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NOTE: This page is for the incarnation of Bane from Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight Trilogy. The mainstream version can be found here: Bane (DC)
Villain Overview

No one cared who I was 'till I put on the mask.
~ Bane's introduction and his most famous quote.
You can watch me torture an entire city, and then when you truly understand the depths of your failure, we will fulfil Ra's al Ghul's destiny. We will destroy Gotham, and then when it is done and Gotham is ashes...then you have my permission to die.
~ Bane's last words before leaving Bruce in the Pit.
Behind you stands a symbol of oppression: Blackgate Prison, where a thousand men have languished under the name of this man, Harvey Dent, who has been upheld to you as the shining example of justice! You have been supplied with a false idol to stop you tearing down this corrupt city! Let me tell you the truth about Harvey Dent from the words of Gotham's police commissioner, James Gordon."The Batman didn’t murder Harvey Dent, he saved my boy. Then took the blame for Harvey’s appalling crimes, so that I could, to my shame, build a lie around this fallen idol. I praised the madman who tried to murder my own child, but I can no longer live with my lie. It is time to trust the people of Gotham with the truth, and it is time for me to resign." And do you accept this man’s resignation? And do you accept the resignations of all of these liars?! Of all the corrupt?! (...) From the corrupt! The rich! The oppressors of generations who have kept you down with myths of opportunity, and we give it back to you... the people. Gotham is yours. None shall interfere. Do as you please. But start by storming Blackgate, and freeing the oppressed! Step forward those who would serve, for an army will be raised. The powerful will be ripped from their decadent nests... and cast out into the cold world that we know and endure. Courts will be convened. Spoils will be enjoyed. Blood will be shed. The police will survive, as they learn to serve true justice. This great city... it will endure. Gotham will survive!
~ Bane's speech to Gotham.

Bane is one of the two main antagonists (alongside Talia al Ghul) of the 2012 superhero film The Dark Knight Rises, the third and final installment of Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight trilogy.

He is the ruthless field commander of the League of Shadows who seeks to fulfill the destiny that the league's former leader, Ra's al Ghul, had been previously determined to accomplish: the annihilation of Gotham City. It is eventually revealed that he is the protector-turned-accomplice of Ra's daughter Talia al Ghul.

He was portrayed by Tom Hardy, who also played Shinzon in Star Trek: Nemesis, Charles Bronson in Bronson, John Fitzgerald in The Revenant and Venom in Sony's Spider-Man Universe.

Biography[]

Past[]

The shadows betray you, because they belong to me!
~ Bane
Bane when he was in the pit.

Bane was said to have been born and raised in a hellhole of a prison called the Pit, where Talia al Ghul, the daughter of Ra's al Ghul, and her mother were imprisoned. After their cell was left unlocked, the prisoners attacked and murdered Talia's mother, but they would have also killed Talia if Bane had not intervened. He protected her and was determined to ensure that the one form of innocence to exist in the Pit was kept alive as the prisoner's 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. Talia went to her father and the League of Shadows, who returned to the Pit to rescue her savior. However, by that time, Bane's body had already been badly mutilated by his fellow prisoners and though the prison doctor had saved his life, Bane was left in constant agony. He was brought into the League of Shadows' fold and was given a mask that was created by the League that pumped a constant stream of anesthetic medicinal gas into his system which kept his 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. So, Bane was excommunicated from the organization and became a mercenary.

After Ra's death, Talia inherited his mantle and brought Bane back to the fold to launch a multifaceted attack to destroy Gotham City and fulfill what Ra's had failed to finish. Bane was also responsible for a coup in West Africa which brought John Daggett, Bruce Wayne's business rival, exclusive access to the resources there, brought his company into prominence, and lead 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.

The Dark Knight Rises[]

Eight years following Harvey Dent's death and the Joker's arrest, 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 that he and Pavel were in. He faked the death of the nuclear scientist and made it look as if the plane had crashed, and successfully escaped 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 he continued with his plans.

Bane had Selina lead Batman to him in exchange for his forces not pursuing her anymore. He revealed that he knew the Dark Knight's secret identity before the two warriors fought. From the very first blow, Bane had the upper hand and overcame every single attack Batman executed with absolutely no difficulty whatsoever. The fight took them off the barrier and into the bowels of the battleground, where they continued to spar. Batman used gadget after gadget against Bane, and every single time, Bane calmly eased through them while he calmly stated on how he sought revenge on Batman for betraying the League of Shadows - he would fulfill Ra's al Ghul's destiny.

The fight quickly became one-sided when Bane destroyed Batman's mask and easily beat him. Bane then revealed that he'd found the armory that Lucius Fox had been storing equipment that was 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 would never 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 was 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.

