman led the three to take on a more heroic stance as they attempted to stop the kidnappings. Through dialogue between Bane and Catman it was discovered how influential Batman was, especially on them. Bane respected Batman and felt if he really was gone only those who are worthy enough should be allowed to wear the cowl.

While they “protected” the streets of Gotham out of respect for the Batman, they came face to face with Dick Grayson in his guise as Nightwing. Nightwing was upset about their methods. Nightwing’s comments on their methods upset Catman who then considered physically challenging him but Bane kept the peace. Bane calmed down Catman and due to his respect for Batman, and his multiple protegees one being Nightwing, said they would leave. Catman questioned Banes actions and decision and revealed his reasoning for standing down. He told Catman they left because Nightwing is the only person worthy to be called Batman. Bane may not be as villainous as he once was but even then he respected Batman and what he stood for.

In a new story line Bane was hired together with the rest of the team by a new villain named Mr. Smyth, a slave trader. Mr. Smyth’s objective was to build the largest prison in the world. For this he employed amazon tribes as slave workers. Jeannette saw and remembered Artemis from a previous encounter. She busted her out, the rest of the team reacted with opposition. While the team was fighting amongst themselves Wonder Woman arrived. Wonder Woman upon seeing Artemis hurt, engaged the Six in battle. Wonder Woman was defeated by a surprising display of power by Jeannette, and the Six split ways, knowing that they were soon to clash over this.

As the three of the six made off with Artemis, the half stayed loyal to their employer and delivered Wonder Woman to Mr. Smyth. Smyth insisted that their former teammates would have to be dealt with for their betrayal and likely imminent attempt to free the other Amazons. However, something Wonder Woman said to Catman caused him to decide to switch sides. He freed the Amazons, which started a prison riot. Deadshot and Ragdoll struggled a little with whether or not they should kill the others. Surprisingly, Ragdoll decided to go back to the control room and beat Smyth’s head in with a wrench. Deadshot decided to give up on the job at this point, shooting an Amazon who worked for Smyth in the head to save Catman and Jeannette.

In the aftermath of the riot, Wonder Woman allowed what remained of the Secret Six to leave despite knowing they were criminals. Deadshot remained behind, where he executed Smyth much as he had executed a prisoner previously. As the group departed, Bane pointed out that every mission they take on ends with injury and no payment. He informed them that he would be in charge. His first decision was that Scandal was off the team, replacing her with Black Alice.

After Catman left to find the killer of his son, and Deadshot, Ragdoll, and Scandal joined him. Bane and Jeannette continue working. So to fill the ranks Bane recruited four new members. These members are: Giganta, Dwarfstar, Lady Vic and King Shark. The recruitment of new members caused a rift in the old team. There are now two Secret Six teams, one led by Bane and one led by Scandal. Over time these two teams came into conflict. As a result of them facing each other Bane was forced to fight against Scandal. Not wishing to harm her, Bane grabbed hold of one of her blades and slit his own throat. He was then revived by a doctor and the two team then banded together against Deimos who they then defeated.

The six were soon hired by Lex Luthor when he was held captor by Vandal Savage. They were almost killed by a bomb Luthor had set and were saved at the last second when Savage cut a deal.

Darkest House

Bane ventured into Hell with Scandal and the gang to retrieve Ragdoll and Knockout and faced his greatest fear. He soon overcame his fear and in the end rescued Knockout and Ragdoll.

Bane then helps Scandal rescue her girlfriend. Later Bane goes on a second date and impresses his date by protecting her from some thugs. She then say she want to show Bane a world shes more brave which she implies as “lots of mating”.

Caution To The Wind

Bane is once again seen with implants for Venom injection on the back of his head. He has come to the realization that despite the code of honor he’s lived by, he is still destined for hell. He surmises that the only way for him to attain the true fulfillment that has alluded him all his life is to kill Batman and his allies.

