Bane (Jeep Swenson)



Antonio Diego was a prisoner in the South-American jail of Pena Duro, apparently serving a life sentence for murder. He was selected to be the test subject for the drug named Venom and was Dr. Jason Woodrue's first successful subject. Diego was forced to have three holes forced into his skull and one into his chest, and then was strapped down in front of a large audience of foreign dictators and terrorists to an operating table, where massive overdoses of Venom were purposely forced into his nervous and circulatory systems. Through the Luchador-style mask he is forced to wear a mask--one with three tubes snaked into his skull--Diego is seen writhing and screaming in agony for roughly fifteen seconds before he begins to change. Originally Diego was comparatively small and diminutive, but when the Venom started to take effect, he turned into a massive and vicious fighting force, or "The Ideal Killing Machine", in Dr. Woodrue's words. After Dr. Pamela Isley became Poison Ivy, she took the newly christened Bane with her to Gotham City to act as her enforcer. Bane helped scare the Golums from their hangout in the abandoned Turkish Baths, as well assisting in retrieving Mr. Freeze's cryogenic armour and Freezing Gun from Arkham Asylum's prisoner storage locker. During the course of the final scene at the telescope platform, Bane fought and was eventually defeated by Robin and Batgirl. This happened as when Bane was holding them against the wall by their necks after having found them in a cave within the cliffs on which the observatory was built, Robin and Batgirl kicked Bane's main supply tube, pulling it out of the back of his head and stopping the Venom circulation to his brain in the process. This in turn caused Bane massive withdrawal, also quickly reverting him back to his normal self. Later, when Mr. Freeze attempted to kill Batman by destroying the Gotham Telescope Platform, he only succeeded in apparently crushing the weakened Bane. But what happened to him ultimately is left ambiguous, as there is no evidence that he died in the fall of the Telescope Platform (aside from what looks like some of his venom around the area where the telescope fell). As a result, he was killed in the process. Behind the scenesEdit■This interpretation of Bane varies from most appearances in comics, in that when strengthened by Venom he does not retain his above-average intellect, but rather is reduced to a far less than average I.Q. This can be viewed as an example of an archetype of beings with near god-like physical strength, yet often having an intellect far below that of their enemies. This can be viewed among others in Batman's rogues gallery, including Solomon Grundy, and in many interpretations, Clayface and Killer Croc. Other fictional character's include the Greek Cyclops, James Bond's nemesis Jaws, and Marvel's Hulk. Rather than being the devious, intelligent villain of the comics, this version is an inarticulate thug who serves as the lackey of Poison Ivy, one of the main villains of the film. Bane is barely even capable of speech and uses growls, roars, and snarls for most of his communication; the only word he can seem to say clearly is his own name, Bane. Despite this, he is still muscular, wears a slight variation of his classic mask, and is still superhumanly strong. This depiction of the character was one of many aspects of the film which received harsh criticism from fans and critics alike.