Why was Batman defeated by Bane in their first battle in The Dark Knight Rises?

Yeah, I know that some people already know the answer to the thread's title, but I recently read The Dark Knight Rises novel by author Greg Cox (which I highly recommend reading) in conjunction with rewatching the movie, and found that there's a lot to write about why Batman got demolished by Bane in their first fight, but managed to win when they fought for the second time at the end of TDKR. I wll be using TDKR novel in conjunction with the movie in this in depth analysis. The process of trying to format this anaylsis on KMC has been a pain in the ass, so if there's something off about the links or anything, just tell me and I'll get a mod to edit it for me. I'll start by talking about their first clash:

Batman vs Bane Round 1

Here is the novel adaptation's description of the the fight, it's so long it too much to quote here due to this site's constraints, so I had to link it:

The Dark Knight Rises Novel Description of Batman vs Bane Round 1

First and foremost, I'll start with the fact that Bruce was suffering from a lot of problems with his physical conditioning. Bruce as of TDKR, is a shell of his former self in terms of physical conditioning because he lacks the youthful attributes that his younger self had in Batman Begins circa 2007 and The Dark Knight circa 2008. Bruce as of those two movies was only 29-31 years old. TDKR however, takes place in 2016 because it starts 8 years after Batman's last public sighting i.e. end of TDK circa 2008. So Bruce as of TDKR is 39 years old, pushing 40, he's getting pretty old. A 29-31 year old man is much closer to being in the prime of his youth than a 39 year old man because the cardiovascular system for instance, doesn't function as efficiently because the structures of the heart become more rigid as you get older.

But age in itself was not the only problem; Bruce is also badly out of shape because he's been through an 8 year hiatus, a hiatus where he hasn't been exercising to keep himself in shape, but had just been a recluse in Wayne Manor, relying on a cane for his bad leg, while his body just atrophied. He was suffering the consequences of the constant wear and tear that he subjected his body to in his career as Batman:

Doctor: I've seen worse cartilage in knees.

Bruce: That's good.

Doctor: No, that's because there is no cartilage in your knee, and not much of any use in your elbows or your shoulders. Between that and the scar tissue on your kidneys, the residual concussive damage to your brain tissue, and the general scarred-over quality of your body, I cannot recommend that you go heliskiing, Mr. Wayne.

Source — The Dark Knight Rises.

“I’ve seen worse cartilage in knees,” the doctor commented, examining an X-ray.

Bruce sat on an examination table in Gotham General Hospital. It was already dark outside, but Alfred had managed to arrange an after-hours appointment. The Wayne name still opened doors in Gotham, no matter what the latest financial reports said.

“That’s good,” Bruce responded absently, only half-listening. He had other things on his mind.

“Not really,” the doctor said. “That’s because there is no cartilage in your knee. And not much of any use in your elbows and shoulders. Between that and the scar tissue on your kidneys, residual concussive damage to your brain tissue, and the general scarred-over quality of your body, I simply cannot recommend that you go heli-skiing.” He tsked at the map of old scars criss-crossing Bruce’s bare back and chest. “About the only part of your body that looks healthy is your liver, so if you’re bored, I recommend you take up drinking, Mr. Wayne.”

“I’ll take that under advisement, doctor.” — The Dark Knight Rises Novel.

He has concussive brain damage, has no cartilage in his knees, barely any cartilage left in his elbows and shoulders, has scar tissue on his kidneys and scars all over his internal body components. This obviously has something to do to with his experiences of crime fighting taking a toll on his body e.g. falling onto a car after being set on fire by Scarecrow, falling off a building in the middle of a fight with ninjas, falling onto a car with Rachel, getting stabbed by the Joker twice, his fall at the end of TDK making him limp and so on. Simply being repeatedly hit in the head alone will cause long term brain damage, that's why so many people playing American football, ice hockey and rugby for example are documented with chronic traumatic encephalopathy, and Batman puts himself in far more dangerous situations than mere sports, which adds further insult to injury. Not to mention, his muscle memory of the League of Shadows training would also be lagging because he's stopped training for 8 years, so he's out of shape and out of practise. Both Alfred and Bane point out how Bruce is a mere shell of his former self:

Bruce: Bane was a member of the League of Shadows?

Alfred: And then he was excommunicated. And any man who is too extreme for Ra's Al Ghul is not to be trifled with.

Bruce: I didn't realize I was known for "trifling" with criminals.

