Gotham Announces Debut of Bane

Gotham is already halfway through its fifth and final season, and new details have been revealed on the segment scheduled to air March 21. Appropriately entitled “I Am Bane,” the episode will feature the first appearance of the Batman mega-villain Bane. In the comics, Bane is famous for breaking Batman’s back in the 1993 comic book series Batman: Knightfall. Bane was famously brought to life in 2012’s The Dark Knight Rises, played by Tom Hardy. Gotham’s version of Bane will be played by actor Shane West. West has played an early version of Bane in several episodes of this season. West’s character, Eduardo Dorrance, is a special-ops agent and former friend of Captain James Gordon.

In an interview with ComicBook.com, West talked Gotham’s approach to Bane. While appreciating both Tom Hardy’s version of Bane and the comic book version of the character, West tells that Gotham writers wanted to make their own imprint on the character. West says the show does this through the purpose of the character’s mask. In The Dark Knight Rises, Bane’s mask acts as a way for the character to manage pain from injuries he endured while in prison. In the comics, Bane’s mask is used to control the injection of Venom into the villain’s muscles. Venom is a type of drug that acts as a steroid, vastly increasing Bane’s strength. Gotham’s version of Bane’s mask acts as a life support system. As seen in an earlier episode, the character received the mask after being seriously injured in a fight with Gordon. Nearing death, Dorrance was given the mask by Theresa Walker, a corrupt government official with evil plans for Gotham City.

The show is clearly pulling out all the stops for its final season when it comes to introducing Batman’s extensive rogues’ gallery of villains. Last week saw the introduction of the psychotic Ventriloquist and his dummy Scarface, as well as Killer Croc. The current season has also seen series regular Selina Kyle get her Catwoman powers and promises a fully realized take on Batman archnemesis the Joker by the series finale.

Gotham airs Thursdays on Fox.