Bane and the Six attack Penguin’s base of operations to attain all the information he has on Batman’s allies and then force him to join their team. The team then meets at an abandoned warehouse in Gotham to discuss their plan of attack. Unbeknownst to them, Penguin had a transmitter hidden beneath his skin which he secretly used to inform the entire superhero community of the Six’s whereabouts. Realizing that his team was sorely outnumbered and could not win this battle, Bane and his teammates inject themselves with Venom; determined not to go down without a fight. The heroes ultimately prevail, and Bane and the rest of the Six are taken into custody. While being transported to Blackgate Penitentiary, Bane awakens he comes to a conclusion that they only thing holding him back from killing Batman was his recent girlfriend and somewhat his friends. He then breaks his shackles and prepares to escape.

Knight Terrors

For more information see: Knight Terrors

After Flashpoint and the reboot of the DC Universe, Bane is introduced to the DCnU by writer Paul Jenkins and artist David Finch in the series Batman: The Dark Knight. Bane’s appearance is similar to his appearance in the game Arkham Asylum, carrying a massive storage tank on his back and still fighting with his addiction to the Venom. In the story, Batman is investigating a massive riot in Arkham where all prisoners are being injected with a Venom derivative mixed with Fear Toxin which makes them stronger and immune to fear. Batman, while fighting an enhanced Two-Face, encounters a new villain called The White Rabbit and follows her, eventually leading him to Bane. Bane attacks him and after a pitched battle, with the help of the Flash,Batman emerges victorious. Bane is knocked off a cliff and carried out to sea. Most elements in DC universe were changed during the reboot but it was hinted in the dialogue from the comics that Bane had still broken Batman.

I Am Suicide

Free of venom, Bane had taken over Santa Prisca. He had turned his old prison into his new fortress. With him, was Psycho Pirate, who Bane was using as his own therapy tool to keep him off venom. Batman needed Psycho Pirate’s help with Gotham Girl though, so he traveled to the island nation to confront him. Bane made quick work of Batman and locked Batman in his old cell.

This was all a ruse from Batman. Batman had recruited inmates from Arkham to aid him in stealing Pirate from Bane. Soon after, Bane was visited by Bronze Tiger who brought him Punch and Jewelee, who had betrayed him before, as a gift. They were meant to be a diversion while Catwoman steals Psycho Pirate. Catwoman admits this all to Bane so that Bane believes he has the upper hand. He would voluntarily bring out the Pirate to use on Batman, and that is when the team would pounce.

Without Psycho Pirate, Bane started craving venom again.

I Am Bane

Batman needs five days for Pyscho Pirate to fix Gotham Girl, and then he plans on destroying the mask. That means Bane only has five days to get back the miracle cure for his venom addiction. Along with his associates: Bird, Trogg, and Zombie, Bane made a play for Batman’s support system. First, he beat up three of his Robins and hanged them in the Batcave. They also rounded up Bronze Tiger, Catwoman, Signal, and Gordon to hold hostage.

Bane offers all four of them back to Bats for Pirate. Batman declines. While Batman kept Bane busy with a fight, Catwoman slipped her restraints and freed the others. Then, she beat down Bane’s associates and strung them up like the Robins. This leaves Bane with no reinforcements to help him break into Arkham, where they are keeping Pirate. Batman also made a deal with all the inmates to stand in Bane’s way. All of it was to buy Batman time to get to the center of the asylum and prepare for a knock down drag out fight with Bane, which Bane ultimately loses.

He remained locked up at Arkham. While Batman believed him to be drugged up and incapacitated, he was actually running a crime ring from inside. Even the failure of Batman’s relationship with Catwoman was orchestrated by Bane. Penguin ratted him out after Bane had his wife killed. So, Bane teamed up with Thomas Wayne from the Flashpoint timeline. Together, they rigged Batman into a nightmare machine powered by Scarecrow’s fear toxin. While Batman suffered, Bane moved into Wayne Manor and released Arkham inmates into the street. When Batman escaped, Bane fought and broke him all over again. Thomas left town with his body, while Bane took over Gotham.

City of Bane

Bane had taken over the city. He replaced the police force with the Arkham inmates who were doing his bidding. Helping them was Flashpoint Batman, who lives in the manor with Ventriloquist as his butler and Gotham Girl as his Robin. The President even orders all superheroes to stay out of the city, thanks to a favor from Lex Luthor, which extends to members of the Bat-Family. Damien didn’t listen though. He attacked Thomas but was captured. For his punishment, he was forced to watch as Bane killed Alfred.

