Bane in other media

Adaptations of Bane in other media
A mannequin of Bane from The Dark Knight Rises
Created by	Chuck Dixon Doug Moench Graham Nolan
Original source	Comics published by DC Comics
First appearance	Batman: Vengeance of Bane #1 (January 1993)
Films and television
Film(s)	Batman & Robin (1997) Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman (2003) Superman/Batman: Public Enemies (2009) Justice League: Doom (2012) The Dark Knight Rises (2012) Batman: Assault on Arkham (2014) Batman Unlimited: Mechs vs. Mutants (2016) The Lego Batman Movie (2017) Batman Ninja (2018)
Television show(s)	Batman: The Animated Series (1994) The New Batman Adventures (1997) Superman: The Animated Series (1998) Batman Beyond (1999) The Batman (2004) Batman: The Brave and the Bold (2008) Young Justice (2010) Justice League Action (2016) Gotham (2019) Harley Quinn

Bane was originally a comic book character and Batman's adversary, but has appeared in several other forms of media. He has been portrayed by Robert Swenson in Batman & Robin, Tom Hardy in The Dark Knight Rises, and Shane West in Gotham.

Henry Silva, Joaquim de Almeida, Ron Perlman, Clancy Brown, Michael Dorn, Danny Trejo, Héctor Elizondo, Carlos Alazraqui, Fred Tatasciore, Jason Liebrecht, Steve Blum, JB Blanc, Doug Benson, and James Adomian have all provided voice work for the character. Peter Marinker voices Bane in the radio adaption of Batman: Knightfall.

Television[]

Live-action[]

Arrowverse[]

• While Bane doesn't appear in the live-action series Arrow, his birthplace, Santa Prisca, is mentioned by John Diggle (David Ramsey) in "The Secret Origin of Felicity Smoak" when his wife Lyla Michaels (Audrey Marie Anderson) goes on an A.R.G.U.S. mission in that location.
• In the second part of the fifth annual Arrowverse crossover event "Elseworlds", Bane's mask from The Dark Knight Rises (as well as other villains' belongings) can be seen inside the storage room at Arkham Asylum.
• In the Batwoman episode "Kane, Kate", a brainwashed Kate stolen all of Batmman's trophies belongs to his enemies from the Batcave which includes Bane's Venom and used it on Russell Tavaroff in the season 2 finale episode "Power".

Gotham[]

Shane West as Bane in Gotham.

• Bane appears in the fifth and final season of Gotham, portrayed by Shane West.^[1] This version of the character is Eduardo Dorrance, Jim Gordon's (Ben McKenzie) former army buddy, who leads the military group "Delta Force" seemingly to help Gordon and the GCPD in their war against Gotham City's criminal element after the city is rendered a "No Man's Land".^[1] In the past after Gordon's line of duty was over, Dorrance and his men became prisoners of war and were incarcerated at Pena Duro. He was later freed by Nyssa al Ghul (Jaime Murray), who enlists him to help in her plan to kill Bruce Wayne (David Mazouz) to avenge her father Ra's al Ghul (Alexander Siddig), and to destroy Gotham. When confronting Gordon at the ruins of Haven, Dorrance fights Gordon until he is impaled onto a pipe. Nyssa finds him and rehabilitates his body with armor and a respirator, with help from Hugo Strange (B.D. Wong). Reborn as Bane, he leads a mission to capture Gordon, Bruce, and Barbara Kean (Erin Richards). Bane later takes control of the military and battles the GCPD, who are joined by Oswald Cobblepot (Robin Lord Taylor) and Edward Nygma (Cory Michael Smith). When Gordon and the others talk the military out of not following Bane's orders, Bane and Delta Force are arrested by the military.

Animation[]

DC Animated Universe[]

Bane, as he is depicted in Batman: The Animated Series (left) and subsequent appearances (right).

Even though the producers were reluctant to use the character as they felt his comic incarnation was too gimmicky,^[2] Bane still appeared in the DC Animated Universe,^[2] voiced primarily by Henry Silva.

