Holy ‘roid rage, Batman! The first picture of Tom Hardy as Bane in the new Batman movie, “The Dark Knight Rises” has been released virally today and it looks awesome!
With the casting of Tom Hardy as Bane, it was believed that it would be unlikely that we would have a true to the comic kind of Bane, but in Nolan we trust. Despite a British actor scoring the role of the Latin muscle man, Hardy’s talent speaks for itself.
For the closest representation of what we may have to look forward to, do yourself a favor and watch Bronson. Some other notable movies you’ve seen Hardy in are Inception (as Eames), RocknRolla (as Handsome Bob), and Layer Cake (as Clarkie).
Bane is known as the man who “Broke the bat” when he defeated Batman and broke his back leaving Batman a paraplegic in the Knightfall storyline. Bane is nearly equal to Batman in both physicality and intellect partially due to a highly addictive performance enhancing drug called “Venom” that gives Bane superhuman strength and endurance. However, it is Bane’s ruthlessness that separates the two.
Bane is a best known as a merciless character who’s intelligence is just as dangerous as his strength. Born in South America, Bane was raised in a harsh prison called Peña Dura (“Hard Rock”) where he was sentenced to serve his father’s life term. There he learned to fight in the yard while reading every book that he could, honing both his mind and body to near perfection.
Long time arch-nemesis Ra’s Al Ghul even once named Bane as his heir, which was once an honor bestowed to Batman. Since Ra’s Al Ghul is already established in Nolan’s Batman franchise, this may be a clue as to what we might see in the movie.
Although this picture shows a lacking of the Venom tube that feeds into Bane’s brain I wouldn’t jump to the conclusion that the Venom drug won’t be an element to the character. There’s no telling the context this photo is in, but the look of it says enough for now.
In The Dark Knight Rises, Bane may be the physical equal that has yet to been seen in the Nolan films. This could definitely give us a differed Bat-film than we’ve seen in the previous two. Nevertheless, this photo has given Bat-fans something to talk about and look forward to.
