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Warner Bros. Animation<\/p>\n
We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.<\/p>\n
This article contains spoilers for “Batman: Knightfall \u2013 Part 1.”<\/p>\n
Bane is such a fixture of “Batman” media that most people forget he only debuted in the 1990s. In Bane’s debut arc, “Knightfall,” he discovered Batman’s secret identity, wore Batman down by staging a mass breakout at Arkham Asylum, and then famously shattered Batman’s spine over his knee.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“Knightfall” was a year-long crossover event that pulled all the “Batman” titles together. That’s common in superhero comics now, but in the 1990s, it felt new.\u00a0Batman media was swift to include Bane, cementing his place in the rogues’ gallery for Bat-fans everywhere.\u00a0But do any of those adaptations live up to “Knightfall”?\u00a0<\/p>\n
The creators of “Batman: The Animated Series” weren’t impressed with Bane and only featured him under “duress.”<\/a> The 2004 cartoon “The Batman” likewise made Bane (Joaquim de Almeida) into only a stronger-than-average villain of the week. “Batman & Robin” stripped Bane (Robert Swenson) of his cunning, reducing him to only a thug.<\/p>\n The most famous Bane is the one in Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight Rises,” played by Tom Hardy. But let’s be real; While Hardy’s Bane is a fearsome villain who indeed breaks Batman (Christian Bale) and Gotham City itself, he’s remembered mostly for his goofy, high-pitched bellow of a voice. He’s also undercut by a twist revealing him as a servant of Talia al Ghul (Marion Cotillard), and disposed of as an afterthought. Hardy’s Bane is a respectable adaptation, but not a definitive one.<\/p>\n That definitive adaptation has now arrived in an animated film (the first of a trilogy) based on “Knightfall.” Directed by Jeff Wamester, “Batman: Knightfall” is a strong return to form for DC Animation. With an R-rating, it’s also got the most brutal, terrifying adaptation of Bane (voiced by Michael Mando)<\/a> yet.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n Batman: Knightfall honors the brutal vengeance of Bane<\/p>\n
DC Comics<\/p>\n A key chapter of “Knightfall” is the origin-story one-shot “Vengeance of Bane” (by Chuck Dixon and Graham Nolan). The animated “Knightfall,” after a cold open in which Batman (Anson Mount) meets the ailing vigilante Azrael (Pablo Schreiber), transitions into an extended sequence that adapts “Vengeance of Bane.”<\/p>\n Bane comes from the Latin American country Santa Prisca. Born and raised in Pe\u00f1a Duro prison to pay for his absent father’s crimes, Bane has never known any other name. Spurred on by his mother to survive, Bane had to sharpen his mind and body into peak shape. He is eventually chosen as a test subject for a super steroid, Venom, that multiplies his strength tenfold past human levels.<\/p>\n The movie admittedly has to jump through Bane’s childhood with some time lapses, but it makes the most of that compression. We’re invited to sympathize with Bane’s child self, especially since the monster he’ll grow into still looks noble compared to the cruel Pe\u00f1a Duro staff. But Bane himself would surely reject any notion that he’s a product of his environment; he mastered Pe\u00f1a Duro, not the other way around, and he intends to make Gotham City into his kingdom next.<\/p>\n Rather than Tom Hardy’s almost affable Bane, Michael Mando voices Bando with a chilled fury, echoing every ounce of Bane’s grit, intelligence, and patience. When Bane has beaten Batman to a pulp, he declares:\u00a0<\/p>\n “I am Bane! I could kill you, but death would only end your agony and silence your shame. Instead, I will simply … break you.”<\/p>\n This is near verbatim from “Batman” #497, but while the comic’s lettering suggests Bane is shouting, Mando reads the line with a quieter growl, like the broken Batman is beneath contempt.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n Batman: Knightfall understands the terror of Bane<\/p>\n
Warner Bros. Animation<\/p>\n
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