Bane (Nolanverse)

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This Near Pure Evil was headlined on June 2023.

Near Pure Evil

Full Name

Unknown

Alias

Bane

The Mercenary
The Masked Man
Gotham's Reckoning
Liberator of Pain
Big Guy

Origin

The Dark Knight Rises

Allies

Ra's al Ghul †

Leonid Pavel (victim)
Selina Kyle (all unwillingly)
John Daggett † (pawn; victim)
Blackgate Prison inmates
Scarecrow
League of Shadows
Talia al Ghul †

Powers / Skills

Genius-level intelligence
Intimidation
Highly advanced training (from the League of Shadows)
Theatricality
Expertise in military tactics
Inhuman brute strength
Very high durability
High stamina
Extreme tolerance to pain
Mastery of advanced martial arts
Extremely experienced close-range fighter
High experience at motorcycle riding
Master orator
Excellent tactician
Strategic mind
Leadership
Manipulation

Goals

Fulfill Ra's al Ghul's destiny by eradicating Gotham City.

Kill Batman/Bruce Wayne after crippling and mentally torturing him.
Immortalize Gotham as the most tragic and corrupt city in the world (all failed).

Moral Event Horizon

Attempting to destroy Gotham City with a nuclear bomb.

Telling everyone Dr. Pavel was the only person who can disarm the reactor before snapping his neck.
Savagely beating and crippling Bruce Wayne before imprisoning him in the Pit to torment him psychologically.

Kill Count

7 (directly)

Thousands (indirectly)
12,000,000 (attempted)

Crimes

Mass murder
Assault and battery
Attempted populicide
Mass property damage
Terrorism
Conspiracy
Torture
Blackmail
Kidnapping
Larceny
Incrimination
Fraud
Child endangerment

Type of Villain

Anarchistic Mastermind

“	No one cared who I was 'till I put on the mask.	„
	~ Bane's introduction and most famous quote. noicon

“	Behind you stands a symbol of oppression: Blackgate Prison, where a thousand men have languished under the name of this man, Harvey Dent, who has been upheld to you as the shining example of justice! You have been supplied with a false idol to stop you tearing down this corrupt city! Let me tell you the truth about Harvey Dent from the words of Gotham's police commissioner, James Gordon."The Batman didn’t murder Harvey Dent, he saved my boy. Then took the blame for Harvey’s appalling crimes, so that I could, to my shame, build a lie around this fallen idol. I praised the madman who tried to murder my own child, but I can no longer live with my lie. It is time to trust the people of Gotham with the truth, and it is time for me to resign." And do you accept this man’s resignation? And do you accept the resignations of all of these liars?! Of all the corrupt?! (...) We take Gotham from the corrupt! The rich! The oppressors of generations who have kept you down with myths of opportunity, and we give it back to you... the people. Gotham is yours. None shall interfere. Do as you please. And start by storming Blackgate, and freeing the oppressed! Step forward those who would serve, for an army will be raised. The powerful will be ripped from their decadent nests... and cast out into the cold world that we know and endure. Courts will be convened. Spoils will be enjoyed. Blood will be shed. The police will survive, as they learn to serve true justice. This great city... it will endure. Gotham will survive!	„
	~ Bane making his speech to Gotham. noicon

Bane is one of the two main antagonists (alongside Talia al Ghul) of The Dark Knight Rises, the third and final installment of Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight trilogy.

The brutish field commander of the League of Shadows, he, along with Talia al Ghul (the daughter of Ra's al Ghul whom he protected when she was a child), plotted to complete Ra's al Ghul's mission to destroy Gotham City, becoming the third arch-nemesis of Batman.

He was portrayed by Tom Hardy, who also played John Fitzgerald in The Revenant.

His Evil Ranking[]

What Makes Him Close to Being Pure Evil?[]

He crashes a CIA plane and fakes Dr. Leonid Pavel's death in the wreckage before kidnapping him.
He kills two henchmen for bringing James Gordon to their hideout, one by strangling him and the other by shooting him before dropping his body into the sewer rapids to "follow Gordon".
He attacks the Gotham Stock Exchange and completely bankrupts Bruce Wayne by using his fingerprints for fraudulent transactions.
He kills John Daggett by snapping his neck after he angrily confronts Bane for his actions being unhelpful to him, since Daggett is now expendable to Bane.
After Catwoman lures Batman/Bruce right to Bane, the two fight and Bane easily overpowers him, beating him brutally. He then has his minions raid Wayne's armory and ends their battle with a blow to Batman's back, separating his vertebrae.
He imprisons Bruce in the Pit after crippling him, and plans to keep him alive there until Gotham is destroyed, also explaining that he'll poison the Gothamites' souls with hope for survival and kill Bruce once the deed is done.
He forces Dr. Pavel to turn a Wayne Enterprises nuclear fusion core into a five-megaton nuclear bomb, with which he will destroy Gotham City.
He causes several explosions around Gotham City that disconnect Gotham from the mainland, trap thousands of Gotham PD officers underground, kill numerous people (including Mayor Anthony Garcia), and open a sinkhole in Gotham Stadium where a large crowd is gathered.
At the stadium, Bane has Dr. Pavel tell the crowd that only he can disarm the nuclear bomb, and with that knowledge instilled in the crowd, Bane kills him for everyone to see, thus terrifying them further. He then threatens that the bomb will be remotely detonated if anyone attempts to leave the city or if the outside world interferes.
He places Gotham under martial law, having his mercenaries patrol the streets and thus severely limiting mobility and safety for the citizens of Gotham.
Outside of Blackgate Prison, where those found guilty under the Dent Act are held, Bane reads aloud Gordon's speech he'd taken from him earlier, detailing the truth about Harvey Dent (him being the true culprit of the "Batman Murders"), then freeing the Blackgate prisoners and arming them with firearms, bringing Gotham further into anarchy.
With his mercenaries, Bane leads an ambush on Officer John Blake, Lucius Fox, Miranda Tate (Talia al Ghul in secret), and a group of US intelligence soldiers, sparing none of the first few, then personally and sadistically killing one of the last left alive. When more soldiers are discovered by the mercenaries elsewhere, Bane has them hanged from a bridge on live TV.
After Talia — revealed by now — leaves Bane and Batman to ensure the bomb detonates, Bane makes a last attempt to kill Batman out of spite before he gets shot and killed by Catwoman ending his regin of terror.

What Prevents Him from Being Pure Evil?[]

He has a genuinely tragic backstory of being born and imprisoned in The Pit (the worst prison on Earth). At some point, he protected a young Talia al Ghul from the other inmates and was beaten and maimed in the process, to the point where he became paralyzed. And once he joined the League of Shadows, he had to wear a mask to alleviate the pain.
He is genuinely honorable. He has a sense of honor, prefers to fight fairly and honestly without cheating, never lies and is even able to show some respect towards his enemies, such as, while he hated Wayne for interfering with his plans, but he was still calling Batman a worthy opponent and never cheated in fighting with Bruce.
- He has another moment of honor at the stadium, where he allows a young boy to finish singing the United States' national anthem at the start of the football game before creating the sinkhole even commenting how the kid has a good singing voice.
He has a mutually loving relationship with Talia al Ghul. When Bane and Talia were both imprisoned in the Pit, Bane protected Talia with his life, believing her to be the innocence in the Pit and thinking that preserving said innocence was the prisoners' redemption. He helped her escape the Pit before he was attacked and mutilated, and he would later be trained in the League of Shadows alongside her before her father Ra's excommunicated him. During their final minutes together and their last goodbye, Bane is seen quietly crying over losing her. He also tortures Bruce to help Talia avenge her father's death.