Bane Batman Villain: Who He Is and Who Plays Him

Bane is a masked mercenary and former member of the League of Shadows, and he is the main villain of The Dark Knight Rises (2012), directed by Christopher Nolan. Tom Hardy plays him and is billed third, behind Christian Bale and Gary Oldman.

Bane has appeared in three theatrical Batman films, and the credits spell his name three different ways. Batman & Robin (1997), directed by Joel Schumacher, credits Jeep Swenson as "Bane" and Michael Reid MacKay as "Antonio Diego / Bane". The Dark Knight Rises credits Hardy as "Bane". The Lego Batman Movie (2017), directed by Chris McKay, credits Doug Benson as "Bane (voice)". So, if you are searching for the Bane Batman actor, the answer depends on the film: Swenson and MacKay in 1997, Hardy in 2012 and Benson in 2017.

The three versions sit in different corners of the saga. Batman & Robin belongs to the run of four films that began with Batman (1989), The Dark Knight Rises closes the Nolan trilogy that began with Batman Begins, and The Lego Batman Movie is an animated spin-off. Billing shows how big each part is: Swenson is thirteenth and MacKay fifteenth in a cast led by George Clooney, while Hardy is third in a cast led by Bale. For every performer across every era, see Batman actors in order, and for the rest of the rogues gallery, see Batman villains.

When Bane turns up in The Dark Knight Rises, Gotham looks peaceful. That peace rests on a hidden lie about Harvey Dent, and Bane is ready to exploit it.

Bane's only full story is in The Dark Knight Rises, which follows him from a hijacked aircraft to control of a sealed-off city. In Batman & Robin and The Lego Batman Movie he is one name in a crowded villain lineup.

In Batman & Robin, the plot follows Mr. Freeze, who steals diamonds to power the suit that keeps him alive, and Pamela Isley, who becomes Poison Ivy. Alfred's niece Barbara joins as Batgirl. Bane is credited among the supporting players and does not drive the story.

The Dark Knight Rises opens with Bane seizing a nuclear physicist during a midair raid. He then partners with the businessman John Daggett to go after Wayne Enterprises. Selina Kyle takes Bruce Wayne's fingerprints, and Bane uses them to drain Bruce's fortune. After Selina leads Batman into an ambush, Bane beats him and throws him into a remote underground prison. Bane then isolates Gotham, buries most of the police below ground and converts a Wayne fusion reactor into a bomb. Wealthy residents face mock trials, and Blackgate's inmates walk free. Some months later Bruce recovers, escapes the prison and comes back to free the trapped police.

The Lego Batman Movie is a comedy in which the Joker surrenders on purpose, leaving Batman without anyone to fight. The Joker later returns with an army of monsters and movie villains, and Gotham holds together only when citizens and former villains link arms. Doug Benson is credited as the voice of Bane in that cast.

Bane's most important relationships are with Batman, Selina Kyle and Miranda Tate, who is secretly Talia al Ghul, and all three come from The Dark Knight Rises.

With Batman, the bond is physical and ideological. Bane belonged to the League of Shadows, the group led by Ra's al Ghul in Batman Begins, so he comes from the same organization that trained Bruce Wayne. He is also the man who breaks Batman and imprisons him.

With Catwoman, played by Anne Hathaway as Selina, the link is a betrayal. Selina steals the fingerprints that let Bane empty Bruce's accounts, and she lures Batman into the trap. She later helps bring Bane down.

With Miranda Tate, played by Marion Cotillard, the relationship is the film's twist. Miranda is revealed to be Talia al Ghul, the daughter of Ra's al Ghul, and she is the true mastermind. Bane is the muscle in front of a plan that belongs to her.

With Daggett, played by Ben Mendelsohn, the link is a business deal: Bane works with him to take over Wayne Enterprises. Against Commissioner Gordon and the Gotham police, his tactic is to trap most of the force underground.

Bane dies in The Dark Knight Rises, finished off with help from Selina Kyle. Talia al Ghul, revealed as the real mastermind, then works to make sure the reactor cannot be stopped.

Batman carries the bomb out over the bay in his aircraft, and it goes off well away from the city. Gotham believes Bruce died in the blast and honors Batman as a hero. Bruce's will converts the manor into an orphanage, and Alfred spots him alive overseas with Selina.

Neither of the other films ends on Bane. Batman & Robin finishes with Freeze and Ivy beaten and Batgirl welcomed onto the team. The Lego Batman Movie closes with Gotham rescued by heroes, citizens and a few villains, and Batman treating Alfred, Robin and Barbara as his family.

In my opinion, the strongest Bane scenes are the ones where he changes what Batman can do, and all of them come from The Dark Knight Rises. The film is a better argument for the character than the other two appearances put together.

The midair raid, where Bane kidnaps a nuclear physicist, is the cleanest introduction. It shows a plan rather than a brawl. The fight that ends with Batman broken and dropped into a remote underground prison is the moment the film turns, because it takes the hero off the board for months of story time.

The third moment is the quieter one: Bane cutting Gotham off from the world and trapping most of the police underground. It could be argued that this is the real threat, since a masked fighter alone could not hold a city. Add the mock courts for the wealthy and the Blackgate release, and the film shows an occupation rather than a heist.

Perhaps the most useful comparison is with Batman & Robin, where Bane sits low in the billing and the plot belongs to Mr. Freeze and Poison Ivy. Side by side, the two films show how far the character traveled between 1997 and 2012. If you want to meet the best version, start with The Dark Knight Rises, and if you want the earlier films first, follow the Batman movies in order.