Bane's Best Battles

The man who broke the Bat will face-off with Bruce Wayne on the big screen this July, and now is the perfect time to do your homework by exploring the villain's extensive comic book history. Bane's dark and brilliant mind will make Batman's life a nightmare in director Christopher Nolan's final Batman film, but it's his sheer strength and skill that will prove to be Wayne's ultimate obstacle. Bane is infamous for duking it out with the Dark Knight, but Batman is hardly the only man to get slugged in the face a few times by the villain. Grab some popcorn and enjoy the brawling as I review Bane's best battles.

VS Batman,  Detective Comics #701

Allied with the legendary Ra's al Ghul, Bane returns to Gotham City and has an unforgettable fight with Batman on the docks. The two narrowly escape an explosion and have a contest of skill along the water, countering and blocking the powerful strikes that fly back and forth. Bane's able to finally gain the edge when he dodges a few batarangs and then connects with a swift jump quick. In true villain fashion, Bane tries to take his time with Wayne, attempting to slowly drown his longtime enemy. Batman remembers the death of his parents (for the millionth time) and overcomes Bane, landing a few brutal hits and eventually dropping him with a kick. Bane stumbles onto a piece of debris and floats away as Batman stands victorious.

VS Nightwing (Dick Grayson), Batman: Bane

Picking up directly after the events of Detective Comics #701, Bane - exhausted and floating on debris - floats into the path of a ship. Like the boss that he is, Bane hops on-board and takes over the place with ease. But this isn't an ordinary ship! It turns out the vessel is carrying nuclear supplies, and Bane wants to use the vehicle as a bomb. Batman won't have any of that nuclear nonsense, but the original Robin, Dick Grayson, busts onto the scene first. Not once but twice Bane proves that, in a direct match consisting of pure physical might and skill, Nightwing doesn't stand much of a chance against the powerhouse. An elbow to the face hurts, but Bane's verbal insult must have hurt a lot more. "But you are not the Batman.  So to me, you are nothing!" Don't worry, Grayson, Wayne drops in to save the day. He smacks Bane around for a bit and manages to prevent the nuclear attack on Gotham.

VS Batman, Detective Comics #736

Bane leaps into Gotham City during the events of "No Man's Land" and he's dead-set on claiming what he believes to be his territory. But just like every other time, the Dark Knight stands in his way. The two slug it out in the slushy sewers and Bane manages to elude Wayne with an explosive. The two meet face-to-face shortly after in a warehouse, and so begins an awesomely destructive bout between the two. They smash one another across the room and both land their fair share of painful strikes, but Batman lands a devastating combo to Bane's face in the end. Still standing and ready for more, Bane tells Batman he has an ace up his sleeve: keep fighting and risk losing, or go defuse dynamite he planted under a Nun's soup kitchen.  Naturally, Batman leaves. (You're such a crafty fellow, Bane.)

VS Azrael (Jean Paul Valley), Azrael #36-40

Azrael beat Bane to a pulp in "Knightfall" after he forced the foe to suffer withdrawal from venom, and Bane isn't one to forgive and forget. When Bane resurfaces, Jean-Paul Valley tells Batman he's up to the task of bringing the big guy down. Bane claims he no longer needs the drug and considers it a weakness, but that's not stopping him from selling it to a small army. And so begins a few fantastic and must-read fights between Azrael and Bane. Bane quickly takes the first fight against an injured JPV, but the second one is absolutely brutal. The two duke it out along the cliffs, and when JPV distracts Bane with a case of venom, it allows him to send the two flying off a cliff. Both combatants slowly rise, but it's Azrael who delivers the final strike. Round three picks up shortly later, but an aftershock causes Bane to bump his head and, in turn, lose the battle. These five issues are something every Bane fan should read at least once.

VS Man-Bat, Gotham Underground #1

Bane has a thing for humiliating some of Batman's enemies.  He tortured Penguin during the end of Secret Six, brutalized Killer Croc twice, and now he drops Man-Bat with literally no effort. This well-known Bat foe has the appearance of something fierce, but it's nothing Bane can't overcome by creating a fist and sending it via first class delivery to Man-Bat's face. Better luck next time, Man-Bat.