Alfred: That was then. And you can strap up your leg and put your mask back on, but that doesn't make you what you were.

Source — The Dark Knight Rises.

Alfred: You see only one end to your journey. Leaving is all I have to make you understand, you're not Batman anymore.You have to find another way. You used to talk about finishing, about a life beyond that awful cave.

Source — The Dark Knight Rises.

Bane: Peace has costed you your strength. Victory has defeated you.

Source — The Dark Knight Rises.

Bane: You fight like a younger man, nothing held back. Admirable, but mistaken.

Source — The Dark Knight Rises.

The last statement from Bane is especially telling, because Batman in his first fight with Bane fights as though he's still got the stamina of younger man (i.e. his BB/TDK self) by aggressively, but recklessly unleashing everything he has at Bane by blindly bull rushing him, putting no thought into conserving his energy for the long run, so he exhausts himself out remarkably quickly. TDKR novel reinforces this:

"He hurled himself at his opponent, knocking him onto his back beneath the foaming waterfall, where Batman hammered his masked face again and again. Clear water cascaded over them, making the Dark Knight’s black armor gleam slickly. Any normal thug would already be out cold, but Bane just absorbed the blows until Batman took a moment to catch his breath.

He let up, just for a moment, and Bane’s brawny arms shot out like rockets, smashing Batman aside.

The mercenary rose to his feet.

“You fight like a younger man,” he said, his voice betraying no hint of the punishment he had received. “Nothing held back. No reserves.” He flexed his own muscles as he advanced. “Admirable. But mistaken.”

Batman was breathing hard. He realized Bane was right. Eight years of retirement had taken its toll on his endurance and reflexes. He wasn’t the same man who had defeated Rā’s al Ghūl nearly a decade ago. That Batman had just begun his career." — The Dark Knight Rises Novel.

What's interesting about how the novel conveys this is that it states that Batman "took a moment to catch his breath" and "let up, just for a moment," giving Bane the opportunity to knock Batman aside, and then Bane points out that that Batman is admirable, but mistaken for fighting like he's like a younger man with nothing held back and whatnot. Batman in response, is "breathing hard" which is more evidence that Bane is right because he has exhausted himself, and the OOU narrator of the novel reinforces all this by saying Batman "realized Bane was right" and expands upon that by saying that 8 years of retirement "had taken its toll" on his "endurance and reflexes" and to top that off, the novel says that Batman "wasn't the same man who had defeated Rā’s al Ghūl nearly a decade ago" because "That Batman had just begun his career." What's even more interesting is that the last two sentences make a direct comparison between TDKR Batman to the Batman "who had defeated Rā’s al Ghūl nearly a decade ago" and the "Batman had just begun his career" i.e. it's a comparison between TDKR Batman to Batman Begins Batman, because Batman Begins is blatantly obviously the movie where Bruce defeated Rā’s al Ghūl and had begun his career as Batman.

This will continue in part 2.

Part 2:

To put this more simply, TDKR Batman is far weaker than BB Batman because of inferior reflexes and endurance induced by 8 years of inactivity. It's also worth mentioning that TDKR Batman is wearing a different batsuit than BB Batman, the batsuit that Bruce wears in TDKR carries less weight than the batsuit that Bruce wore in BB, TDKR Batman's batsuit was designed to allow him to be lighter, faster and more agile than his previous batsuit, whilst also allowing him to be able to turn his neck independently of his torso. But despite all this, TDKR Batman's reflexes in combat context are not on par with BB Batman's reflexes, reflexes in combat context are fighting speed and reaction time, which means that Batman's reflexes had declined so much over the preceding 8 years of inactivity that the personalized functions of TDKR Bruce's batsuit i.e. being lighter and being able to turn his neck independently of his torso, just weren't good enough to compensate for how badly Batman's combat reflexes had declined. This puts BB Batman above TDKR Batman in terms of fighting speed and reaction time. So yeah, Batman was so badly out of shape that even wearing a much lighter and more flexible armor that allows him to turn his neck independently of his torso in contrast to his previous armor, just wasn't good enough for him to have as good reflexes of a version of Batman who wears a much heavier armor that doesn't allow him to able to turn his neck independently of his torso. The text also mentions Batman's endurance declining in conjunction with his reflexes due to the preceding 8 years of inactivity, which means that BB Batman has better stamina and durability than TDKR Bruce, ergo BB Batman would just longer in a fight without tiring out, and would also be able to withstand more punishment from Bane.