• Bane made his animated debut in Batman: The Animated Series, voiced by Henry Silva with a strong Latin American accent. This version is a former inmate of a Cuban prison containing the most dangerous convicts ever captured. While imprisoned, Bane was chosen as a test subject for the government project "Gilgamesh" to create super-soldiers with the drug Venom. Although the experiment was a success, Bane used his newfound superhuman abilities to escape and become a professional assassin. In his self-titled episode, Bane is hired by crime boss Rupert Thorne to kill the vigilante Batman. However, the Dark Knight ultimately defeats Bane by causing his Venom pump module to malfunction, by stabbing the switch with a batarang.
• Bane returns in The New Batman Adventures, voiced again by Henry Silva but now with an American accent. His redesigned outfit is now completely black while his traditional luchador mask has been traded for a black gimp mask. In the episode "Over the Edge," Batgirl's death at the Scarecrow's hands eventually leads to Commissioner James Gordon granting Bane an early release from Stonegate Penitentiarin exchange for assistance in the Dark Knight's apprehension. However, Bane betrays Gordon and prepares to both kill him and Batman. It is then revealed that the entire episode was merely Barbara Gordon's fear-induced nightmare caused by the Scarecrow's toxin.
• Bane later appears in Superman: The Animated Series, with Henry Silva reprising the role. During Batman's mysterious disappearance in the episode "Knight Time", Bane conspires with the Riddler and the Mad Hatter to take over Gotham during the Dark Knight's absence. The three are intercepted by Superman and Robin, the former disguised as Batman. Using a stronger version of his venom drug, Bane engages Superman in a fistfight and manages to land a few blows, but Superman ultimately pummels Bane into submission, knocking him out and pulling the tube out of his head.
• Bane appears as one of the antagonists in the 2003 direct-to-video animated movie Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman, now voiced by Héctor Elizondo.^[3] He is hired by the Penguin and Rupert Thorne to provide security for an arms deal with the Kaznian military, as their former "muscle" Carlton Duquesne has been unable to do so ever since the Batwoman's emergence. After capturing Batwoman aboard Penguin's yacht, Bane reveals to his employers that the vigilante's apparent secret identity is Carlton's daughter's Kathy. When Batman frees Kathy, Bane uses Carlton as a hostage to lure the pair to him. While Kathy rescues Carlton, Bane fights Batman aboard the burning yacht where the villain severely injures the Dark Knight after a long and brutal battle. However, the Caped Crusader manages to cut Bane's Venom supply with Rocky Ballantine's advanced alloy, and Bane then falls into a pit of fire to his presumed death (although Batman Beyond makes it clear that he survived).
• Bane makes a cameo appearance in Batman Beyond. In the episode "The Winning Edge" it is revealed that despite of Bruce Wayne's retirement from his role as Batman, he has been keeping track of Bane's whereabouts for twenty years after their final confrontation. His Venom formula is delivered in patch form as an influx called 'slappers' and distributed on the future version of Gotham's streets and even given to teenagers. The new Batman learns that a lifetime of Venom abuse has taken its toll on Bane and that he is now a frail, comatose old man reliant on an oxygen tank, regular infusions of Venom just to stay alive, and the support of a medical caretaker Jackson Chappell who had to be entrusted with the formula to produce it for him and is revealed to be the one supplying the Venom "slappers".^[4]

Other series[]

• After the release of The Dark Knight Rises, Bane was parodied in Comedy Central's sitcom South Park in the episode "Insecurity" where several of the characters disguise themselves (such as Eric Cartman and Randy Marsh) as Bane to rob the UPS man. The mask itself was altered before the episode premiered.
• Bane appears in The Batman animated series, voiced by Joaquim de Almeida (in "Traction"), Ron Perlman (in "Team Penguin"), and Clancy Brown (in "The Batman/Superman Story (Part 1)").^[5][6] Debuting in the episode "Traction", this version is depicted as a cunning South American mercenary who wears a bodysuit who can transform into a hulking monster with red skin when he pumps the yellow drug, Venom, into his system. After fighting Batman, the Dark Knight develops mechanical armor to defeat him. In "Team Penguin", Bane is seen robbing a bank before being defeated by Batman, Robin, and Batgirl. In "Rumors", he is seen as one of the many villains captured by the eponymous vigilante. In "The Batman/Superman Story (Part 1)", Bane, Black Mask, Mr. Freeze, and Clayface are hired by Lex Luthor to kidnap Lois Lane to lure out Superman.
• Bane appears in Batman: The Brave and the Bold, voiced by Michael Dorn. This version is extremely frail before injecting himself with Venom. He is featured in the episode "Menace of the Conqueror Caveman", where he fights Batman and Wildcat. Bane also appears "Sidekicks Assemble!" and "Night of the Batmen!".
• Bane appears in Young Justice, voiced by Danny Trejo. In the episode "Drop Zone", Bane is engaged in a war against the cult Kobra over the production of his drug, Venom, on the island of Santa Prisca. In "Usual Suspects", Bane allows Lex Luthor and Queen Bee to use Santa Prisca as a meeting venue for The Light's agents. In the third season, it is revealed that Bane broke his addiction to Venom, and allied himself with Deathstroke, Lady Shiva, and the League of Shadows to run a metahuman trafficking ring on Santa Prisca.
• In the Justice League Action episode, "System Failure", a robotic duplicate of Bane was seen assisting robotic duplicates of several other villains in taking down Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Cyborg, and Booster Gold.
• Bane is a recurring character in Harley Quinn, voiced by James Adomian. While his appearance is based on the comics, his voice is a direct parody of Tom Hardy's portrayal in The Dark Knight Rises. Moreover, he is depicted as more dimwitted compared to other incarnations and obsessed with blowing up anyone or anything that antagonizes him for any reason, such as a juice bar clerk who got his name wrong on his orders. Like some of the other characters, he uses profanity when he's enraged or annoyed. He makes scattered minor appearances throughout the series, usually alongside other villains and members of the Legion of Doom. In season two, following the Legion and Gotham's destruction, Bane forms the Injustice League alongside the Riddler, Penguin, Two-Face, and Mr. Freeze to take advantage of the chaos and divide what's left of Gotham between them. Despite being a member however, the others often treat Bane like a flunky. In "Batman's Back Man", he and Two-Face try to consolidate their power after Harley takes out most of the League, though the latter refuses to treat Bane like more than a simple goon. When Bane eventually realizes this and nearly kills him, Two-Face gives him a pit in a desert to appease him. In the episode "There's No Place to Go But Down", Bane converted the pit into a rehabilitation center and became its warden. When Harley and Ivy are transferred to his custody, they cause a riot in order to escape. Bane pursues the two only to fall to his apparent death. In "Lovers' Quarrel", Bane is shown to have survived, albeit stranded in the Pit. In "The Runaway Bridesmaid", Bane, having somehow escaped from the Pit, is seen attending Ivy and Kite Man's wedding and taking part in the fight that ensues between the other attending villains and the GCPD.
• Bane appears in the DC Super Hero Girls episode "#AcceptNoSubstitute", voiced by Eric Lopez. He has assumed the civilian identity of Diego Dorrance, an art teacher at Metropolis High School, and is stealing chemicals from its science lab in order to boost his strength.

