Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Which Way Is Bane Going To Jump?

Assuming he survives this trip to Hell, I'm curious to see what happens with Bane. He's been told his code means jack all, and he's still headed for Hell.

If he truly believes in the code he follows, he'd stick to it regardless of the potential consequences. If some demon told Batman his war on crime had consigned him to Hell (and who knows, maybe it does, considering how messed up things seem to be in the DCU), I highly doubt he'd abandon crimefighting. He might soften his tactics if he thought it was the violence that was getting him in trouble, but he wouldn't stop. There are people in trouble, and their safety comes first, so he'd keep going.

I suppose Bane could try completely revising his code to something he thinks the afterlife would find more palatable. Petting puppies, feeding the homeless, not ripping off people's limbs and beating them to death.

The other option is the one I think Simone's going to follow based on the July solicit. Bane could just say "screw it", forget the code, and just go nuts. If he's already damned, what's a few more atrocities?

It'll be interesting to see what he does and why. He's contended since the series started that he only does what is right, based on his somewhat, unique definition. Knowing that his afterlife is already determined, what's the right choice? I actually wouldn't be totally surprised if he chose to stick to his code anyway. He was, when Scandal needed him, willing to take Venom even though he believed it was immoral, because her safety was more important than his own. So I could see him opting to continue on as he has, because he believes it's the best thing for others, if not himself.

If he abandons his code, that suggests it was a facade, something he maintained to give him a sense of superiority over his teammates. He certainly believes he has that, since he contended his code makes him different from the rest, but that doesn't mean that's why he adopted it. He could have made it for some equally superficial reason, though, as a way of comparing himself to Batman (if Batman can follow a strict code, then I can). Or it could have been an attempt to elevate himself above the circumstances he grew up in, which I think make people look down upon or underestimate him.

3 comments:

Matthew said...

As Bane is to feature in the last Nolanverse Batman movie, it seems they will definitely take the second option in order to 'tie in'. Like moviegoers really pick up comics if they aren't existing readers.

CalvinPitt said...

Matthew: Yeah, I don't get why they bother with trying to line them up either. I wonder how similar this movie Bane is going to be to comic Bane, anyway. You think he'll have the luchador mask look and pump himself up with fast acting drugs?

Matthew said...

I think someone in the marketing department gabbles on about 'synergy' for fifteen minutes and then a honcho takes the stogie out of his mouth long enough to tell the comics boys to do it. :P

As for similarity, I would say that the mask will make an appearance, yes. Most of the villains we've seen Nolan use bear some sort of physical resemblance to their comic counterparts - Joker had his make-up, Scarecrow his own ridiculous mask and Ra'as was, well, neat and facial-haired. You get what I mean.