And keep in mind how the last two sentences do not make any kind of comparison between TDKR Batman to TDK Batman in any shape or form by saying something like "He wasn’t the same man who had battled the Joker and outwitted a swat team nearly a decade ago. That Batman had been active in the war against crime" for example, but rather makes a comparison between BB Batman and TDKR Batman which suggests that Batman was at his peak in Batman Begins rather than The Dark Knight when putting the text into perspective, which makes sense in the light of his feats given that he has better feats in Batman Begins than he does in The Dark Knight.

And that's just his physical conditoning. Batman also had a huge problem with his psyche, which was that he no longer feared death. Bruce no longer fears death he because he has fallen into the depths of depression over losing Rachel, losing Harvey Dent's sanity to the Joker and his failures of helping Gotham as Bruce Wayne, which causes him to stop caring about death, so he's subconsciously suicidal. Throughout the film, Bruce goes through a character arc where he relearns how to use fear to empower himself, specifically the fear of death. Batman was complacent and overconfident in his first clash with Bane because he understimated him, thinking that Bane was just a mere mercenary:

Alfred: I see from the television coverage that you got your taste for wanton destruction back.

Bruce: I retrieved this.

Alfred: Aren't the police supposed to be investigating them?

Bruce: They don't have the tools to analyse it.

Alfred: They would if you gave them to them.

Bruce: One man's tool is another man's weapon.

Alfred: In your mind, perhaps there aren't many things you can't turn into a weapon.

Bruce: Alfred enough! The police weren't getting it done.

Alfred: Perhaps they might have, if you hadn't made a sideshow of yourself.

Bruce: You thought I didn't have it in me!

Alfred: No you led a bloated police force on a merry chase, with a load of fancy new toys from Fox. What about when you come up against him? What then?

Bruce: I'll fight harder. I always have.

Alfred: Take a look: His speed, his ferocity, his training. I see the power of belief. I see the League of Shadows resurgent.

Bruce: You said he was excommunicated.

Alfred: By Ra’s al Ghul... Who leads him now?

Bruce: Ra’s al Ghul was the League of Shadows and I beat him, Bane is just a mercenary. We need to find out what he's up to.

Source — The Dark Knight Rises.

Alfred tries warning Bruce that Bane is not to be underestimated by showing him footage of Bane's fighting style as proof that he is the return of the League of Shadows, but Bruce doesn't take Alfred's warning seriously because he defeated Ra's al Ghul, the former League of Shadows, and just dismisses Bane as a mere mercenary. Bruce eventually realises that he has underestimated Bane when they finally clash for the first time:

"Hoping to buy some time, Batman plucked a handful of miniature flash-bangs from his Utility Belt and flung them at his pursuer. The charges went off like firecrackers, producing a disorienting barrage of sparks, noise, and smoke.

Yet Bane didn’t even flinch.“

Theatricality and deception are powerful agents,” he acknowledged, quoting the timeless wisdom of Rā’s al Ghūl. “To the uninitiated."

Alfred was right, Batman realized. This man was not to be underestimated. It’s going to take everything I have to beat him—if it’s even possible.

Determined to put Bane on the defensive, Batman lunged at him again, striking out with his fists and boots." — The Dark Knight Rises Novel.

Note that the novel says Batman "realised" that "Alfred was right," and in his internal thoughts he says "This man was not to be underestimated. It’s going to take everything I have to beat him—if it’s even possible" meaning that Batman wasn't taking Bane as seriously until he discovered that his theatrics didn't work on Bane. However, even when Batman took Bane more seriously by trying everything he had to beat him, he still lost because he had a death wish. Alfred, Bane and the blind prisoner in the pit recognise Bruce's non-existent fear of death:

Bruce: You're afraid that if I go back out there, I'll fail.

Alfred: No I'm afraid that you want to

Source — The Dark Knight Rises.

Bruce: Why didn't you just kill me?

Bane: You don't fear death, you welcome it. Your punishment must be more severe.

Source — The Dark Knight Rises.

Blind doctor: You do not fear death. You think this makes you strong. It makes you weak.

Bruce: How?

Blind doctor: How can you move faster then possible, fight longer then possible, without the most powerful impulse of the spirit? The fear of death.

Source — The Dark Knight Rises.

TDKR novel fleshes this out further, such as the scene that Alfred says that he's afraid that Bruce wants to fail:

"Bane was a member of the League of Shadows.”

“Until he was excommunicated,” Alfred said. “And a man considered too extreme for Rā’s al Ghūl is not to be trifled with.”

