Batman: Vengeance of Bane Special

(DC, 1993)
™ and ©1993 DC Comics

This 1993 one-shot introduced us to Bane, a drug-dependent super-villain who eventually goes on to cripple Batman in the infamous “Knightfall” storyline.

The villain began as an innocent child incarcerated by the cruel government of Santa Prisca, as punishment for his dead father’s supposed actions against the state. He was given a life sentence before he was even born, and grew up within prison walls. His mother died when he was just six years old, and he was placed in the general population. Later, when he incurred the wrath of the warden, he was locked in a dank, solitary cell for a decade. There, he learned to survive by feasting on rats, and to train his body and mind using techniques of his own devising. When he was eventually brought back into the general population of the prison, he had become a legend, and soon battled his way to the top of the prison gangs.

Later, he became a part of prison experiment where he was fed an experimental drug called Venom. Whereas Venom had killed all its previous users, it turned this man—now called Bane—into a super-powerful being with enhanced mental and physical capabilities. The only downside was a crushing dependency on the drug. With the help of prison friends, he managed to escape the prison, only to return later and launch a mass uprising. Then, with the help of his gang of former prisoners, he decided to take his war to Gotham, and take on its resident protector, Batman.

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