TOP 100 COMIC BOOK BATTLES: # 42

42. Batman vs. Bane (Knightfall)

You really have to give Bane some credit - if your sole purpose is just to beat the crap out of Batman, Bane did it perhaps the best way you could go about doing it.

First, Bane tested Batman for a little while, just gauging what kind of shape Batman was in, etc.

Then he broke almost all of Batman’s Rogues Gallery out of Arkham Asylum and forced Batman to capture them all within, like, a week’s time.

Then, when Batman was roundly exhausted by these battles, Bane shows up and takes on Batman.

Now, you certainly don’t have to admire the fact that this is not honorable in the least bit, but hey, if all you want to do is beat up Batman - this is the way to go.

So in Batman #497, by Doug Moench and Jim Aparo (whose eyes probably popped out of his skull when he saw the royalties from this issue), Bane does just that - beat the hell out of Batman.

And, for the coup de grace, he breaks Batman’s spine over his knee.

But as Batman mentioned just this past issue of Batman - that didn’t stop Bruce Lee, and it didn’t stop Batman (okay, his super-powered girlfriend, Ms. MacGuffin, certainly helped as well).