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Bane

Bane, One of the Heralds of Dark Emperor

"Oh, you think the darkness is your ally. But you merely adopted the dark; I was born in it, moulded by it, I didn't see the light until I was already a man, by then it was nothing to me but BLINDING!"


Bane is a villain from the Batman series. He is powered by a machine on his back that infects his body with Venom. He once managed to break Batman's spine. He was the only villain ever to, literally, break Batman. He is one of Batman's most physically formidable foes.


In Beyond Light and Darkness, He is one of the Main and Minor Antagonists of the Series. While he wears his injustice mask at 1st he later dons his mask from Dark Knight Rises (his body is his apperance from DKR but wears the attire from Injustice: Gods Among Us). He is one of the Dark Emperor's heralds in the ranks of Shadowblood.


Apperance[]

Personality[]

Bane is ruthless and cold, perfectly willing to slaughter millions of people as Ra’s al Ghul sought to and killing people with his bare hands without a care. Despite being cast out of the League of Shadows, he is fully immersed in Ra’s beliefs and ideals. Bane’s time in prison has affected him greatly, to the point that he seeks to make Gotham experience the same situation the inmates did. He commands absolute loyalty from his men and he is perfectly willing to kill them in pursuit of his goals. The only other person Bane seemed to care for was Talia.

History[]

Background[]

Bane was born to serve the life sentence of his father, so his childhood and early adult life are spent behind the walls of Peña Duro, an infamous prison in Santa Prisca. Although he is imprisoned, his natural abilities allow him to develop extraordinary skills within the prison's walls. He reads as many books as he can get, he trains his body in the prison gym, and he learns to fight in the merciless school of prison life. Despite his circumstances, he appears to have found various teachers during his prison time, ranging from hardened convicts to an elderly Jesuit priets. Bane commited his first murder at the age of eight, when he stabbed a criminal who wanted to use him to gain information about the prison.


During his years in prison, Bane always carried a teddy bear with him, which he called Osito (Spanish for "Little Bear"). He considers this teddy bear as his only friend. It is later revealed that Osito has a hole in his back to hold a knife that Bane uses against anyone who bullies him.

Bane ultimately establishes himself as the "King" of the Peña Duro prison. The prison's controllers notice this, and force him to become a test subject for a mysterious drug called Venom, which had already killed all the other test subjects. At first the drug nearly kills him, but he survives and finds it enhances his physical strength, although he needs to take it every 12 hours or he would suffer from debilitation side-effects. The drug gets pumped directly into Bane's brain. Plus, without the venom, Bane is just a weakling.


Breaking the Bat[]

Years later, Bane escapes Peña Duro, along with several accomplices. His ambition turns to destroying Batman, whom he had heard tales of while serving his sentence. He is fascinated with Gotham City because it is a city where fear ruled, just like the prison he escaped from. Bane is convinced that the demonic bat that haunted his dreams since childhood is a representation of the Batman.

He is aware that a direct assault on the Batman would be foolish, so Bane destroys the walls of Arkham Asylum, allowing its deranged inmates (including The Joker, Scarecrow, Poison Ivy, The Mad Hatter, The Ventriloquist, The Firefly, Black Mask and Victor Zsasz) to escape into Gotham City, where Batman spends three months rounding them up. Running himself to exhaustion, Batman returns to Wayne Manor, where Bane awaits him. Bane and Batman fight in the Batcave, and Bane wins the fight. He delivers the final blow: he breaks Batman's back and leaves him paraplegic, thereby being the only man to ever "Break the Bat".


Bane's Downfall[]

While Bane establishes himself as ruler of Gotham City's criminal underworld, Bruce Wayne passes the mantle of Batman to Jean-Paul Valley, also known as Azrael. Being the new Batman, Jean-Paul grows increasingly violent, allowing the villain Abattoir to fall to his death. Utilizing a advanced combat suit instead of the traditional Batman uniform, he fights and defeats Bane at the end of the "Knightfall" arc, severing the tubes that pump the Venom into Bane's bloodstream, causing a severe withdrawal. Jean-Paul then gives the weakened Bane a vicious beating, leaving him broken, but alive.


Bane's Legacy[]

Bane recovers from his wounds and is sent to prison. While serving time, he recovers from his Venom addiction. He eventually escapes from prison and returns to Gotham, where he fights alongside Batman to take out a criminal ring that is distributing a Venom derative to street-level thugs. After their victory, Bane claims to be innocent of his past crimes and peacefully leaves Gotham City, in search of his father.

