How fast/agile/skilled is Bane?

[Buried Alien]

When we think of Bane's physical attributes, we tend to think immediately of his monstrous strength, both with and without the augmentation of Venom. If Bane were simply a strongman, however, he wouldn't pose the physical threat that he does to Batman and his allies. Even when Batman isn't exhausted a la KNIGHTFALL, his fights with Bane are usually not one-sided affairs in Batman's favor from the get-go. Moreover, none of the former or present Robins has ever singly won a fight against Bane (not even Dick Grayson as a mature Nightwing).

That leads to the question: apart from his great strength, how fast/agile/skilled in physical combat is Bane supposed to be?

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

[K. Jones]

This is a big one for me, and it speaks to Killer Croc as well, and especially speaks to the problem of "artistic license".

There's this tendency when drawing guys like Bane and Croc to make them these towering, well, Incredible Hulks. "Batman small, Bane big" or whatever. And it's garbage. Bruce Wayne is 6' 2" and weighs 200+ pounds, is sort of treading the thin line between where his size would have a really negative effect on his agility and speed.

Bane should not be double his size, ever. Ever. We always seem to get Bane-Hulk and Croc-Hulk nowadays. In the wake of the Arkham games it's even more pronounced.

How fast, agile and skilled is he? Enough to go toe-to-toe with Batman.

[Dmreyn]

This is a big one for me, and it speaks to Killer Croc as well, and especially speaks to the problem of "artistic license".

There's this tendency when drawing guys like Bane and Croc to make them these towering, well, Incredible Hulks. "Batman small, Bane big" or whatever. And it's garbage. Bruce Wayne is 6' 2" and weighs 200+ pounds, is sort of treading the thin line between where his size would have a really negative effect on his agility and speed.

Bane should not be double his size, ever. Ever. We always seem to get Bane-Hulk and Croc-Hulk nowadays. In the wake of the Arkham games it's even more pronounced.

How fast, agile and skilled is he? Enough to go toe-to-toe with Batman.

I agree to an extent. However, I do think Bane should be bigger and stronger - that's how he was originally conceived, realistic or not. Batman is big, sure, but you can be 50+ lbs heavier and still be greatly athletic. Look at some NFL linebackers for example. That being said, you're right in the fact that Bane doesn't have to be incredible Hulk sized proportions.

The most recent Batman film kind of plays to your suggestions. Bane was nowhere near as big as his comic adaptation, but he still wiped the floor with Batman at every fight.

[Dark_Tzitzimine]

Putting aside the obvious answer of "as the plot requires" Bane should be more or less on equal terms with Bruce. They tied on victories, one for Bane, one for Bruce and lots of ties or interrupted fights; their victories always had some factor on their favor (Bruce was exhausted during Knightfall, Bane was kicking out the venom from his system).

Of course this only works on the old DCU, on the N52 Bane has been written very poorly and it can't be said for certain (they love to play his "Hulk" aspect though)

[nepenthes]

I don't need to see Bane doing flips and acrobatics, Batman should have the edge in that regards at least. Bane is Doc Savage; the ultimate in brains and brawn and ego. He doesn't deign himself to flit around around like a ballerina or a mosquito.

Bane should not be double his size, ever. Ever. We always seem to get Bane-Hulk and Croc-Hulk nowadays. In the wake of the Arkham games it's even more pronounced.

Very good points. One of Batman's defining strengths is that he's human and so are the majority of his villains - human psychosis in ordinary bodies. Hulking out perfectly interesting villains like Croc and Bane subtracts from alot of that and you can actually trace the inverse pattern in the comics. The more monstrous Croc and Bane are illustrated, the stupider the comic.

[exile001]

This is a big one for me, and it speaks to Killer Croc as well, and especially speaks to the problem of "artistic license".

There's this tendency when drawing guys like Bane and Croc to make them these towering, well, Incredible Hulks. "Batman small, Bane big" or whatever. And it's garbage. Bruce Wayne is 6' 2" and weighs 200+ pounds, is sort of treading the thin line between where his size would have a really negative effect on his agility and speed.

