Heroes_Batman_Knightfall
- soshruggedarlas
- 7 hours ago
- 6 min read
My favorite hero (or anti-hero depending on your perspective) of all time is Batman. He's moody, edgy, flawed, and has created some of the most iconic comic book villains of all time. When I was first getting into comics as a kid I would often read forgettable 3-comic short story stints, picking up what I could with spare change from the grocery store magazine rack when my mom was checking out. Even then I loved reading about a human with no powers (other than extreme wealth) duking it out with the criminally insane of Arkham Asylum. As I got older and started making my own money I'd spend hours at local card and comic shops, places I never got to experience as a broke kid growing up. One day I stumbled upon a set of Batman comics all wrapped up nicely for 10 bucks, the stack was thick and it seemed like a steal. As I got home and unwrapped the set to begin reading I could smell the pages, a smell of old paper and settled ink, and I remember the iconic look of Kelley Jones Batman.
The Knightfall saga engulfed me I was dying to talk to any and everyone about it, though unfortunately many of my co-workers at the time had real adult hobbies, not collecting comics. I was left to my own devices mulling over what I had read and craving more. I spent so much time afterwards flipping through swap meet comic boxes, dollar bins, anywhere that had comics to try and collect the Knightquest tie-ins (which by the way spanned so many different series it was ridiculous). The Knightfall story arc quickly became and endured as one of my Batman favorites (at some point I'll do a blog on the "Venom" Legends of the Dark Kight arc which I love for so many reasons). Watching Bane "break the bat" was brutal and calculated, the systematic dismantling of Batman as a an invincible mythological hero to the physical decimation of body was "chef's kiss" hero storytelling.
When I read years later that Christopher Nolan was reading the Knightfall arc to prep for his final Dark Knight film "Rises" my expectations skyrocketed. I will save my opinions on that movie and the series for another day, but as for me and many who loved the comics my expectations were dashed. I crawled back into my own Batcave defeated by my own hopes and desires of seeing a true Bane. A Bane to existence, in all his towering brutality break the symbol of justice and take ownership of the night.
Alright let's get to what we came here for, a review of the DCU animated film Batman: Knightfall Part 1. What DC lacks in live action, I believe they make up for in the animated films they release. Knightfall animated tucked the comics into a neat box that's easy to digest without making drastic unnecessary changes to the storyline. The comic reading order for the arc often suggests reading the Sword of Azrael and the Prelude to Knightfall which includes the Vengeance of Bane.
Azrael is introduced in the three comic storyline Sword of Azrael, as Bane's origins of growing up in the Pena Duro prison on Santa Prisca is introduced in the 1993 Vengeance of Bane comic. The film tidies these portions of the prelude into the first 20 minutes of the films. Starting with Jean Paul slicing and burning his way through some dock yard thugs to watching Bane's childhood evolve within the confines of Santa Prisca. The comic prelude also includes a portion of storyline where Bane confronts Killer Croc, breaking both his arms, and inadvertently encountering Jean Paul Valley acting as Batman.
KK, so in Knightfall animated Part 1 there is no show down between Killer Croc and Bane unfortunately, but the rest of the story flows very similarly to the comics. Instead of Bane having a crew to help him in his task of taking down the Bat like he has in the comics, he is a lone wolf. This adaptation coincides with the character building the film expresses throughout Bane's childhood in Pena Duro as his mother expresses any assistance is weakness if accepted. As another Bane famously says "If you have to beg for mercy you are not strong enough to deserve it" Darth Bane.
Bane's motivations are also different between the film and the comics. In the comics Bane nearly dies and while in a coma he faces and defeats fear, which appears to him as a bat. When a fellow inmate tells Bane later on of Gotham and the Batman, Bane feels he must destroy Batman as he has his fears (which are apparently Bat related?). The film cleverly updates his motivations to be a lot less coincidental. In the film Bane is given a magazine about Gotham and it's most powerful proprietor Thomas Wayne. Bane obsesses over the magazine for years using Thomas Wayne's success and power as a motivator to survive the prison he was born into. When he eventually makes his way to Gotham he is disgusted at what it has become. A city he longed for, full of petty criminals, but also weak victims who rely on Batman for saving. He despises Batman and Bruce Wayne as the reason for allowing such weakness to take root and destroy the once great city. I believe this change to motivations to be an upgrade for the character and his intensity, and am excited to see how it plays out in the next parts of the films.
I love the fight scenes in the animated film as well as keeping the Kelley Jones-esque design for Batman throughout the movie. I think it pays homage to the beloved comic arc, and as being a fan it made me feel seen and validated (like these guys get it). Bane is absolutely brutal in the film as well, expect lots of bare handed skull crushing. I just imagine the sound guy felt like Gallagher smashing watermelons to get just the right amount of crunch and squish sound for each of the scenes.
Film has limitations though, and we are not able to see all of Batman's encounters recapturing his Rogues Gallery of villains. Understandably, the film streamlines the foes Batman faces from the comics into key figures and points. The film does include Scarecrow who, with a dose of fear toxin, forces Batman to face his greatest failure, the death of Jason Todd. The film culminates at Wayne's Manor, as does the comics, with Bane injuring Alfred and Tim Drake, then obliterating the already worn-down Batman. The beat down ultimately ending in the iconic "Bane breaking Batman's back" and leaving him a paraplegic. The fight is nasty, and it really shows that Batman is no match for Bane's awesome power. It highlights that Batman has also been defeated mentally as he crashes into the case holding Jason Todd's Robin outfit and expressing how he wishes Bane would just kill him.
After breaking Batman in two, Bane carries him into Gotham for further dismantling of the myth of the invincible bat that Batman has worked so hard to craft. In the comics Batman is thrown down to the masses of a crowded shopping center to signify to the people of Gotham their protector has been defeated. In the film Bane is a little more calculating. After setting the GCPD on fire; with GCPD, fire crews, and news crews all culminating on the chaotic scene; Bane climbs atop the building while all of Gotham watches and throws Batman down on top of the lit Bat Symbol. The symbol projects, as Batman's broken unmoving body lays on top of it, a shattered and tatterd Batman into the cloudy night. A sky and symbol that meant help might be on the way before, now signals the defeat of a hero.
I loved it, I think it turned out great and most definitely recommend taking the time to watch it to other fans. The writers did a great job parsing about a years worth of comics into an hour and a half animated. I liked the decision to change Bane's motivations; and am still hopeful with upcoming parts to the series to see some of the Rogue's Gallery favorites in action. 4 out of 5 Batarangs! I can't wait to see Jean Paul's mechanized Batsuit and see how the series continues to unfold.
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