Bane's search for his father brings him back to the Peña Duro prison. He speaks to the Jesuit priest who had taught him while he was in prison. the priest tells Bane that there are four men who could be his father: a Santa Priscan revolutionary, an American doctor, an English mercenary and a Swiss banker. While searchin for the Swiss in rome, Bane encounters Ra's Al Ghul's daughter, Talia al Ghul. Talia introduces Bane to her father, and Bane impresses Ra's so much that he chooses Bane as his heir.

Ra's Al Ghul and Bane then launch a plague attack on Gotham City. Bruce Wayne, again costumed as Batman, gets his rematch with Bane and finally defeats him in single combat. Since then, whenever Batman and Bane fight each other, their fights usually end in a draw.


Veritas Liberat[]

The Jesuit priest that Bane spoke with told him there was a possibility that his biological father was an American Doctor. In researchin this issue, Bane comes to the conclusion that he and Batman share Dr. Thomas Wayne as their biological father. Bane alerts Batman to this possibility, and during the time that the DNA tests are being performed, stays at the Wayne Manor and fights alongside Batman on the streets of Gotham. Ultimately, it is revealed that Dr. Wayne is not Bane's father, and Bane leaves Gotham City peacefully to pursue leads in the snowy mountains of Kanchenjunga.

Bane eventually finds his father, the unscrupulous king snake, in the "Veritas Liberat" storyline. Bane and Batman foil King Snake's plans to unleash a powerfull weapon upon the world. Bane saves Batman from being shot by King Snake, but is mortally wounded in the process. Batman then saves Bane and leaves him with a clean slate and a new opportunity at life.

Batman Arkham Asylum & Arkham City[]

Biography[]

Osito

Bane's Teddy bear "Osito"

Imprisoned from birth to serve his dead father's sentence, Bane was raised inside the horrific enviroments of a Santa Prisca prison. Finding solace in smuggled books and meditation, he developed incredible powers of concentration. When he was subjected to military experiments with the experimental steroid Venom, his iron-forged will helped him survive where other test subjects had died, and he managed to escape. Determined to prove his worth, he sought out Batman and broke the Dark Knight's spine after causing a breakout of which Batman took weeks to round up the escaped villains. But Batman recovered and managed to beat Bane, cutting off the precious Venom supply that transforms Bane into a superhuman.


Height: 5 ft 6in (When on Venom; 6 ft 8 in)

Weight: 140 pounds (When on Venom; 350 pounds)

Attributes:

■ Master strategist

■ Intense focus

■ Abnormally strong reaction to Venom, giving him incredibly enhanced physical abilities

■ Determined to beat Batman, and all others who challenge him


Road to Arkham[]

Bane in prison

Bane in his Prison

At some point prior to the events of the game, Bane was captured and quietly brought to Arkham Asylum so that Dr. Penelope Young could study him and the effects of Venom on the human body, so that she could design a more powerful variant of the formula known as Titan. When discussing the Titan Project in public, Bane's involvement was kept secret, and he was referred to only as "Patient X". Officially, Bane was listed as an escapee from Blackgate Penitentiary.

Just before the Joker's takeover of the asylum, Harley Quinn made her way to Bane's room and sedated him in order to keep him quiet when the "visitors" arrive.


Batman: Arkham Asylum[]

Bane vs Batman

Batman and Bane face off

The Joker had Commissioner Gordon kidnapped and taken to the Medical Center where Bane was being held, drained of Venom and left withered and helpless. After rescuing Gordon, Batman entered Bane's holding room. Bane begged Batman to cut him down, in hopes of getting revenge on Dr. Young, but before he could do so, the Joker activated Bane's chemical storage tank, infusing him with the Titan strain of the Venom formula, returning his immense strength to him. Bane then attacked Batman and threw him through a wall into the Boiler Room. Bane and Batman battled it out with the interference of the Joker's goons.


Batman on top of Bane

Batman exploiting Bane's weakness

Eventually, Batman cut Bane's Venom supply as the room collapsed upon itself. Batman escaped through a manhole to the surface where he reunited with Gordon. Bane managed to reattach his main valve and smashed his way to the surface, grabbing a hold of Batman and claiming that after he "breaks" Batman, the "bruja" (Dr. Young) would be next. Batman then summoned the Batmobile by remote control to their position and kicked Bane in its path. The Batmobile crashed into Bane, hurling him into the sea. In one of the three post-credits scenes, Bane emerges from the water by the docks and grabs onto a floating case of Titan.


Batman: Arkham City[]

Catwoman

A reference to Bane's teddy bear, "Osito", appears near the safe Catwoman hacks.

