Highlights

  • Fans are excited about the possibility of a reboot of the Arkham series, which could provide a fresh interpretation of the beloved Batman titles.
  • Bane's character in the Arkham games didn't fully capture his calculated true nature, as depicted in the comics and Tom King's run on Batman.
  • A future Arkham game could explore Bane's potential as a mastermind and a major antagonist, surpassing his previous role as a hulking, Venom-addicted monster.

Known for establishing a blueprint that titles like Insomniac's Spider-Man would build from afterward, Rocksteady's Batman: Arkham games brought a new level of immersion to the superhero fantasy that influenced the industry’s entire approach to third-person action. Given what has become a nearly decade-long hiatus, as the controversial likes of Gotham Knights and Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League have risen to fill the void, fans have begun to explore the merits of a possible Arkham reboot on current-generation tech.

It would seem that Rocksteady has moved on to expand its scope with the development of a Suicide Squad title, but the current atmosphere around that upcoming project has served to reveal the fondness that gamers still have for the studio's prolific Batman titles. There hasn't been any word of a new Arkham title, but this hasn't stopped fans from being excited at the prospect of a reboot that could see the series receiving a fresh interpretation. Batman's extensive rogues' gallery has been explored quite thoroughly in the span between Asylum and Arkham Knight, but a reset for the series could be a great opportunity to show players a different side to a highly underutilized villain: Bane.

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Arkham's Depiction of a Brutish Bane is Far From the Comics' Tom King Batman Run

Bane in Arkham Lacked His Calculated True Nature

As a villain who was introduced to match Batman's prowess and defeat him, Bane was always intended to be a legitimate threat. The Joker-centric Arkham games, however, would show Bane to be little other than a hulking, Venom-addicted beast of a man. Bane is heavily dependent on his signature drug for his immense power, relegating him to a minor role capabilities his capabilities in the source material.

Tom King’s Bane Reached Unprecedented Major Villain Status

The writer of the Batman comic series for several years beginning with the Rebirth era of DC in 2016, Tom King would reinvigorate the world of Gotham City by slowly setting up a huge arc with Bane at its center. Potentially inspired by the scale operated on by Bane in The Dark Knight Rises, King's run culminated in the City of Bane storyline that saw him taking over Gotham as a ruthless warlord that matched, or even surpassed, Batman in terms of both might and intelligence.

Speaking about the conclusion of his run's earlier "I am Bane" arc in an interview with Comicbook.com, King explained what he saw in the character:

"Batman defeats Bane with this big headbutt, right? And it leads up to this big moment, everyone's like 'no, no, you built up this villain, so you can't just beat him with a head butt.' Yes, exactly. Exactly. The people were seeing exactly what they're supposed to be seeing, because of course this wasn't the end of the story. This was Bane planning. You could beat up that sort of muscle bound whoever with a headbutt, but you can't beat up the Bane that we have in this book with that. No, that's not how it works. This guy's planning, this guy's six steps ahead."

A New Take on Bane Has Major Arkham Reboot Potential

Bane is More Mastermind Than Venom-Addicted Monster

It would be a huge progression for his character to be elevated to a proper main role, and Bane's true nature was already hinted at in Arkham Origins. Before he succumbs to his experimental TN-01 Venom, Bane is shown to truly be a threat to Batman through his manipulative scheming and dealings with other villains like the Joker. A genius just like Bruce Wayne, Arkham Origins' Bane was actually able to deduce his secret identity and attack the Batcave directly. If he was able to get so close to destroying Batman's life when he wasn't even the primary antagonist, there's no telling how far Bane could push him if he gets a chance in a future Arkham game.