10 Most Tragic Batman Villains

On the surface, Bane strikes most readers as a simple bruiser, and some adaptations of this character have certainly done little to dispute this. However, runs like Tom King's Batman and Gail Simone's Secret Six have shown much deeper layers to - and a heart wrenching tragedy beneath - this villain.

Bane's father was an infamous criminal, so infamous in fact that when he died, it was decided that his son - who had just been born around the same time - should serve out his father's sentence. And so Bane's most formative years were spent behind the walls of Santa Prisca's supermax prison, Pena Duro.

When he became a young man, hardened and skilled from having to fend for himself, Bane was then pumped full of the experimental chemical known as Venom, turning him into the superpowered mercenary we know today.

Though few runs, like the aforementioned Simone and King's, have actually opted to - ya know - actually explore the mental and emotional ramifications of such an upbringing, those that have paint a picture of a man not so much broken as being refused the chance to even try being whole.