WARNING: The following contains major spoilers for The Batman, now in theaters.
One of the most intriguing aspects of Matt Reeves' The Batman is how the director managed to keep the focus on Robert Pattinson's Bruce Wayne despite the diverse array of villains on tap. The hero was locked in a cat-and-mouse game with Riddler (Paul Dano) while also trying to get clues from Penguin (Colin Farrell) and Carmine Falcone (John Turturro) to save the city.
Reeves even snuck in a Joker (Barry Keoghan) cameo to signal that, despite Gotham surviving the Riddler's bombing and flooding, rebuilding won't be easy. However, it's worth noting that in the movie's climax, the Dark Knight used something in the heat of battle that could set the stage for his toughest opponent yet -- Bane.
Why Batman Needed Something to Take Down The Riddler's Goons
In the final act, Batman tried to stop Riddler's army from killing the newly-elected mayor, Reál by crashing in through the rooftop of the stadium everyone evacuated to after the flood. They hit her once, but as they fired upon Jim Gordon and his cops and the rest of the civilians, the Bat started pummelling them mercilessly in the rafters.
However, one of the thugs in the stadium stunned him by blasting him with a shotgun, leaving him dazed and confused. And as the assailant was about to kill Batman, Catwoman saved him, but she quickly got thrown away by another goon. The Riddler lackey then went for the killing blow, and while Bruce wanted to get up and stop him, he couldn't. Fortunately, he took out a vial of something, injected himself and rushed the guy, beating him to a bloody pulp. But the change in Batman's demeanor scared Catwoman, and Gordon even had to come pull him off the goon before he went too far.
Could Batman Have Used Venom?
Now, this vial may have just been a shot of adrenaline, but seeing as Reeves laid the foundation for the future, the serum might be a subtle hint at Bane. The liquid was distinctly green, just like the Venom Bane used in so many comics, cartoons and games, so there's a chance Bruce may have concocted the prototype version of it during his early days. The movie's prequel novel even confirmed Bruce was a master chemist who studied at universities all over the world and with various cultures, and he could have used his knowledge to create or alter the formula.
How The Batman Sets Up Bane vs. the Dark Knight
If Bruce did get the formula for Venom from Bane or his people, it's possible the villain would want to hunt the Caped Crusader down. And with Gotham in a No Man's Land situation and a power vacuum arising at the death of Falcone, Bane could see this as an opportunity to take control of the city's seedy underbelly.
This angle may also lead to a more cerebral way of breaking the Bat because it's unclear what the serum actually did to Bruce. Sure, it gave him momentary strength to stop the thug and save people below from being electrocuted, but it also increased his rage. Thus, the concoction might harm him mentally, creating a more unhinged hero to unleash hell on Bane.
See how Bane may have been set up in The Batman, now in theaters.