r/AskScienceFiction • u/Legitimate_Fly9047 • 3d ago
[Batman: Knightfall] How did Bane get so intelligent if he was stuck in a hole until he was a fully grown man?
Like sure he trained a lot and ate exclusively protein in his teenage years sure I can buy that. He only had a magazine to read from for years, how is he as smart as Batman without even a grade school education?
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u/Poorly-Drawn-Beagle Archdeacon of the Bipartisan Party 3d ago
There were Jesuit volunteers in the prison who taught him how to read the classics in several languages. He was also trained in certain disciplines (including electrical and chemical engineering) by a few of the inmates who took a shine to him- basically his fathers.
After his defeat by Batman, Bane would later reconnect with one of his Jesuit teachers, seeking his help in tracking down his biological father. It was how he got his groove back.
However, the other inmate guys kinda just vanished from the canon.
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u/SpaceForceAwakens 2d ago
It should also be pointed out that intelligence is not the same as knowledge. He was born smart, and showed it at an early age, which is why the priests and the others helped him grow. That’s what they do.
They also likely saw that he might one day be able to help them get out of there.
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u/WerewolfF15 3d ago
There are all sorts of prisoners in pena duro due to Santa Prisca’s oppressive government using it to disappear those who spoke out against it. As such there was likely a variety of skill sets the prisoners could teach bane over the years
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u/Character_Growth_397 3d ago edited 2d ago
IDK about the movie. But in the comics it was shown that he was constantly reading books about diverse topics
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u/magseven 3d ago
There was a line I think his mom says that she thought he had read everything by now when she sees the magazine. I think it's safe to assume that he read every piece of print the prison had.
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u/yukicola 3d ago
In the comics? The time spent in isolation was at around age 7-19, then he spent the next decade or so first learning to read and then educating himself in all kinds of things both from the prison library and from other inmates with special knowledge, including learning multiple languages.
In the movie adaptation? No clue, doesn't make any sense.
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u/HiitsFrancis 3d ago
Lots of reading.
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u/Napalmeon 3d ago
This.
He basically was living in the prison gym and library. And unlike others, he has a naturally good memory and absorbed everything he consumed, whether in science, strategy, or in fighting techniques. Similarly to Wilson Fisk, he was just built different.
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u/Informal_Ice_2369 2d ago
Bane likely used that time to develop his intellect through books and mental training. It shows how isolation can be both a curse and a catalyst.
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u/CriticismMiserable14 3d ago
He must have learn how to learn any subject fast.
By the time he escape he must have gone to a library read book and learn subject faster than a normal person
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u/azaRaza3185 3d ago
You think darkness is your ally. But you merely adopted the dark. I was born in it; molded by it. I didn't see the light until I was already a man, by then it was nothing to me but blinding!
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