But Bruce refused to be intimidated.

“I didn’t know I was known for ‘trifling’ with criminals.”

“That was then,” Alfred said gravely. “And you can put the cowl back on, but it won’t make you what you were.”

"Which was?”

“Someone whose anger at death made him value all life,” the servant replied. “Even his own.”

My own life doesn’t matter, Bruce thought. Then he spoke. “If this Bane is all the things you say he is, then this city needs me.

“Yes,” Alfred seemed to agree. “Gotham needs Bruce Wayne. Your resources, your knowledge. Not your body—not your life. That time has passed.”

“I tried helping as Bruce Wayne,” the billionaire protested. “And I failed.”

Just ask Miranda Tate, he thought. But Alfred did not give in.“

You can fail as Bruce Wayne,” he said. “As Batman, you can’t afford to.”

“Is that what you’re afraid of?” Bruce asked indignantly. “That if I go back out there, I’ll fail?”

“No,” Alfred said. “I’m afraid you want to.” — The Dark Knight Rises Novel.

Just like in the movie, Alfred said that Bruce can put the batsuit back on, but it still won't make him what he once was, Bruce asks what Alfred meant, and Alfred's answer was Bruce's anger at death that made him value all life, including his own. Bruce in his internal thoughts shrugs it off, thinking that his own life doesn't matter. Alfred is talking specifically about Bruce's anger at death for taking his parents' lives, his anger at the criminal underworld for taking his parents away from him, his anger at the criminal underworld for taking the lives of innocent Gotham inhabitants to inculcate fear into others. A very fundamental part of what made Bruce become Batman in the first place was his anger towards Gotham's criminal underworld because a common thug named Joe Chill murdered his parents in front of him when he was only 8 years old. As Batman, Bruce was driven by fear and anger towards Gotham's criminal underworld. There's another instance in the novel of Alfred calling Bruce out on his self destructive mental state:

Part 3:

“You thought I didn’t have it in me anymore,” Bruce said.

Alfred returned the cape and cowl to the closet where they belonged. He wished he could lock them away for good.

“You don’t,” he said. “You led a bloated, overconfident police force on a merry chase with some fancy new toys from Fox.” He called Bruce’s attention to the ghastly security footage on the main monitor. “What about when you come up against him. What then?”

On the screen, Bane murdered a roomful of security guards with terrifying speed and brutality. His lethally effective fighting technique was eerily similar to Batman’s, but much more final. Bruce’s jaw tightened as he contemplated the footage.

“I’ll fight harder,” he said. “Like I always have.”

“When you had something to fight for,” Alfred argued. “What are you fighting for now? Not your life.”

Bruce frowned and moved to switch off the screen. Alfred stopped him." — The Dark Knight Rises Novel.

Alfred's dialogue about Bruce's anger at death and lack of conviction to fight for his life aren't included in the movie, they're only in the novel, but that's because one of the functions of novel adaptations of movies is to flesh out what's in the movie because movies can't spell everything out for us.

So not only is Bruce out of shape and out of practise, but he is also subconsciously suicidal. He's lost a specific source of power that was once his driving force as Batman.

Fear.

The fear of death.

Throughout his imprisonment in the pit, Bruce's back is eventually healed, when that happens he starts training his body in vigorous exercises so that he can finally get back in shape, doing pull ups and push ups.

The Dark Knight Rises - why build yourself?

TDKR novel expands upon this:

TDKR novel; Bruce workout passage 1

__

TDKR novel; Bruce workout passage 2

The novel states that Bruce "rebuilt his body" by doing pushups, "working until sweat dripped from his pale, unshaven face" and "pushed himself to his limits—and beyond" and "paused for a moment before trying for another fifty reps" and "pushed himself ever harder" but later decided to "accelerate his already-brutal exercise regime" with "endless pushups, squats, and stretches filled his every waking hour until he barely remembered to eat or sleep" and even describes it as "It was as if the League of Shadows was training him, all over again" which says a lot of how hard Bruce trained his body to get back in shape. Bruce was that motivated to get back in shape that he threw punches and kicks at empty air whilst imagining that Bane's face was his target. The novel also states that after making the climb to freedom, Bruce "looked as if he had been working out like an Olympic athlete" which suggests that he was in peak physical conditioning, at least for his age (i.e. 39):

“"Bruce bounded up the stairs, while Fox huffed and puffed behind him. After sneaking around Gotham all day, he was definitely feeling his age, unlike Bruce, who looked as if he had been working out like an Olympic athlete. A fresh leg brace, recovered from the bunker, meant he didn’t need to worry about his bum knee anymore, either." — The Dark Knight Rises Novel.

