One of Batman’s Best Villains Has Appeared Twice in Movies (And Both Failed)

DC doesn’t have the best track record on the big screen. Despite Batman and Superman coming out of the gates swinging with their first major movies, things went off the rails quickly. Pivoting to lesser-known characters didn’t do the company any favors, either, with projects like Catwoman and Jonah Hex crashing and burning. Christopher Nolan did his best to bring credibility to DC in the mid-2000s by taking a grounded approach with Batman in The Dark Knight Trilogy, which works on nearly every level. The filmmaker found success by making his villains multi-dimensional, but there was one he let down.

Finding a villain to follow Heath Ledger’s Joker was not an easy task. Nolan thought his best bet was to bring in a physical threat, Bane, who had only appeared in live-action one other time in the much-maligned Batman & Robin. Unfortunately, The Dark Knight Rises failed to do right by Bane, putting him in the same situation he was in during Batman & Robin.

Bane Is Always the Bridesmaid, Never the Bride, in Batman Movies

The Joel Schumacher Batman movies were products of their times. After Tim Burton went dark and gritty, his successor decided to lean into the campiness of the source material, giving the Caped Crusader a bat-themed credit card and putting nipples on his costume. The wackiness didn’t only affect the heroes, though, as Mister Freeze dropped ice-related puns at every opportunity while Tommy Lee Jones tried to do his best Jim Carrey impression as Two-Face. At least they had personalities because Bane never got the chance to make an impact in Batman & Robin, serving as the muscle for Poison Ivy as she tried to take over the world with her plants.

To make up for Batman & Robin‘s mistakes, Nolan tried to take the opposite approach. Bane was menacing from the jump, but he did a lot more than just throw punches. He orchestrated a plan to send all of Gotham’s police force into the city’s tunnels and trap them there, putting all the pressure on the Dark Knight, who had seen better days after getting his back broken by the villain. However, when Talia al Ghul revealed herself, Bane stepped into her shadow and let her make all the decisions. Not long after, he found himself on the wrong end of the Batpod’s cannons, dying before he could see Talia’s plan completed.

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Typically, villains don’t get more than two chances on the big screen, as it’s not a good look to force a square peg into a round hole. Batman’s adversaries tend to get preferential treatment, though, especially when at least one major actor has expressed interest in tackling a role.

Bane Will Benefit From the DC Universe’s Tone

A good number of Marvel stars are making the jump to DC because of James Gunn’s involvement. The Guardians of the Galaxy director is casting all sorts of parts. However, rather than him reaching out to Dave Bautista, the Drax actor came to him with the idea of playing Bane. Even before Gunn crossed the aisle, Bautista thought his former wrestling background made him a good fit for the hulking character who takes a venom to grow even larger and stronger. The conversations aren’t going very far these days because Bautista thinks he’s too old, but there’s still plenty of room for Bane in the DC Universe.

Rather than letting Matt Reeves take a crack at him in the BatVerse, Gunn can reserve him for The Brave and the Bold, which will focus on an older Batman and his son, Damian Wayne. There are also reports of a villain team-up movie featuring Deathstroke and Bane that can really give the bad guy a chance to shine, especially if he gets to show what he’s made of while fighting alongside a stone-cold killer like Slade Wilson. At this point, it’s just about giving Bane the platform he deserves because he has as much potential as any other villain in the Dark Knight’s Rolodex.

The Dark Knight Rises and Batman & Robin are streaming on Max.

Do you feel like Batman & Robin or The Dark Knight Rises does Bane justice? Where would you like to see the villain show up in the DC Universe? Let us know in the comments below!