Bane should not be double his size, ever. Ever. We always seem to get Bane-Hulk and Croc-Hulk nowadays. In the wake of the Arkham games it's even more pronounced.

How fast, agile and skilled is he? Enough to go toe-to-toe with Batman.

Totally agree. In Knightfall, Bane was built larger than Bruce to begin with and the Venom added a few inches. Now, it adds feet, layers of muscle and makes his head tiny (seriously, usually his head appears to shrink).

Bane should be Batman's equal in almost every way. Where Bruce would be lighter on his feet, Bane is a little faster to compensate.

He should never, ever be an actual Hulk (except in the gorgeously OTT Kelly Jones covers).

The more monstrous Croc and Bane are illustrated, the stupider the comic.

That one made me laugh out loud. It is entirely true.

[LoneNecromancer]

One of Batman's defining strengths is that he's human and so are the majority of his villains - human psychosis in ordinary bodies. Hulking out perfectly interesting villains like Croc and Bane subtracts from alot of that and you can actually trace the inverse pattern in the comics. The more monstrous Croc and Bane are illustrated, the stupider the comic.

Too, too true.

[Kingcrimsonprog]

When I saw the B&R movie, and played the first two Arkham games... I thought this is what Bane is all about. He IS the increddible hulk.
Only when I went back and actually read the origonal comic appearances and learned about the whole intelligence/drive of the man, that his true characther is discovered.

I think the problem is that cover of the actual "breaking of the bat." I think he looks monstrous and pin-headed in that, and it is what people most associate with him. So people go "Bane" and a mental cue card of a monstrous pin-headed hulk flashes up, and in that picture he looks so savage that heck, he probably is just a wild animal and not intelligent or driven, just a wild monster.

I imagine the Nolan movie has gone a long way towards making people think of him as intelligent and being just a huge human bodybuilder as opposed to an unnatural gigantic hulk.

[People in both cases excluding hardcore comic readers, like your good selves.]

[Dr. Hurt]

He's definitely a big guy.

[nepenthes]

Bane is one the rare Batman rogues that can actually function as a lead in his own book, team book yeah but possibly even solo. Secret Six opened up so much more to do with him and Arkham War made an attempt at continuing that direction but was unfortunately muddled by a lot of other silliness. I'd love to see Bane as focus of a long and layered Black Mirror style arc (particularly the way it built up Gordon Jr) or a new ensemble book entirely (not Secret Six again).

[sicsexsix]

I'd love to see Bane as focus of a long and layered Black Mirror style arc (particularly the way it built up Gordon Jr)

Hell yes. He's a multi-faceted character with tons of potential left to be mined. Throwing him into a story like that would be unlike anything else he's been involved with to this point. It would definitely change the perception that the few remaining unitiated have of him.

[marshal99]

Everything that Bane is , he picked it himself and learned in prison the hard way.





Unfortunately , casual readers/viewers will always see him as some huge musclebound meathead.

[Robotman]

I think Bane should definitely be taller than Bruce. I'm tired of Bane becoming 10 feet tall when he's on venom. in stories where Bane seems to get stupider as he gets bigger things just get too easy for Batman to outthink him. Which usually leads to terrible stories as Bane is a threat because he is one of the few Bat villains who can match Bats physically and mentally.

In the Arkham Origins game Bane had much more human proportions. But in the storyline his Venom is mixed with the Titan serum, which is basically Hugo Strange's Monster Man formula. So that's why he goes full Hulk in the later games.

Also, if you're looking for a pretty cool version of Bane check out the Batgirl: Future's End issue. He's not Hulked out and he comes off as the master strategist that we know and love.

[Aioros22]

That issue comes up short where his physical prowess is concerned thought. A bit too short. They just need to throw out the idea of Bane even needing Venom. At this point in history, given the character he is (not to mention the archetype he`s drawn from), he should be the one human easily controlling the damn thing without any drawbacks. He should be it`s master, not it`s slave.

He doesn`t need it. It`s just an ace up his sleeve. He doesn`t need it to be able to best Batman or to be the strategist he is.

Seriously DC, you already have Solomon Groundy. Stop being such a stupid fanfic about it.