VS Killer Croc, Batman #489 & Detective Comics #660

Killer Croc's (Waylon Jones) power levels are written all over the place. One day he's a force that requires a small amount of explosives to take down, and the next day an unarmed Harvey Dent can embarrass him. But during "Knightfall," Croc proved he was able to hold his own against Jean-Paul Valley and Robin. The duo could barely hurt him, but then Bane stepped in. He took some venom and completely wrecked Croc. He smacked him around, broke his arm, and then booted him into a pile of stuffed animals, leaving the green villain broken and helpless. The line "You're too ugly to hit" was just icing on the harsh cake. But that was just round one. After taking down Robin, Bane found himself in the sewers... Killer Croc's territory. Despite the home field advantage, Bane still gets the jump on Waylon, but Croc manages to destroy Bane's venom supply. Unfortunately for Croc, this doesn't even the odds nearly as much as he had hoped it would. Bane further injures Croc's broken arm and proves that even without venom his uppercuts are more than enough to put a hurting on Croc. The two go back and forth before tumbling into the water below and become separated. Bane has a great track record against the Bat family and their villains, but he should be grateful he's never had to face Deathstroke or Deadshot. I imagine that would not end well for The Dark Knight Rises villain.

Bane vs Catman, Secret Six #35

After learning he's destined to end up in Hell regardless of his actions, Bane takes a moment to reevaluate what's important to him, and the answer is obvious: destroying the Bat. But he already broke Batman's spine, and he realizes that in the long run the crippling move accomplished nothing. Now, Bane wants to destroy Batman by killing his loved ones, a weakness Bane became aware of when he jumped into action to defend his own date. While sharing this idea, Catman tries to reenact how a fight with Batman would go. Bane casually withstands strike after strike, even calling one "dainty" until he decides he has had enough and puts an end to the assault. Almost nonchalantly, Bane catches Catman's fist and crushes it, leaving Catman at his mercy until he completes talking about his plan.

VS Batman, Batman #497

Ah, the infamous moment that put Bane on everyone's radar. The first half of "Knightfall" was all about Bane's elaborate plan to destroy the Caped Crusader. To beat the great detective, Bane forced Wayne through a cruel and unrelenting gauntlet. He created a massive breakout and Batman, already tired from previous events, was now forced to push himself beyond his own limits as he traveled the city and attempted to stop the rampaging threats which included Joker, Scarecrow, Amygdala, and many, many more. When all is said and done, Bane is waiting for Wayne in the comfort of his own mansion. In a futile last effort, the weakened Batman tries to stop the villain, but Bane is simply too much for the severely exhausted Wayne. What ensues is a horrific beating through the mansion and it travels into the batcave. When Bane is finished toying with Batman, he finally lifts Wayne over his head and then crushes the detective's spine against his knee. Bane has accomplished what dozens of villains have failed to do for years and years: he broke the Bat. Fret not, Bruce, Jean-Paul puts an equally bad hurting back on Bane for ya.

VS Azrael, Detective Comics #666 & Batman #500

With Bruce Wayne out of commission, Jean-Paul Valley steps up to the plate and puts on the cowl. The old cowl isn't enough for him, though, so Jean-Paul makes some awesome upgrades, including assorted weapons, claws, and armor. The violent hero rushes into action against Bane, but quickly realizes he needs more upgrades. He gets some good slashes and stabs in, but Bane almost chokes him out and Azrael eventually suffers a devastating fall. Next time the two face off, JPV decides to put a few more advantages into his dark take on Batman's costume. 

VS Joker, Detective Comics #740

A physical confrontation between Bane and Joker would have a rather obvious outcome, and Detective Comics #740 shows us just how fun it is to watch Bane slug Joker around. The Clown Prince of Crime tries to distract Bane with banter and pull a weapon, but Bane's too focused to let a mere insult or two faze him.  Instead, he has a grand old time punching Joker in the face numerous times.

This article is barely scratching the surface of the many, many times Bane has been in a battle, so if your favorite didn't make the cut, please don't forget to talk about it in the comments section below!