The Bane Appreciation

[Armor of God]

Basically, ever since "Tabula Rasa" and "Veritas Liberat" in Gotham Knights, I started losing more and more interest in Bane. Dixon was gone from him. And Bruce and him were more friendly. And then DC really gives off the feeling of just not knowing what to do with Bane and you get inconsistent versions of him. He could be blessing Dick as Batman at one point and then attacking Gotham with the Secret Six to kill certain Batfam members at another. Off of venom and hating venom since Dixon, but then S/B for an arc has Bane on venom again. Artists wanted to keep using his venom tubes and so Secret Six had to explain that he still wears the tubes out of habit (which is head scratching and kinda silly).

He was an ill-focused mess that I felt needed someone like King to come along and kinda undo where some of Dixon's reforms had led Bane. Bring him back to his roots more, to earlier Dixon Bane. King did that. (I think Dixon seemed to appreciate in Conquest interviews that Bane needed that rejiggering)

Post Dixon the Secret Six, JSA and Gotham Knights stories were good. Sure there was some inconsistency after Infinite Crisis and before Secret Six but Secret Six handwaved those away with that quote about tubes you mentioned. It was New 52 where the character took a nose dive. Tynion and Tomasi retained consistency between themselves in Talon and Arkham War but The Dark Knight was terrible and Bane was a jobber in Batwoman and Batman Eternal.

[Chubistian]

I’ve always liked Veritas Liberat far more than Tabula Rasa. None of them I view as really great comics, but they were fun and VL finally answered who Bane’s father was, not that it was a necessary information when he was created, but after Vengeance of Bane II and Bane of the Demon, that played so much with the mystery, especially the latter, it was nice to get some resolution, as short lived as it was. New 52 was a wasted opportunity for the character, especially Dark Knight, considering DKR was released a few months prior to his apparition in the title, if memory serves me well. Arkham War was a nice concept, with a Bane coming as some kind of hero of the people, but the concept was never fully worked out

[JBatmanFan05]

Bane was a jobber in Batwoman and Batman Eternal.

Glad you mentioned this, the jobbing. That's something that seemed to happen too much as well (though it happens to all Batvillains a bit) which kinda overlapped with the Arkham games' dumbing down of Bane into a seemingly mindless venom-dripping Croc-like brute. And these popular games/films in another media often can influence comic portrayals, for better or worse. Finch I recall used him in a poor uninspired way as well in Dark Knight.

Post Dixon the Secret Six, JSA and Gotham Knights stories were good. .

The JSA Hourman story I definitely liked. Secret Six had its moments with Bane. The GK stories were ok/fun, the father thing was settled, ok, but marked a point where I felt Bane started after to lose his place and prominence and consistency a bit among Batman's rogues. I agree that the nosedive was more with New 52, but also the seeds of some of it started pre-FP, even with Dixon and this sort of seemingly post-Dixon unquestioned adherence (briefly interrupted by his Villains United moment & the brief S/B back on venom thing) to where he appeared to be leading Bane (this overly pseudo-heroic Batman-frenemy redemption?). Since King, Conquest has IMHO properly and convincingly balanced out Bane's two contrasting directions as a character.

King and Dixon (and maybe the editors) realized Bane could be like DC's Dr Doom and smartly tweaked his path to convincingly get him there.

[Chubistian]

And finally Bane Conquest ended, in a rather rushed way. I can't say I will remember this comic too fondly, wasn't awful, and had some cool moments, but for most part felt pretty irrelevant and it went nowhere at the end. I didn't expect much, but art was nice at least, Graham Nolan can still deliver in the pencils. I don't know what was the purporse of this, Bane ended right where he began and with no foreshadowable consequences, some things were left hanging as if this story would continue somewhere else, but I doubt it.

[millernumber1]

And finally Bane Conquest ended, in a rather rushed way. I can't say I will remember this comic too fondly, wasn't awful, and had some cool moments, but for most part felt pretty irrelevant and it went nowhere at the end. I didn't expect much, but art was nice at least, Graham Nolan can still deliver in the pencils. I don't know what was the purporse of this, Bane ended right where he began and with no foreshadowable consequences, some things were left hanging as if this story would continue somewhere else, but I doubt it.

