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As a result of the New 52 in 2011, the entire line of DC characters was relaunched, incorporating properties belonging to the company's imprints: Wildstorm, Milestone, and Vertigo. As such, elements of this character's history have been altered in some way from the previous incarnation. For a complete list of all versions of this character, see our disambiguation page. |
- DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM?! I am not a joke. I am not a riddle! I am not a bird or a cat or a penguin! I'm not a scarecrow or a plant or a puppet! I am not your broken friend! I am not your regretful teacher! I am not a child's fairy tale! I am not a circus act here to amuse and frighten you! I am not another of your madmen howling at the moon! And I... I am not... I am not some rich boy playing dress-up! I am BANE !
- — Bane src
Bane is an international super-criminal who used his intellect and immense strength, enhanced by a drug called Venom, in his furious and violent pursuit for power. He once set his sights on Gotham City, making him an enemy of Batman.
History
Origin
Bane's father had been a revolutionary who stood up for those who had been oppressed by the government. When his father was imprisoned at the infamous Peña Dura, he escaped, and the man's son - still a child - was forced to serve the rest of his sentence for him.
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.[1] Over the years, he grew stronger, more cunning, and filled with hate for the world. Anytime Bane wasn't struggling for his life in the prison, he was studying - becoming smarter - and working out - becoming stronger - for the moment when he would finally break out. When he made it to the outside world, the man would take the name Bane and began his climb to power.
Fighting the Bat
As his legend and power grew in Santa Prisca, 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 he had briefly fought in the past once before.[2]
Sometime after the "War of Jokes and Riddles", Bane came to America with a plan to defeat the Bat. Releasing all the prisoners from Arkham Asylum, Batman was forced to capture them all over again, leaving him exhausted enough for Bane to strike. In their battle, Bane took Batman and broke his spine over his knee, leaving the hero paralyzed until he was later able to recover and once again defeat Bane.
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.[3]
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.[4] 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.[5]
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.[3]
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.[6] 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.[7] 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.[8]
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.[9]
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.[10]
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.[11] 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.[12]
After the defeat of the Crime Syndicate, the real Batman returned to Gotham and subdued his impersonator and sending him to the newly renovated Arkham Asylum.[13]
Arkham Collapses
When Arkham Asylum collapsed after the defeat of Deacon Blackfire by the Spectre, Bane was one of the inmates trapped inside.[14] 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.[15]
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.[16] 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. Bane was successfully defeated and left in the sewers, his blood used to write the words "Le Roi Est Mort, Vive Le Roi" on the walls for when Batman would find him.[17]
Bane did not stay in custody long and was back on the streets fighting in an underground wrestling tournament before long.[18] 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.[19] [20]
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.[21]
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.[22]
Conquest
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. However, in his absence, his home country of Santa Prisca had been overtaken by the Order of St. Dumas. Bane fought to dismantle the organization and, when Red Hood and Red Robin crossed paths with him while investigating the criminal conspiracy of Mother, the heroes and villain teamed up against the Order - their common enemy. The Order of St. Dumas was shattered, their "angel of death" Asrael defected, and Bane was able to reclaim Santa Prisca as his own.[23]
Having realized his narrow-sighted conquest of Gotham City, Bane redirected his mission to having a worldwide criminal empire. With his old gang, Bane quickly took over the criminal operations of a man named Dionysus and forced him to work as their technician. Gaining ground, Bane made a play to take over the entire operation of the Kobra Cult but failed to secure their leader, who they believed had been reincarnated as a baby. The cult then began to dismantle Bane's own operation around the world as payback.[24]
Rebirth
Bane returned to his former prison in Santa Prisca and resumed his control of the island. 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.[1] The mission went perfectly as planned; Batman and his Suicide Squad had successfully abducted Psycho-Pirate and, incidentally, broke Bane's back in the process.[25] Beyond furious, Bane relapsed on Venom and healed, preparing for his ultimate revenge on the Bat.
