WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Harley Quinn: Red, Black and White #15 by Sam Humphries and Stephen Byrne, on sale now.
Bane has been one of Batman's most dangerous and personal villains since his introduction. Between breaking Bruce Wayne's back in "Knightfall" to his domination of the Batman in "City of Bane," the venom-fulled powerhouse has taken the Dark Knight past his limits.
But in the latest issue of Harley Quinn: Red, Black and White, he gets his power from an unlikely, yet tasty, source. Issue #15 opens with the rogues gallery sitting down to a Thanksgiving meal. The Arkham Asylum guard, Lock-Up remarks he would have rather fed the inmates gruel rather than this hot meal, which is supplied by the mayor of Gotham. As they dig into the meal, it looks like someone injected the turkey with Bane’s venom, which he enthusiastically says he’s grateful for as he gains his super-strength and starts a riot.
After Lock-Up tells the inmates to enjoy the meal while they are stuck in Hell on Earth, he states he’s legally obligated to ask each of them what they are thankful for. With that, the inmates offer very interesting pieces of gratitude, including Killer Croc who seems to really enjoy bluegrass music. Bored, Harley Quinn just wants a real pie instead of pumpkin which she has some colorful commentary about. Bane announces he’s thankful for KFV, or Kentucky Fried Venom, before taking a giant bite out of a venom-infused turkey leg.
Chaos ensues with Bane regaining his super strength and a riot breaks out between the inmates and the guards. Easily overpowered, the inmates start running amok through Arkham, allowing Harley to sneak out and escape. She asks Poison Ivy to come with her, but the latter has a vendetta with one of the Arkham guards. Some inmates are enjoying the riot, like Clayface who is making a mashed potato sculpture amidst the insanity, Two-Face seemingly just trying to enjoy a meal, and Professor Pyg chasing a guard with a knife. Disguised in a security guard’s outfit, Harley Quinn slips through and steals an ambulance.
Once freed, she excitedly calls her parents to let them know she’s coming to Thanksgiving dinner. Predictably they’re terrified she escaped and tells her they are not celebrating and not to come. Even though she is free from Arkham, she feels completely alone on the holiday and decides to break back into Arkham. When she visits Poison Ivy, who remarks the whole point is to break out and not in, Harley kisses her on the cheek and says the holiday is meant to be with the people you love.
What's interesting about this issue’s story is how it reinforces Lock-Up’s stance on criminals and their privileges. First appearing in Robin #24 by Chuck Dixon, Aaron Lopresti, and Stan Woch, he has a very strict stance on criminals, capturing and imprisoning them in his own facility. As he has evolved he has assumed a lead role at Arkham Asylum, ensuring the inmates all act accordingly and pose no problems.
If they had just been served gruel, as he had wanted, this riot likely would not have happened. It seems someone at the mayor’s office wanted Bane to reacquire his super strength through a turkey and set the Asylum riot into motion. Hopefully, one day, it'll be revealed who this mysterious benefactor is.