The culmination of the Batman vs. Bane feud was when Bane applied his deadly finishing hold — a Gorilla Press followed by the dreaded Over-the-Knee Backbreaker — to injure Batman’s spine and force him into retirement.

His spirit also broken, Bruce Wayne was placed on the injured reserve for a long time after this maneuver, and another hero had to be found to take over his duties and protect the citizens of Gotham City.

Like any good Heel, Bane builds up some suspense before snapping Batman over his knee.  He hoists his jobber up in the air, showing off his helpless body for all the world to see.  The victor displays his defeated foe like a prize or a trophy he earned.  It’s a symbol of ownership.

The over-head press is meant to announce he is the dominant Alpha Male.  It’s meant as a humiliation for the helpless loser.

Everyone knows what the cruel bastard is going to do next.  The victim, the viewers — we all know he’s going to drop the poor guy down across his thigh.  Making us all wait for it, dreading and anticipating the eventual outcome, is just a little extra punishment from the sadistic villain.

KRAKT!

I love that Bane uses a Pro Wrasslin’ move (one of my favorites) to defeat Batman.  The Over the Knee Backbreaker has to be one of the sickest and most authentic looking maneuvers in sports entertainment.

Seeing a wrestler dropped with force against the attacker’s bent knee, his spine contorted in the wrong direction by the downward pressure, is so deliciously brutal and dangerous looking, it shocks you.

The Batman cartoonists apparently agreed, using this gruesome maneuver as Bane’s ultimate finisher — the move that breaks the Batman.

These drawings of Batman being held up for the OTK Backbreaker tend to be very dramatic and epic in proportion and coloring, signaling to the reader the significance of this moment in Batman’s career.  These are large, full-page images that draw the reader’s attention, filling our eyes with Batman’s peril, just like when the camera zooms in on some suffering pretty-boy in the wrestling ring to hit us right in the face with his agony.

We see the hero’s Batsuit is torn and tattered just like a pro wrestler with his hair tousled and his trunks askew, the drawstring hanging untied and loose after a rough match.  (A Super-hero would have to be nearly dead to allow his costume to look this ragged!). The rare exposure of Batman’s flesh emphasizes his humanity and vulnerability, which is also why many Baby-face wrestlers wear as little clothing as possible.  Light and shadow highlight all the sinewy muscle, straining abdomens, and flexing biceps, so the struggle and pain is evident.  And dominating the picture is Bane’s bent leg, in position just waiting for Batman’s vulnerable body to come crashing down. 

CRRRACK!

Throughout history, artists would often select famous Bible stories or scenes from mythology as their subjects.

For example, David slaying Goliath, fights from the Trojan War, the kid who took Apollo’s chariot for a joy ride, Cain vs. Abel — these scenes have been painted or sculpted dozens of times, each artist putting a little different spin or offering his unique point of view.

In modern days, the Breaking of the Batman seems to be one of the most popular images in cartoon art.  The iconic picture of the hero pressed overhead then snapped across Bane’s knee is fascinating to many people. Each artist re-interprets the massacre with varying degrees of eroticism, brutality, and blood.

Works of art tell us something about the human condition — send us a message about our own plight and problems.  The pathetic sight of Batman broken across this juggernaut’s leg seems to say that we old-timers can’t win against the modern age of science and progress — that the times they are a-changin’ (not necessarily for the healthier), and the inhuman pace and cruelty and drug-addled corruption of the modern world will eventually break us all.