Few street-level villains in Bane displays when he utilizes his trademark Venom. But the man showed an even more impressive display of strength when he swore off the stuff for good.
While the mind of Bane is a terrifying thing on its own, he becomes an even more formidable foe thanks to the augmentation brought on by Venom. With a feed system installed, all it takes is a press of a button for Bane to become a musclebound monster that could tear through a person like paper. Bane has shown himself to be one of the few threats that can do real damage to the Bat-Family thanks to his insidious combo of brains and brawn. Of course, like any performance enhancer, Venom often takes its toll on Bane's body, forcing him to reconsider what strength really means.
By the time he s up with the Secret Six, he was off the stuff for good. He's still shown to be an impressive specimen, but nowhere near the hulking figure Venom turns him into. But Bane shows off how strong he really is when he's kidnapped by a ruthless criminal lord named Junior in Secret Six #5 by Gail Simone, Nicola Scott, Doug Hazlewood, Rodney Ramos, Jason Wright and Travis Lanham. Wanting to know the location of Bane's teammates and threatening him with a pallet of over 500 bricks, Junior pelts Bane, cruelly counting off how many remain. A mere two bricks in, Junior's cronies offer Bane an out in exchange for the information they want, but the man absolutely refuses to compromise. Before he's rescued, Bane withstands 23 bricks thrown at his face and chest.
Aside from a few slips, Bane largely made good on his vow and stayed off of Venom. It obviously wasn't easy, not just because of the painful withdrawals he suffered, but because of situations like this. A Venom-enhanced Bane would be much more difficult to kidnap, or torture for that matter. But in getting clean, Bane brought himself down to a more human level and realized that the resolve in him was stronger than it had ever been.
Strength comes in many forms, but it the superhero world, the kind that usually matters is being physically strong. Bane's use of Venom helped elevate him from a genius tactician with a peak human body to a threat that defeated Batman. And while classic strength would have helped Bane deal with Junior a lot quicker, his determination to not give his enemy the satisfaction they desired was strong in its own right. Even though it meant his possible death, Bane never sold out his team nor did he betray his principles. Bane showed everyone that even without Venom, he stands strong no matter the odds he faces.
