Contains Spoilers for Detective Comics #1041.

One of Batman’s greatest nemeses – Bane – is making a return, and it’s not in the w ay fans may expect. Bane served Batman his greatest defeat when he broke the Dark Knight’s back, but is currently dead in the comics, leaving fans to wonder if they will ever see the massive masked man again. Writer James Tynion IV has been hinting that Bane will be making a return – but it’s likely not in the way fans expect.

Gotham City was changed forever during the events of A-Day, when Arkham Asylum – where many of Batman’s villains are held – was destroyed. Some of the villains were confirmed to have escaped, while others were confirmed to be dead. The root cause of Arkham Asylum’s destruction has been revealed to be Joker Toxin. And, while James Tynion IV has been setting up Vengeance (Bane’s daughter) as his replacement, the writer has also been dropping hints on his Substack that the poison-fueled villain is not gone from the world of DC Comics forever. So, this raises the question: what has become of Bane?

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The answer to where Bane fans can see him next is two-fold. In Detective Comics #1041, readers see the survivor of a mysterious parasitic infection – a reporter named Deb Donovan – hot on the trail of her next story. She visits the mortuary, where she is shown Bane’s corpse. This means that readers will certainly not see Bane alive and well anytime soon, as once the infected die, they have been staying dead. However, that does not mean it’s the end for Bane. The Deb Donovan story serves as the build-up for DC’s Task Force Z #1, which is a bit of a horror take on the expendable team concept. The solicits for Task Force Z #2 have been announced and, while the text teases the return of a former Suicide Squad member, more interesting is that the cover reveals that Bane is back and is a zombie now.

The cover of Task Force Z #2 is definitely exciting, with a zombified Bane getting up close and personal with the reader. Few characters ever stay truly dead in comics, and it would seem that Bane is no exception to the rule. However, fans were likely not expecting him to return as a zombie. Still, a zombie Bane allows Vengeance to spread her wings as a villain and perhaps become a great threat in her own right.

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No one really saw zombie Bane coming, but Bane is entirely too important of a character in the Batman mythos to remain a zombie (or dead) forever. The Task Force Z event will certainly change the way Gotham – and the rest of the DC Universe – views Bane and many other heroes and villains, but will things return to the status quo after a while? Only time will tell on that front. Still, a zombie take on Bane is a unique one that will hopefully make Bane fans happy. Task Force Z #2 will be out in November. Detective Comics #1041 is available now.

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About The Author


Lauren Hitzhusen
(54 Articles Published)

Screen Rant comics editor Lauren Hitzhusen read her first comic at age 16 and took her high school senior photos in the graphics novel section of Borders (yes, seriously). It was truly love at first panel. A graduate of NYU’s Masters of Publishing Science program, she knew comics was the industry for her. She is a former assistant comics editor and has worked a variety of publishers in a freelance capacity. She has a passion for all-ages comics, and frequents conventions in search of the next good story (and old issues of Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen).

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