Batman: 15 greatest Batman movie villains of all time
By Mark Lynch
15. Bane (Batman and Robin)
Actor: Jeep Swenson
Batman and Robin is looked at as one of the worst Batman projects of all time. It would be difficult to find someone who enjoyed George Clooney as Batman (even though he was a decent Bruce Wayne). However, no matter how bad the movie was (and it was bad), nothing screamed “WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?!” more than Jeep Swenson in the awful Bane costume.
I try to find the good in characters and movies, but nothing comes to mind when this version of Bane is brought up. He was just deplorable. While, he wasn’t to blame, there aren’t any redeeming qualities.
The biggest tragedy here is that he wasn’t the Bane we deserved. He was just a bodybuilder in a costume who barely talked. He grunted and made inaudible sounds more than anything. The Bane from the comic books (and later in Dark Knight Rises) talks a lot and is very eloquent and persuasive. He wouldn’t blindly follow Poison Ivy. I’d wager that her hypnotic kiss or fragrances wouldn’t work on him either.
We got some random goon who just happened to be strong after an experiment and some steroids. It was disappointing right from the beginning. The terrible mask and drawn on veins didn’t help their cause either. Call him anything else and change the costume and no one would have cared.
Memorable moment: Dying.