The bane of someone’s existence and their doomsday makes anyone’s life a struggle. When their purpose is just that, they become a true villain. Batman and Superman are highly aware of this. Bane and Doomsday came along and instantly rose up the rankings of their respected rouge’s gallery. Not only that, they shot up the ranks of DC infamy. These are villains that gave the two most respected characters in DC every type of trouble. While the Man of Steel and The Dark Knight have a healthy list of villains, Bane and Doomsday are the two that force the heroes to use the utmost of caution. Because more than any other villain, Bane and Doomsday are the ones that could finish the job. While Batman and Superman are perfect reflections of each other, Bane and Doomsday are straight out overlooked in how perfectly they mirror each other. They serve as great villains to iconic heroes. They both share the same role, the same goal. Perhaps, fundamentally, the same character?
Both debuted in the early 1990’s and wasted no time in introducing themselves to Superman and Batman. Both debuted in storylines that are famous in Superman’s and Batman’s lore. So famous, they have been adapted into other mediums multiple times. From the start, Bane and Doomsday let it know quickly that they were going to be a problem. They were. Doomsday came across the Justice League first and just on his own, was too much for them. Bane was on a mission from hell to get to Batman, to which he did and stamped his legacy. When Batman and Superman clashed with Bane and Doomsday respectfully, they knew it was a different form of enemy.
Even Doomsday’s and Bane’s origins reflect each other pretty well. Doomsday is a Kryptonian, born during an era when the planet was primitive and the environment was harsh. He was a science experiment to discover how to create the perfect life form. Just as an infant he was casted out to Krypton’s harsh environment to try to survive. Being a young science project, Doomsday was fated to die and die and die over again. But each time he fell to the environment, he resurrected. And each time, immune to how he died. Eventually, through many deaths, Doomsday matured and grew stronger each time. So strong that one of the very few people that can match his physicality is Superman. But each fight, Doomsday grows stronger and more of a problem for the Man of Steel.
Bane himself went through a hellish environment when he was young. That place being a prison. Unfortunately, he was born in the prison. Survival was part of everyday life. The prison was obviously filled with the worst of the worst. In order to make it to adulthood, Bane had to adapt. But his adaption called for him to adapt like a predator. He learned how to fight, strategize, and grow more aggressive. This helped him make it to adulthood and make the prison fear him, instead of the other way around. That led him to seek out the apex in his eyes which was none other than Batman. He sought the Bat and wanted to prove to himself, that he is better than Batman in every way that Batman attacks an enemy. Bane was able to out maneuver, out physical and out strategize the Dark Knight. That instantly made Batman realize, that Bane is an enemy like one he hasn’t crossed. Quickly became a lethal enemy for the Dark Knight.
The legacy of Bane and Doomsday is the same. These characters, to some extent, drive some fear into Batman and Superman. When they see their villains, they know it will be a true fight for survival. Bane and Doomsday have made it a career to thrash Batman and Superman around. And that’s known. They made their imprint of the heroes instantly. The seed of fear was quickly established because what they did sent waves across the DC universe and the fandom. When Bane first clashed with Batman, it was obvious Batman was outmatched. Bane quickly got the upper hand. And once he did, he never settled, he couldn’t settle. When he finished Batman, it was a moment that is iconic in the world of comic books. Bane lifted Batman above his head, slammed him down over his knee and snapped Batman’s back. The moment where he broke the bat. The moment is so famous, stories that contain Bane make reference toward it. With Doomsday, his story with Superman is similar. Not only is Doomsday able to take on Superman’s attacks, but give it back in a much more aggressive and stronger doses. Superman was outmatched quickly. Doomsday’s raw, primitive, and destructive strength was becoming too much for Superman to handle. Superman was feeling the effects of the fight while Doomsday seemed unbothered. Superman had one option; let out his true strength to only drive Doomsday to do what he is infamously known for. Superman’s vented out power led Doomsday to kill him. The death that shook the DC universe. These two villains instantly left a memorable legacy right when they entered the scene. They did it by going after the two biggest heroes in DC, gave them a hell of fight of survival and did something that villains in the past couldn’t; outright defeat Batman and Superman.
These two brutish villains are iconic villains to Batman and Superman. Their own history, their own legacies are closely tied to the Dark knight and Superman. However, even though they achieved the same goal, Bane and Doomsday are seen as being separated by some distance. But that shouldn’t really be the case. These two characters are more related than another Batman/Superman villain pairing which is The Joker and Lex Luthor. Bane and Doomsday did something that The Joker and Luthor couldn’t and can’t. That’s thrashing Batman and Superman around. And demolishing them. Their bloodlust for Batman and Superman link Bane and Doomsday a lot closer than fans realize.
