Bane quickly made his way into
THE BATMAN universe showing up in the series’ second episode titled “Traction.”
As a Batman fan, I have a love/hate relationship with this particular Bat-Rogue. I think the idea of an adversary who “juices-up,” if you will, to take on Batman is both realistic and relevant -- especially today.
On the other hand, I don’t like the whole KNIGHTFALL saga from back in the 90s. And since Bane was a MAJOR player in that particular comic book stunt/gimmick, well, I’ve always sorta disliked the character because of that.
Yes, I KNOW that’s petty and unfair, so sue me! Anyway...
In a nutshell, the plot of “Traction” goes something like this:
The mob’s tired of dealing with this, this thing...this "The Batman." So one of the bosses hires a guy called “Bane” from South America who has promised to take out The Dark Knight.
And he does.
Almost.
THE BATMAN's Bane
In his first encounter with Bane, The Batman gets his ass whipped pretty darn good and the SOB damn near kills him. Of course, Alfred mends Bruce back to health, but his convalescence leads the fine folks of Gotham to believe The Batman to be dead.
Taking advantage of The Caped Crusader’s absence, Bane goes on a violent criminal spree which Gotham’s Finest simply can not halt.
Knowing that he’s the only person who can stop Bane’s rampage in his beloved city, Bruce and a reluctant Alfred create an exoskeleton suit -- glossed “The Batbot” -- that will *hopefully* allow Batman to return the ass-whipping favor on Bane.
If you want a detailed explanation of Bane, Venom, and his motivations, you’re not gonna get it here. Basically, Bane just “Is.” And frankly, that’s not important here.
What “Traction” is really about is the relationship between Bruce and Alfred -- the whole deal with Bane is merely a way to facilitate the theme and the story.
On the whole, I really liked this particular episode -- mainly because I’m a huge fan of the Alfred-father/Bruce-son dynamic. Yeah Bane was underdeveloped and never “explained,” but that wasn’t necessary.
My only problem with Bane was that he was depicted as a red, Incredible Hulk-looking dude when he was hopped-up on Venom -- but that’s only a inconsequential aesthetic nitpick to be frank.
Then again, at least Bane wears shoes.
