Batman: 80 Greatest Ever Moments

3. Bane Breaks The Bat - Knightfall

Knightfall Bane Breaks The Bat
DC Comics

It's perhaps little wonder that when a character courts as much controversy as Batman that one of his all-time greatest moments would also be one of his most shocking.

The nineties were a... interesting - shall we say - time for the comics industry. The speculator boom was in full effect, Marvel were leading the way with X-Men, and Image arrived to challenge the dominance of the Big Two comics publishers. Even though the decade brought with it huge change, however, Batman largely remained oblivious to external influences, with 1993's Knightfall contributing yet another seminal moment in the character's history.

Masterminded by a smorgasbord of Batman legends, Knightfall pushed Bruce Wayne to the brink and had new villain Bane tip him over by breaking the Dark Knight in two - quite literally.

From then on in, Knightfall threw the entire rulebook out the window, introducing a new Batman and a new challenge for the Dark Knight to deal with - what do you do when your identity is also a mantle, and how would others go about honouring it?

[EP]

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Resident movie guy at WhatCulture who used to be Comics Editor. Thinks John Carpenter is the best. Likes Hellboy a lot. Can usually be found talking about Dad Movies on his Twitter at @EwanRuinsThings.

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I like my comics like I like my coffee - in huge, unquestionably unhealthy doses.