Film[]

Live-action[]

Batman & Robin (1997)[]

Robert Swenson as Bane in Batman & Robin (1997).

A different version of Bane appears in Batman & Robin (1997), portrayed by former WCW wrestler Robert "Jeep" Swenson in one of his last film roles before his death. In the film, he is given the name Antonio Diego (portrayed by Michael Reid MacKay), and is an incarcerated serial killer who is transformed, against his own will, into "Bane" with an experimental drug called "Venom" by mad scientist Dr. Jason Woodrue (John Glover). In this interpretation, in stark contrast to his intelligent and cunning comics counterpart, Bane is an inarticulate thug who serves as the bodyguard/henchman of Poison Ivy (Uma Thurman) and is barely capable of speech as a result of the experiment, communicating mostly with growls and roars. In the film's climax, Bane fights and very nearly kills Robin (Chris O'Donnell) and Batgirl (Alicia Silverstone), who manage to weaken and kick the Venom tube out of the back of his head, which changes him back to his frail self. Following the defeat of Mr. Freeze and Poison Ivy, Bane's fate is left unrevealed. This version of the character was one of many aspects of the film which received negative criticism from fans and critics alike.^[7]

The Dark Knight Rises (2012)[]

Tom Hardy's portrayal in The Dark Knight Rises (2012) depicts Bane as intelligent and resourceful. The mask he wears provides him with a drug that dulls the pain caused by injuries he suffered in prison.

Bane appears in The Dark Knight Rises, portrayed by Tom Hardy.^[8][9][10] Intending to portray the character as "more menacing" than the Batman & Robin incarnation, Hardy gained 14 kilograms (31 lb) of muscle for the role,^[11][12] increasing his weight to 90 kilograms (200 lb).^[11] Prior to the film's release, Bane's voice received some criticism for being unintelligible due to his mask. Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Christopher Nolan said "I think when people see the film, things will come into focus. Bane is very complex and very interesting and when people see the finished film people will be very entertained by him."^[13] "We wanted a very physical monster. We wanted more of the Darth Vader, if you like, and that was very important in the story dynamics."^[14] Hardy himself also commented on the voice in another interview with Entertainment Weekly, saying "It’s a risk, because we could be laughed at—or it could be very fresh and exciting," and that "The audience mustn’t be too concerned about the mumbly voice... As the film progresses, I think you’ll be able to tune to its setting." Hardy says the voice he developed had several influences, including Bane's intellect, Caribbean heritage,^[15] and in particular, bare-knuckle fighter Bartley Gorman.^[16][17]

Bane has been described as having "the physicality of a silverback gorilla"^[18][19] and is shown to have superhuman levels of strength in certain instances throughout the film, such as punching holes in limestone pillars, ripping his wrists out of handcuffs, easily breaking a soldier's neck with one hand, lifting Batman's armored body by the throat with a single outstretched arm, and cracking his impact-resistant cowl.^[20] Hardy describes Bane's fighting style 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."^[21]

Bane is the self-proclaimed leader of a revolution against the rich and the corrupt, who he contends are oppressing "the people", and keeping them subservient with "myths of opportunity". Political theorist and cultural critic Slavoj Žižek sees Bane as fighting "structural injustice", while likening him to a modern-day Che Guevara who is counter-intuitively driven to violence out of a sense of love.^[22] Others have compared Bane to a "high-tech Robespierre on steroids", a melded triad of Lenin, bin Laden and Steve Austin set on fomenting "proletarian retribution", and "the one thing that's worse than the second film's raving anarchist: a demagogue."^[23][24] For his part, Nolan has said that his draft for the script was inspired by Charles Dickens' 1859 classic novel A Tale of Two Cities, centered around the French Revolution.^[25] This homage to Dickens' story is briefly illustrated by having Bane inconspicuously finger knit paracord (incidentally a real-life habit of Hardy's) in one scene of the film, symbolizing his Reign of Terror-based character Madame Defarge from the book.^[25]

