Antonio Diego

**Antonio Diego** (アントニオ・ディエゴ, *Antonio Diego*), also known as **Bane** (ベイン, *Bein*), is both a fictional character and an antagonist of the *DC* series. He was a brilliant military mind and strategist, was denied any hope for a normal life when he was forced to rot away within a foreign island prison in South America as a child for a crime his father committed. Since his father died before his sentence was completed, Bane was forced to take his place in the prison, where he was subjected to military experiments.

Among these undergone experiments came to the result of his derivative dependence on the chemical agent drug, called Venom, which granted him incredible abnormal physical strength and adrenaline. Breaking out of the prison, He sought to conquer worthy adversaries, make a criminal empire for himself and became and a super-villain/assassin. It wasn't long until he heard legends of Gotham City's Dark Knight and fought the hero numerous times in an effort to prove himself, only to be defeated and arrested time and time again.

In more recent years, Bane became a victim of a sinister plot hatched by Joker and his pawn, Dr. Penelope Young, who drained the venom from his blood to create an even stronger variation known as Titan. In the end, Dr. Young was murdered and Joker's plans were foiled, but shipments of Titan remained within Gotham. Within Arkham City, Bane hopes to obtain the last remnants of the amazing compound for his own use to finally defeat Batman and become the most worthy opponent throughout the globe.

"*I am Bane, the last opponent you will ever face.*"

—Bane.

## Appearance & Biography

*Voice actor*: J.B. Blanc (English), Kousuke Takaguchi (Japanese), Not Known (French), Not Known (Italian), Not Known (Korean), Not Known (Brazilian), Not Known (German), Not Known (Spanish), Not Known (Danish), Not Known (Finnish), Not Known (Norwegian), Not Known (Swedish), Not Known (Dutch), Not Known (Russian), Not Known (Arabic), Not Known (Hungarian), Not Known (Turkish)

### Biography

Imprisoned from birth to serve his dead father's sentence, Antonio Diego was raised inside the horrific environs of a Santa Prisca prison. Finding solace in smuggled books and meditation, he developed incredible powers of concentration. When he was subjected to military experiments with the experimental steroid Venom, his iron-forged will helped him survive where other test subjects had died, and he managed to escape. After that, Antonio adopted the identity of Bane and armed himself with a dangerous chemical drug that makes a force-able powerhouse to be wreck with. Determined to prove his worth, he sought out Batman and broke the Dark Knight's spine after causing a breakout of which Batman took weeks to round up the escaped villains. But Batman recovered and managed to beat Bane, cutting off the precious Venom supply that transforms Bane into a superhuman.

### Appearance

#### As Bane

* Hair Color: Brown
* Skin Color: Not Known
* Eye Color: Brown (When on Venom: Green)
* Age: Not Known
* Birthday: Not Known
* Height: 5 ft. 6 in. (When on Venom; Varies)
* Weight: 140 lb. (When on Venom; Varies)

### **Attributes**

* Master strategist.
* Intense focus.
* Abnormally strong reaction to Venom, giving him incredibly enhanced physical abilities.
* Determined to beat Batman, and all others who challenge him.

## Relationships

### Friends/Allies

* Osito
* Jason Woodroe
* His Henchmen
	+ Bird
* John Daggett
	+ Phillip Stryver
* League of Assassins
	+ Ra's al Ghul
	+ Talia al Ghul
	+ Lady Shiva

### Neutral

* Hush
* Joker's Thugs
	+ Joker
	+ Harley Quinn
* Mr. Freeze
* Hugo Strange
* Arkham Knight
* Victor Zsasz
* Poison Ivy
* Two-Face
* Penguin
* Clayface
* Man-Bat
* Simon Stagg
* Killer Frost

### Rivals

* Assassins
	+ Killer Croc
	+ Deathstroke
	+ Electrocutioner
	+ Deadshot
	+ Firefly
	+ Copperhead

### Enemies

* Bat Family
	+ Batman
	+ Robin
* Catwoman
* Justice League
	+ Superman
	+ Green Arrow - Enemy.
	+ The Flash
	+ Huntress
* Teen Titans
	+ Nightwing
* Leonid Pavel
* Gotham City Police
	+ James Gordon
* Rachel Dawes
* Phillip Stryver

## Powers and Abilities

### Powers

* **Venom Usage**:
	+ **Superhuman Durability**: Another benefit to Venom enhancing his body, is that his muscle have been toughened, allowing him to endure simple and weak attacks and physical trauma without much of a problem. Due to constant use of pain suppressors, Bane can withstand severe physical traumas, being able to shrug off Batman's punches during their first fight, and himself punch holes in the column during their second encounter.
	+ **Superhuman Strength**: Bane was an Olympic-level athlete with immense strength even without the aid of Venom. When Bane is in his super-sized form, he gains superhuman strength.
	+ **Enhanced Speed**:
	+ **Superhuman Stamina**:

