Bane

Born and raised in Peña Duro prison, Bane learned to fight in the merciless school of prison life.  But he also found solace in books, developing his natural intellect. . . MORE >

Born and raised in Peña Duro prison, Bane learned to fight in the merciless school of prison life.  But he also found solace in books, developing his natural intellect to that of a master strategist.

A test subject for the steroid, Venom, Bane gained near super-human strength.  He escaped Peña Duro and became determined to destroy Batman (convinced that Batman was the demonic bat that haunted his dreams since childhood).  

Bane first exhausted Batman by freeing all the villains from Arkham Asylum and then crippled the Dark Knight by breaking his spine!   Bane thus becomes the only man to have "Broken the Bat".

Jean-Paul Valley (aka Azrael) then donned the Batman cape.  The "new" Batman was violent and ruthless; he defeated Bane, fighting him with an advanced metal combat suit and then severing the tubes that pump Venom into his Bane's bloodstream.  Bane is tortured - beaten and suffering agonising withdrawal symptoms, he begs for death.

Since then Bane has been an international crimelord, an anti-hero, a mercenary, a government agent and even a dictator.  He has been a member of the Secret Six, the Suicide Squad and the Secret Society of Super-Villains.