Bane Enters the Ring was the forty-seventh overall story published in DC Comics' Batman '66 title. The story was initially published in Digital Issues #65 and #66, and reprinted in Print Issue #27, with a further reprint in Volume 5 of the Compiled Volume series.
Plot Summary[]
"Bane Enters the Ring"[]
After confronting the Riddler while he was stealing a crystal skull at an antique store, Batman and Robin meet Commissioner Gordon, Chief O'Hara and Batgirl at Gordon's office where they see an article about Bane attending a wrestling match on Friday night in the Gotham Times Newspaper.
Attending the wresting match, Batman, Robin and Batgirl spot Riddler acting as Bane's corner man. During Bane's match, the Riddler gives Bane a drinking flask filled with a formula that made Bane stronger, causing him to win one of his rounds with a competitor. When Batman dove into the ring, Bane easily defeated him with a clothes-line punch and beats him with a knockout punch after Batman failed to defeat him. When Robin and Batgirl tried to hold back Bane with their Batropes, he easily knocked them out. Picking up Batman with both hands, Bane breaks his back on his knee, much to the delight of Riddler.
Later, Bane, his henchmen and Riddler arrived at Mexico with the cystal skull and took over Skull City. Meanwhile, Batman, Robin and Batgirl travelled to Mexico in the Batboat. It was revealed that Batman had secretly placed a Batarang in the back of his utility belt, which saved his spine from being broken.
At Skull City, Gordon and O'Hara were captured, along with the villagers, by Bane and Riddler after hearing Batgirl's voice on Gordon's radio. Arriving in Skull City, Batman, Robin and Batgirl followed the tracer they placed on O'Hara and found Gordon, O'Hara and the villagers locked in their cell. The Mayor of Skull City explains to Batman that after he was imprisoned after he accidentally smashed the original crystal skull, and the current one contains an elixir that gave Bane his great power, which lasts only for a few minutes after drinking it.
While Robin and Batgirl free the captives, Batman goes to confront Bane in the wrestling ring. As Bane challenges anyone for the first round, Batman reveals himself, much to Bane and Riddler's shock and after Batman revealed how he survived Bane's backbreaking move, he tosses a Bat-Muzzle onto Bane's face, preventing him from drinking any more crystal skull serum.
After a long fight, Batman finally defeats Bane, while Riddler gets apprehended, leaving Bane to get apprehended by Skull City's luchadores, as the villagers celebrate their freedom.
Trivia[]
- Bane breaking Batman's back is a reference to Batman: Knightfall and the movie The Dark Knight Rises.