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Who is Bane?
In the DCU, one of the myriad small countries is a place in the Caribbean called Santa Prisca. This nation first showed up during a story involving Vic Sage, the original Question. It later became better known as the home of this incredibly dangerous man the world knows as Bane.
Santa Prisca was a corrupt nation, and the government was constantly fighting against those who would overthrow it. One of the revolutionaries was able to evade capture time and again, so the government decided his young son would go to prison in the freedom fighter’s place. Bane spent much of his childhood and all of his teen years, as well early adult years inside the walls of Pena Duro, the island’s most notorious prison.
This young man grew up in this hostile environment, and learned from it. His teachers were other prisoners and the few others who would work there, including a Jesuit priest. Bane learned to fight, to plan, and to be strong. He spent his time in the prison library, devouring every book he could lay hands on, as well as the gym, where he trained himself to be as close to perfect as he could. Especially when younger, he was mocked for carrying a small teddy bear, which he called Osito and said was his only friend. Osito was eventually revealed to be the hiding place for the knife he used to kill those who bullied him or otherwise got in his way.
Even in a prison in a small country, some stories spread. As he grew, he heard of a city in America that was dominated by one man—his implacable will, skills, and determination bending the streets to his will. If one man could so dominate a place as corrupt as Gotham City, then Bane could rule this prison. He gradually rose to power among the inmates and ruled over them, as he had heard Batman did in Gotham.
The governors of the prison noted his power, and drafted him to become the newest test subject for a drug they were developing to create a more powerful soldier to combat the revolutionaries that plagued them. All other subjects perished, but Bane survived, and found the drug, called Venom, would greatly increase his physical prowess, although he needed regular doses every 12 hours to stave off debilitating side effects. A few years later, deciding the prison and the country had nothing more to offer him, Bane escaped with a few trusted aides, and decided to pit himself against this legend of fear and shadow—the Batman.
Being an intelligent man who understood the value of planning and reconnaissance, Bane had no intention of simply commiting some random crime and fighting Batman when he showed up. Bane studied the city, his foe, the Batman’s allies and tactics, and decided on a course of action. Bane staged a mass breakout at Arkham, and let the inmates run riot in the streets. Batman drove himself mercilessly to capture his enemies and protect his city. After he’d been worn down, Bane struck. Studying the city and its prominent citizens, he’d learned Batman’s secret, but had no wish to reveal it. He awaited the weary Dark Knight in the cave below Wayne Manor, and they fought. Bane beat him badly, and ended the fight by breaking Batman’s spine. Image may be NSFW.
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Batman later recovered, and took back his city. Bane was captured by the replacement Batman, formerly known as Azreal, and sent to Blackgate Prison. Here, he purged himself of the Venom, and spent his time in solitary confinement pushing himself to peak physical condition. Bane and Batman briefly worked together when they learned that a small time gang had gotten hold of a supply of Venom and was selling it to the highest bidder.
Bane left Gotham to track down his mysterious father. His search was sidetracked when he met Talia Al Ghul, who was impressed enough by him to introduce him to her father, Ra’s, another long time Batman enemy. Ra’s made Bane his heir, and together they attacked Gotham. Batman not only defended his city, but this time he beat Bane in their rematch. Later, Bane had a falling out with Ra’s, and devoted his considerable resources to destroying many of Al-Ghul’s Lazarus Pits, the mystical fountains that allow Al-Ghul to live as long as he has. Bane briefly worked for Lex Luthor during the events of “No Man’s Land” but left Gotham after meeting, but not fighting, with Batman again.
Later, Bane finally learns his parentage, as his father is revealed to be King Snake, a crimelord who clashed frequently with the third Robin, not a revolutionary as he had been told. Bane fought his father, preventing him from activating a powerful weapon, and also saved Batman’s life, nearly at the cost of his own. Batman put Bane in one of the surviving Lazarus Pits and let him go, with a clean slate and new life.
Somewhat out of character, Bane appeared during Infinite Crisis with the villains in the great “Battle for Metropolis” where he killed the Golden Age hero Judomaster. Still later, he clashed with the two Justice Society heroes known as Hourman. The research of Rex Tyler, the first Hourman, was used to create the Venom that had plagued Bane so often. Bane was intent on wiping out everything having do to with Venom and viewed the Miraclo using heroes as a loose end, but they defeated him, as did Judomaster’s son in a later clash.
Bane next went to work for the Suicide Squad, the team of black ops criminals doing deniable deeds for the US Government under the guidance of master planner Amanda Waller. Waller betrayed both Bane and Deadshot, sending them off with other villains to the so called “Hellworld” during the Salvation Run event. Bane escaped with most of them and returned to Earth.
Bane later joined the mercenary group known as the Secret Six, where he remains at present. He has developed an odd, father like relationship with the group’s leader, Scandal Savage. When he saw her about to be killed, his feelings were so deep that he actually took Venom again to save her. He remains with the team as a deadly planner and fighter.
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Bane has no powers. He is an incredibly gifted athlete, hand to hand combatant, tactician, and planner. When he uses Venom, he temporarily attains low level superhuman strength and endurance. It has also been stated he has a photographic memory, and is fluent in several languages. Bane is among the deadliest fighters and schemers on Earth, utterly ruthless when he is convinced he is in the right.
Out of character notes-
Many assume Bane was created as an evil Batman, but his first writers have compared him more to the pulp hero Doc Savage (which makes his father daughter dynamic with Scandal Savage more ironic, although Doc and Scandal are not related). His assistants were based on helpers of Doc Savage and named after 60’s rock bands (Byrds, Troggs, Zombies). What happened to his helpers after their first big story in Knightfall remains mostly unknown.
Bane has been shown as a much more two dimensional thug on various cartoons, as well as in the horrible Batman and Robin movie that temporarily ended all super hero films.
Bane’s real name, if he has one, has never been revealed. When asked recently in Secret Six what his name actually was, he simply replied “Bane.” Presumably his last name would be Dorrance, as is that of King Snake.