Bane returned to Gotham to begin his plans and took Wayne Enterprise's Board of Directors hostage so as to get the fusion core. He then made Dr. Pavel turn the core into a bomb and lured almost the entire Gotham City Police Department underground in search of him. Bane went to the occurring football game and set off a series of explosions throughout the city, by using concrete that he had laced with explosives, which trapped the police and destroyed most of the bridges that connected Gotham to the outside world. While the stadium suffers from the explosives, Mayor Anthony Garcia gets assassinated in the same method.

Bane proceeded to address the people of the city, declared martial law, told them they would claim what was rightfully theirs, and to take down their oppressors: the rich and the powerful. Bane made Pavel reveal himself to the people of Gotham to let them know that Bane had 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 that the bomb couldn't be disarmed, much to the horror of the stadium's audience. 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 struggle against one another to "stay in the sun," before he killed them all. Bane first headed to Blackgate Prison, where he read a speech that was written by Commissioner Gordon to the press and the prisoners of Blackgate, which revealed 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 he let the city descend into anarchy.

But as the time of the bomb's detonation drew close, Batman returned and escaped the Pit as Talia had. He coordinated with Selina, the GCPD, and Lucius Fox to free all of the police officers who were trapped underground. Batman led some police officers against Bane's army while some other members of the police worked on stopping the bomb. Bane fought Batman personally. This duel took place in the center of the battle and stretched to the doors of Wayne Tower.

Both men were a completely even match - Batman did not bother using his gadgets, for he knew that Bane was immune to them, instead he focused on attacking Bane's mask knowing that it's his weak point. When it seemed that Bane was going to win, the Dark Knight commenced to destroying Bane's mask, and gradually weakened the herculean terrorist. Bane flew into a furious, incredulous rage - a villainous breakdown - and violently attacked Batman. Bane's fury was such that, when several of his shots missed, they shattered sections of the walls at Wayne Tower. However, when Batman destroyed the mask, Bane succumbed to the pain and was defeated. Bane was beaten and Batman demanded to know where the detonator was, but Talia then revealed herself and stabbed 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 and left Batman with Bane so that he would be killed in the nuclear blast along with the citizens of Gotham.

Bane decided that he was not going to wait until the explosion and that he was going to kill Batman now. Bane pointed a shotgun onto Batman's head and prepared to pull the trigger, telling him that he will "Just have to imagine the fire". Before this could be done, Selina arrived with the Batbike and shot Bane with it, instantly killing him. Talia would be killed shortly afterwards by Batman, who ultimately faked his death and sent the Batwing flying with the bomb far away from Gotham, where it exploded harmlessly, leaving the plans of both Bane and Talia in vain.

Appearance[]

Bane was a tall, herculean bald man of an incredibly muscular build, with several scars on his scalp. He wore a breathing mask that covered his jaw, mouth, nose, and the top and back of his head. He wore a brown shearling coat with a military vest underneath with black combat pants and boots. He also had a very deep voice - whether this was his actual voice or an effect of the mask was left up for debate. When Bane first appeared, he wore a long-sleeved black shirt.

Personality[]

Look at him: his speed. His ferocity. His training. I see the power of belief - I see the League of Shadows' resurgent!
~ Alfred Pennyworth, on Bane.

Bane was ruthless and cold and was perfectly willing to slaughter millions of people as Ra's al Ghul sought to and killed people with his bare hands without a care in the world. Despite being cast out of the League of Shadows, Bane was fully immersed in the organization's beliefs and ideals, was willing to rejoin the League and be given the chance to lead the raid against Gotham. Bane's time in prison affected him greatly, to the point that he sought to make Gotham experience the same situation that he and inmates did. He also declared his intent on completing 'Ra's al Ghul's destiny', despite the latter being the man who resented and excommunicated Bane from the League. Bane commanded absolute loyalty from his men and was perfectly willing to kill them in pursuit of his goals.

As a contrast to his brutality, Bane generally behaved like a stereotypical aristocratic gentleman: he acted jovial and polite toward both allies and enemies, as shown when he listened to a young boy singing The National Anthem at the Football Game, saying to himself "That's a lovely, lovely voice.", shortly before he set off several bombs. Bane's habit of casually talking to people that he planned to hurt made him a disarming presence, which allowed him to maintain dominance in any situation. The only person that Bane seemed to truly care for was Talia. He was extremely calm and spoke softly and confidently at all times, even when he threatened people or was open about the necessity of their fear or pain.

