Bane in other media

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

Bane appears in media set in the DC Animated Universe (DCAU), voiced by Henry Silva and Héctor Elizondo.[5] Prior to his inclusion, the producers of Batman: The Animated Series were reluctant to use the character as they felt his comic incarnation was too gimmicky.[5]

• Bane first appears in a self-titled episode of Batman: The Animated Series, with Silva sporting 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. Though the experiment was a success, Bane used his newfound superhuman abilities to escape and become a professional assassin, being hired by Rupert Thorne to battle Batman. He is ultimately defeated and rendered unconscious by Batman overloading his Venom gauntlet.
• A dream world/"fear toxin" incarnation of Bane appears in The New Batman Adventures episode "Over the Edge", with Silva sporting an American accent. For this series, Bane wears an all-black outfit while his traditional luchador mask has been traded for a black gimp mask. In this episode, Commissioner Gordon hired Bane and broke him out of prison to punish Batman, whom he believes to be responsible for Barbara Gordon's death, but Bane turns on him. He is later electrocuted and tosses the Bat signal at both men before falling unconscious.
• Bane appears in the Superman: The Animated Series episode "Knight Time".
• Bane makes a non-speaking appearance in the Batman Beyond episode "The Winning Edge". By 2039, Bane's use of Venom has left him a frail, comatose man reliant on an oxygen tank and regular Venom infusions. Taking advantage of this, his physician Jackson Chappell uses his Venom to create illegal steroid patches called "slappers".[6]

Bane appears in Batman & Robin (1997), portrayed by Robert Swenson. This version is Antonio Diego (portrayed by Michael Reid MacKay), an incarcerated serial killer who was transformed into the unintelligent Bane by Dr. Jason Woodrue before serving as an assistant to Poison Ivy and Mr. Freeze. This portrayal of Bane was one of many aspects of the film that received negative criticism from fans and critics alike.[7]

Bane appears in The Dark Knight Rises, portrayed by Tom Hardy.[8][9][10] Intending to portray the character as "more menacing" than the aforementioned 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 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 involved with the League of Shadows and is posing as 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's revolutionary charade as fighting "structural injustice", while likening the ruse 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 novel A Tale of Two Cities, centered around the French Revolution.[25] This homage to Dickens' story is briefly illustrated by having Bane finger knit paracord (incidentally a real-life habit of Hardy's) in one scene of the film, symbolizing the 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] where he spent most of his life incarcerated as a prisoner. Additionally, he was a friend and guardian to Talia al Ghul, whose mother, the daughter of a local warlord, was banished to the Pit by her father and later killed by inmates.[28] Bane also sustained severe injuries after being attacked by the other inmates, which were exacerbated by a doctor's failed attempts to treat him. This gave him chronic pain, which is lessened with a mask that provides him with a constant stream of analgesic gas.[29] Subsequently, Bane was 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 his wife, 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. Arriving in Gotham, Bane steals weapons from Wayne Enterprises and break Batman's back, before leaving him in the Pit. He is later defeated during a riot between Gotham citizens and the League when Catwoman kills him with the Batpod's rockets.

Hardy's portrayal of Bane was positively received, and the character is considered one of the best villains in film history.[30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39]

• The DCAU incarnation of Bane appears in Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman, voiced by Héctor Elizondo.[40]
• Bane makes a non-speaking cameo appearance in Superman/Batman: Public Enemies.
• Bane appears in Justice League: Doom, voiced by Carlos Alazraqui.[41] This version is a member of the Legion of Doom.
• Bane appears in Lego Batman: The Movie - DC Super Heroes Unite, voiced by Steve Blum.
• The Batman: Arkham incarnation of Bane appears in Batman: Assault on Arkham.
• Bane appears in Batman Unlimited: Mechs vs. Mutants, voiced by Carlos Alazraqui. After being freed from Arkham Asylum by the Penguin and Mr. Freeze, they use his Venom-infused blood to create a growth concoction. Bane subsequently injects himself with it, enlarging into a giant to fight a similarly mutated Killer Croc before he is defeated by Batman and reverted to his normal size.
• Bane appears in Lego DC Comics Super Heroes: Justice League – Gotham City Breakout, voiced by Eric Bauza.
• Bane appears in The Lego Batman Movie, voiced by Doug Benson. This version's design is a combination of his comics counterpart and Tom Hardy's portrayal.
• A Feudal Japan-inspired incarnation of Bane appears in Batman Ninja, voiced by Kenta Miyake.
• Bane appears in Batman vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, voiced again by Carlos Alazraqui. This version is mutated by the Joker into a jaguar before fighting Batgirl and Donatello until he injures his knee while trying to break the latter's back.
• Bane appears in Batman: Hush, voiced by Adam Gifford.
• Bane makes a non-speaking appearance in Justice League Dark: Apokolips War as a member of the Suicide Squad. He and the Squad assist Lois Lane and Superman in assaulting LexCorp for a Boom Tube gate so Superman can reach Apokolips while Lane and the squad defend the gate from Paradooms. Despite being given Kryptonite-infused Venom, Bane is overwhelmed and eaten by a swarm of Paradooms.

