Batman: Vengeance of Bane #1
Writer: Chuck Dixon
Artist: Graham Nolan
Delve into the darkest corners of the man who broke the dark knight!!! The brutal origins of my favorite Batman villain, Bane!!!
Ranking: 5 stars
In my past reviews, I've made it clear that my all-time favorite Batman story is the epic KNIGHTFALL story arc. One of the primary reasons that it has earned this honor (especially when considering the quality of stories like BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS and THE LONG HALLOWEEN), was because of the main antagonist of the comic, Bane! I know that when most people think of Batman's greatest enemy they think of the Joker, but I honestly hold Bane in higher regard. Not only is he my favorite Batman villain, but he is my second favorite comic book villain overall (first place goes to Magneto from X-MEN). What drew me to Bane's character was how he deviated from the cliche that most writers follow with muscle-bound villains (or "heavy hitters"). A common trend among most villains of large mass is that in exchange for muscle, they give up their intelligence, becoming rage-fueled idiots who attack before thinking. Bane however, was not only at his physical peak, but was also a master strategist. He possessed unlimited patience, he would think and plan, study his enemies before striking, and uses his opponents weaknesses to his advantage. This allowed him to easily defeat Batman and break his back in KNIGHTFALL, as broke out all of the inmates of Arkham Asylum to weaken the Dark Knight, knowing that he a direct approach would result in his defeat. This layer of intelligence that surrounded Bane's character completely took me by surprise, as he went against the stereotypical muscle-bound idiotic villain, making him a three-dimensional antagonist that was intimidating both physically and mentally. There are some people who claim that villains like Bane are one-dimensional and uninteresting as their only goal is to kill the hero, but I call bull-crap on that reasoning. As I stated in my AMAZING SPIDER-MAN VOL. 1: COMING HOME review, I find it fascinating when a villain goes after the hero as not only does it put the protagonist in a life threatening scenario, but it's compelling to see how the villain carries out his goal, and specifically what drives his motivation to do so. Bane was the character who hooked me onto hunter/prey stories in comics. Not only for his intelligent characterization, but also for what is quite easily one of the greatest backstories ever conceived for a villain, which is explored in the one-shot comic BATMAN: VENGEANCE OF BANE. Set as a prequel to the KNIGHTFALL saga, the story is set in the fictional Latin American nation Santa Prisca, the origins of my favorite Batman villain began with a failed revolt against the dictators of the country. Although the rebels were captured, their leader was able to gain freedom, but as a result, his wife and unborn son were forced to serve his sentence in the infamous prison known as Pena Duro. The child who would soon become the man who broke Batman was forced to live his life in the prison walls, born without freedom or the right to choose his destiny. It wasn't until his mother's passing however, that he was forced to fend for himself against the thieves, rapists, and murderers that gave the prison it's reputation as the worst hell on Earth. The boy eventually develops intense focus and patience in order to survive threats that no child should witness, and in the process, becomes as cold as the prison itself, earning the name Bane from the prison staff. Bane strives to reach his physical and mental peak, as he understands the weak will die in the prison, and that the only thing that can weaken him is fear. As an adult Bane establishes himself as the "king" of the prison, and eventually hears tales of Gotham and the Batman. Believing that Gotham, like the prison he grew up in, is a place where fear rules, and that the Batman is the embodiment of the fear that had haunted his dreams as a child. Viewing the world as his prison, Bane is determined to break the dark knight in order to claim his place as Gotham's "king." As I stated earlier, what attracts me to Bane was not only his combination of physical and mental strength, but also the focus and effort he put into his goal to cripple the caped crusader. While those elements made KNIGHTFALL my favorite Batman comic, VENGEANCE OF BANE not only explores those elements made him a compelling villain, but also the circumstances that created him. Bane's only goal is to break Batman and claim Gotham as his prize, and while some people have claimed that makes him one-dimensional despite his status as an intelligent strategist (which is extremely rare among muscle-bound villains), I heavily disagree as his motives are justified through his complex psychology. As a child, Bane was born a prisoner due to both the sins of his father and the corrupt laws of Santa Prisca. From the moment he entered life, he was denied any basic human rights, and was forced to live among society's worst. Because the prison environment was all he knew, he believes that only the strong can survive in life. This is what motivates him to expand his mental knowledge and train his body to physical perfection. He believes that if he does not stand on top, he will die, and that fear is what makes a man weak. As a child, fear took on the form of a bat-like creature in his nightmares, which is drives his obsession to kill Batman and rule Gotham. Even after Bane escapes Pena Duro, he still views the world as his prison and that he must either rule that prison or die. This causes him to sets his sights on Gotham, as like a prison, the city is a place where fear and crime are dominate. Bane views Batman as Gotham's king, as he inspires fear in the hearts of criminals, and only by bringing down the dark knight, can he become king. Another factor that compels him to kill Batman is that to him, Batman represents the bat-creature that haunted his dreams. As fear is the only thing that can destroy him, he feels that only by destroying Batman, he can then be truly freed from his prison. These factors make Bane a three-dimensional villain despite his single-minded focus to kill Batman. Because prison-life is all he understands, he has developed a survival of the fittest complex, and believes that he must be the strongest in order to survive. The reader is able to sympathize with him because of the extreme circumstances of the environment that he was raised in. To see a child grow up in a world of thieves and murderers is brutal to witness, as they're too young to comprehend the harsh realities of life. Exposure to such violence at since birth has transformed Bane into the man he is today, allowing us to connect with and understand his actions because of his history. Bane's origin is easily one of the most original and thought-out backstories to have been developed for comic book villain, and in my opinion, is transcended only by Magneto's background as a holocaust survivor. Overall, BATMAN: VENGEANCE OF BANE is not only a well-crafted origin story for my favorite Batman villain, but also a interesting character study behind the psychology of Bane. It pains me when people label villains whose goal is to kill the hero as uninteresting, as I feel that they offer not only a compelling life-or-death situation for the hero to overcome, but the villains themselves are memorable as it is interesting to see how they carry out their goals, as well as they're motivations that drive them to such extremes. While I have come across many villains of such status (Hush, Doctor Hurt, Cassandra Nova, and Morlun in case you're wondering), I still hold Bane as my favorite character of the archetype. Not only for him deviating from the stereotypical muscle-bound villain, but also because of the passion put into his goal and his past that molds it. If you're a interested in reading KNIGHTFALL, this comic is a must as it tells all you need to know about the man who broke the bat! "One of the many lessons that one learns in prison is, that things are what they are and will be what they will be." -Oscar Wilde