In his speeches, Bane behaved like a classic revolutionary leader. He had an extremely sophisticated vocabulary that made his speeches more rousing. He was an exceptionally powerful public speaker, who was capable of dictating in front of vast crowds of people, even his enemies, and turned them over to his side.

Powers and Abilities[]

  • Superhuman Physical Characteristics: Bane had extremely high levels of strength, durability, and reflexes and when combined with his League of Shadows training, he was a very strong opponent. He is strong enough to throw grown adults around, lift a man off his feet with one hand, break out of restraints, snap necks with one hand or his knee, and punch two holes into a concrete in a stone pillar and broke Batman’s back over his knee.
    • Honed Senses: Bane possessed extremely heightened senses and awareness: he could see through unclear environments easily due to his League of Shadows training, which also enabled him to contradict such techniques if they were used against him. That meant that he was completely immune to Batman's most resourceful and conventional weaponry.
  • Master Hand to Hand Combatant/Martial Artist: Bane was a brutally efficient fighter who could completely decimate Batman with his bare hands. Due to training with the League of Shadows, Bane is highly skilled in martial arts. His fighting style seems to be comprised of Boxing, Krav Maga, Karate, Wrestling, Muay Thai, and Jujitsu. He could easily take out multiple armed security guards. Bane was able to take repeated punches from Batman with little to no effect and even outfought him with his knowledge of fighting techniques similar to Batman.
  • Master Strategist: In addition to his exceptional physique, Bane was also extremely intelligent and cunning—frequently misdirecting and tricking his enemies, and his combination of brains and brawn made him unfathomably dangerous. He leads the League of Shadows, feigned capture to launch a plane heist, operated a stock exchange robbery, infiltrated Wayne armory, trapped the NYPD, and launched a complete takeover of Gotham City.
  • Pain Tolerance: Bane's mask also functioned as a breather that dispenses a type of medicamental gas that kept his pain at bay. It also prevented him from experiencing any and all physical pain and exhaustion. That particular factor made him even more dangerous in a fight since he would take risks that others would not even think of doing, and enabled him to exhaust an opponent before throwing the first and killing blow.

Weaknesses[]

  • Breather Damaged: Bane's only weakness since, if damaged, the constant crippling pain from the injuries that he had sustained while he was down in the Pit quickly return. This rendered him severely weakened and unable to fight properly, resulting in his attacks being made with a blind ferocity when rendered unable to repair the damage to his breathing apparatus that delivered his pain suppression medication. During his second fight with Batman this mask was damaged and in only a matter of minutes Bane was left barely able to stand. However, after Talia repaired the mask Bane quickly recovered.

Quotes[]

Crashing this plane... with no survivors.
~ Bane's attempt to crash a CIA plane in the mountains of Uzbekistan.
Calm down, doctor. Now's not the time for fear. That comes later.
~ To Dr. Pavel before launching him out of the aircraft.
Do you feel in charge?
~ Bane to his "employer".
John Dagget: You're pure evil.
Bane: I'm necessary evil.
~ Bane describing himself to John Daggett
Not as serious as yours, I fear.
~ Bane to Batman on their first bout.
Let's not stand on ceremony here, Mr. Wayne.
~ Bane to Batman on their first fight, revealing that he knows Batman's true identity.
Oh, you think darkness is your ally? But you merely adopted the dark. I was born in it. Molded by it. I didn't see the light until I was already a man, but by then it was nothing to me but blinding! The shadows betray you because they belong to me!
~ Bane, when Batman tries turning off the lights to distract him.
I am the League of Shadows. I am here to fulfill Ra's Al Ghul's destiny!
~ Bane to Batman during their first fight.
Ah yes, I was wondering what would break first. Your spirit...or your body.
~ Bane breaking Batman's back.
Let the games begin!
~ Bane before blowing up the football field.
Home, where I learned the truth about despair, as will you. There's a reason why this prison is the worst hell on earth... Hope. Every man who has ventured here over the centuries has looked up to the light and imagined climbing to freedom. So easy... So simple... And like shipwrecked men turning to sea water from uncontrollable thirst, many have died trying. I learned here that there can be no true despair without hope. So, as I terrorize Gotham, I will feed its people hope to poison their souls. I will let you believe they can survive so that you can watch them clamoring over each other to "stay in the sun". You could watch me torture an entire city and then when you truly understand the depth of your failure, we will fulfill Ra's al Ghul's destiny. We will destroy Gotham. And then when it is done and Gotham is ashes, then you have my permission to die.
~ Bane to Bruce, describing the Pit, and talking about his plans after he broke his back and took him to the Pit.
Bane: So you came back to die with your city?
Batman: No, I came back to stop you.
~ Bane and Batman before fighting a second time
Bane: I broke you. How have you come back?
Batman: You think you're the only one who could learn the strength to escape? Where's the trigger?
Bane: But I never escaped.
~ Bane reveals that he was not the one to escape The Pit.
We both know that I have to kill you now. You'll just have to imagine the fire!
~ Bane's last words.