Eventually, Bane was confronted by Batman, having been nursed back to health by Catwoman. Batman dared him not to use the venom, so he ripped the pump from his body. Bane took on the Bat and the Cat at the same time in a brutal and bloody fight. Batman had picked Bane up over his head to break his back, only to be shot by Thomas.

Thomas then shot Bane, for he had always been a pawn in Thomas’ plan to convince Bruce to stop being Batman. Bane survived his gunshot and was placed back in Arkham. When Batman proved victorious, Thomas was locked up there as well, giving Bane the opportunity for his vengeance. He broke Thomas’ back over his knee.

Death

While locked up in Arkham, Bane was chained and hooked up to a machine that would pump all the venom out of his system. One night, while chained up, he was visited by the Joker. Joker was angry that Bane “wasted” the murder of Alfred traumatizing Robin with “one bad day,” instead of doing it in front of Batman. Joker believed killing the butler was the next best thing to killing Batman’s parents. He put Bane’s mask on and left him with a warning that he will pay for that mistake.

Some time later, an Arkham guard, Sean Mahoney, was performing routine rounds, when he found other guards dead by Joker toxin in Bane’s cell. He pulled the mask off Bane to reveal a twisted smile on Bane’s dead body. It was later revealed that Bane framed the Joker for the Arkham attack. He escaped Arkham and left a double in his place. Bane then orchestrated a plan to take down the Joker by manipulating the Court of Owls, the Sampson Family and Jim Gordon in to doing his bidding. He also constructed a female clone of himself named Vengeance to hunt the Joker.

Powers and Abilities

Bane has one of the most cunning and disciplined minds within the DC universe. Studying several scientific fields, languages, strategy, history, etc, Bane has all the advantages of a classical education. Bane is fluent in the languages of Spanish, English, Urdu, Persian, and Latin. Unlike other intellectual characters such as the Riddler and Lex Luthor, Bane strongly focuses on his goals without any obsessive tendencies clouding his judgments. With his coordinated mindset, Bane was also capable of deducing Batman’s identity with little support or investigation.

Bane has a photographic memory, capable of easily studying and fully reading and understanding the actions and the physical movements of another individual.

One half of Bane’s greatest self-taught achievements was his strong dedication on keeping himself in perfect physical condition. During his prison stint, Bane studied and designed new methods of calisthenics, meditation, and a fighting style that he uses against other well-known martial arts fighters within the DC Universe, often to great success. Notable victories include, Batman (Bruce Wayne), Nightwing (Dick Grayson), and Judo Master.

Through the years, Bane has built his mind and body to the point his body doesn’t endure much fatigue from sleep loss or by physical means. It was said that Bane used a certain drug during his prison stint that connected both hemisphere’s within his mind, it’s unclear if the drug’s effect is still active within Bane’s body or not, but it would seem that the possible combination of Venom usage is still having it’s effects on Bane. It was through years of his enduring physical training, that even without Venom usage, Bane is capable of having strength, stamina, agility, coordination, and fighting skills that are slightly compared to a metahuman. It’s unclear if Bane possesses a metagene or not, but so far he’s still labeled as a human at his highest peak for physical and mental perfection in all respects.

Aside from his physical and mental capabilities, Bane also has knowledge within the fields of heavy weapons handling and explosives. For the most part, Bane wouldn’t prefer using these type of weapons when confronting somebody; he would use such items when trying to destroy a building or any other man-made construction.

Venom

Bane is known for using his signature Venom drug. Venom is a potently addictive strength-enhancing super-steroid. It is based on the Miraclo formula. The drug enhances the user’s physical attributes to superhuman levels. By using the drug, Bane increases his already impressive strength. The amount of power Bane has is dependent on how much Venom he takes. It gives him accelerated healing, incredible stamina, and peak human speed. His durability increases to the point where bullets from most conventional firearms cause only superficial damage. The Venom drug increases his strength into the two ton range depending on how large a dosage he uses. Exactly how strong he can become has never been fully established. Venom has a severe withdrawal effect if the injections are not continuous. The symptoms are intense pain, dehydration, madness, coma and eventual death. Bronze Tiger once remarked that Venom withdrawal felt like his soul was being ejected by his body, and that it was much worse than the withdrawal effects of other drugs.