• Bane appears as a playable character in Lego Batman: The Videogame, voiced by Fred Tatasciore. In addition to his traditional abilities, this version possesses an immunity to toxins and serves as a lieutenant to the Penguin, only to be betrayed by him and eventually incarcerated in Arkham Asylum.[42]
• Bane appears as a playable character and boss in Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes, voiced by Steve Blum.[43] Additionally, The Dark Knight Rises incarnation of Bane appears as a playable DLC character.
• Bane appears as a playable character in Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham, voiced by JB Blanc. Additionally, The Dark Knight Rises incarnation of Bane appears as a playable DLC character.
• Bane appears as a playable character and boss in Lego Dimensions, voiced again by Steve Blum.
• Bane appears as a playable character in Lego DC Super-Villains, voiced again by JB Blanc.

Bane appears in the Batman: Arkham franchise, voiced by Fred Tatasciore in Arkham Asylum and Arkham City and by JB Blanc in Arkham Origins.

• First appearing as a boss in Batman: Arkham Asylum, this version is used as a test subject by Dr. Penelope Young to create a more powerful of Bane's Venom formula called "Titan" to help patients survive strenuous procedures. Having been drained of his Venom as a result, Bane is subsequently left weakened and emaciated until the Joker remotely infuses him with Venom to fight Batman. His strength restored, Bane nearly kills the Dark Knight until the latter summons his Batmobile to ram Bane into the nearby river. In a post-credits scene, Bane emerges from the river and clutches onto a floating Titan crate.
• As of Batman: Arkham City, Bane was incarcerated in the eponymous city prison. In the side mission "Fragile Alliance", Bane enlists Batman's help in finding and destroying 12 Titan canisters that had been brought to Arkham City.[44] After Batman destroys half of the canisters and helps Bane fight off TYGER guards and other inmates, Bane reveals he intends to use his half of the canisters to strengthen himself. He attempts to kill Batman, only to be trapped in a defunct elevator before Batman destroys the remaining canisters.
• A young Bane appears as a boss and playable character in Batman: Arkham Origins. During this time, he operated as an intelligent yet Venom-addicted mercenary, contract killer, and head of a militia who has had prior history with Batman. Additionally, Bane's design is a composite of his comic book design and that of The Dark Knight Rises incarnation. After being hired by the Joker to kill Batman, Bane deduces the latter's secret identity and takes advantage of Batman's fight with Firefly to attack the Batcave, grievously injuring Alfred Pennyworth in the process. Bane later reluctantly joins forces with the Joker to take over Blackgate Penitentiary and force Batman to kill either one of them. Using the Electrocutioner's shock gloves, Batman stops and restarts Bane's heart. Enraged by this, Bane injects himself with a new strain of Venom called TN-1, turning himself into a hulking monster, only to be defeated by Batman once more, suffer brain damage that erases his memory of Batman's identity, and arrested by the Gotham City Police Department (GCPD).
• A young Bane makes a non-speaking cameo appearance in Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate. Three months after the events of Arkham Origins, Bane was incarcerated at Blackgate until Amanda Waller hires Catwoman to break him out. The latter manipulates Batman into helping her achieve her goal until Batman eventually defeats her and Bane and leaves them for the GCPD.

• Bane appears as a boss in Batman & Robin (1998).[45]
• Bane appears as a boss in Batman: Chaos in Gotham.[46]
• Bane appears in the DCAU game Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu, voiced again by Héctor Elizondo.[47]
• Bane appears as a boss in the DS version of Batman: The Brave and the Bold – The Videogame.
• Bane appears as a boss and unlockable playable character in DC Universe Online, voiced by E. Jason Liebrecht. This version runs a Venom drug ring in Gotham City from his Cape Carmine Lighthouse hideout and is assisted by 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.
• Bane, based on The Dark Knight Rises incarnation, appears in the tie-in mobile game of the same name. This version sports a shaved head and wields a shoulder-holstered handgun.
• Bane appears as a playable character in Injustice: Gods Among Us, voiced again by Fred Tatasciore. Additionally, an alternate reality incarnation who joined High Councilor Superman's Regime appears as well.
• Bane appears as a character summon in Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure.
• Bane appears as a boss in Young Justice: Legacy, voiced by Eric Lopez.
• Bane appears as a boss in Batman (2013).
• The Injustice incarnation of Bane appears as a playable character in Injustice 2, voiced again by Fred Tatasciore. Following the Regime's downfall, Bane joined Gorilla Grodd's Society.
• Bane appears in Batman: The Enemy Within, voiced again by JB Blanc. This version is a member of the Pact and close friend of fellow member the Riddler who sports tattoos, facial hair, and initially uses a syringe gun to inject himself with Venom. Additionally, he joined the group in the hopes of using the LOTUS virus to cure his addiction to Venom. If the player's choices lead to the Joker becoming a vigilante, Bane will receive a new strain of Venom and a tube system.