Bane (Prime Earth)

{{DC Database:Character Template
 * Image                  = Batman Vol 3 18 Textless.jpg
 * RealName               = Unknown
 * CurrentAlias           = Bane
 * Aliases                = Batman
 * Identity               = Secret
 * Alignment              = Bad
 * Affiliation            =
 * Relatives              =
 * Universe               = Prime Earth
 * BaseOfOperations       = Peña Dura, Santa Prisca


 * Gender                 = Male
 * Height                 = 6'8"
 * Weight                 = 350 lbs.
 * Eyes                   = Brown
 * Hair                   = Bald
 * UnusualFeatures        =


 * Citizenship            = Santa Priscan
 * MaritalStatus          = Single
 * Occupation             = Professional Criminal


 * PlaceOfBirth           = Santa Prisca
 * Creators               = Chuck Dixon; Graham Nolan; Doug Moench
 * First                  = Batman: The Dark Knight Vol 2 6


 * Quotation              = I am Torment. I am Ruin. I am Plague. I am Venom. I AM BANE!
 * Speaker                = Bane
 * QuoteSource            = Batman Vol 3 19


 * HistoryText            = Bane's father had been a revolutionary who stood up for those who had been oppressed by the government. When he was imprisoned at Peña Dura, he escaped, and the man's son - still a child - was made to take his place. For 17 years, the child that would grow to be Bane spent his entire life inside a chamber connected to the ocean within the prison, spending every day in secluded boredom and every night swimming for his life to stay afloat when the tide would come in and fill his cell.

Over the years, he grew stronger, more cunning, and filled with hate for the world. Though some might think Bane relies on his Venom for strength, those truly in the know are aware that Bane had been a great man first.

As his legend and power grew, he heard tell of Gotham City - a place of dark madness that was said to be untamable. He, however was possessed of the desire to take it and tame it. The city had a protector in Batman, though, who used his own cunning and strength to prevent Bane's victory over him once before. Bane himself admits that even when he had managed to exhaust him in "every conceivable way", he still had to resort to treachery in order to attempt to achieve victory over him.

Partnership with the White Rabbit
Though he was eventually defeated, he came back some time later with a plan he had brought together with the aid of the Scarecrow's fear toxin and the White Rabbit's criminal connections. Bane and his men had planned to bring Gotham City to its knees with a nuclear device, but at the city limits, they were attacked by the Talons of the Court of Owls. They warned that they had planned a Night of the Owls, and would not tolerate distractions. Despite their regenerative abilities, Bane took pleasure in tearing their limbs from their bodies, and doing his best to make sure they were dead.

Initially, he had thought they were sent by the Batman, and sought him out, using a combination of Venom and the fear toxin to both make himself fearless, and, due to the drugs in his system already, make himself smarter than he normally was. After facing a humiliating defeat at the vigilante's hands alongside the aid of the Flash, he learned that the Talons had absolutely nothing to do with Batman outside of being his enemies.

After he was thrown from a cliff, into the sea from Harmon Island, Bane was discovered by Sebastian Clark, who explained to him that the Court of Owls had been his true enemy, and that they shared that enemy. Gathering his cohorts together, Bane decided that they would first destroy the Court of Owls - then the Batman.

Court of Owls
Allying himself with Sebastian Clark, Bane's first act in order to defeat the Court was the murder of Calvin Rose, a rogue Talon. After Calvin's murder, he left with Clark for Santa Prisca, where, he explained that unlike him, who was made stronger under the Venom program in prison, Calvin Rose was weak and could not ever shape Gotham to his will, unlike Bane and his army certainly could. As Bane worked to leave Peña Dura, his capital in Santa Prisca, Clark informed him that a resurrected, immortal, electrum-infused Talon Calvin Rose had infiltrated the island. However, Bane did not care, and had to leave in order to prevent the Court from preparing for his assault against them. After allowing his army to board ships bought with Clark's money, he then turned his attention to Rose. After Rose and several allies took down some of Bane's anti-Court allies, the man himself came to fight the resurrected Talon.

Unfortunately for Bane, Calvin Rose managed to disable his army with the help of his friends and escaped from the island. Angry that his plans had been ruined, Bane no longer had any use for Sebastian Clark. The former grandmaster of the Court of Owls demanded the opportunity to exact his revenge but was interrupted by an Outsider, who claimed that Bane could still conquer Gotham - if by different means. With another offer on the table, Bane slammed Clark's head into the ground and turned to the newcomer for an explanation.