If Bane happens to overdose on Venom, he will temporarily go into a feral state in which his physical abilities increase tremendously, but he becomes little more than a mindless berserker. More savvy opponents have used this to their advantage, although many more have fallen before the onslaught.

In the new rebooted DC Universe, Venom enables Bane to leap multiple stories, makes him faster than Batman, able to survive falls from cliffs, throw around boulders and it makes him smarter. Bane created a special serum that can neutralize the effects on others. This serum causes intense bleeding from the mouth, nose, ears and eyes when it begins to wear off. It also can shut down the nervous system and turn the brain to jelly as claimed by Bane; Bane himself has proven to be immune to these effects.

As of DC: Rebirth, Bane claims to have completely stopped the use of Venom, stripping himself of all of the abilities that come with it. However, this was the result of Bane harboring Psycho-Pirate on Peña Dura. It was revealed that Psycho Pirate was using his abilities to make Bane think he was no longer dependent on the drug. Once Psycho Pirate is taken off the island, Bane immediately began craving Venom again. The addiction drives him to begin using Venom again, causing him to regain all the abilities the drug bestows.

Statistics

• Height: 6’2-6’8 (with Venom).
• Weight: 225 lbs/350 lbs (with Venom)
• Eyes: Brown/Green (with Venom)
• Hair: Brown

Personality

Owing to his unconventional childhood, Bane has a unique personality, sometimes at odds with his intimidating appearance, at others perfectly in keeping with his barbaric reputation. Bane quite matter-of-factly considers himself superior to almost everyone he meets. Perhaps because of this inherent self-esteem, Bane has developed a strong sense of compassion and often helps the weak and defenseless. What’s more, he often teams with others, despite his lone wolf demeanor. Bane’s dominance is not exclusionary, because his dominance is almost incapable of being threatened, his superiority self-evident.

Even though Bane has a very high level of intellect, his social skills are still developing, having spent so much of his live incarcerated, often in solitary confinement. His relationship with Talia Al Ghul ultimately proved incompatible, and his father/daughter relationship with Scandal Savage was at times awkward, although ultimately positive for both parties.

Aside from personal relationships, Bane has a strong sense of duty and honor. Bane has displayed respect for his ultimate adversary, the Batman. Though untethered by traditional ideas of “fair play,” Bane adheres to a personal code of conduct. Bane’s perceptions are colored by being deemed guilty before even being born. He was surprised to find out that he was destined for Hell, when the Secret Six visited there, as he considers himself “innocente.”

Other Media

It is notable that Bane’s portrayal in movies, games, and television are often less complex than his portrayal in the comics.

Films

Batman & Robin

A version of Bane is featured in the 1997 Batman & Robin film, played by the late Robert “Jeep” Swenson, who died from heart failure just a couple of months after the movie’s theatrical release. Bane, in the screenplay by Akiva Goldsman, is barely able to speak and communicates through grunts and growls. Still a prisoner, he is this time a serial killer, the sole surviving subject of Venom. Bane now owes his creation to Jason Woodrue, and lacks any of the strategic genius or explosive physicality of the original version. He is superhumanly strong, muscular, and wears a similar mask including Venom tubes. Bane is little more than a lackey to Uma Thurman’s Poison Ivy in the film, and finds himself being defeated by both Batgirl and Robin who disconnect the tubes connected to his mask. This depiction of Bane is one of the many aspects of the Joel Schumacher film that caused it to receive harsh criticism from fans and critics alike.

Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman

He appeared in the DC animated universe film Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman. In the film he is hired by Robert Thorne, Penguin, and Carlton Duquesne to deal with Batwoman. Towards the end of the film he falls into a pit of fire.

Superman/Batman: Public Enemies

Bane appears in the animated film Superman/Batman: Public Enemies. In film he is one of the dozens of villains after the 1 billion dollar bounty on Superman’s head. He gets knocked out by Batman after he cuts Bane’s Venom delivery system.