The first hint that Bane would likely return in the sequel was the end scene of Batman: Arkham Asylum were he rose out of the water and snatched a Titan Container (one of the three endings). The second hint was in the Catwoman Trailer where we see Osito, Bane's toy bear, in Hugo Strange's vault. He was just featured in the digital comics of Arkham City and is revealed to come back for another chance at the Batman's back.

Bane arkhamcity

Bane battles a squad of TYGER guards

However, the comics also hint that he also wants to eliminate the Titan formula after an encounter with one of Joker's Henchmen who was injected with the formula and then died of a heart attack during their fight.


While investigating Arkham City, Batman discovers Bane hiding in an abandoned toy factory. Bane has come to Gotham in search of the twelve remaining containers of the Joker's Titan drug. Rather than fight, Bane suggests that the two team up in order to collect all of the drug samples so that they can be properly disposed of. Dividing the containers equally, Batman and Bane both set out to find the drug. Later, after disposing of all containers of the drug with his explosive gel, Batman returns to the toy factory to check on Bane's progress. The two are quickly attacked by gang members and easily defeat them. After the battle Batman confronts Bane about the Titan and Bane reveals he never intended to destroy it, rather keep it. Bane had already acquired his six containers and was outraged that Batman had destroyed the ones he was sent for. Bane attacked Batman, but he was quickly disarmed and trapped behind a metal security fence. Batman then reveals that he was actually playing Bane, knowing full well that Bane would double cross him, he used this to his advantage so he could destroy the last six containers in one place rather than look for them all over Arkham City. Bane is then left helpless as Batman destroys the last of the Titan. Bane then asked if he could be let out, but Batman refused, citing that aside from Bane's attempt at doublecrossing him, there's still several things for Batman to take care of in Arkham City. After somehow escaping his predicament Bane later appeard at the Church having been convinced by some of the inmates that there was Titan in the building. After breaking through the blast door Bane was confronted by the guards who tried to stop him but were unable to get past his bullet proof skin. Bane was then about to kill the officers but Azrael quickly came to their rescue. After a brief fight Azrael was able to stop Bane thanks to some assitance from Aaron Cash by cutting off his venom supply. Bane was then once again imprisoned, this time along side Riddler who was rather upset with his new cell mate

DC Universe Online[]

Heroes side Batman wants to stop Bane from supplying a new type of Venom throughout Gotham while using Cape Carmine Lighthouse as his hideout. Batman enlists the help of the new Justice League recruits to defeat and interrogate Bane's dealers and then assist Nightwing in taking Bane down. In duo mode of the level, the players have to fight Killer Croc and Deathstroke before they can get to Bane.


Villains side Bane attracts the ire of the Joker when he moves into the Falcone family turf. The Joker wants this to cease and he commissions new recruits supported by the Secret Society of Super-Villains to thwart Bane's plans and then join Falcone muscle Killer Croc in taking out Bane himself.

Batman & Robin[]

Bane in the movie, Batman & Robin

Bane in Batman & Robin

His original name is Antonio Diego. He is a murderer serving a life sentence in the South American jail, Pena Duro. He was selected by Dr. Woodrue to be the first test subject for a Super Soldier program. He had three holes drilled into his skull and one on his chest, and was strapped to a table in front of an audience of foreign dictators and terrorists. Dr. Woodrue forced him to wear a mask with three holes snaked to his skull and gave him massive doses of the experimental drug Venom. Diego was screaming in pain for the first 15 seconds before his body started changing. The experiment was a success. Originally he was small and diminutive, but after the Venom takes hold, he becomes a vicious, hulking brute with superhuman strength. He was "The Ideal Killing Machine" as Dr. Woodrue called him. Unlike most comic book appearances, he did not retain his above average intellect but was reduced to a less than average IQ. He was barely capable of speech and growls, snarls, and speaks only one or two word phrases (which was one of the many aspects of the film heavily criticized by fans and critics).

After Pamela Isley became Poison Ivy and killed Dr. Woodrue, she took Bane to Gotham City as her new enforcer. Bane scared a gang out of a Turkish bathhouse so Ivy can claim it as her new hideout. He also fought off the Arkham Asylum to retrieve Mr. Freeze's cryogenic armor and freezing gun from the storage locker.


During the final fight at the telescope platform, Bane fought and was defeated by Robin and Batgirl. He held them against a wall by their necks, and they kicked the Venom tube out of the back of his head, cutting off the Venom circulation. This causes him to go into massive withdrawal, and he reverted back to his original self. Later, Mr. Freeze tried to kill Batman by bombing the Gotham Telescope Platform, but apparently all it did was crush a weakened Bane. However, there was no evidence that Bane was crushed by the telescope other than a few traces of Venom where the telescope fell.