But it wasn't the fact that Bruce got back in shape that led to him escaping the pit. Bruce also relearned how to use fear to empower himself:

Blind Prisoner: You do not fear death. You think this makes you strong. It makes you weak.

Bruce: Why?

Blind Prisoner: How can you move faster than possible, fight longer than possible without the most powerful impulse of the spirit: the fear of death?

Bruce: I do fear death. I fear dying in here, while my city burns, and there’s no one there to save it.

Blind Prisoner: Then make the climb.

Bruce Wayne: [laughs] How?

Blind Prisoner: As the child did. Without the rope. Then fear will find you again.

Source — The Dark Knight Rises.

Bruce Wayne is afraid of bats, he decides to harness his fear and use it as a weapon. He witnessed his parents’ murder and has the fear that another child will experience the same trauma as he did, so he harnesses that fear into a symbol for justice in the form of the Batman. Everything he does is motivated by his fear, not just anger. The Bruce Wayne we see in The Dark Knight Rises is a shell of the man he used to be, he has forgotten the true source of where his power came from because he is subconsciously suicidal. When he becomes Batman again, he blindly rushes into a fight with Bane that he’s ill-prepared for and after losing that fight, he asks Bane why he didn’t just kill him, Bane's answer is Bruce's non-existent fear of death.

Throughout his imprisonment in the pit, the blind prisoner has been trying to explain to Bruce that the climb to freedom isn’t about physical strength, but rather the strength of the spirit. Bruce dismisses this, believing that if a child could make this climb, then there’s no reason he shouldn’t be able to. On his third attempt, Bruce listens to the blind prisoner and changes his strategy to the same strategy that the child used. Prior to this, Bruce had attempted the leap to freedom with a safety rope to keep him from falling to his death in case he fails to successfully make the leap, so he didn't have to fear falling to his death. In his third and final attempt, he decides to go without the rope, with no option but to succeed, thereby having the fear of falling to his death and the fear of having no chance to return to his city to save it from destruction. Bruce's fear is renewed as his strength and he successfully makes it across the chasm. But it's not just the fear of death and destruction of his city that motivates Bruce, his fear of bats also returns:

TDKR novel describes Bruce's third attempt at the climb quite beautifully:

TDKR Novel: Bruce's third attempt at the climb

After Bruce successfully makes the climb to freedom and returns to Gotham, he has a rematch with Bane, but unlike last time, Batman wins this rematch, because he's in much better physical shape, but also because he is fighting with far more conviction and determination:

Batman vs Bane Round 2

Here is the novel adaptation's description of the the fight, it's so long it too much to quote here due to this site's constraints, so I had to link it:

The Dark Knight Rises Novel Description of Batman vs Bane Round 2

The novel's description is quite interesting. When they begin their rematch, the novel says that Batman "fought back smartly, less recklessly than he had in the sewers" which suggests that this time, Batman put more thought into conserving his energy because he knows that he hasn't got the stamina of a younger man anymore, as opposed to how he quickly got exhausted by blindly using brute force to pummel Bane into submission in their previous battle. The novel expands upon this by saying Batman "ducked and weaved, evading the worst of Bane's blows, while throwing surgical jabs and strikes at Bane's sides" and delivered "a rabbit punch to his solar plexus was followed instantly by an elbow to his ribs" i.e. Batman takes a more measured and cautious approach by dodging Bane's attacks, whilst in turn using finesse to target vulnerable spots in Bane's body, as opposed how he exhausted himself by using brute force to pummel Bane into submission in their previous clash. Although Bane "absorbed the blows stoicly" since he was "no stranger to pain" he still "found himself impressed with Batman's skill and stamina, especially considering all that Bane had already done to him" and realised that Batman was "no ordinary foe" because he escaped the pit and "saw now Rā’s al Ghūl had seen in this man so many years ago" which is a far cry from how utterly unimpressed he was with Batman in their previous battle, where he effortlessly demolished him and broke his back.

