Movie Moments: The first fight between Bane and the Batman in The Dark Knight Rises

Throughout the Christopher Nolan Trilogy we have been accustomed to seeing Batman have his way physically against his opponents. Batman seemed invincible from that point of view and this was reinforced in the period of consolidation that was shown in The Dark Knight (2008) when the mob and the police came into a direct conflict. Batman seemed to dominate the landscape with his gadgets and physical strength; this was reinforced in the opening scene when he bends the barrel of a shot gun with  apparent ease and authority. Batman also held the mob boss Maroni off the edge of a fire escape in mid air with apparent ease. Batman’s physical presence was so overwhelming that the Joker could only counteract his assaults by brushing them aside with humour and this is demonstrated famously in the interrogation room where Joker and the Batman share one of their famous conversations. During the interrogation it is discovered that the Joker and his mob hench men are holding Harvey Dent and Rachel Dawes captive. Batman assaults the joker physically in order to coax him into confessing the whereabouts of the captives however with each strike of the batman’s fist the joker shrugs it off with maniacal laughter. He states ‘You have nothing to threaten me with; nothing to do with all your strength.’ The joker throughout The Dark Knight tried to coax batman into revealing his identity by threatening him physically with the lives of other ordinary citizens. He could not directly confront Batman physically and remove the mask for instance even after their famous encounter in the streets of Gotham- where batman on his bat pod refuses to kill the joker and is thrown from it as a result- when the attempt of Joker and one of his soldiers to remove the mask from an unconscious batman is thwarted by a built in security device that electrocutes the soldier who made the attempt to remove the mask. Jim Gordon was there in time to arrest the joker however it is clear that his attempt to remove the mask of the batman was a failure simply because he did not have the physical means to do it. He relied on theatricality and menace in order to terrify the citizens so as to coax batman into removing the mask. The reality is that once batman reveals his identity his legendary status is compromised because to the ordinary man batman would be just someone playing dress up and acting out  his fantasies like children do at Halloween. The mask itself was never removed and so batman was able to maintain his dominant position within Gotham city as an avenging angel of the night. That is until The Dark Knight Rises where he is unmasked by Bane who is superior physically. Their first physical encounter underscores that in order to break your opponent he/she must be unmasked or exposed as ordinary. Your opponent must be thoroughly defeated and denied any possibility of recovery. When your opponent is defeated the observers of this will acknowledge your superiority and his or her inferiority. Whatever made your opponent seemed sublime must be reduced to its ordinary dimensions and belittled and trounced thereby highlighting why they are not a match for you and why you represent the more progressive element. In their first encounter Bane humiliates and crushes the brand that batman represents. This is one of the most significant fights in movie history, from an artistic point of view, particularly if you are a fan of the Nolan Batman franchise ( I invite those to tell me about fights that have been portrayed so chillingly). It is certainly the best physical encounter throughout the entire batman franchise. This is the first time that we see Batman look so ordinary and this must be the point if we follow Bruce Wayne’s argument that anyone can wear the mask. This is why the first encounter between Bane and Batman is a significant movie moment.

Batman is on the hunt for Bane and enlists the aid of Catwoman/Selina Kyle who has knowledge of his whereabouts. He is on the hunt because Bane along with the aid of resources from John Dagget orchestrated the bankruptcy of Bruce Wayne by having him make speculative trades that were destined to fail and cost the company a lot of money. With his fortune gone the world around Bruce Wayne is shrinking and so he must put an end to the deleterious maneuvers of Bane and Dagget. Lucius makes him aware that he can only prove fraud on Dagget’s part in the long term and so the only option Batman has, immediately, is to go after Bane. Bane (and Talia) anticipates Batman going after Dagget and so kills him after his woman, Miranda Tate, takes over Wayne enterprises. Batman then decides to go after Bane. Before they enter the sewer system Selina Kyle warns Batman that the men he will encounter are not ordinary brawlers and Batman contends that ‘Neither am I’. They defeat several of Bane’s soldiers and the momentum does seem to be with Batman and after 8 years out of action it seems as if he is getting back into his groove. With the momentum he seems to be gathering with every thug he defeats  this should seem ominous for Bane himself. Bane might have to start packing like any other ordinary criminal encountering the batman would do. After defeating the ordinary soldiers Batman and Selina Kyle seem to be striding almost in unison until she allows him to enter bane’s headquarters and locks him in making him aware that she betrayed him for her own safety. He is caught and Bane’s strategy is revealed by having Batman cornered like a rat in a trap. This is the first step when you seek to thoroughly defeat your opponent. He is isolated now particularly as his world is crumbling around him financially. Batman needs a lot of money to keep his operation going. Batman getting caught in a trap seems unlike him but in other situations he would be able to fight himself out of it. This is because his opponents could not over power him physically. In this case he is encountering someone physically superior. 