### Abilities

* **Genius Level Intellect**:
	+ **Tactical Analysis**: Bane is an excellent master tactician who has shown himself capable of planning the theft of Gotham's stock exchange, and with the assistance of the prisoners of Blackgate, the complete takeover of Gotham City. He was even able to deduce who the Batman was under his mask.
* **Hand-to-Hand Combat (Advanced)**: Thanks to the living hell of the Santa Prisca prison, Bane built his body up to perfection. Self-taught in how to fight, Bane is more than a match for Batman without Venom. When using it, he is even more deadly as a single punch can severely damage Batman's health.
	+ **Martial Arts**: Even prior to being taught by Ra's al Ghul, Bane has shown advanced fighting abilities as a combatant in both his human and superhuman forms (showed himself capable of fighting off multiple inmates in order to save Talia in the Pit). Following his time in the League of Assassins, Bane became a skilled enough fighter to defeat multiple opponents simultaneously, and even was able to easily beat Batman himself in single-hand combat during their first fight
* **Indomitable Will**: Bane's willpower and absolute belief in his goal are what make him such a dangerous opponent, as noted by Alfred Pennyworth.
* **Intimidation**: Being trained in the ways of League of Assassins, Bane mastered art of instilling fear in others and himself is resistant against Batman's deceptive maneuvers.
* **Peak Human Condition**: Bane possesses strength that far surpasses that of the Batman's, and that of a normal person who engages in intense physical training on a regular basis. He has shown the ability to lift Batman over his head with ease, break Batman's impact resistant cowl, and (while in an enraged and pain-filled state) punch two holes in a column in front of Blackgate.
* **Leadership**: Bane is a highly influential man, and his men follow him without question (on more then one occasion his men have willingly accepted their deaths either by his request or his own hand). He speaks with great reasoning and strikes fear into his enemies, as well as his own followers.
* **Chemistry**: Bane has attempted for years to create a serum similar to Venom that will sate his addiction and give him a permanent increase in strength. He created TN-1, which fell below his expectations. Thanks to it's side-effects, he was never able to try again due to becoming dumber.

### Weaknesses

* **Drug Addiction**: Bane is addicted to the Venom he uses.
* **Reliance on Storage Tank**: Bane has a storage tank of Venom on his back, which is used to sustain his large frame.
* **Power Loss**:

### Transportation

* **Tumbler**: Bane attained a number of Tumblers after Wayne Enterprises was broken into from the sewers.

## History

### Past

Born on the Caribbean island of Santa Prisca, Antonio Diego spent most of his early childhood in the hellish prison Pena Duro, as punishment for the crimes of his unknown dead father. As a teenager gowing strong while fighting other inmates, he became a test subject to clandestine military experiments where he was exposed to a steroid drug like substance called Venom. His anger, willpower, and determination enabled him to survive where others did not. Eventually, he and a fellow inmate, Bird, engineered a prison break from Pena Duro during a massive riot from then on focusing on making a name for himself as Bane.

### Arriving in Gotham

Bane was one of the eight assassins that was hired by the criminal mob boss Black Mask to kill Batman on Christmas Eve night. Bane recieved a booklet from his employer that said if he killed Batman, he would be rewarded with fifty million dollars. He first appears at the Royal Hotel, meeting with Firefly, Electrocutioner and Joker. Following the meeting, he remained and waited at the hotel, knowing Batman would come for Joker. When Batman was just about to enter the penthouse, Bane noticed him on the elevator's ceiling, tore him from an elevator and violently brought him to Joker, giving them one minute to talk. When their minute was up, Bane battled Batman in another room, before progressing to the balcony. Moments before Batman could defeat him, two police helicopters arrived. Bane and his men left, promising to return for the bounty. Batman placed a tracer of him, going unnoticed by Bane. After hearing reports that Bane had been shot, Batman moved to the morgue, where he discovered it was just an innocent Venom user. Following the tracer, Batman arrived at Bane's head-quarters, where he found the abandoned tracer beside some computers containing evidence that Batman was Bruce Wayne. Batman destroyed the computers and all other evidence. Bane invaded the Batcave and nearly beated Alfred to death. Batman later resuscitaded Alfred when he arrived to find the Cave in ruins.

Bane next appears during Joker's siege on Blackgate Prison. He fights Batman while wearing a heart monitor that charges an electric chair Joker was sitting in with every beat. Batman stopped his heart with the Shock Gloves, but resuscitated him moments later. Enraged, Bane injected himself with TN-1, an enhanced form of Venom. He grew to monstrous size, too big for Batman to fight directly. After defeating him using stealth, Batman left Bane unconscious and hanging upside-down with his memory and knowledge of Batman's secret identity damaged permanently from the TN-1 making Batman and his secret safe once again. He was apprehended following Joker's defeat.

## See also

* Bane's Thugs
* Bane's Rageblind Belt

## External links

* Bane *Wikipedia*
* Bane *DC Database*
* Bane *Arkham Wiki*

## Notes & Trivia

* Bane first appeared in Batman: Vengeance of Bane #1 (January 1993).
* He is probably Batman's most powerful enemy. Bane is the only "Man who Broke the Bat", due to the status he left Batman in. He could have killed him, but he decides he must first suffer and see everything he loves destroyed.
* Bane has tried to join the League of Assassins, but was rejected by Ra's al Ghul many times. However he did once become worthy of being Ra's al Ghul's heir, proving himself in a swordfight and chess game with no venom enhancement. And was close to marrying Talia al Ghul before Ra's discovered his treachery. Which is why he keeps being rejected from the League.