Part 4:

Granted, the novel's description of Batman's rematch with Bane contradicts the choreography of their rematch in the movie quite significantly, but it's only the choreography that has been contradicted by the movie, that's it. Not to mention, Batman and Bane fight off screen for a total of 70 seconds, so it's perfectly plausible that Batman "ducked and weaved, evading the worst of Bane's blows, while throwing surgical jabs and strikes at Bane's sides" and delivered "a rabbit punch to his solar plexus was followed instantly by an elbow to his ribs" whilst they fought off screen, but the subtext more importantly - which is that Batman puts up a much better fight against Bane as a result of being in much better shape, being much more motivated and determined - isn't at odds with the movie because the movie doesn't tell us what Batman’s internal thoughts are, especially when Batman gains the upper hand shortly before even cutting the tubes of Bane's mask:

Batman targets Bane's mask

So yeah, either way, Bane got his ass kicked when Batman decided to put his hand down by fighting with actual conviction in both the movie and novel.

And before I finish, I'd like to add that Bane defeated Batman in their first clash by breaking his back and whatnot, was influenced by Batman Volume 1 Issue 497 not just because Bane breaks Batman's back in that story, but also because he defeated a Batman who wasn't at full strength to begin with because he was physically and mentally exhausted due to recently dedicating months of his time putting away all the escaped supervillains from Arkham Asylum, he was that exhausted from those gruelling tasks that he actually wanted to die during his clash with Bane in Wayne Manor.

Closing Statements:

Thanks for reading, hope people now understand Bruce's character arc in TDKR if they didn't understand, peace out.

Moved to the correct forum.

too long to read but I will say that Bruce was rusty in the first fight, also wasn't in the right frame of mind for the fight along with the fact that he didn't have the knowledge about banes mask either, notice when they fought the second time he went right for the mask and kept hitting the tubes til they broke

i have no idea. i did not write the script.. i did not make the movie.. your best bet is to use google or bing

Simply put he was weaker and out of shape when they first fought and didn’t know his weakened

Their second fight he trained hard, climbed that impossible wall and jump and knew his weakness

different mindsets. that's why.

catwomans magical vagina gave him power

Oh my, looks like someone has just a little too much time on their hands lol.

Are you the same dude at Comicvine who said Bale.Bats was a.match for Affleck bats?

Edit:, yes you are, the exact same username

Originally posted by HulkIsHulk
Are you the same dude at Comicvine who said Bale.Bats was a.match for Affleck bats?

Edit:, yes you are, the exact same username

I never said that Baleman was a match for Batfleck, you’re putting words in my mouth.

Originally posted by eThneoLgrRnae
Oh my, looks like someone has just a little too much time on their hands lol.

Don’t underestimate how boring quarantine can get.

Well my bad
https://comicvine.gamespot.com/forums/battles-7/nolan-batman-vs-dceu-batman-no-batsuits-2093819/

Originally posted by HulkIsHulk
Well my bad
https://comicvine.gamespot.com/forums/battles-7/nolan-batman-vs-dceu-batman-no-batsuits-2093819/

I think Batfleck would overcome any version of Baleman in a fight, but I think many severely exaggerate the magnitude of Batfleck’s superiority over peak Baleman.

Don't know about in a fight but Bale Batman is infinitely more cool than Affleck Batman, that's for sure.

I'll give you some props YousufKhan, that took some research. What I like about Nolan's Batman movies is the focus on Bruce/Batman's character arc. Mike Keaton will always be my favorite Batman, and the Burton/Schumaker films had a continuity string with Bat's character, but Nolan had a definitive begins, falls, rises theme going throughout the trilogy with Bruce.

As you pointed out at length and others summed up in their thoughts, mindset and physicality. Bane had the radical ferocity that Baleman had in his youth whereas Baleman had been in neutral, but I always think of the stark contrast between the combat style (really camera work, but combat style in-movie verse) of Begins Batman vs DK and especially DKR Batman as you pointed out. Specifically, in Begins when Batman dispatches the League of Shadows goons when confronting Ra's in the Narrows. Bruce is perched on the railing of the balcony the group is on, tackles one of the goons off the balcony, and tank-bruiser smashes through the rest of the group. He's a wrecking ball. We see in TDKR how Bruce has to whip back into shape and then fight smartly, targeting Bane's breathing gas tubes. I'm convinced prime Baleman would've gone blow-for-blow with Bane, maybe not beat him in fistfight outright, but been a match physically for him.

Good thread man.

Originally posted by eThneoLgrRnae
Don't know about in a fight but Bale Batman is infinitely more cool than Affleck Batman, that's for sure.

Yeah but Balemans growling voice was just awful

Hasn't the film itself made it clear enough already?