‘Gotham’: Here’s How Bane Will Look in ‘Batman’ Prequel’s Final Season

“Salem” and “ER” vet Shane West will play the villain who broke Batman’s back

Bane - Knightfall Vol 1 Cover

Fans of both mouth-breathing villains who break Batman’s spine and weird-as-hell clunky costumes had plenty to celebrate on Monday, as the first images of Bane, from the upcoming fifth and final season of “Gotham,” were released to the public.

Played by “ER” and “Salem” alum Shane West, Bane will likely make his debut during the first run of Season 5 episodes, judging from the title of episode 8, “I Am Bane.” You can see exactly what being Bane means in the image below, tweeted out Monday by “Gotham” writer and producer Tze Chun:

Shane West as Bane on "Gotham"

Created by Chuck Dixon, Graham Nolan, and Dennis O’Neil and debuting in 1993, Bane in the comics is a powerful crime lord who spent his childhood and early adulthood in a South American prison, sentenced by proxy to life for the actions of his father, a revolutionary leader.

Surviving his brutal upbringing to become “King” of the prison, Bane was eventually forced to undergo testing of drug called “venom.” Venom gave him incredible strength and other abilities, but at a high price: He must take the drug every 12 hours or he’ll become debilitated.

Bane eventually escaped the prison and traveled to Gotham City, wearing a costume that made him look, essentially, like a hulked-out Luchador — but his mask conceals his means of injecting venom. He’s best known for the 1993-1994 “Knightfall” storyline, in which he breaks Batman’s back.

The first live-action portrayal of Bane came in 1997’s “Batman and Robin,” in which he was played by pro wrestler Robert “Jeep” Swenson. The “Knightfall” storyline was later very loosely adapted for the 2012 film “The Dark Knight Rises,” with Tom Hardy as Bane.

It’s unclear how much, if any, comics lore will make it into the fox show. The costume above sure looks a lot like it could inject some heavy chemicals into its wearer. But it looks nothing like the (arguably much more awesome) Luchador suit. All we know now is that on “Gotham,” Bane will be introduced as Eduardo Dorrance, a former Army friend of Jim Gordon’s (Ben McKenzie), who is gradually transformed into the supervillain.

See Entertainment Weekly for another look at the “Gotham” version of Bane.

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