Interesting - I didn't think it was that rushed. The assault was spread out over two issues, and I thought all of the threads were setup and paid off pretty carefully. It didn't feel essential, but I really liked the way Batman confronted Bane in the end - with his mind, and moral observation, not just punching.

It does feel like a year long filler arc, and a lot of it probably could have been done in six issues.

[Armor of God]

Well, I prefer anti hero Bane anyway so I hope the next writer to use him keeps the recent development in Conquest in mind because its pretty much the only significant thing that happened.

[SixSpeedSamurai]

At least this got him back on track and re-established his supporting characters. New 52 seems to have crapped on just about anything Dixon was involved in.

[millernumber1]

Well, I prefer anti hero Bane anyway so I hope the next writer to use him keeps the recent development in Conquest in mind because its pretty much the only significant thing that happened.

I am very curious to know what's next for Bane!

[Chubistian]

Interesting - I didn't think it was that rushed. The assault was spread out over two issues, and I thought all of the threads were setup and paid off pretty carefully. It didn't feel essential, but I really liked the way Batman confronted Bane in the end - with his mind, and moral observation, not just punching.

It does feel like a year long filler arc, and a lot of it probably could have been done in six issues.

I should've been more specific. What I felt rushed wasn't the assault itself, but the aftermath. What will happen with Dyonisium? What is Bane going to do now that he has no "empire"? Those are some things I would have liked to see adressed. I guess his team will separate, since most were hired mercenaries, and he will again remain just with Bird, Zombie and Trogg, going back to square one. Also, Valentina and some Kobra guys killing their superior and that dude coming out of nowhere to help Bane's team could've been better executed and it's part of what I felt rushed too. Though I have forgotten A LOT of what came before, so maybe it was something that was coming from issues before and I didn't remember it. I liked the final confrontation between Bane and Batman too, as well as the stuff they left for the baby. I would've liked to see Bane achieve something at the end, or put in a road that could be continued in the future, with consequences from this serie. In Vengeance of Bane II, we left Bane starting a quest to find his father, par example. Here, I didn't feel like the unresolved stuff was intentional, but I guess only the future will tell.

At least this got him back on track and re-established his supporting characters. New 52 seems to have crapped on just about anything Dixon was involved in.

Well, I like that now Dixon's previous Bane stories are mostly back in continuity, though this story is pretty hard to put in current Rebirth's continuity at the same time. We will have to wait and see how much of Conquest and Bane pre N52 the next writer who takes the character will take into account

[millernumber1]

I should've been more specific. What I felt rushed wasn't the assault itself, but the aftermath. What will happen with Dyonisium? What is Bane going to do now that he has no "empire"? Those are some things I would have liked to see adressed. I guess his team will separate, since most were hired mercenaries, and he will again remain just with Bird, Zombie and Trogg, going back to square one. Also, Valentina and some Kobra guys killing their superior and that dude coming out of nowhere to help Bane's team could've been better executed and it's part of what I felt rushed too. Though I have forgotten A LOT of what came before, so maybe it was something that was coming from issues before and I didn't remember it. I liked the final confrontation between Bane and Batman too, as well as the stuff they left for the baby. I would've liked to see Bane achieve something at the end, or put in a road that could be continued in the future, with consequences from this serie. In Vengeance of Bane II, we left Bane starting a quest to find his father, par example. Here, I didn't feel like the unresolved stuff was intentional, but I guess only the future will tell.

Well, I like that now Dixon's previous Bane stories are mostly back in continuity, though this story is pretty hard to put in current Rebirth's continuity at the same time. We will have to wait and see how much of Conquest and Bane pre N52 the next writer who takes the character will take into account

Ah, I see. Yeah, I did think that a few loose ends were left that didn't need to be - but it's part of comics. Dixon wanted to leave room for himself or others, not just take his toys home. I'd say Kobra's been dealt some pretty severe blows, and Valentina will spend a few years (in our time, maybe not in comics time) building her power base and setting up her plan for the future.

The guy coming out of nowhere was setup a long time ago - I remember it, but it's been over a year since it started. I'll probably do a reread at some point, but mostly I just thought this issue was really fun.

I think Bane being confronted with the possibility of doing to this child what was done to him, and angrily choosing to reject that course of action, was pretty significant. There's no real way that Bane will not be a villain, and he can't become too powerful, otherwise Superman would have to take him down. But him having that character moment I thought was pretty cool.

