Bane in other media
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
- While Bane doesn't appear in the live-action series Arrow, his birthplace, Santa Prisca, is mentioned by John Diggle in "The Secret Origin of Felicity Smoak" when his wife Lyla Michaels 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 can be seen inside the storage room at Arkham Asylum.
- Bane appears in the fifth and final season of Gotham, portrayed by Shane West. This version of the character is Eduardo Dorrance, Jim Gordon's 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". 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, who enlists him to help in her plan to kill Bruce Wayne to avenge her father Ra's al Ghul, 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. Reborn as Bane, he leads a mission to capture Gordon, Bruce, and Barbara Kean. Bane later takes control of the military and battles the GCPD, who are joined by Oswald Cobblepot and Edward Nygma. 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
Even though the producers were reluctant to use the character as they felt his comic incarnation was too gimmicky, Bane still appeared in the DC Animated Universe, voiced primarily by Henry Silva.- Bane made his animated debut in ', 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 Bane |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 ', 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 ', now voiced by Héctor Elizondo. 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.
- 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 and the support of a medical caretaker Jackson Chappell''' who is revealed to be the one supplying the Venom "slappers".
Other series
- Bane appears in The Batman animated series, voiced by Joaquim de Almeida, Ron Perlman, and Clancy Brown. 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 ", Bane, Black Mask, Mr. Freeze, and Clayface are hired by Lex Luthor to kidnap Lois Lane to lure out Superman.
- Bane appears in , 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. 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 of Doom and Gotham's destruction, Bane became a member of the Injustice League alongside 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 Injustice League, though the latter attempts to ensure only he succeeds. When Bane learns of 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 were transferred to his custody, they caused a riot in order to escape. Bane pursued the two only to fall to his apparent death. In "Lovers' Quarrel" however, Bane is shown to have survived, albeit stranded in the Pit. In "The Runaway Bridesmaid", Bane escaped from the Pit and attended Ivy and Kite Man's wedding before taking part in a fight between the other attending supervillains and the GCPD.
Film
Live-action
''Batman & Robin'' (1997)
A different version of Bane appears in Batman & Robin, portrayed by former WCW wrestler Robert "Jeep" Swenson in one of his last film roles before his death. Antonio Diego is an incarcerated serial killer who is transformed into "Bane" with an experimental drug called "Venom" by mad scientist Dr. Jason Woodrue. In this interpretation, Bane is an inarticulate thug who serves as the bodyguard/henchman of Poison Ivy and is barely capable of speech, communicating mostly with growls and roars. Bane is defeated when Robin and Batgirl disconnect the Venom tube in the back of his head, which changes him back to his frail self. This character was one of many aspects of the film which received criticism from fans and critics alike.''The Dark Knight Rises'' (2012)
Bane appears in The Dark Knight Rises, portrayed by Tom Hardy, serves as the film's main antagonist. Intending to portray the character as "more menacing" than the Batman & Robin incarnation, Hardy gained of muscle for the role, increasing his weight to. 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." "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." 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, and in particular, bare-knuckle fighter Bartley Gorman, whom Hardy described as "...A Romani gypsy. Which I wanted to underpin the Latin, but a Romani Latin opposed to Latino. His particular accent is very specific, which was a gypsy accent".Bane has been described as having "the physicality of a silverback gorilla" 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. 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."
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. 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." 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. This homage to Dickens' story is briefly illustrated by having Bane inconspicuously finger knit paracord in one scene of the film, symbolizing his Reign of Terror-based character Madame Defarge from the book.
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", 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, 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. 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. Bane was then rescued and recruited by Talia's father, Ra's al Ghul, 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 and nuclear physicist Dr. Leonid Pavel. 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, who escapes shortly afterwards. Masquerading as an enforcer of John Daggett, Bane bankrupts Dagget's business rival Bruce Wayne 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 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 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 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 — 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 ' 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 ', voiced by Carlos Alazraqui. 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.
- Bane appears in ', an adaptation of the video game of the, with Steve Blum reprising his role.
- Bane appears in '. 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 and 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 to prevent Trigon from possessing him, as the toxin was meant for Bane.
- Bane is featured in ' 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 ' 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 with his voice bing that.
- 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 ', voiced by Adam Gifford. He tries to kidnap a child only to be stopped by Batman.
- Bane has a non-speaking appearance in '. 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. He is later overwhelmed and eaten alive by a swarm of them.
Video games
''Lego Batman''
- Bane appears in ', 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. 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." 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. 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.
- Bane appears in ', voiced by Steve Blum. 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 , 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. 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 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''
- In