Arkham War
During the Crime Syndicate's takeover of the world and the apparent defeat of Batman, the criminals who were once imprisoned in Arkham Asylum divided Gotham among themselves, each Arkhamite getting his own portion of the city. Bane, wanting the city for himself, recruited the prisoners of Blackgate Penitentiary to join him in the fight against Scarecrow and his army of Arkhamites.

Knowing the lunatics of Arkham feared only one thing, Bane built his own Batsuit and competed with Scarecrow to steal the Court of Owl's collection of undead Talons to use in their own army. This plan was a bust, though, when Batman-Bane was distracted by a challenge from Killer Croc, who he defeated inside Wayne Enterprises and threw off the top of the building. Only being able to secure one Talon, Bane woke William Cobb, who willingly joined him in order free Cobb's Talon brothers from Arkham's mind control.

The war lead Bane to the gates of Arkham where he found himself face-to-face with Scarecrow's army, themselves drugged with Bane's precious Venom. He battled the remainder of the Arkham army until they were all defeated and Bane declared himself the victor of the Arkham War.

After the defeat of the Crime Syndicate, Bane ruled Gotham with the help of his Talon William Cobb, who warned that their grip on the city would not remain unchallenged for long. That night, he was surprised when Batman, who had returned alive, dumped the frozen bodies of Bane's Talons at his feet. Batman and Bane battled across Gotham until Batman finally managed to knock the "guardian" of Gotham unconscious.

As the sun rose on Arkham Asylum the next day, Bruce Wayne promised the funds to get it back up and running properly with its new inmate Bane held under guard.

Batman Eternal
When Arkham Asylum collapsed after the defeat of Deacon Blackfire by the Spectre, Bane was one of the inmates trapped inside. Following the collapse, Bane rescued Alfred Pennyworth and the two tried to escape the rubble. After being confronted by some of Deacon Blackfire's cult followers in the escape tunnels underneath Arkham, the duo reached the entrance to an underground Batcave, but Alfred spoke a secret code word that released a chemical to incapacitate Bane before heading inside himself.

Having escaped Arkham, Bane was approached by Scarecrow of all people, his enemy in the Arkham War, to participate in a partnership. Though Bane was opposed, he only agreed to even spare Scarecrow's life if Crane would agree to upgrade his Venom. After their meeting and behind Scarecrow's back, Poison Ivy approached Bane with an offer to upgrade his Venom instead, believing she was a better chemist for the job. Bane and Ivy worked together and prepared to ambush Batman in the sewers. However, Bane soon realized that he had fallen in love with Ivy, obviously because he was being poisoned by her toxins.

Swearing he'd kill her for double crossing him, Poison Ivy escaped, their partnership terminated, leading to Bane being ambushed by Killer Croc on his home turf. Having had time to think of a strategy for a rematch since they fought in the Arkham War, Croc aimed for Bane's veins, wanting to bleed the Venom out of him, soon successfully defeated him. Mirroring Bane's words in the Arkham War, Croc responded grimly that this wasn't about killing him - it was about making an example of him. Bane was subsequently tied up in the sewers, hung up on one of the pipes by his wrists, his blood used to write the words "Le Roi Est Mort, Vive Le Roi" on the walls, when Batman came and found him.

Bane did not stay in custody long and was back on the streets fighting in an underground wrestling tournament before long. Batman made one last effort to finally restrain all the inmates that escaped, apprehended Bane, and had him sent to the new temporary asylum Arkham Manor before going to confront the mastermind that had orchestrated the chaos in Gotham to start with.

Joker's Endgame
During Joker's endgame plot against Batman, the entire city of Gotham was affected by Joker Venom, rendering them laughing zombies waiting for Batman to find a cure. The craziness spread to Arkham Manor where Bane was being held when Dr. Jeremiah Arkham disguised himself as the Joker and released all the inmates. While some were affected by a release of Joker Venom in the asylum, Bane found himself immune thanks to the high concentrate of actual Venom already in his system. Working together with a group of other Batman foes, Bane the villains escape the Jokerized manor and roamed the streets trying to survive the attack.

The group soon found themselves in contact with the Batman Family and, not wanting the city to be destroyed by the Joker, helped the heroes fend off the Jokerized mob long enough for Batman to find and fight his arch enemy. After Batman and Joker's apparent deaths and the city in shambles, Bane returned home to Pena Dura where his next goal was to conquer the prison that had raised him.

Batman's Suicide Squad
Having taken control of Pena Dura and part of the Santa Priscan country, Bane ruled with an iron fist, making the prison his fortress. However, he was unhappy, trying to kick his addiction to Venom to prove to his enemies that he did not need it to defeat them. Having his soldiers abduct Psycho-Pirate for his power to control emotions, Bane kept the villain by his side to control his own emotions.

