Warning! Spoilers ahead for Batman #129!He once broke the Batman, but Bane may have helped put the Dark Knight in the most precarious spot he's ever been in. In Batman #129, Bruce reveals how one action from Bane started a chain of events that may end in Batman's doom.
Batman has a number of trying villains in his rogues' gallery, but few that can actually match wits with him. Except for Bane who, on more than one occasion, has proven that he is without a doubt Batman's intellectual equal. During the infamous "Knightfall" story arc, the villain did the impossible and broke Batman's back after deducing the hero's identity. Bane did something few villains were capable of and actually took Batman off the board. Though Bruce Wayne managed to recover from the incident, the entire event was a humbling reminder that there were threats who were just as calculating as Batman is.
But as much of a setback as having his back broken was, Batman found himself in an even worse position thanks to Bane. In Batman #129 by Chip Zdarsky and Jorge Jiménez, Batman’s ultimate contingency Failsafe has seized control of Gotham and has initiated a manhunt for Bruce. Thinking Batman killed the Penguin, the android Failsafe was activated to subdue Batman, having been designed by a backup persona of Bruce in case he ever went over the line. The Penguin, of course, is not dead, and the entire thing is a misunderstanding, but as Batman tells Aquaman while hiding out in Atlantis, Alfred was responsible for keeping the protocol from activating in case of false alarms. Unfortunately, Alfred is no longer around after his neck was snapped by Bane in the "City of Bane" arc, leaving no one to stop Failsafe from starting its mission.
Bane Killing Alfred Keeps On Damaging Batman
During the “City of Bane” arc, beloved Bat-Family member Alfred Pennyworth met his end as a result of Damian Wayne attempting to stop the villain himself. Alfred’s death was more of a punishment to hurt Batman and his allies rather than an integral or necessary part of his plan. But in his decision to incorporate the beloved Butler, Bane has hurt Batman on a level he never could have anticipated. By removing Alfred from the equation, Bane may have done Batman in for good.
Even if Bane wasn’t aware of the Batman of Zur-En-Arrh, or the backup personality's contingency with Failsafe, Bane knew that Alfred was the heart of the Bat-Family. No one knows the team’s secrets or how it operates more than the faithful butler. By taking him out, Bane may have expected there would be some long-term ramifications, but he probably never could have imagined a scenario in which Batman’s lack of Alfred would lead to his undoing. In an amazing combination of luck and planning, Bane may be indirectly destroying Batman permanently.