The Dark Knight Rises[]

History[]

Past[]

Bane unmasked

Bane before his mutilation

Bane was once a prisoner in a hellhole of a prison located in Morroco called the Pit, where Talia al Ghul, daughter of Ra's al Ghul, and her mother were also placed. After their cell was left unlocked, the prisoners attacked and murdered Talia's mother and they would have also killed Talia if Bane had not intervened. He protected her, determined to ensure that the one form of innocence to exist in the Pit was kept alive as the prisoners' redemption. Bane brought Talia to the wall that one could climb up to escape, though no one had ever succeeded. As the other prisoners attacked Bane, he watched as Talia managed to climb to freedom. She went to her father and the League of Shadows, who returned to the Pit to rescue Talia’s savior. But by that time, Bane’s face had already been badly mutilated by his fellow prisoners and though the prison doctor saved his life, he was left in constant agony. He was brought into the League of Shadows’ fold and given a mask created by the League that pumped a constant stream of gas into his system which kept the pain at bay.

Bane and Talia were trained by the league, but to Ra’s, Bane was a monstrosity and a constant reminder of the nightmare he had left his wife to die in. Finally Bane was excommunicated from the organization and he formed his own group of mercenaries.

After Ra’s al Ghul's death, Talia took over the League of Shadows and invited Bane back to it. Together they planned to do what Ra’s al Ghul had failed to, destroy Gotham City. Bane was also responsible for a coup in West Africa which brought John Dagget, Bruce Wayne's buisness rival, exclusive access to the resources there, bringing his company into prominence and leading to Bane attracting the attention of the Central Intelligence Agency. Their working relationship was later used to bring Bane and other League mercenaries to Gotham City.

Preparing to Crash Gotham[]

Talia took on the identity of Miranda Tate, who funded Wayne Enterprises construction of a fusion core, which she and Bane planned to use to destroy Gotham. Bane went after a nuclear scientist named Leonid Pavel, who tried to escape him by turning himself over to government agents. However Bane got himself captured, then had his men attack the plane he and Pavel were in. He faked the death of the nuclear scientist and made it look as if the plane had crashed, successfully escaping with Pavel. Bane then moved his army into Gotham and began working for Daggett under the pretense of helping him absorb Wayne Enterprises. However Bane was just using this and Daggett’s resources as part of his own plans. He attacked the stock exchange and, using fingerprints obtained by Selina Kyle, Bane bankrupted Wayne. But instead of Daggett taking over, Bruce gave command of Wayne Enterprises to Talia. Bane then killed his “employer”, before continuing with his plans.

Bane had Selina lead Batman to him in exchange for his forces not pursuing her anymore. He revealed he knew the Dark Knight's secret identity, before he fought and easily beat him, saying his trickery and deception were effective only against those uninitiated into the League of Shadows, unlike himself and Batman. He told the Dark Knight that he’d taken over the League and he was continuing with Ra’s goal of destroying Gotham. Bane then revealed that he’d found the armory Lucius Fox had been storing equipment meant for Batman and his men took it for themselves, before he broke Batman's back.

Bane delivered a crippled Bruce Wayne to the Pit and stated that he wouldn't kill a man that did not fear death, as he intended to psychologically torture him by showing him the slow demise of Gotham City while Bruce being unable to do anything. Bane said that he would feed the people the hope that they could survive, before he destroyed the city and only when Gotham was ashes, did Bruce have his permission to die.


Launching Anarchy[]

Bane's anarchy begins

Bane reveals the truth behind Harvey Dent

Bane returned to Gotham to begin his plans, taking Wayne Enterprise’s Board of Directors hostage so as to get the fusion core. He then made Pavel turn the core into a bomb and lured almost the entire Gotham police force underground in search of him. Bane went to the occuring football game and set off a series of explosions throughout the city, using concrete that he had laced with explosives, trapping the police and destroying most of the bridges connecting Gotham to the outside world. Bane proceeded to address the people of the city, declaring martial law and telling them they would claim what was rightfully theirs and take down their oppressors, the rich and powerful. Bane made Pavel reveal himself to the people of Gotham to let them know that Bane fabricated his supposed death and that the reactor was now an armed thermonuclear bomb. He asked Pavel if he was the only one who could disarm it and when the scientist confirmed this, Bane killed him by breaking his neck to ensure the bomb couldn't be disarmed. Bane also told them that a citizen in the city (Talia) had been given the detonator to the bomb and any attempt to leave would result in it being detonated. However the bomb was going to go off anyway in a few months; Bane simply wanted to torture the people with hope that they could survive, as he had in the Pit, so that they would steuggle against one another to "stay in the sun," before he killed them all. He first headed to Blackgate Prison, where he read a speech written by Comissioner Gordon to the press and the prisoners of Blackgate, revealing the monster Harvey Dent had become. Bane declared that Gotham would be taken from the corrupt who kept the people down with their lies of opportunity, then blew open the prison and released all the convicts, before letting the city descend into anarchy.