I do really wonder how this story is supposed to fit into current continuity. I kind of think it's better to read as a continuation of Vengeance of Bane II, since I didn't really like the Beatty stuff with Bane.

[MajorHoy]

And, just released:

BANE: CONQUEST
Bane is seeking to create a global criminal empire with the help of his original gang: Bird, Trogg and Zombie. The man who broke the Bat moves beyond Gotham City to find new territory to conquer and new enemies to crush—and he won’t stop until he stands at the top of the world of crime!
Collects BANE: CONQUEST #1-12.
Written by: Chuck Dixon
Art and Cover by: Graham Nolan
Book Type: Collected Edition Graphic Novel
Binding: Softcover
U.S. Cover Price: $29.99
On Sale Date: Sep 19 2018

https://www.dccomics.com/graphic-novels/bane-conquest-2017/bane-conquest

[Nero]

Bane Conquest didn't really do it for me, which surprised me because usually Dixon's depiction of Bane usually resonates with me.

I have zero interest in an anti hero version of Bane, he works best as a reoccurring Batman villain. In fact, I don't think enough has been done with him as a Batman villain. Yes, Bane is often featured in some capacity but it's often more flash than substance. I don't care for King's Batman but I do like how he's making Bane into a heavy hitter, that's exactly how he should always be. The problem with Bane is inconsistency regarding his characterization. Hardcore fans of Bane know that he's supposed to be as brilliant as he is physically strong. But the media tends to contradict that by often making Bane into the enforcer of another villain as oppose to making him his own man. Bane should always be the final stage boss.

[Armor of God]

Bane Conquest didn't really do it for me, which surprised me because usually Dixon's depiction of Bane usually resonates with me.

I have zero interest in an anti hero version of Bane, he works best as a reoccurring Batman villain. In fact, I don't think enough has been done with him as a Batman villain. Yes, Bane is often featured in some capacity but it's often more flash than substance. I don't care for King's Batman but I do like how he's making Bane into a heavy hitter, that's exactly how he should always be. The problem with Bane is inconsistency regarding his characterization. Hardcore fans of Bane know that he's supposed to be as brilliant as he is physically strong. But the media tends to contradict that by often making Bane into the enforcer of another villain as oppose to making him his own man. Bane should always be the final stage boss.

I think Dixon never really went all in with this book. He never bothered to show any of Bane's defining characteristics properly which he ironically himself introduced in the first place. So in the end he came across an 80's anti hero with a heart of gold.

And I've personally preferred Bane's encounters with Azrael,Talon, Hourman etc than Batman tbh. His problem is that deep down I dont think Batman writers can accept that there is someone out there who can match Batman in wits, will and tenacity and throw in Bane's background of poverty and imprisonment as well as his ethnicity, he almost comes across as more righteous and justified than the rich White guy. I dont really agree with James Tynion but he was right about one thing, Bane is a folk hero in his own right, much like Batman. This has always been a challenge for Batman writers. Johns can write Adam and Sinestro as being superior and more righteous next to their counterparts. Bat writers wont do it. For that reason Bane has to be reduced to a moron or thug who likes breaking things.

[Naked Bat]

I think Dixon never really went all in with this book. He never bothered to show any of Bane's defining characteristics properly which he ironically himself introduced in the first place. So in the end he came across an 80's anti hero with a heart of gold.

And I've personally preferred Bane's encounters with Azrael,Talon, Hourman etc than Batman tbh. His problem is that deep down I dont think Batman writers can accept that there is someone out there who can match Batman in wits, will and tenacity and throw in Bane's background of poverty and imprisonment as well as his ethnicity, he almost comes across as more righteous and justified than the rich White guy. I dont really agree with James Tynion but he was right about one thing, Bane is a folk hero in his own right, much like Batman. This has always been a challenge for Batman writers. Johns can write Adam and Sinestro as being superior and more righteous next to their counterparts. Bat writers wont do it. For that reason Bane has to be reduced to a moron or thug who likes breaking things.

Which is the opposite of what Tom King is doing right now.

[Armor of God]

While I guess King is indeed doing right by Bane he is however taking too much time and his run is too terribly written for me to care.