While little information is given about Bane's backstory, he is said to have been born and raised in a centuries-old foreign penitentiary known as "the Pit",^{[26][27][28][29]} where he spent most of his life incarcerated as a prisoner. Although the viewer is led to believe he had escaped the prison as a child, it is later revealed that he was the friend of Talia al Ghul (Joey King), a young girl whose mother, the daughter of a local warlord, gave birth to in the Pit after being banished there by her father. After the mother was killed by the prison's inmates, Bane protected the girl until the latter finally escaped.^[30] However, Bane was attacked by the other inmates, which left him in "perpetual agony" as a result of his injuries and the prison doctor's inept attempts to treat them; in lieu of his addiction to Venom in the comics, he instead wears a mask that provides him with a constant stream of analgesic gas that keeps his pain just below the threshold.^[31] Bane was then rescued and recruited by Talia's father, Ra's al Ghul (Liam Neeson), into the League of Shadows, though Ra's eventually excommunicated him for being a reminder of the prison that Talia's mother was left to die in. After Ra's' death during the events of Batman Begins, however, Bane rejoined the League as its new leader alongside Talia.

Six months before the main plot begins, Bane poses as one of his own mercenaries to infiltrate a meeting between a CIA agent named Bill Wilson (Aiden Gillen) and nuclear physicist Dr. Leonid Pavel (Alon Abutbul). After he and his men destroy CIA's plane, Bane kidnaps Dr. Pavel and forces him to convert a stolen Wayne Enterprises fusion reactor into an atomic bomb, which Bane intends to use to destroy Gotham City. In the present day narrative, Bane sets up his base in the city's tunnels, where he captures Gotham Police Commissioner James Gordon (Gary Oldman), who escapes shortly afterwards. Masquerading as an enforcer of John Daggett (Ben Mendelsohn), Bane bankrupts Dagget's business rival Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) by orchestrating a raid at the Gotham Stock Exchange and using Wayne's fingerprints to verify fraudulent futures exchange trades. After killing Daggett, Bane forces cat-burglar Selina Kyle (Anne Hathaway) to lure Batman to his lair. Bane subsequently breaks Batman's back and condemns him to the Pit where he reveals his plan: to fulfill Ra's al Ghul's destiny, he will psychologically torture Batman and Gotham for several months before detonating the bomb, destroying the city in an atomic blast.

To this effect, Bane lures Gotham's police underground and uses explosives to trap them and destroy the bridges surrounding the city. Bane then kills Mayor Anthony Garcia (Nestor Carbonell) by detonating his viewing box and then kills Dr. Pavel in front of the football spectators before reading Gordon's resignation speech to the public. Bane then exposing the crimes of district attorney Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) and their subsequent cover-up. Broadcasting that he wants to liberate Gotham from the corrupt and wealthy elite after reading the information, Bane releases the prisoners of Blackgate Prison, initiating anarchy while holding the city hostage and isolated with the bomb. Months later, Bane discovers that Batman has escaped from the Pit, returned to Gotham, and freed the trapped GCPD from the sewers. The police then clash with Bane's army in the streets outside the Gotham City Hall. Batman battles Bane in the midst of the chaos and damages his mask, cutting off his supply of painkillers and rendering him helpless. Talia — who was masquerading as Wayne Enterprises CEO Miranda Tate (Marion Cotillard) — intervenes by stabbing Batman. She fixes Bane's mask and activates the detonator, but Gordon blocks her signal. Talia leaves to detonate the bomb while Bane prepares to execute Batman, but Selina appears and fires the Batpod's cannons at Bane, killing him.

Animation[]

