Summary

• Bane's version of Batman in Forever Evil: Arkham War was one of the most brutal versions of the character the DC Universe has ever seen.
• Bane used the Bat symbol to instill fear and control criminals in Gotham City.
• While Bane was only Batman for a short time, he showed a brutal determination to protect the citizens of Gotham, while furthering his goal of taking over the city for himself.

Plenty of people have taken on the identity of Bane wore the cowl, he was easily DC's most brutal Dark Knight – something he proved by finding a new use for the Bat Symbol. When Batman and the Justice League vanished during the events of Forever Evil, Bane decided to bring his own brand of justice to Gotham City's streets.

Bane's truly terrifying version of Batman was revealed in Forever Evil: Arkham War #3 – by Peter J. Tomasi, Scot Eaton, Jaime Mendoza, Allen Martinez, Andrew Dalhouse, and Travis Lanham – during an arc taking place after the Justice League had been locked up by the Crime Syndicate, predicating the events of the Forever Evil arc.

With the Justice League gone, Bane takes it upon himself to conquer Gotham. Bane quickly finds out that criminals don't fear him like Batman, with villains like Killer Croc standing up to Bane. To remedy this, Bane decides to use a symbol he knows criminals fear, and ends up constructing his own Batsuit.

As Batman, Bane Went After Gotham's Criminals Like Never Before

Bane was, of course, one of the most dangerous criminals that Batman ever went up against. Bane grew up in a prison, forced to serve out the sentence of his father. This led Bane to become brutal and incredibly strong, both physically and mentally. After escaping, Bane spent years traveling the world, fighting anyone he came across. Eventually, he turned his eyes on Gotham City. Having suffered from nightmares of a giant bat as a child, Bane felt if he could break Batman, that he'd finally be able to rest easy. This resulted in the two gaining a begrudging respect for one another, with Bane realizing just how powerful Batman's symbol really is.

Batman spent decades crafting the Bat Symbol into a symbol of fear for criminals in Gotham City. Every criminal knows what the symbol means, and just about every criminal knows to avoid it, which is something others have noticed. Bane took the symbol for himself and tried to use it to take over Gotham City, and he very nearly succeeded. The only reason he was stopped was because Bruce Wayne returned to fight him. However, for the short time that Bane was Batman, he proved to be a brutal one. Not only did he toss Killer Croc from the top of a skyscraper, but he also fashioned the Bat symbol on his chest into a massive blunt weapon he used to beat people with.

Bane Was Hands Down Gotham's Most Brutal Batman

Bane was quickly removed from the role of Batman, but for a period, Bane was the only Batman Gotham had. He wanted to conquer the city, but he did do his best to protect the citizens when he could. When a group of mercenaries were trying to profit off the closed supply lines and were selling water and food to people, Bane appeared and defeated them, giving out the water and food for free. He truly seemed to want to protect the people of Gotham City in his own way. It just happened to be that Bane's idea of being Batman was one of the most brutal versions DC has ever seen.