Trivia[]

  • This incarnation of Bane did not use Venom, the steroidal compound that he used in the comics to gain superhuman strength. This was most likely because the Christopher Nolan films tried to be more realistic.
  • This version of Bane resembled Ubu, the al Ghul family's loyal bodyguard. The comic book version of Bane once took up the mantle of Ubu after he killed him in battle.
  • Tom Hardy accepted the role of Bane without reading the script. He was verbally told that he would have unprecedented access to extensive stunt training and equipment that he could enjoy knocking around.
  • Bane's costume for the film was markedly different from his comic book counterpart who wore a Mexican Wrestler's Mask. In the film, Bane's mask did not cover his full face, but rather his mouth, jaw, and the back of his head, with his eyes and brows, clearly exposed. Bane also wore a military-grade armored vest, with a matching pair of black combat pants complete with knee pads and boots, and periodically donned a brown trench coat.
  • In the comics, Bane was born in a prison located in the fictional Caribbean country Santa Prisca, while the prison featured in the film presumably took place in the Middle East. While other media appearances portrayed him with a Latin American accent, Tom Hardy chose an accent closer to original Latin and described it as that of a gypsy or "Romani Latin" as opposed to Latino.
  • Tom Hardy stands around 5 feet, 9 inches where Christian Bale was over 6 feet. Since Bane towered over Batman in height in the comics, special film techniques were used to make Hardy's stature and figure appear larger and imposing. In particular, three-inch lifts were added to Hardy's boots to make Bane equal in height to other tall characters.
  • A controversy regarding the character ensued nearing the release of the film where several political pundits, including Conservative pundit Rush Limbaugh, believed that Bane was intended to reference Bain Capital, the name of the company 2012 Republican Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney formerly ran. It resulted in Christopher Nolan denying Bain as the inspiration, as well as Bane co-creator Charles Dixon confirming Nolan's denials, stating that Bane's overall character was in fact closer to Occupy Wall Street.
  • There were some criticisms about Bane being hard to understand after the The Dark Knight Rises prologue debuted in December 2011. The prologue voice was mostly changed in the later theatrical cut of the full film.
  • Tom Hardy has described Bane as "brutal. He's a big dude who's incredibly clinical, in the fact that he has a result-based and oriented fighting style. It's not about fighting. It's about carnage. The style is heavy-handed, heavy-footed, it's nasty. Anything from small-joint manipulation to crushing skulls, crushing rib cages, stamping on shins and knees and necks and collarbones and snapping heads off and tearing his fists through chests, ripping out spinal columns. He is a terrorist in mentality as well as brutal action."
  • Christopher Nolan said Bane was what Bruce Wayne could have become if he had stayed in the League of Shadows in Batman Begins.
  • Similar to Ra's al Ghul and the Joker, the main villains in the trilogy's previous installments, Bane's real name was never revealed and he was only known by his alias.
  • Bane is known throughout DC Universe as "The Man Who Broke The Bat", since his greatest feat throughout his villainous role is breaking the Batman's back, this version of Bane has accomplished the same thing in the film, though it is not as devastating or as brutal as the original comic shows.
  • Although Bane did reveal the truth about Harvey to the citizens of Gotham using Gordon's paper, it's strange that his audience would believe him as he didn't show any proof that the paper was Gordon's.
  • Due to the shooting schedule, scenes that would be showing his physique were shot early. This was done because Tom Hardy would likely lose a bit of muscle mass due to the busy schedule. For other scenes, Hardy is wearing either longsleeve shirts or heavy coats.

External Links[]

Navigation[]

           The Dark Knight Trilogy Villains

Batman Begins
League of Shadows
Ra's al Ghul | Henri Ducard | Scarecrow

Gotham Mob
Carmine Falcone | Victor Zsasz | Arnold Flass

Others
Joe Chill

The Dark Knight
Gotham Criminal Underworld
Joker | Two-Face
Gotham Mob: Sal Maroni | The Chechen | Gambol | Lau | Bank Manager | Michael Wuertz | Anna Ramirez
Joker's Thugs: Thomas Schiff | Chuckles | Kilson | Happy | Dopey | Grumpy | Bus Driver

Others
Burmese Bandit

The Dark Knight Rises
League of Shadows
Bane | Talia al Ghul | Barsad | Ra's al Ghul

Others
Catwoman | John Daggett | Phillip Stryver | Scarecrow

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