• Bane appears in the animated movie Superman/Batman: Public Enemies but has no dialogue and merely grunts. Along with several supervillains, Bane tried to collect the billion-dollar bounty on Superman. He briefly fights Batman but was defeated when Batman used his batarang to cut his Venom tube and knock him out with a single kick.
• Bane appears in Justice League: Doom, voiced by Carlos Alazraqui.^[32] He is the first member of the Legion of Doom to be introduced, trekking through Slaughter Swamp to the Hall of Doom before being attacked by a giant alligator. He is dragged underwater, but manages to free himself and break the beast's neck. He meets Cheetah, Star Sapphire, Metallo and Ma'alefa'ak J'onzz/Ma'alefa'ak on his way to The Hall of Doom before they are invited in. Bane is chosen by Vandal Savage to kill Batman. He does so by stealing Batman's parents' graves and informing Bruce Wayne as Batman of their disappearance, disguising himself as a worker at the graveyard. He then knocks out Batman before putting Wayne in one of his parents' coffins and burying his nemesis alive but Batman manages to dig himself out and is the first League member to escape his death trap and manages to save his fellow League members. Bane stays with Savage after Vandal revealed his true plans and faces off against Batman when the Justice League storms the Hall of Doom. Despite overpowering Batman early on, the Dark Knight manages to defeat Bane by cutting his Venom tube, as well as finishing him off with his foot smash.
• Bane appears in Lego Batman: The Movie - DC Super Heroes Unite, an adaptation of the video game of the same name, with Steve Blum reprising his role.
• Bane appears in Batman: Assault on Arkham. At the end of the film, the Joker releases Bane and several other inmates from Arkham Asylum to distract Batman while he sets off a bomb that could destroy half of Gotham. During the riot, Bane attacks Killer Frost while trying to escape from Arkham by throwing the police car Killer Frost was trying to escape in, causing it to explode. Later, Bane is attempts to escape Arkham Island via the Gotham bridge, where he prepares to attack Commissioner Gordon. However, Batman defeats Bane by cutting his venom supply, causing him to fall into Gotham river.
• While Bane doesn't appear in Justice League vs. Teen Titans, he is briefly mentioned when Batman injects himself with a nerve toxin meant for Bane to prevent Trigon from possessing him.
• Bane is featured in Batman Unlimited: Mechs vs. Mutants voiced again by Carlos Alazraqui. He is one of the convicts freed from Arkham Asylum by the Penguin and Mr. Freeze, and his Venom-infused blood is used to create Freeze's growth concoction. He later injects himself with the substance and grows to enormous size, which allows him to fight his nemesis Killer Croc. He is later defeated by Batman and shrunk back to normal size.
• Bane appears in Lego DC Comics Super Heroes: Justice League: Gotham City Breakout voiced by Eric Bauza. He takes over a kingdom of humanoids known as the Trogowogs with help from Deathstroke, but is defeated by Batman, Batgirl and Nightwing.
• Bane appears in The Lego Batman Movie voiced by Doug Benson. His appearance is a hybrid of the comic version and Tom Hardy's portrayal in The Dark Knight Rises.
• A Feudal Japan sumo wrestler version of Bane appears in Batman Ninja, is voiced by Kenta Miyake.
• Bane appears in Batman vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, voiced again by Carlos Alazraqui. Unlike the comic where he was mutated into an African Elephant, he instead becomes a mutant jaguar. Bane fights Batgirl and Donatello and initially gains the upper hand, but ultimately loses after he injures his knee from trying to break Donatello's back on it due to Donatello's shell.
• Bane appears in Batman: Hush, voiced by Adam Gifford. Bane essentially takes the role of Killer Croc from the Hush storyline, which the film is based on. With the help of his gang, he kidnaps a wealthy child for ransom. After being subdued by Batman, Bane escapes from Amanda Waller's imprisonment. He is later recaptured by joint efforts of Catwoman, Batman and Waller.
• Bane has a non-speaking appearance in Justice League Dark: Apokolips War. He is shown to be a member of the Suicide Squad under Harley Quinn's leadership. He and the Squad assist the surviving heroes in assaulting the main LexCorp building for the Boom Tube gate. After Clark Kent's team is teleported to Apokolips, Bane is with the Squad, Lois Lane and Lex Luthor defending the building from the invading Paradooms. Despite equipped with Kryptonite-powered venom, he is later overwhelmed and eaten alive by a swarm of them.

Video games[]

Lego Batman[]

• Bane appears in Lego Batman: The Videogame, with vocal effects by Fred Tatasciore. He is an enemy of Batman and a follower of the Penguin. He is the only one of the Penguin's followers that's not based on a type of animal, and the one story villain that doesn't serve as a boss.^[33] Ben of Game Informer writes that "this game is filled with cool playable characters... Nightwing, Joker, Killer Croc, Bane, Catwoman, and Man-Bat only scratch the surface of the game's catalog of great characters."^[34] He is a playable character and has super strength, toxic immunity, and a special "back breaker" move. The Penguin assigns him to go to the docks and steal a satellite dish needed to control the former's penguin bombs. In the ending, he is seen in Arkham Asylum trying to break down his cell but knocks himself down in the process. When seeing this for the first time, people wondered how he ended up in Arkham Asylum, but in the villain story, it's revealed that after he helped the Penguin get the satellite dish, he gets cornered by Commissioner Gordon and his police force and the Penguin takes off in his sub without him. Enraged, Bane smashes things up and threatens the police by throwing a police car, but it ends up conking him on the head and knocking him out. The police tries to lift him into the police car, but he turns out to be too heavy (probably because of the Venom). The police end up using a police car as a tow-truck and pull him away. He is 1 of 2 villains whose final capture is in the villain story, the other being Scarecrow. Catwoman can also be seen captured in the villain story, but she later gets rescued. The player can gain an achievement on the Xbox 360 version of the game if the player, as Bane, uses the back breaker move on Batman, the player's human- or computer-controlled partner (a reference to the Knightfall story arc).
• Bane appears in Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes, voiced by Steve Blum.^[35] In the level "Arkham Asylum Antics," he drives his Mole Machine around the maze with Poison Ivy and Penguin riding with him. Bane appears on Gotham Beach as an optional boss. His opening catchphrase is "Whatever you build, I will break."
• Bane appears as a playable character in Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham, voiced by JB Blanc. In the game, he is manually able to change from a normal-sized mini-figure to a Venom-powered big-figure, which is required to get a Trophy called "Bane is Gain". However, Bane is unplayable in story mode and has no part in the story. His The Dark Knight Rises version is also playable via DLC.
• Bane is a playable character in Lego Dimensions with Steve Blum reprising his role once more. Bane also appears stealing kryptonite to defeat Superman. Batman and Robin give chase, but a dimensional vortex sucks in Robin (who obtained the Kryptonite that Bane stole), who Batman goes after. Bane also makes a cameo as one of the villains working for Lord Vortech and is one of the final bosses.
• Bane appears as a playable character in Lego DC Super-Villains, voiced again by JB Blanc.

