Heroes and Villains

A good villain tells us a lot about our heroes, and the recent casting of actor Tom Hardy as the villain Bane in Christopher Nolan’s third Batman film may tell us a great deal about what the tone of the film will be. The untimely death of Heath Ledger, whose memorable portrayal of the Joker sparked a cultural phenomenon, cast a pall over the future of the franchise, leaving fans to wonder what villain could possibly follow such an act. Nolan’s answer has sent the comic book world into a frenzy of speculation. Enter Bane, the man who broke the bat.

“It’s definitely outside the box,” said Adam Rosko, a clerk at Excalibur Books & Comics in southeast Portland. “It’s not where people thought Christopher Nolan would go after the last film.”

Since the introduction of Bane in 1991, the character has paid only rare visits to the Batman universe. However, as Rosko is quick to point out, these visits are not soon forgotten.

“When there’s a big event in the Batman universe, Bane will usually show up in one way or another,” Rosko said.

The most notorious of these big events occurred during the infamous “Knightfall” story arc, when Bane breaks Bruce Wayne’s back, leaving him a paraplegic.

Bane was introduced to the comic book world in 1991. Born into a vicious prison colony in the fictional Latin American country of Santa Prisca, he receives a classical education from an incarcerated Jesuit priest. He commits his first murder at the age of eight, killing a fellow inmate with a knife concealed inside of his stuffed animal. When the warden perceives an adult Bane as a threat, he uses him as the test subject for an experimental drug that has killed all previous test subjects. But rather than killing him, the experimental venom gives Bane extraordinary strength, leaving him powerfully addicted and requiring doses every 12 hours.

Rosko said there are hints as to the material that may end up in “The Dark Knight Rises,” but none of them are cheerful.

“In ‘Legends of the Dark Knight’ there’s a storyline called ‘Venom,’ in which Batman is addicted to the same drug that Bane uses,” he said, adding that he’d be surprised if there weren’t a prominent focus on drug addiction in the film, for the villain and possibly for the caped crusader himself.

Perhaps the most surprising aspect of Bane as the central villain of “The Dark Knight Rises” is the fact that it considerably ups the ante. It is a shrewd move for a director who has lost his wild card in Ledger’s Joker, and who some said was out of moves when it came to villains who could pose a compelling threat to Batman. While the entertainment world wondered how Nolan could possibly trump the Joker’s screen presence, with Bane, the director doesn’t have to. While Hardy has turned in compelling portrayals of villains in such films as “Bronson,” the film won’t rely on him as much as the dark legacy that the character brings with him.

“The great thing about the Batman villains is that they all reflect one aspect of Batman, and amplify that,” Rosko said. “Two-Face represents the duality, the Joker represents the chaos, but Bane is different. He’s more like the Punisher, he’s basically a terrorist…He has absolutely no problem killing people, which is something that Batman won’t do.”

For fans of the franchise that can’t wait until “The Dark Knight Rises” opens in 2012, Rosko recommends some of his favorite Bane material from throughout the years.

“‘Knightfall’ is the one that most people know, but there’s also ‘Bane of the Demon,’ which also features Ra’s Al Ghul, who was the villain in ‘Batman Begins,'” he said. “There is also a great storyline in ‘Batman Gotham Knights,’ 33–37, where Bane is convinced that he’s the long-lost brother of Bruce Wayne, and these days Bane is in a book called ‘Secret Six.'”

While fans can only speculate as to the content of “The Dark Knight Rises,” Rosko thinks there is one thing that audiences can expect for certain.

“With Christopher Nolan you just can’t predict, but if he’s using Bane you can bet there’s a good reason for it.” ?