Soon after, Bane set his plan into motion and returned to Gotham, leaving Batman messages that said only, "I AM BANE." Batman, taking the threats seriously, told his allies to leave Gotham and go into hiding.[26] Batman, refusing to return Psycho-Pirate to Bane, was forced to fight him one-on-one and was brutally beaten by the villain.[27] Bane, instead, chose to retrieve the Pirate himself and broke into Arkham Asylum, where he discovered that every inmate had been freed by the Bat and promised a better treatment to whoever stopped him. Blowing through all of them, Bane reached the Pirate and once again battled Batman, who, despite even more abuse, finally managed to subdue the villain.[28]
After the emergence of Challengers Mountain and the evil Dark Knights, Bane was freed by the Batman Who Laughs and offered a metal playing card that could warp reality to his will in exchange for defending the mountain in Gotham. Bane of course agreed and changed his section of Gotham into a super-powered fight club, turning any villains he chose into mindless, oversized wrestlers.[29]
Bane was assisted by Thomas Wayne of the Flashpoint timeline in breaking Bruce both emotionally and physically. He later went on to take over the whole of Gotham and threatens to detonate a nuclear bomb in the city lest anyone try to free it. Bane would also snap the neck of Alfred after Damian Wayne was caught sneaking into the city. When he was confronted by Bruce, he challenged him to a hand-to-hand duel. Batman accepted, only to incapacitate him by overdosing him on Venom and Catwoman striking him with her claws. Before Bruce could break his back, Thomas shot him before putting a bullet through Bane's head. Though he survived, Bane went into a coma and was admitted to Arkham. After recovering, Bane took revenge on Thomas, who had been imprisoned after being taken down by Bruce, and broke his back.
Infinite Frontier
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Powers and Abilities
Powers
- Venom Usage: Bane's use of the super-steroid Venom has 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.
- Superhuman Strength: The primary effect of Venom is that it enhances strength to superhuman levels, allowing him to lift large boulders, tear through metal bars and doors,[30] and trade blows with Killer Croc.[11] He was even able to break out of 2,737 cubic pounds of ice pressing on him.[31] Bane's immense strength allows him to easily crush a man's head, break a person's spine, and even decapitate a person by ripping their head off with a single hand.[3]
- Super-Leaping: Due to his incredible strength, Bane can launch himself high into the air to leap impressive distances.[32]
- Superhuman Durability: Under the effects of Venom, Bane is capable of resisting tremendous kinetic impact forces that could easily crush or kill a normal human, without suffering any serious external or internal injuries. He has withstood a massive fall from a cliff and quickly recovered.[32] His skin and muscle tissue are far more dense than a normal human, as he was unaffected by several knives stuck in his body, and did not draw any blood.[33]
- Energy Resistance: Bane is highly resistant to energy-based attacks, as he was capable of withstanding 50,000 volts of electricity and was able to recover almost instantly.[24] Bane was even able to catch Azrael's flaming sword and remained unharmed.[34]
- Enhanced Speed: Despite his large size, Bane can move faster than any ordinary human. Batman has stated that Bane is faster than he is.[32]
- Enhanced Reflexes: 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.
- Superhuman Stamina: 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.
- Accelerated Healing: 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.
- Superhuman Strength: The primary effect of Venom is that it enhances strength to superhuman levels, allowing him to lift large boulders, tear through metal bars and doors,[30] and trade blows with Killer Croc.[11] He was even able to break out of 2,737 cubic pounds of ice pressing on him.[31] Bane's immense strength allows him to easily crush a man's head, break a person's spine, and even decapitate a person by ripping their head off with a single hand.[3]
Abilities
- Escapology: 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.
- Genius Level Intellect: 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.
- Eidetic 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.
- Multilingualism: Bane is fluent in English, Spanish, Portuguese, Dhari, Cantonese and Latin.[35], [36]
- 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.
- Tactical Analysis: 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.