The Dark Knight Rises

Tom Hardy played Bane in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises. Imprisoned in Asia, he forged a bond with young Talia al Ghul and became her personal protector and friend. He was injured while helping her escape and was later saved by Talia’s father, Ra’s al Ghul, and the League of Shadows, only to later be excommunicated from the League. His mask has pipes of anesthetic (instead of venom) because of near constant pain.

Bane comes to Gotham City under the pretense of helping his employer, John Daggett, take over Wayne Enterprises. Bane later kills Daggett when Talia becomes company CEO instead to gain access to a fusion reactor for use as a bomb. In their first confrontation, as in the comics, Bane soundly defeats, and seriously injures, the Dark Knight, and has him shipped to the prison in Asia. Bane holds Gotham under siege with a nuclear bomb that Talia secretly controlled, and he reveals the truth about Harvey Dent’s crimes to spark a revolution against Gotham’s elite utilizing the immense amount of poor citizens in Gotham. Upon Batman’s return to the city, an all out war is waged as the culminated forces of Bane and the League of Shadows face off against Batman and the police, where Bane is defeated at Gotham City Hall.

Justice League Doom

Bane is the first member of the Legion of Doom to be introduced, trekking through Slaughter Swamp to the Hall of Doom before being attacked by a giant alligator. He is dragged underwater, but manages to free himself and break the beast’s neck. He meets Metallo, Star Sapphire, Ma’alefa’ak, and Cheetah on the way to the Hall of Doom before they are invited in. Bane is chosen by Vandal Savage to kill Batman. He does so by stealing his parent’s graves and informing Bruce Wayne of their disappearance, disguising himself as a worker at the graveyard. He then knocks out Bruce before putting him in one of his parent’s coffins and burying him alive. Bruce manages to dig himself out and is the first League member to escape his death trap (Batman later remarks that Bane’s mistake was burying him alive) and manages to save his fellow League members. Bane stays with Vandal Savage after he revealed his true plans, and faces off against Batman when the Justice League storms the Hall of Doom. Despite overpowering Batman early on he manages to defeat Bane by cutting his Venom tube.

Batman: Ninja

Bane appears in the Batman anime film, voiced by Kenta Miyake. In keeping with the feudal Japanese setting, he is depicted with a design inspired by sumo wrestlers.

Television

Batman: The Animated Series and Superman: The Animated Series

He appears as an assassin in Batman TAS. The producers where reluctant to use him because he felt too gimmicky. He was voiced by Henry Silva at first with a South American accent. Making his first appearance in the episode “Bane”, he was hired by local crimeboss Rupert Thorne to eliminate the Batman. Reluctant for a challenge, Bane proceeded with the hunt and drew Batman into a one on one fight at a shipyard. As Bane was near victory over the hero, Batman interfered with one Bane’s tubes causing him to suffer from a violent overdose of venom.

The New Batman Adventures

Bane would make his return in the fourth season of the Batman: The Animated Series, which was rebranded as The New Batman Adventures. With the rebranding, all characters were redesigned. Bane appeared in all black and a different mask, though he still had the machine that injected the Venom into his brain.

In the episode “Over the Edge”, Bane is hired by Commissioner Gordan to help him track down and hunt the Batman after the death of Batgirl. Bane nearly defeats Batman, but rather than releasing him into Gordon’s custody, he turns on them both. As Gordan and Batman combat the villain, Bane’s final attack on both Gordan and Batman that would send them falling to their deaths. However this is revealed to all be a nightmare experienced by Batgirl after her recent attack by the Scarecrow’s fear gas.

Bane also appeared in the Superman TAS episode “Knight time”. With Batman nowhere to be found, Bane lead a trio consisting of himself, the Riddler, and Mad Hatter, threatening to taking over Gotham City. However the villains found themselves opposed by Robin and Superman (in Batman disguise). Quickly defeated by the heroes, Bane found himself shocked by Batman’s increased strength and resiliency.

