12 Most Iconic Battles In Comics
6. Batman vs. Bane
From: Batman #497
There were no shortage of shocking, status quo destroying moments in comics during the 1990s, but one moment that has made a lasting impression was when Batman took on the man-monster known as Bane during the first third of the long-running Knightfall storyline.
In the lead-up to this rather one-sided confrontation, Batman was run ragged when he attempted to single-handedly deal with a prison outbreak at Arkham (caused by Bane). Smelling blood in the water, in Batman #497, Bane confronts Bruce Wayne at his home and beat him from stem to sternum, culminating with the now iconic breaking of the bat sequence where Bane picks up Batman like a child and cracks him over his knee.
The image of Bane breaking Batman was so powerful and haunting, it was adapted for the third part of Christopher Nolans Batman trilogy, The Dark Knight Rises. In the comic, Wayne remained on the shelf for more than a year, as the psychologically unstable Jean-Paul Valley, aka Azrael, took his place and introduced the criminals of Gotham to a meaner, more sadistic version of the Dark Knight.