In 2008, Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight reinvigorated Batman’s character for an entire generation of DC fans. Following the film’s monumental success, it was clear that a sequel would have to be released as soon as possible. However, as we all know, these plans had to be put on hold after Heath Ledger’s unexpected passing. Instead of focusing on the Joker again for his trilogy’s finale, Christopher Nolan drew inspiration from one of Batman’s most formidable adversaries: Bane (played by Tom Hardy).
The True Menace of Bane
Anyone who has read KnightFall and seen the saga of Bane breaking Batman’s back knows just how much of a threat the luchador really is. To make matters worse, Bane is also an exceptionally brilliant tactician and an evil mastermind, being one of the select few villains to guess the Bat’s real identity correctly. The Joker might be Batman’s most iconic villain bar none, but Bane is the guy you look for when you need a villain to really put the Dark Knight against the ropes. That’s why it was so baffling to see the character be turned into a satire of himself in 1997’s Batman & Robin — although, to be fair, that entire movie could be seen as a satire of everything Batman.
Finally, in 2012, Bane would return to the big screen in The Dark Knight Rises. This time, a pre-Mad Max Tom Hardy would be the actor behind Bane’s mask — and fans weren’t sure how to feel. While the movie itself wasn’t as well-received as its prequel, a surprising amount of criticisms befell Bane’s character. Perhaps one of the most common complaints fans had about Tom Hardy’s portrayal of Bane had to do with his voice.
Bane’s Voice and Persona
The first trailers showed Tom Hardy’s Bane with a much more stereotypical “bad guy” voice, which was replaced with a much less threatening one in the final release. However, that’s also one of the reasons why he might be one of the most effective villains in Nolan’s trilogy. Like the Joker, this Bane is an unpredictable killing machine, and his somewhat calm façade conceals the assassin he really is.
Most iterations of Bane – live-action or otherwise – usually lean a bit too much on his luchador persona. Even the fan-favourite Arkham games don’t feature a Bane that’s too much of an intellectual threat for the Dark Knight, which makes us appreciate Tom Hardy’s version of the character even more, in retrospect.
The Perfect Final Antagonist for Nolan’s Trilogy
Let’s not that The Dark Knight Rises‘ Bane also serves as the perfect final antagonist for Christopher Nolan’s trilogy. While Talia might have had a more personal connection with Bruce Wayne, it was Bane who made him see just how much Batman meant to Gotham – and how he had become a symbol of hope for its citizens, leaving behind the idea of delivering mere vigilante justice.
Sure, The Dark Knight will live on to become a true masterpiece of cinema, but The Dark Knight Rises should also be praised as a landmark point for comic book movies – with Tom Hardy joining the ranks of Christian Bale and Heath Ledger as some of the finest actors to breathe life into the universe Bob Kane and Bill Finger envisioned almost a century ago.
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