Batman: Arkham[]

Bane appears in the Batman: Arkham series, where he is voiced by Fred Tatasciore in Arkham Asylum & Arkham City, and by JB Blanc in Arkham Origins.

• In Batman: Arkham Asylum, the first game of the Arkham series, Batman seems horrified to find that Bane is being used as a human test subject in the Asylum's Medical Facility by Dr. Penelope Young, called “Bruja” (meaning “Witch” in Spanish) by Bane, and that the Venom has been drained from his system leaving him weak and emaciated. After Batman rescues a captive Commissioner Gordon and advises Gordon to get away as quickly as he can, the Joker appears on a security monitor and remotely pumps the Venom into Bane's body while promising that Dr. Young will be eliminated by someone else. Enraged, Bane attacks Batman, but is defeated after Batman tears the Venom pumps from Bane's body. He is seemingly crushed by the collapsing roof, but almost immediately charges out from the rubble in a frenzy, grabbing Batman and threatening to "break him" once more. Before he has the chance, Batman remotely calls the Batmobile to his location, which strikes Bane and sends both he and the car into the adjoining river. In one of the possible post-credits sequences after completion, a floating tank of Titan formula in the river sees Bane's hand quickly rise from the water and grab it. Bane's character biography is unlocked by examining his teddy bear located in a room before the player enters the chamber where Bane is being held in order to rescue Gordon from Harley Quinn. Bane's attack allows Harley to evade capture for the time being. His presence is explained with the discovery that Dr. Young was using Venom to develop the Titan formula (an enhanced version of Venom that triggers a Bane-like transformation without the need for the tank that Bane requires for the same purpose) when she worked for "Jack White" (one of Joker's aliases).
• In Batman: Arkham City, roughly a year after the events of the first game inside the walled off prison in Gotham known as Arkham City, Bane forges a fragile alliance with Batman to destroy the remnants of canisters of Dr. Young's Titan formula that are stored in different areas of the prison.^[36] The two initially work together in fighting off Hugo Strange's private Tyger security force (or the Joker's thugs if the side mission is attempted after completing the main story), but Bane reveals shortly thereafter that he was only using Batman as a tool to gather as much of the Titan formula as possible for his own use. Predicting this, Batman traps Bane in a defunct elevator so he can destroy the gathered Titan tanks without interference and is left locked there for the duration of the game's campaign.
• In Batman: Arkham Origins, the prequel game taking place eight years before the events of Arkham Asylum, Bane's character design resembles something of a composite between his traditional appearances in the comics and the more militaristic and "revolutionary" garb he wore in The Dark Knight Rises. Unlike the first two entries in the series, the story of Arkham Origins showcases more of Bane's character staples from the comics, particularly his intelligence, as well as his addiction to the Venom formula. His role in Origins is also comparatively larger than it is in any other Arkham game, and he is the game's final boss. While no details are given in regards to the exact details of his origin, Batman at first seems surprised that Bane has turned up in Gotham in the first place, implying that the character was already well-established in criminal circles by the time Origins takes place, which is during Batman's second year as a crimefighter. First appearing in the story as one of the eight assassins hired to kill Batman by Black Mask. he is present at the meeting in the Gotham Royal Hotel between Electrocutioner and Firefly with Black Mask, who quickly reveals himself to be a new criminal: the Joker. After Joker kills Electrocutioner, Bane chooses to remain behind in the hotel after the meeting in anticipation of his first confrontation with Batman. With Batman besting him in their first encounter, Bane flees. Batman incapacitates Joker and leaves him for the police before tracking Bane to his hideout with a tracer, finding evidence of a new strain of Venom called TN-1, which would provide a permanent effect and lack the addictive properties of the original version. While in his hideout, Batman also discovers that Bane has deduced that Bruce Wayne and Batman are actually the same person. Batman destroys this evidence, but is delayed in returning to the Batcave when Firefly attempts to destroy Gotham Pioneer's Bridge. This gives Bane time to invade the cave, destroy Batman's equipment, and attack Alfred Pennyworth leaving him for dead. Bane is next seen with the Joker during his riot at Blackgate Penitentiary, facing off against Batman a second time. Batman is told that if he does not kill Bane, the beating of his heart will power an electric chair that will kill both Joker and Gotham City Police Captain James Gordon. Though Batman uses the Electrocutioner's gloves to stop Bane's heart, he quickly revives him once the heart monitor is removed. In retaliation, Bane injects himself with an imperfect Titan prototype, turning him into the same kind of hulking monster Batman will go onto face in the future. Batman electrocutes Bane again to defeat him, and the brain damage he suffers due to his abuse of the Titan formula robs him of the knowledge of Batman's identity. He's then apprehended by the Gotham PD. Bane is playable in the Batman: Arkham Origins multiplayer. If a player controlling a Bane Elite gets to the entrance door first, the Elite is replaced with Bane. Bane is equipped with a powerful rocket launcher, and is capable of performing devastating melee attacks, including a shock wave that knocks down enemies, and instant kills that vary based on the enemy's position (thrown across the room if standing, picked up and slammed down if prone, and slammed into a wall if near one). If Bane initiates an instant kill on Batman or Robin, he performs his signature backbreaker.
• Bane appears in a limited capacity at the end of the handheld game Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate. Taking place three months after the events of Arkham Origins, Bane has been incarcerated in the eponymous prison for that entire time. Because of the ravages the Titan formula made on his body, Bane grew substantially weaker, making his body look emaciated and pale. After Batman manages to defeat Joker, Penguin and Black Mask inside Blackgate Prison, he proceeds to the recently established "Arkham Wing" where he finds Bane sealed in a container. Marking her first chronological appearance in the timeline of the series, Catwoman reveals to Batman that she was hired to break Bane out of prison. After a failed attempt to divert Batman away from she and Bane, Batman finally catches up to Catwoman and defeats her. At the same time, a SWAT team led by Captain Rick Flag arrives and detains Catwoman. Batman intends to go after Bane next, but Flag stops him, saying that they had already captured him before he could escape. Later, it is revealed that Amanda Waller was the one who hired Catwoman to break Bane out.
• Though Bane doesn't appear in Batman: Arkham Knight, his teddy bear and Titan canister appear in the Gotham City Police Department's archived evidence room, along with artifacts from criminals appearing in prior games like Anarky, Black Mask, Mr. Freeze, Ra's al Ghul, and Joker. GCPD officer Aaron Cash said that Bane had to be released from custody after the shutdown of Arkham City, and that he was suffering from severe Titan withdrawal at the time of his release. While exploring the city, Batman can discover some of his belongings in a shipping container, which reveals that he has returned to Santa Prisca and launched a campaign against the drug lords who run the island.