Bane vs Batman DKR

Bane and Batman's Final Battle

But as the time of the bomb’s detonation drew close, Batman returned, having escaped the Pit as Talia had. He coordinated with Selina, the police, and Lucius to free all the police officers trapped underground, who he led against Bane’s army while some other members of the police worked on stopping the bomb. Bane fought Batman personally, but this time, the Dark Knight was able to match him, damaging his mask and weakening him. Bane was beaten and Batman demanded to know where the detonator was, but Talia then revealed herself, stabbing the Dark Knight in the side. After explaining her and Bane’s stories to Batman, since he’d believed that Bane had been the child of Ra’s al Ghul, Talia then left to ensure the bomb’s detonation, leaving Batman with Bane so that they could kill him only after he’d seen his city burn. However, Bane tried to kill Batman right away, but Selina arrived, blasting him with the Batcycle from point-blank range, killing him.

Injustice: Gods Among Us[]

Bane is first seen working for Lex Luthor in the original Earth fighting various heroes on the Justice League Watchtower before being defeated by Batman. In the alternate Earth, Bane is seen as a member of Superman's Regime who is part of the assault on the Insurgency base. Wonder Woman expresses surprise that Superman allowed Bane to fight for him. He battles Wonder Woman and is almost defeated but she is teleported away by Ares before she can finish him off.


Biography[]

Bane is first seen working for Lex Luthor in the original Earth fighting various heroes on the Justice League Watchtower before being defeated by Batman. In the alternate Earth, Bane is seen as a member of Superman's Regime who is part of the assault on the Insurgency base. Wonder Woman expresses surprise that Superman allowed Bane to fight for him. He battles Wonder Woman and is almost defeated but she is teleported away by Ares before she can finish him off.


Regime[]

Sent to the Phantom Zone by Superman for ‘re-education’, Bane was one of the first villains to be accepted into the ranks of the One Earth regime. His intellect and brute strength serve Superman well.


Knightfall[]

Raised in the infamous prison of Peña Duro, Bane’s fascination with Batman would lead him to Gotham to carry out an intricate plan that would eventually lead Bane to the Batcave, and the breaking of the Bat.


Beyond Light and Darkness[]

History[]

Horseman of Apocalypse Arc[]

Rise of Vaati Arc[]

Powers & Abilities[]

Bane is highly intelligent; in Bane of the Demon, Ra's al Ghul says that Bane "has a mind equal to the greatest he has known" (although Talia dismisses Bane's intellect as the cunning of an animal rather than the cultured, trained intellect of Batman). In prison, he taught himself various scientific disciplines equal to the level of understanding of leading experts in those fields. He knows six active languages and at least two additional arcane and dead ones. Among these are Spanish, English, Persian, and Latin. The Bane of the Demon storyline reveals that he has a photographic memory. Within one year, he is able to deduce Batman's secret identity.


He is also highly devious and a superb strategist and tactician. In prison, Bane also invented his own form of calisthenics, meditation, and a fighting style that he uses against other well-known martial arts fighters within the DC Universe. Bane creator Chuck Dixon's early tales portray Bane as a very calm, centered warrior akin to the immortal Bruce Lee; in as much that he draws strength through calm meditation, and the spiritual energy of the "very rock of Peña Dura". Dixon imbued Bane with an almost supernatural quality when he explained that Bane triumphed in all of his prison fights by employing these abilities, while his opponents had only rage and greed to propel them. Multiple scenes in "Vengeance of Bane" explore this aspect when it explains that Bane's mastery of meditation techniques "made time and space playthings to him". A subsequent scene that reinforces this ability comes when Bird first comes to Bane for help, because he heard from other inmates that Bane has "magic... the kind that allows him to travel beyond the prison walls." Usage of Venom enhances his physical abilities, including his strength and healing process, to superhuman levels. Although Bane had sworn off using Venom in Vengeance of Bane II in 1995, and his character is actually written as having kept that promise to himself, it is still not uncommon for artists to draw Bane as still wearing the tube leading from his old wrist device to the back of his head, as well as almost all media adaptations of the character show him actively using the Venom compound. Writer Gail Simone explained these lapses in the continuity of Bane's appearance in an issue of Secret Six, in which Deadshot remarked that Bane merely kept his old Venom equipment with him out of habit, even though he states that he would sooner die than use it again.

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