University of Panels

2: Bane

 

I know that this may seem like blasphemy to Bat-Fans as I just stated that the Joker is the perfect villain for Batman, but I honestly hold Bane in higher regard. For a while, my all-time favorite Batman comic was the epic KNIGHTFALL Saga (that spot now goes to TDKR), and the primary reason for that was Bane. What drew me into Bane was how much his character completely took me by surprise. 

 

The son of a South American warlord, Bane was born in the fictional nation of Santa Prisca, where he was sentenced from birth to serve life in prison in the place of his father. As such he was raised in Pena Duro, the worst hell on Earth, where he was denied all basic rights from the moment he entered the world. Among the criminals that were confined to the prison, the only friend that Bane had was a teddy bear he named Otisto, and was forced to become as hard as the stone walls that surrounded him in order to survive. In a dream he encountered a vision of his older self, who informed him that only the strongest could survive, and that fear was the one thing that could destroy him. Determined to overcome fear (which took on the form of a Bat-like creature in his dreams), Bane trained himself to physical and mental perfection, developing intense focus, patience, and strategical skills. He eventually became king over the other prisoners, and had become fascinated by tales he had heard of Gotham City, as like a prison, it was a place where fear ruled. Bane was also subjected to being a gunie pig for the experimental drug Venom, a steroidal compund which granted its user monstorous stregnth! Having survived the procedure, Bane escaped Pena Duro, and was determined to take control of Gotham's criminal underworld, as well as break Batman, who represented the bat-creature that haunted his nightmares. He studied and observed the dark knight for months,and eventually noticed that Batman was severely physically and mentally weakened. But Batman still had resolve left in him, and Bane knew that directly confronting Batman would result in him losing. He decided to weaken Batman further, by breaking out all the inmates of Arkham Asylum. Batman was forced to fight every inmate, growing weaker with each confrontation, and when Bane finally confronted him, Batman was exhausted to the point where he could barely punch Bane. The fight ended with Bane defeating the dark knight and breaking his spine. Bane truly is one of the few to have broken the bat.

 

As I previously mentioned, what made Bane a great villain in my eyes was just by how he completely took me by surprise in KNIGHTFALL. Most muscle-bound villains in comics are often idiots, relying on brute-stregnth rather than brains in a fight (Rhino from Spider-Man anyone?). Bane completely goes against this cliche as not only is he physically strong, but he's also a highly intelligent master-strategist that plans his every move carefully, and waits for the precise moment to strike. This makes him both physically and mentally intimidating, which is a rare combination for many villains. His past of growing up in a prison is also one of the greatest backstories for a villain that I have ever seen, as it completely establishes his personality and justifies his motivations for killing Batman and becoming the "king" of Gotham City. The reader immediately can feel sympathy for Bane due to the circumstances that he grew up in, and while wanting to see Batman emerge triumphant, can't help but be engrossed by the drive and effort that Bane puts into his goal. He's everything a good villain should be, well-developed, threatening, powerful, three-dimensional (unlike the Steroid-Abusing Neandrathal that was in Joel Shumacler's BATMAN AND ROBIN... THAT VERSION OF BANE SUCKS AND IS A COMPLETE BETRAYAL OF HIS CHARACTER!!!) and despite being evil, the reader can still sympathize with. So why isn't he number one? Well there's one who fulfills all of those attributes to an even greater degree!

 

And my number one favorite comic book villain of all-time is...