Bane injects himself with Venom.
Venom was a top-secret super steroid, developed in Project Gilgamesh, that granted super-strength and increased physical durability to its user. However, it had addictive effects, and the user must use it periodically or suffer long periods of physical weakness. Likewise, a constant infusion is needed to sustain the effect for long periods of time, if the supply of Venom is halted, the user immediately returns to normal. Excess injection of Venom at once will cause pain to the user and risk death. Long-term usage will cause significant body degradation until the user's system fatally collapses. At that point, the only thing capable of sustaining the user's body is Venom itself. The potency of Venom is such that even decades after development there is still no drug capable of rivalling Venom in power. According to Batman, Bane is the only one who knows how to manufacture Venom since he stole the formula after his escape from Project Gilgamesh.
Eventually, Bane's extensive use of Venom took its toll on his body, rendering him completely incapacitated to the point where Venom was the only thing that could keep him alive. He had to entrust somebody to assist him. However, his assistant Jackson Chappell cashed in by making Venom inside small dermal patches called Slappers, which give a small adrenaline rush to the user and selling it on the street.
With Bane and Chappell no longer capable of action or communication, the formula has seemingly been lost permanently.
Sightings[]
Batman: The Animated Series
- "Bane"