- Martial Arts: Bane is a master martial artist who uses his strength to his advantage in combat. Even when not using Venom, Bane's fighting skills have allowed him to defeat Batman in combat.[37][38]
- Peak Human Condition: Bane has trained his body to the peak of human perfection, resulting in his strength level being borderline superhuman, even when not using Venom. Bane has been shown strong enough to rip a toilet out from the ground, break Batman's spine, and repeatedly crack concrete walls, all while not using Venom.[24][25]
- Weaponry[33]
Other Characteristics
- Drug Addiction: 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. [25] However, Bane was relying on the Psycho-Pirate to make him believe he no longer needed Venom.[41] When Batman captured the Pirate and returned to Gotham, Bane quickly began craving Venom again.[41]
Paraphernalia
Equipment
Notes
- Bane was created by Chuck Dixon and Graham Nolan, first appearing in Batman: Vengeance of Bane #1. However, in the Prime Earth continuity, Bane first appeared as part of the New 52 DC Universe in Batman: The Dark Knight (Volume 2) #6 by Paul Jenkins, Joe Harris, and David Finch.
Trivia
- Bane was four when he entered Peña Duro and twenty-one when he escaped.[1]
- The Joker hates Bane, finding him as an utter disappointment and failure of a villain. He vows that he'll one day kill Bane for wasting Alfred's life on Robin instead of Batman,[42] but misses his chance when Bane is mysteriously killed by an unknown, unrelated party using Joker Venom.[43]
Recommended Reading
- Batman: Knight Terrors
- Forever Evil: Arkham War (Volume 1)
- Batman: I Am Suicide
- Batman: I Am Bane
- Bane: Conquest (Volume 1)
Related
- 163 Appearances of Bane (Prime Earth)
- 121 Images featuring Bane (Prime Earth)
- 17 Quotations by or about Bane (Prime Earth)
- Character Gallery: Bane (Prime Earth)
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Batman (Volume 3) #9
- ↑ Batman (Volume 2) #23.4: Bane
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Detective Comics (Volume 2) #19
- ↑ Batman: The Dark Knight (Volume 2) #6
- ↑ Batman: The Dark Knight (Volume 2) #7
- ↑ Talon #7
- ↑ Talon #8
- ↑ Talon #10
- ↑ Talon #11
- ↑ Forever Evil: Arkham War #1
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Forever Evil: Arkham War #3
- ↑ Forever Evil: Arkham War #6
- ↑ Forever Evil Aftermath: Batman vs. Bane #1
- ↑ Batman Eternal #30
- ↑ Batman Eternal #31
- ↑ Batman Eternal #37
- ↑ Batman Eternal #38
- ↑ Batman Eternal #48
- ↑ Batman Eternal #49
- ↑ Batman Eternal #50
- ↑ Arkham Manor: Endgame #1
- ↑ Batman (Volume 2) #40
- ↑ Batman & Robin Eternal (Volume 1)
- ↑ 24.0 24.1 24.2 Bane: Conquest (Volume 1)
- ↑ 25.0 25.1 25.2 Batman (Volume 3) #10
- ↑ Batman (Volume 3) #16
- ↑ Batman (Volume 3) #17
- ↑ Batman (Volume 3) #20
- ↑ Green Arrow (Volume 6) #32
- ↑ Forever Evil: Arkham War #1
- ↑ Batman (Volume 2) #19
- ↑ 32.0 32.1 32.2 Batman: The Dark Knight (Volume 2) #7
- ↑ 33.0 33.1 33.2 Forever Evil: Arkham War #5
- ↑ Batman & Robin Eternal #10
- ↑ Bane: Conquest #2
- ↑ Bane: Conquest #6
- ↑ Batman (Volume 3) #71
- ↑ Batman (Volume 3) #72
- ↑ Batman: One Bad Day - Bane #1
- ↑ Bane: Conquest #3
- ↑ 41.0 41.1 Batman (Volume 3) #13
- ↑ Batman: The Joker War Zone #1
- ↑ Infinite Frontier #0
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