Warning! Spoilers for The Joker #8
The brutal villain Bane has a new origin story, and it reveals the shocking reason why he hates Batman. Unfortunately, it doesn’t live up to the rogue’s previously established backstory that led him to conquering the Dark Knight in an iconic fight.
Since Batman: Knightfall, Bane has proven himself a worthy opponent of the Caped Crusader. Unlike Batman’s psychologically thrilling villains, Bane presents a physical challenge. Breaking the Dark Knight’s back and putting him out of commission for a while, he should theoretically be one of the most respected criminals in Gotham City. Although he has had his share of reinvented backgrounds, a new version expands on his differences from other rogues. The potentially controversial new twist regarding Bane comes in The Joker #8, written by James Tynion IV and Sam Johns with art by Rosi Kämpe and Guillem March.
As Vengeance investigates her own origins, she comes across a document detailing “Bane Mark II: Vengeance.” After opening it, she learns the truth about herself and her predecessor that had long been kept a mystery from both her and fans. “And so I read how I was made, any why. The Bane project had gone all to well. He internalized his hatred for his enemy so deeply he never realized it was planted there.” It turns out, Bane had been programmed to hate Batman without any additional motivation.
Unlike previous backstories involving Bane attempting to test his own strength on the unbeatable Dark Knight, this one removes some sense of personal stakes. Similar to the Winter Solider, Bane’s grudge has been reduced to a mission and he has been turned into a pawn. Functionally, this reveal is meant to heighten Vengeance as a character, as Bane is only a piece of her backstory. Although the twist adds some interesting context to the revised events of Knightfall, it feels like an unearned footnote to the story that dramatically impacted the Batman mythos. As Vengeance goes onto explain that Bane “failed” because he couldn’t be controlled, her words seem more in line with his established character. “He was too clever, too charismatic. He could not be controlled.”
Vengeances continues to elaborate on Bane’s influence in Santa Prisca, as the leaders “valued the symbol of Bane.” His accomplishment of taking down the Dark Knight for a season earned the island a reputation, causing other nations to fear them. If they could produce a soldier who defeated the seemingly invincible Batman in hand-on-hand combat, they might be able to do real damage with an army of Banes. Although the new backstory takes something special away from the only villain who has gotten the best of the bat, it also reveals that Bane eventually even beat his programming.