In the first two Batman: Arkham titles (Arkham Asylum and Arkham City), Bane is portrayed as an unintelligent muscle-head with a blind hatred for anyone who crosses him, but Batman: Arkham Origins opted for a different approach, and one that was ultimately more faithful toward to the comics. Bane is supposed to be much more than a brute henchman-type character that rages his way through a poorly thought out plan. Instead, Bane should be portrayed as a strategic criminal mastermind that can outsmart and outfight Batman, and Arkham Origins does a great job of conveying that notion.
[Warning: major spoilers for the Batman: Arkham series below.]
Unlike Rocksteady's games, throughout Batman: Arkham Origins, Bane is a daunting and formidable foe that the Dark Knight has a hard time defeating. He predicts some of Batman's movements and has no trouble keeping up with him in a fight. Bane adapts his plans on the go, defies the Joker when the other assassins fail to and provides a real challenge for Batman throughout Arkham Origins' story.
One of the biggest reasons Bane was so impressive in Arkham Origins is because he was a major letdown in Arkham Asylum and, especially, Arkham City. In Arkham Asylum, Batman makes quick work of Bane who lets his rage drive his actions and fails to contest Batman in any real way. Then, Bane returns in Arkham City with an even smaller and more disappointing role to fill in a collectible-based side mission. It wasn't until Arkham Origins was released that Bane's true character was finally properly represented.
Batman: Arkham Asylum's Bane Was Disappointing
While beating Batman: Arkham Asylum, players find Bane being drained of the venom in his blood so Dr. Young can produce the Titan compound. Bane begs Batman to cut him down, but he's injected with the Titan compound before he can be released. Even though Titan is made from Bane's blood, for some reason, Bane becomes a fury-driven monster and goes after Batman. Moments before he fights the Caped Crusader, he's planning his revenge on Dr. Young, but that all seems to be put aside the second he's free.
The boss battle with Bane is no different than when Batman fights the Joker's Titan henchman later in the game, further pushing the point that Bane is an extremely disappointing supervillain in the first Batman: Arkham game. Bane is used to drive the story and to give players a chance to get used to the Titan fight mechanics, but his personality and intelligence are completely missing from Arkham Asylum, making him lackluster and underwhelming.
It would have been much more interesting to see Bane's mind play a role in how he behaved after being released. He could have gone after Dr. Young in a way that made it more difficult for Batman to focus on his main objective. Bane also could have made a temporary truce with Batman, like he does in Arkham City, or Bane could have at least been more difficult to defeat. His part in Arkham Asylum could have been filled by anyone, except that he had the venom in his blood, and that shows how unremarkable his character was in this title.
Bane And Batman's Arkham City Team-Up Was A Waste
In Arkham City, Bane was featured as a villain with a small side quest. He temporarily teams up with Batman to find and destroy the various Titan containers scattered around Arkham City. In a not-so-shocking turn of events, Bane betrays Batman after collecting his half of the Titan containers claiming he wants to use it all on himself so no one can use it against him. It seems as though a battle between Bane and Batman will take place. Instead, Bane is tricked in the cutscene by a quickly thrown Batarang and a sidestep by Batman.
The lack of a proper boss battle with Bane is one of the worst moments in Batman: Arkham City's side missions. Instead of facing off against the Titan-fueled Bane, players just watch a cutscene, then they're done with this villain. There could have been a moment where Bane revealed his master plan and really challenged Batman, but he's quickly outwitted and locked up. He's also put behind bars that it seems he could break if he really wanted to, but Bane doesn't try anything to get out. Instead, he gets angry at Batman and just paces back and forth.
With Bane quickly dealt with, Batman moves on in Arkham City, but the storyline doesn't do this villain justice. He shouldn't be so quickly outsmarted or a victim to his own uncontrolled rage. Bane should be portrayed as an intelligent opponent with a plan rather than a muscular henchman-type with no clue as to what Batman may have been plotting. If Bane was properly represented, he would've seen Batman's moves coming in Arkham City.
Batman: Arkham Origins Made Bane Formidable And Interesting
As the mastermind assassin in the Christmas-themed Batman: Arkham Origins, Bane is elevated to a higher level of supervillain and gives Batman a real challenge. He predicts Batman's movements, like when the Dark Knight hides above the elevator and he immediately pulls him out through the ceiling. Bane conveys that Batman's usual tricks are not going to work on him because he understands how the hero operates, bringing the character more in line with how he was first depicted in the seminal Knightfall comic from the early 1990s.
Bane also uses the Joker as a means to an end rather than letting the Clown Prince use him like he does with the other assassins in Arkham Origins. He doesn't listen to the Joker's command and is intimidating enough to prevent the Joker from threatening or attacking him. When Batman fights Bane for the first time in Arkham Origins, he doesn't win. Batman only holds Bane off long enough to wait for the police helicopters, then Bane gets away because he has his own escape chopper waiting.
The strategic decisions Bane makes in Arkham Origins, along with his ability to defeat Batman in hand-to-hand combat, make him a well-rounded and daunting supervillain. In the Batman: Arkham series, Bane isn't given any intriguing or tactical characteristics until he's introduced as an integral part of the story in the series' spin-off prequel. Instead, in the early titles, he's presented as a one-dimensional villain without any hope of being half as smart as Batman. Bane is redeemed as a character in Batman: Arkham Origins because of his powerful skills and his ability to overcome Batman both in mind and body.