Batman Beyond

In the future, Gotham’s youth are falling prey to a new drug called “Slappers,” a derivative of Bane’s strength-enhancing “Venom.” Terry McGinnis investigates the drug trafficking of this new drug by going back to the source. Bruce guides Terry to a remote invalid home outside of Gotham. Terry discovers that Bane has been in a vegetative state for years. An orderly named Jackson Chappell explains that Bane’s constant use of “Venom” has left him in this state.Terry later discovers that Chappell has been producing “Slappers” ever since Bane told him the formula for “Venom.” After the Slapper catastrophe, Bruce decided that Bane was too dangerous to be left unchecked. Bruce had Bane transferred to a secure facility where he has kept his own rogues as well as Terry’s. Each rogue has been reduced to a catatonic state. The facility now houses Bane, Mad Hatter, Maxie Zeus and Bonk, a thug who was poisoned by the new Joker.

The Batman

He appears in “The Batman” as an assassin hired to kill Batman. Nearly defeating the hero who barely escapes, Bane’s chaos within Gotham City would attract Batman once more and this time fight the hero who’s wearing a battlesuit. As the fight progresses, Batman managed to get the victor over Bane and defeat this powerhouse once and for all. He would also appear in the episodes “Traction”, “Rumors” and “Batman/Superman Story”. He is voiced by Joaquim de Almeida and later by Ron Perlman. In this incarnation Bane is much more monstrous than he appears in other portrayals.

Batman: The Brave and the Bold

He appears in Batman the Brave and the Bold episode “Menace of the Conquering Caveman” having escaped prison only to be caught by Batman and Wildcat. He is later seen as a simulation for Speedy, Aqualad and Robin to fight against. In “Night of the Batmen” Bane is seen with Blockbuster, Solomon Grundy, and Killer Croc trying to steal Lady Liberty but are eventually beaten by Captain Marvel dressed like Batman. Unlike his comic book counter part Bane is shown to be weak and skinny before taking venom.

Batman of Shanghai

Bane makes an appearance in the animated short from the DC Nation block on Cartoon Network. He is first seen sitting down on a rickshaw when he is put off-balance due to Catwoman using it as a landing for her escape. Bane is seen again attempting in vain to pull a very large woman on his rickshaw before using his Venom turning him into a massive giant. He pursues Catwoman landing on an assailant and taking the scroll of destiny. However he is engaged by Batman who with Catwoman tag team him and defeat him. This version of Bane is shown to be a simplified version as unlike his comic counterpart he has a thin build before Venom in the animation and has few lines.

Young Justice

Bane appears in the Young Justice episode “Drop Zone”, where he is the head of a drug operation on Santa Prisca, dealing the enhanced steroid Venom. Beaten by Mammoth, who is enhanced by a mixture of Venom project Blockbuster, he does battle with the Cult of the Cobra and later tricks the team to help him before attempting to kill them in a way that would make the Justice League come after the Cultists in a way that would allow him to take control of his drug factory, but fails and see’s his factory destroyed. He later joins Lex Luthor as an associate of the Light and He is voiced by Danny Trejo in this.

Batman: Assault on Arkham

This 2014 animated film was direct-to-video and featured many of Batman’s notorious villains including the Joker, Harley Quinn, Deadshot, and even Bane. Bane was not one of the main characters who played in this film as a member of the Suicide Squad, but was introduced during a breakout at Arkham Asylum, along with many other villains. He was hooked up with venom tubes and was strong enough to flip over police cars, but was eventually defeated by Batman.

Harley Quinn

Bane appears as a recurring character in the Harley Quinn animated series, voiced by James Adomian in a parody of Tom Hardy’s performance. He is a member of the Legion of Doom and is often treated as dumb muscle.

Video Games

Batman & Robin

Bane is a boss battle in the video game adaptation of the movie Batman & Robin.

Batman: Chaos in Gotham

Bane is one of the many villains featured as a boss, in the Game Boy Color game.

Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu

Bane is the third boss battle in Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu.

Lego Batman: The Videogame

Within the Batman Lego series, Bane is seen as not only an opposing villain, but a playable character as well. Serving only as a minor boss, Bane would be used within the game to overcome obstacles that involve heavy lifting.