Right before the fight starts there is a brief exchange between the two because Batman is still confident when he says to Selina Kyle, ‘You made a serious mistake.’ Bane responds ‘Not as serious as yours, I fear.’ Batman turns to face him and says ‘Bane.’ ‘Let's not stand on ceremony here, Mr. Wayne.’ This is very important because this is Bane psychologically unmasking batman by revealing his identity and making it clear that he is encountering a man in a bat suit as opposed to some overwhelmingly powerful symbol that is meant to instill fear. When an ordinary criminal confronts batman he is already at a psychological disadvantage because in his mind he is encountering an invincible symbol that is renowned for instilling fear in people with similar occupations associated with so called criminal behaviour. Bane on the other hand sees the man behind the mask and so he now has the psychological advantage here over batman. After Bane says this he steps towards batman and his weighty physique is evident as he approaches for we hear the thuds or reverberations along the narrow passageway or bridge over the base at the lower level of his head quarters in the sewers.  Batman  advanced first but on the back foot and so Bane has another advantage here because the one who seizes the moment is more likely known as the one in control. The advance made by Bane suggests that he is in control of the situation and there is no reason for him to not advance because he is confident that nothing can hamper his advance towards the batman. It is clear that it worked because batman lashes out with a two fisted punch where his upper body is arched to throw more weight into the delivery. In The Dark Knight this attack sent the joker flying in their first encounter but Bane is hardly affected by this attack because Batman is reacting negatively to the psychological advance made by Bane. He tries to dislodge Bane's arms, that remain stuck holding his lapels, or the area that covers his chest on his military fatigue, after the two fisted act was not very effective. Batman then makes a couple swipes at Bane with the back of his hand however when he attempts to make a direct punch to Bane's face catches both fists (this is important for the second fight). After he does this bane says ‘Peace has cost you your strength [first fist caught]; victory has defeated you[second fist caught].’ He caught Batman’s fists as if he was fighting a wimp and directs that energy back at Batman by using the fists he caught and initiating an attack of his own The advance made by Bane is uncanny throughout the entire Nolan trilogy. As a member of the audience I was struck by the audacity of Bane because this advance made by Bane and the unfamiliar ‘rat in a trap’ position of Batman was a bit unnerving even though I wished to see the latter beaten and taught a lesson because throughout the Nolan series Batman seemed, at times, more like an enforcer for the police force. Batman deflects Bane's attack and even gives Bane a mighty head butt that hardly makes an impression ( another criminal would be prepared to surrender after such an attack). After the failure of that head butt to dislodge Bane Batman reacts negatively by almost gasping with a growl which is also uncanny for the Batman because in his mind another man would have been ‘pissing his pants’ after such an attack but not Bane.   Bane is not nearly as nimble but when he strikes it is heavy and calculated. He relies more on the quality of his attack rather than on a flurry of hits which batman was using negatively and ineffectively so as to fight himself out of the psychological trap set by Bane. Bane relies on absorbing the attacks of the opponent so as to counteract more effectively. After Bane’s brief attack batman again responds and Bane allows him to again pummel his face with wild swings from his fists and expend his energy futilely. After Bane absorbs the energy from these blows he delivers a back hand at batman after deflecting a kick and then gives him one good kick that sends him over the rails. Batman uses his cape to soften the landing. This is symbolic as the batman is now sinking deeper into the trap. Bane uses the  chains suspended in the air from the narrow passageway above to climb down in haste so as to keep the momentum in his favour. He grabs the batman and slams him against a column but batman still has more fight in him and he deflects Bane’s onslaught by repeatedly punching Bane’s chest which must be as hard as rock. Bane allows Batman to again expend his energy when he repeatedly slams his fists into Bane’s chest. Bane knows that batman is weakened because while he is repeatedly punching Bane he does so as if he is gasping for air because he seems to be grunting or panting in his attempt to break Bane’s seemingly dominant physique. Bane counteracts with one overhead punch that sends Batman sinking to the ground and this again emphasizes the quality of Bane’s attack. He gives Batman a kick for good measure because he can but he knows that the batman is not finished yet because he has not reached the state of desperation which is the last resort when defeat looms. Batman scrambles up the small stair of a small bridge over a drain where water is flowing, so as to be able to place some distance between himself and Bane and to assume a fighting position. We see Bane climb that same stair ominously and as he moves unflinchingly towards the batman with no fear of this great superficial symbol we see something extraordinary: Batman screams in anguish or in a rage which is associated with his anguish. The attitude Batman demonstrated throughout the previous two films in the Nolan franchise was that he was in control of the situation for the most part; he was always the steady element amidst a sea of panic and so to scream in such anguish is startling. Bane knows that he has him for when you force your opponent to scream out in a rage then they are defeated mentally and so whatever security they have is gone. Batman delivers a wild swing which Bane evades and repays Batman’s weakness with a flurry of punches starting with a crunching elbow to the left ribcage and ending with him using his fists to make the knees of the batman buckle under the pressure; he follows it up with a mighty kick that sends Batman down the stairs to the other side of the platform.

