In 2007, Bane joined the cast of Secret Six. The Six are a team of somewhat reformed criminals working as mercenaries. Up until this point, their sixth member was a rotating slot, as every time they appeared, the newest member would either get killed or quit before the end of the story. But Bane stuck. Writer Gail Simone portrays him as a man with a strange nobility. He’s vaguely religious, but doesn’t think he can be redeemed. Instead, he focuses his attention on the redemption of team leader Scandal. He’s fiercely protective and almost desperate to give her a second chance. In the best issue of the run, Bane and teammate (and former Bat-villain) Catman head to Gotham City to break up a kidnapping ring. This was back when Batman was believed to be dead, and both Bane and Catman secretly view themselves as a possible successor, even as they’re literally tearing the heads off of their enemies. It’s quite a good character study and nicely establishes the current version of Bane.
My favorite part of this was that Bane was in prison serving his father’s life sentence.
That never fails to crack me up – it’s a pretty sweet system of criminal justice. “Man, that guy’s hard to catch. Wait, he’s got a kid? Let’s just lock him up. You want to get a sandwich?”
In a way, it makes SOME sense. Maybe his parental guilt would lead him to turn himself in.