However, this reliance on Psycho-Pirate put the ruler of Peña Dura in conflict with Batman again, who needed the Pirate to undo the psychological damage he had done to Gotham Girl. Knowing Bane would not give up Psycho-Pirate without a fight, Batman assembled his own Suicide Squad of Arkham inmates to illegally invade the prison.

When Batman arrived, he was purposefully captured and handed over to Bane, who admitted that, without Venom in his system anymore, he would be unable to break Batman's back over his knee with his signature move. This did not stop him from trying to break it while kneeling, though, and Bane threw the injured Batman into the cell he had grown up in for 17 years.


 * Powers                 =
 * Venom Usage: Bane's use of the Super-steroid Venom allowed him to temporarily enhance his physical functions to superhuman levels, particularly his strength, endurance, and speed. His body's senses and healing abilities are also augmented to a degree. Bane needs to periodically inject himself with Venom to retain these abilities, although overuse can result in temporary insanity.
 * : The primary effect of Venom is that it enhances strength to low superhuman levels, depending on how much venom is injected. Bane has been shown to be stronger than Batman even without the Venom, and while injected is able to bend thick steel. When Bane injects the maximum amount of Venom that is considered healthy into himself, he becomes capable of lifting about 2 tons. He is ultimately capable of exceeding his limit to 3 tons, though not without temporarily losing control over himself.
 * : Under the effects of Venom, Bane can react just as fast as the fittest human can. Bane has fought many opponents while applying his tactics and supporting his massive frame.
 * : Under the effects of Venom, Bane can run as fast as the fittest human can. Running on par with Olympic runners, Bane can support his weight while maintaining a high rate of speed.
 * : Under the effects of Venom, Bane can fight almost forever. As long as he can continue to pump Venom into his veins he can continue fighting indefinitely. While on a single dose of venom Bane has fought many battles for many hours and never seemingly stopped.
 * : Under the effects of Venom, Bane can withstand powerful blows from metahumans, multiple bullets and explosions. With mere scratches and bruises Bane has withstood extreme torment at the hands of his enemies.
 * : Bane can also use his Venom as a form of medicine to heal from injuries, poisons and diseases. Depending on how devastating the injury, Bane needs to inject a certain amount of Venom into himself. When faced with extreme wounds, such as many broken bones, excessive blood loss, or terminal poisons or diseases, Bane needs to inject an unhealthy amount of venom which will cause him to temporarily go berserk in order to heal properly.
 * Abilities              =
 * : Bane is exceptionally skilled in the arts of escaping and infiltration, and has managed to break out of Peña Dura (which is arguably the most heavily fortified prison in the world) as well as various maximum security centers, including Blackgate and Arkham Asylum.
 * : Bane is also highly intelligent. In prison, he taught himself various scientific disciplines equal to the level of understanding of leading experts in those fields, making him a genius, as well as one of Batman's most intelligent foes.
 * : Bane is fluent in English, Spanish, Portugese, Dhari, and Latin.
 * Polymath: Despite the absence of a college, high school, or even primary education as a result of incarceration, he has completely memorized all the facts in countless encyclopedias and books during his time in Peña Dura. He is exceptionally knowledgeable in various subjects including Mathematics, various Sciences, History, Geography, Medicine, and most likely more, to a level that would have definitely given him degrees in these fields.
 * : He is also highly devious (he crafts the escape from Arkham Asylum of all of Batman's enemies), and a superb strategist and tactician, who has committed various famous war manuals (such as Sun Tzu's "The Art Of War" and Karl von Clausewitz's "On War") to memory.


 * : Bane has a photographic memory, which borders on absolute total recall. This has allowed him to memorize the countless skills, disciplines, and facts that he taught himself over the years.
 * : Bane is a highly formidable combatant who has not only mastered, but also created several forms of martial arts. Though less skilled than the likes of Batman, Bane's fighting ability combined with his peak strength and endurance make him a highly formidable opponent for any non-meta and many metahuman foes.
 * Strength               =
 * Weaknesses             =
 * : Bane has a dependence on his precious steroid Venom. However, he has attempted to kick the habit to prove he doesn't need it to defeat his enemies. However, Bane was relying on the Psycho-Pirate to make him believe he no longer needed Venom. When Batman captured the Pirate and returned to Gotham, Bane quickly began craving Venom again.


 * Equipment              =
 * Venom
 * Transportation         =
 * Weapons                =


 * Notes                  =

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 * Trivia                 =
 * Recommended            =
 * Batman: Knightfall
 * Batman: Knight Terrors
 * Forever Evil: Arkham War Vol 1
 * Links                  =