A piece of artwork that has redesignedThe Dark Knight Rises' main villain has made me wish for a single major change that would have made him moreDCcomics-accurate.The Dark Knight Riseswas the third installment ofChristopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy, a franchise that set a high bar for subsequent Batman movies to clear. The arch-villain of the third film was Bane, portrayed by frequent Nolan collaborator Tom Hardy, who brought an immense level of gravitas to the role that significantlyredeemed Bane’s cinematic legacyafterBatman & Robin.
Still, Hardy’s Bane might have been improved upon if his mask was a little more comics-accurate, as Reddit useru/jdtaylor97has depicted in a piece of fan art.
The art depictsBane as he fights Batmanbeneath the Wayne Enterprises armory, only the artist has edited in a full black mask with white details and red eyes, making Tom Hardy’s Bane look even more menacing. This is no mean feat, asThe Dark Knight Risespossibly omitted a comics-accurate mask for many reasons.
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Why Bane’s Mask In The Dark Knight Rises Looks So Different To The Comics
Christopher Nolan Wanted Bane To Look More Militaristic
Tom Hardy’s Bane inThe Dark Knight Risesis a hulking figure that wears civilian clothes (with an iconic sheepskin jacket), a bald head, and his signature mask that siphons pain-relieving gas into his mouth and lungs at all times. The mask adds a lot to Bane’s menacing presence as it makes him look less human, following in the footsteps of his villainous predecessors inThe Dark Knighttrilogy. It also helps to create what has become one of the most iconic villain voices in the superhero genre, with an infinitely inimitable tone.
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Yet Bane’s menacing mask bears only a slight resemblance to his full attire in DC Comics. As the art above depicts, Bane typically wears a full-face covering reminiscent of a Mexican Lucha Libre mask. This is indicative of Bane’s original Latin American heritage, which is possibly one reason why the British Tom Hardy was not kitted out in the mask.Christopher Nolan also stated that they wantedThe Dark Knight Rises' Bane to exude a militaristic quality, leaning into a look more befitting of a mercenary.
Bane is canonically Latin American and was raised on the island of Santa Prisca, but neither live-action depiction of Bane has been true to his nationality in the comics.
Furthermore, while Tom Hardy now has a reputation for being masked-up in Christopher Nolan’s movies, fully covering his face with a mask would have severely hampered his expressiveness. Instead, audiences could see the passion in Hardy’s upper face while his mouth was covered, with which Hardy did an excellent job. While the above artwork certainly makes me wish for a more comics-accurate Bane, that is probably best left to the DCU’s version of the character rather than Nolan’s more gritty and grounded version inThe Dark Knight Rises.
The Dark Knight Rises
Cast
The Dark Knight Rises follows Batman as he returns to Gotham City eight years after the death of Harvey Dent. Now pursued by law enforcement, he faces new challenges from Selina Kyle and Bane, a formidable terrorist leader who threatens the city’s safety, compelling Batman to defend a city that sees him as a foe.
