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 Despite my claim of being the biggest Batman nerd in the
world, I’ve only managed to see The Dark Knight Rises once (*sigh*). But even though I haven’t found the time to head back to the theaters, I have been able to
get my hands on the first volume of Batman Knightfall, which helped inspire the latest movie. Here you’ll find the
original story of Bane and how, through his ruthless cunning and superior
strength, he broke the Batman.
In the comics, Bane’s father lived on the fictional island of Santa Prisca and was an insurgent fighter against the ruling regime. When the insurgency failed, Bane’s father was killed,
and it was decided by the corrupt judicial system that the yet unborn Bane would
serve life imprisonment at Pena Duro for the crimes of his father. Raised in
the vilest prison imaginable, Bane’s rage and hatred turned him into the most
feared prisoner in Pena Duro. Not only that, he was also subjected to secret
experiments that increased his strength and intelligence ten-fold. (If you’re
thinking that it seems like a bad idea to make a very strong, angry inmate even
stronger, keep in mind that the prison officials thought that the experiments
would kill Bane. Oops.)
Of course, Bane eventually escapes and (being that in the
comic world, motives are always somewhat tenuous) decides that in order to
fully accept his destiny as “the living embodiment of human superiority”, he
must destroy Batman. To execute his plan, Bane first frees every inmate in
Arkham Asylum, loosing all sorts of madness on the streets of Gotham.
As Batman grows weaker and weaker trying to round up all of the escaped
villains, Bane waits for the perfect moment to strike. And when he does…well,
let’s just say that when I first read these comics as a kid, I
cried when I saw what Bane does to Batman.
Batman Knightfall is a perfect collection if you’re jonesing for
more Bane in your life or if you want a concentrated dose of classic Batman
comics (the collection contains 23 issues). (Dan, The Loft)
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