Promised an iconic destiny by a childhood vision, the Batman villain Bane molded himself into an unstoppable behemoth and a stranger to fear and pain. However, beneath his hardened exterior was still a broken child, lost in the darkness of the world he was born into. When Bane sought out his mysterious father's identity, he happened upon an ambiguous revelation. He stumbled upon evidence that linked him to Thomas Wayne, implying that he was Batman's brother.
Created by Chuck Dixon and Graham Nolan for 1993's Vengeance of Bane #1, Bane's mother, an anti-communist rebel, gave birth to him in Pena Duro prison, where he was to serve his father's life sentence. While still a child, his mother grew weak and died in prison. Plagued by the hellhole, Bane became a legend after enduring a decade of hunger and isolation in a dark pit. He made some allies, mastered his physique and devoured knowledge.
After one ally, Bird, told him about Gotham City, Bane became obsessed with killing Batman, emblematic of the beast that haunted his dreams. Selected for a super-soldier experiment, Bane was fitted with implants in his skull and was injected with the addictive drug, Venom. After escaping to Gotham, and during the Knightfall saga, Bane strategized, broke Batman's back, and ruled Gotham.
Bane's reign ended when Azrael defeated him. In 1995's Vengeance of Bane #2, by Dixon & Nolan, Bane was incarcerated in Blackgate Prison, and haunted by a vision of his imaginary father. Kicking his Venom addiction, and rebuilding his physique, Bane escaped and tried to break up a criminal ring distributing Venom. There, he encountered a doctor who worked in Pena Duro and revealed that his father was alive. This kickstarted Bane's quest to find him in 1998's Bane of the Demon by Dixon and Nolan.
In Santa Prisca, Bane visited a Jesuit priest he met in prison, who revealed four possible men who could be his father: a Santa Priscan revolutionary, an English mercenary, an American doctor, and a Swiss banker with ties to the Order of St. Dumas. Bane's search for the banker led to a dead-end after discovering that he was slain by Azrael. Before he could proceed with his other leads, Bane stumbled upon the League of Assassins. He impressed Ras Al Ghul enough to be deemed a worthy suitor for his daughter Talia, leading into the Legacy storyline. While aiding Ras in unleashing an apocalypse upon the world, Bane was thwarted by Batman, resulting in Al Ghul's cutting ties with him. However, Ras privately discovered the identity of Bane's father, laughing as he did.
After the No Man's Land saga, Bane embarked on a quest to destroy Ras al Ghul's Lazarus pits. In 2002-2003's "Tabula Rasa" storyline by Scott Beatty, Mike Collins, and Roger Robinson, Bane was presented with potential evidence of his father's identity by a former Pena Duro inmate. Heading to Wayne Manor, Bane coaxed Bruce Wayne into helping him to destroy a Lazarus Pit, in exchange for the information. After doing the deed, Bane showed Wayne an old photo, showing Thomas Wayne in an ostensibly intimate pose with Bane's mother. Shocked by the possibility that his father betrayed his mother, Bruce arranged for DNA tests to be conducted. Much to Bane's disappointment and sadness, the results were negative, and Alfred Pennyworth suggested that Thomas merely helped Bane's mother during Santa Prisca's troubled regime.
In 2004's Gotham Knights #47-49, by Scott Beatty and Roger Robinson, Bane, aided by Bruce's financial backing and a lead from Dr. Leslie Thompkins, located his father in Kangchenjunga. The man turned out to be the mercenary, King Snake, who was crippled during an encounter with Tim Drake. Attempting to unleash an apocalyptic weapon, Snake's plan was thwarted but Bane was mortally wounded trying to save Batman, who placed his old foe in a Lazarus Pit, restoring his life, and giving him a second chance.
While they may not be brothers in blood, Batman and Bane share their personal hell with one another, enduring mental and physical turmol, and becoming stronger as a result.