Few comic book villains have gotten off to as promising a start as Bane. Created by writers Chuck Dixon and Doug Moench with artist Graham Nolan, Bane was conceived as the villain of “Knightfall.” He breaks Batman figuratively and then literally with patient strategy and strength (derived from the super-steroid Venom). Bane came closer to defeating Batman in his first appearance than many older villains ever did. Batman bounced back, however, and Bane’s quest to once again break the Bat blossomed into an enduring rivalry.
You know who was not impressed by Bane and “Knightfall”? The team behind “Batman: The Animated Series,” which aired from 1992 to 1995, overlapping with the release of “Knightfall.” Bane appears in a single eponymous episode of season 2, made after the series’ initial 65-episode run. The writer of the episode “Bane”, Mitch Brain, said in a 2019 appearance on “Batman: The Animated Podcast” that: “Neither [co-creator Bruce Timm] where I was particularly in love with [Bane breaking Batman’s back]we thought it was pretty stupid.”
Bane was only included “under duress”, as Timm put it. “Scène Comics” magazine in 1996. This seems to suggest that someone higher up relied on them to include the shiny new villain. “Batman” wasn’t free of corporate synergies, after all; the series existed to be linked to the mega-success Tim Burton’s “Batman” movie (even including music by composers Danny Elfman and Shirley Walker).
DC wanting to promote Bane also explains why he moved so quickly from “Batman” comics to films – although most would rather forget his appearance in 1997’s “Batman & Robin.” Played by Robert Swenson, this Bane was Poison Ivy’s (Uma Thurman) henchman and growled like Boris Karloff in “Frankenstein.” Even though Timm and Brian didn’t care much for Bane, his “Animated Series” version was still superior to that.
Bane’s appearance in Batman: The Animated Series was a ‘reaction’ to Knightfall
In the comics, Bane’s vendetta is personal; a bat apparition haunts his dreams, forcing him to fight the bat. In “The Animated Series”, Bane (voiced by Henry Silva) appears as an assassin hired by mob boss Rupert Thorne (John Vernon) to kill Batman. With a tight running time of 21 minutes, the episode immediately reinforces Bane’s threat and massive stature. In the first scene where he arrives in Gotham City, the frame sometimes cuts to his shoulders. Later, he defeats another super strong villain, Killer Croc (Aron Kincaid).
Bane is from the fictional South American country of Santa Prisca and his costume has a Luchador motif. According to Brian on “Batman: The Animated Podcast”, he and the team decided to play up the “Mexican wrestler” side of Bane. Bane’s mask was redesigned from the comics to include an open mouth and smaller eyes, making it look even more like a Luchador’s costume. When Batman and Bane finally face off on a tanker ship, Bane calls him “[his] arena. » In a truly cartoonish touch, the ship’s iron railings bounce Batman around the “ring” like rubber wrestling fences. Batman also uses wrestling moves, like a Hurricanrana, on Bane.
In the “Batman Animated” behind-the-scenes book, Writer/producer Paul Dini called Batman vs. Bane “the most violent fight ever for our series.” However, this time Bane does it not paralyze Batman. In fact, the fight ends with an outright rejection of the scene that Timm and Brian considered “stupid.” When Bane lifts Batman above his head, preparing to break his back above his knee? It is when Batman shatters Bane’s Venom injector with a batarang, defeating him. It’s hard to get a clearer rebuke of “Knightfall” than that.
Bane’s Legacy
‘Batman: The Animated Series’ Led to a Complete DC Animated Universebut Bane continued to appear rarely in later shows. In the Superman/Batman crossover episode “Knight Time”, Superman defeats Bane in another humbling moment that seems rooted in the creators’ dislike of the villain.
Regardless, history has proven the pro-Bane camp right. He continues to appear in comic books and got another chance at becoming a movie star in “The Dark Knight Rises” in 2012. This Bane, played by Tom Hardy, did break Batman’s back. The new comic book series “Absolute Batman,” from writer Scott Snyder and artist Nick Dragotta, just wrapped up its second arc, “Abomination,” with a truly terrifying reimagining of Bane And an explosive battle between Batman and Bane that makes “Knightfall” look tame.
The mixed reactions to Bane show the generational fault lines of comic book fans. Bane wasn’t in the Batman comics when Bruce Timm was a child, so he had no childhood attachment to him. Compare ‘Spider-Man’ director Sam Raimi’s notorious dislike of Venomwhich also debuted after the Raimi era.
Scott Snyder, however, was a teenager when “Knightfall” was released. His name is “Batman” #497 (THE problem where Bane breaks the bat) one he will never forget. With “Abomination,” Snyder showed young Batman fans why Bane was such a terrifying villain in “Knightfall.” While I grew up with Bane always being an essential Batman villain, “Abomination” is what finally unlocked the character for me. All of Batman’s best villains are nods to some aspect of the Dark Knight’s character. Where does Bane fit into all this?
Like Batman, Bane is a man of relentless determination and unwavering discipline, who has trained to the pinnacle of human knowledge and athleticism. Bane is the mirror image of Batman, even if “Batman: The Animated Series” couldn’t see it.