Injustice[]

• Fred Tatasciore reprises his role as Bane in Injustice: Gods Among Us. His "Prime" universe incarnation is first seen with Lex Luthor, Catwoman and Solomon Grundy fighting Nightwing, Cyborg and Raven aboard the Watchtower until he is defeated by Batman. Later on, his One-Earth dimension incarnation is seen as one of the Regime forces in the assault on the Insurgency headquarters that fights Wonder Woman until the latter is teleported to Themyscira by Ares and is later knocked out by the "Prime" Batman and Insurgency Batman. In the tie-in comics, it is revealed that Bane was the first super-villain Superman recruited into the Regime. In Bane's single-player ending after defeating the High Counciler Superman, Bane recruits Sinestro and Black Adam to assume control over Earth alongside him. However, this ruling triad would only continue until the next phase of Bane's plan.
• Bane returns as a playable fighter in Injustice 2, voiced again by Fred Tatasciore. He joined the Society after the Regime's fall and battles Green Arrow, Black Canary, Green Lantern, Catwoman and Cyborg in the story. He is suspicious of Catwoman whom he suspects to be a mole in The Society though his attempts to warn Gorilla Grodd go unheeded. He considers Cyborg to be his old comrade from their time in the Regime, though Victor admits he never agreed with Superman's choice to recruit criminals like Bane. Bane then notes the irony that Cyborg is now considered criminal along with Bane now that the Regime has fallen, before stating that Cyborg must ask himself what is the difference between them now. In his single-player ending after defeating Brainiac, Bane takes advantage of his newfound reputation as Earth's savior and releases a number of prisoners to overthrow the government after Brainiac's defeat, but quickly grows bored when he realizes there is no one left to fight.

Other games[]