Arkham Series

He makes and appearance in Batman: Arkham Asylum alongside the Joker and many other classic villains, Bane is a boss in the game and his appearance without exposure to Venom is a lot like his Batman and Robin movie version. When not pumped full of Venom he is rather thin, weak and sickly looking. In the game he is force-fed an enhanced version of Venom developed by Joker and Dr. Penelope Young. They intended to use the enhanced Venom to create an entire army of Banes to take over Gotham City.

Bane later reappears in the sequel Batman: Arkham City, having been locked in the city along with most other villains. He temporarily forges an alliance with Batman to destroy the Titan containers located throughout the city, but attempts to betray him following that and use the Titans for his own purposes. However Batman predicting this locks Bane in a storage unit, and destroys the last remnants of the Titan formula.

Bane appears in Batman: Arkham Origins, a prequel to Arkham Asylum. He is one of the eight assassins attempting to hunt down Batman and collect Black Mask’s 50 million dollar bounty. He is the final assassin (In the main storyline). When Batman is in Blackgate prison, Joker hooks himself up to an electric chair that is powered by Bane’s heart beat, knowing that Batman will have to kill either himself, Joker, or Bane. Batman fights and is about to defeat Bane, but Bane gives himself a huge dose of venom, making him huge and strong, (similar to his appearance in Arkham City and Asylum). Batman weakens him by pushing him into an electric wall, then captures him with Deathstroke’s line launcher. Bane found out that Batman is Bruce Wayne, but exposure to the TN-1 gave him long-term memory lost making him forget about Bruce Wayne being Batman.

Bane is also a big part of Arkham Origins online mode. It takes place some time after the Origins story line. Each match consists of 8 players, 3 Joker soldiers, 3 Bane soldiers and 2 for Batman and Robin. Joker and Bane soldiers must kill the opposing team, while watching out for Batman and Robin. After fighting for a while, a door becomes available. If a soldier gets to the door, they can play as either Joker or Bane (depending on their team). In online, Bane can run extremely fast, throw enemies and break people’s backs with his knee. He also has an extremely powerful rocket launcher. All of his hits are one instant kills.

In Arkham Knight Bane does not appear, having been transferred back to Santa Prisca, but as an easter egg you can find his venom back pack.

DC Universe Online

If you are a villain and your mentor is Joker. Bane is selling Venom. You fight his henchmen and eventually fight him alongside Killer Croc. However if you choose the hero campaign, you battle him alongside Nightwing. The Cape Carmine Lighthouse also acts as a daily Duo, with the player fighting an even more powerful version of Bane at the end of the level. Every time Bane uses venom in the game he becomes stronger taller and his health regenerates.

Bane also appears in the Penguin’s Lair in the Instance Caging Penguin. He will appear as a mini-boss acting as muscle for the Penguin.

He also is a playable character in Legends: Player vs. Player.

Injustice: Gods Among Us

Bane is a playable character in Injustice: Gods Among Us. His special move is an homage to him breaking Batman’s back in Knightfall. Bane also has his classic Knightfall costume in the game. He is voiced again by Fred Tatasciore.

Injustice 2

Bane returns in the sequel, voiced again by Fred Tatasciore.

Merchandise

• Bane was featured in Kenner’s action figure line for Batman: The Animated Series.
• Bane was featured in Kenner’s Legends of the Dark Knight line.
• Bane was featured in Kenner’s toy line for the Batman and Robin movie.
• Bane was featured in Mattel’s DC Superheroes line.
• Eaglemoss Publications released a lead Bane figurine.
• Bane was featured in DC Direct’s Knightfall line.
• Bane was featured in DC Direct’s Batman: Black & White line.
• Bane was featured in the Japanese Batman line from Yamato, with designs by Kia Asamiya.
• Bane was featured in Mattel’s line for The Dark Knight Rises.
• Bane was the subject of a Collect-and-Connect wave from Mattel’s DC Universe Classics line.
• Bane was featured in DC Direct’s line for Batman: Arkham Asylum.
• Iron Studios released a Bane statue.
• Hot Toys created a Bane figure based on his appearance in The Dark Knight Rises.
• Bane was featured as the Collect-and-Connect figure of a DC Multiverse wave from McFarlane Toys.