The desperation is now evident as Batman throws some explosives or the explosive ninja dust, introduced to him by Ra’s Al Ghul, at Bane. This would terrify any other opponent who would assume that it could kill or cause serious bodily harm and so they would scamper or hide. Bane stands his ground and reminds the batman when he says ‘Theatricality and deception; powerful agents to the uninitiated but we are initiated aren’t we Bruce; members of the league of shadows.’ He says this as he approaches and eludes another wild swing from the batman and holds him aloft by the neck with one arm; he continued to attack the left rib before he held him aloft. 'And you betrayed us,' Bane continues. This alone would make Batman aware that Bane is the strongest villain he has ever come across even stronger than Ra’s Al Ghul or may be on the same level as the former master. Batman responds in a pathetic fashion particularly considering the position he is in when he says to Bane ‘"Us"?You were excommunicated by a gang of psychopaths.’ Bane looks intently and then pummels him some more in the left ribcage and throws him to the ground and it seems that Batman was trying to gain some psychological advantage. Bane tries to regain the advantage when he responds ‘ I am the league of shadows here to fulfill Ra’s Al Ghul’s destiny.’ This seems to infuriate the batman because he thought he defeated that organization and here it is resurgent. Batman attacks Bane by charging and then and have him thrown to the ground on his back. The Batman continues to pummel Bane with his fists; Bane absorbs these for a time and then gives him one head butt and throws him off. Bane says  after this ‘You fight like a younger man with nothing held back; admirable but mistaken.’ Bane therefore tells Batman why he has lost the fight. When your opponent is close to being vanquished you are allowed to condescend when you speak to them thereby making them cognizant of their inferiority. Batman resorts to his last opportunity for survival when he switches off the lights; this weapon would normally befuddle ordinary opponents and so he hopes that Bane will begin to panic. Bane has all bases covered however when he says ‘Oooh so you think darkness is your ally? I was born in it, molded by it. I never saw the light until I was a already a man and by then it was nothing to me but BLINDING.’ He catches Batman by the neck and gives him a mighty  punch to the chest that sends Bruce Wayne tumbling to the ground in ignominy. Bane continues while he does this ‘The shadows betray you because they belong to me.’ He punches the mask of the batman five times and we see and hear it crack under the pressure. This is what the joker could not do with all his charisma. The final nail is hammered when Bane says ‘I will show you where I have made my home whilst preparing to bring (true) justice (here he receives the detonator) and then I will break you.’ Batman, looking up amidst the water pouring from above, realizes that Bane and his mercenaries are located beneath Wayne tower particularly the division of applied sciences which he was so desperate to keep out of the hands of his enemies. Bane sets off the explosives and we see the tumbler crash to ground from above ‘Your precious armory gratefully accepted,’ says Bane ‘We will need it.’

Batman gives his last gasp and raises himself up and Bane looks on in false astonishment when he says ‘ Aah yes I was wondering which would break first: your spirit or your body.’ He lays Batman low with a knee to the abdomen, after another wild swing, and a fist to the face that sends him crashing to the ground. Bane then lifts the body of the Batman in the air over his head and then drops him on his knee thereby breaking his back. Bane then removes the mask and Selina Kyle cannot believe as evidenced by her reaction.

Bane completely unmasks the Batman and  so exposed all that made him sublime. As the Nolan batman trilogy is the most significant from a superhero perspective this fight is a significant movie moment.