• Bane is a boss character in the Batman & Robin video game adaptation (1997),^[37] and Batman: Chaos in Gotham (2001).^[38]
• Héctor Elizondo reprised his role as Bane in Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu.^[39]
• Bane appears as a first boss in London in the DS version of Batman: The Brave and the Bold – The Videogame.
• Bane is featured in DC Universe Online, voiced by E. Jason Liebrecht. He has been supplying a new type of Venom throughout Gotham City with his hideout being the Cape Carmine Lighthouse. If the player takes the hero campaign, he/she will be assisted by Nightwing. If the player takes the villain campaign, he/she will be assisted by Killer Croc. Bane's henchmen consist of Hoppers, Juicers, Lieutenants, Muscles, Razors, Retaliators, Splints, Street Soldiers, Strongmen, Venomized Dogs, Envenomed Hoppers, Envenomed Guard Dogs, Envenomed Juicers, Envenomed Lieutenants, Envenomed Retaliators, Envenomed Street Soldiers, Envenomed Strongmen, and Venom Supplier Diego. In the Last Laugh DLC pack, Hero players may encounter Bane once again in the Shady Nightclub duo, an instance that generates three random Villains (others being the Ultra Humanite, Killer Croc, Killer Frost or Parasite). In this instance, his voice acting receives a little addition: he speaks in Spanish when the players attack him, saying "Madre de Dios" (mother of God) and "Basta!" (enough!). Bane can also be unlocked to use in Player Versus Player Legends matches, using a strong Brawling fight style. If a player using Bane defeats an enemy player using Batman, the player will get a feat called Breaking the Bat.
• Bane appears as a boss for Young Justice: Legacy, voiced by Eric Lopez. During the Team's mission in Santa Prisca, he aids Lex Luthor and Black Manta in containing a piece of an ancient statue. Bane confronts the Team, taunting Aqualad about his mentor's possible death before fighting him.
• Bane makes several appearances in the iPad and iPhone game app released to coincide with The Dark Knight Rises. In this version, Bane has a shaved head instead of being completely bald and wields a shoulder-holstered handgun. Bane confronts Batman in the armory instead of the sewers, and beats him nearly to death, but does not break his back. Bane and his mercenaries attack civilians and set bombs on buildings on Bane's orders.
• In Batman, Bane breaks out of Arkham Asylum, and begins taking control of Gotham. Batman thwarts this, and Bane, in a last stand, attacks Batman with a helicopter. Batman destroys the helicopter by ramming it with the Batmobile, taking Bane into custody. In his cell in Arkham, Bane swears vengeance on Batman.
• Bane appears in the second season of Telltale's Batman series, Batman: The Enemy Within, with JB Blanc once again voicing the character after Batman: Arkham Origins. This version of the character has tattoos, facial hair and initially did not use the tube system. Instead, Venom was inserted into his body through injections from his syringe gun which he uses on himself from time to time. Bane is a member of the Pact alongside Riddler, "John Doe," Harley Quinn, and Mr. Freeze. Bane joined the group to gain access to the LOTUS virus to cure his addiction to Venom and being convinced by Riddler, who was his closest friend. He is the second member of the group encountered by Batman and nearly kills the vigilante during an assault on the GCPD's weapons storage. When Bruce Wayne joins the group, Bane remains cautious of him and his motives, eventually deducing he is an Agency mole. In one of the earlier missions with the Pact should Bruce interact with Amanda Waller, he will be given a fake Venom formula to slip on Bane. He is later captured during an assault on the SANCTUS lab, being knocked out by either the Agency operatives or Batman. If the Joker becomes a vigilante, Bane, now with a new version of Venom and tube system to take the steroid, is deployed by the Agency to subdue him and Batman, believing the new vigilante to be responsible for Riddler's death. Bane is also part of Waller's group of supervillains that engage Batman and Joker on the rooftops of the GCPD. After Batman saves Waller from the Joker, he can negotiate for Bane's release so he can stand trial.

Toys and collectibles[]

• Kenner released different versions of Bane for each of its Batman: The Animated Series, Batman & Robin, and Legends of the Dark Knight action figure lines.^[40][41]
• DC Direct has released two Bane figures, one as the character appeared in the Batman "Knightfall" comic series as well as in the "Secret Files & Origins" series. Each came packaged with a figure stand specific to that particular series, with no other accessories.^[42]
• Mattel has included two versions of Bane in their D.C. Superheroes line of action figures. Both versions share the same mold and only vary in paint applications. The first version is set apart by black pants while the second (2007) version has pants decorated with a camouflage pattern. Both versions of this figure came with a small "Osito" accessory, although many of the first version seem to have been shipped to stores without.^[42]
• In 2007, LEGO released a Bane mini-figure in a Bat-Tank building set, alongside a Riddler mini-figure.^[43]
• Mattel has produced several Bane figures. They first released an action figure of Bane from The Batman animated series with a "bashing action" gimmick, a version from The New Batman Adventures in the Justice League Unlimited toyline in a Matty Collector exclusive four pack, a build-a-figure version in Wave 16 of the DC Universe Classics Action Figures (Jonah Hex (left leg), Riddler (left arm with Venom tube), The Creeper (right arm), Robin (lower torso and head), Mercury of the Metal Men (upper torso), and Azrael (right leg)). When put together they become a 7.5 inch tall Bane.
• Several toys of Bane were made following up to the release of The Dark Knight Rises. Collectible figures were made by Hot Toys and Mattel, vinyl figures by POP Heroes, and bobble heads by NECA and Wacky Wobbler.^{[44][45][46][47]}
• In late 2012, LEGO released a minifigure of the Tom Hardy version of Bane from The Dark Knight Rises.
• Square Enix has released a Play Arts Kai figure of Bane, based on his The Dark Knight Rises incarnation.
• There have been several versions of Bane in the collectable miniature game "Heroclix". There were three versions in the first DC set "Hypertime", another in the "Batman Alpha" set, one in the DC 75th Anniversary set, three in the "Dark Knight Rises" set, one in the "Tab-App" set, and another one in the "Batman: Arkham Origins" set.
• DC Collectibles has released three Bane figures thus far: An Arkham Asylum Bane included in a two pack with Batman, an Arkham Origins Bane, and finally a The New Batman Adventures Bane figure.
• Medicom Toy has released a MAFEX Bane action figure in their The Dark Knight Trilogy line, based on his appearance in The Dark Knight Rises.

Music[]

The album Knightfall by multinational Swedish band Silent Images, is based on the Batman: Knightfall story arc, with Bane cast as a central character. Throughout the course of the album and its lyrics, he is referred to as "The Venomous One", and is depicted as a militaristic Übermensch, with an uncanny and almost homoerotic connection to Batman.^[48][49][50]

References[]