How does Bane know Bruce is the Batman?

Question

According to IMDB

Selina leads Batman to Bane and sticks around long enough to hear Bane call Batman his real name, shocking both Bruce and Selina. John Blake discovered as a child when Bruce came for a charity donation to the orphanage Blake resided in. Upon seeing Bruce, Blake worked out he had severe suppressed emotions that would give him a motive to become The Batman who appeared years later. He challenges Bruce with his suspicions of his alter ego when visiting. Though Bruce does not confirm his theory, he doesn't deny it either giving Blake the evidence that Bruce really is The Batman. James Gordon is the only character directly told by Bruce Wayne (as Batman) that Batman is his alter ego. Batman reveals his identity by referencing the act of kindness Gordon showed him as a boy by putting a coat around his shoulders after his parents' death. Gordon remembers the incident with the child and puts two and two together, working out Bruce is The Batman.

Selina Kyle learns Batman's true identity from Bane, who calls Batman by his real name. But how did Bane know Bruce is the Batman?

Answer 1

Bane is mentioned as having been excommunicated from the League of Shadows in the movie, so presumably had access to their knowledge. It's not linked explicitly in the movie, but I therefore assume that the knowledge that Bruce Wayne was Batman would have come from this link. After all, Ra's al Ghul definitely knew Bruce Wayne was Batman in Batman Begins.

Answer 2

Bane couldn't have known Batman's identity via the League of Shadows. That makes no sense chronologically.

• Talia was a child when she escaped the pit.
• Then she journeyed to find her father, who then rescued Bane out of the pit.
• Bane was excommunicated, and Talia then began hating her father.

^{[Note: It's established that she never forgave him until his death, and that she regrets this. So after Bane was kicked out of the League of Shadows, she got really mad at her father and didn't talk to her father ever again.]}

• Only after this did Bruce Wayne join the League of Shadows.

^{[Note: we know this because Talia seems to be about the same age as Bruce, which means that when she escaped as a child and Bane was saved, Bruce wasn't Batman yet. Even if she only found her father years after escaping, it couldn't have been after Ra's Al Ghul met Bruce since between the ending of Bruce's training and Ra's Al Ghul's death in the first film a relatively short amount of time goes by - even though the narrative in Batman Begins doesn't make it clear how much time exactly, it seems to be just a few days. This is irrelevant however, since, as mentioned, it is quite established that by the time Bruce blew up the League of Shadows' headquarters Talia hadn't spoken to her father in a long time.]}

• Then Ra's Al Ghul died. This is the person that one of the people answering above thinks told Talia about Batman's identity.
• Yet only after Ra's Al Ghul's death did Talia want to complete his father's wish of destroying Gotham. So since she last talked to him before he trained Bruce Wayne, how could she know Batman's identity?
• Additionally she had no link with the League of Shadows by then, and the whole organization might as well be over or seriously splintered after their master was defeated and died.

So who could have told either Talia or Bane that Bruce Wayne was Batman? Isn't this a plot hole here?

Answer 3

Bruce Wayne/Batman was trained by the League of Shadows as was Bane. Wayne was their finest student according to Ra's Al G'hul hinself. They are probably the best in the world and the style & skills are so distinct it's probably not hard for him to figure out. Common sense would also say he would have needed years of training to do what he can do & Bruce did disappear for seven years after university. You'd also need a heck of a lot of money to fund all those toys which he obviously has.

Answer 4

I just had an idea about this:

• Bruce Wayne becomes Batman.
• After the destruction of their mountain base, League of Shadows members are kicking it back in another base, watching the news from Gotham about Batman.
• Ra's and Bane sit there, intrigued, Ra's says "Hey, that's Bruce Wayne! I trained him."
• Ra's excommunicates Bane, goes to Gotham.

I couldn't remember when it said Bane was excommunicated, so just for fun I decided to run with this theory that it was actually fairly later on.

Or you could go with the comics theory that he recognizes his unique physique (which actually isn't visible through his Batsuit, so go figure) and fighting style.

Answer 5

After the death of Ra's, Bane became leader of the LoS, as is stated in the movie. Even though not many mercinaries in his army were members of the LoS, it is likely that he or Talia must have talked to at least one person who was between the end of Batman Begins and the beginning of the Dark Knight Rises, as they hold positions of great power. That member (or those members) could easily tell them that Bruce was Batman, as they trained with him and then fought against him.

Answer 6

They took part of the movie from the comics. Her and her father never spoke. But after the destruction of the league of shadows HQ. Ra's went and found his daughter and bane and warned them about what happened. Told them his plan thinking in time he might need bane and talia's help. And in the Dark Knight comics she was in Gotham during the time of her father attacking it her and bane were helping. But her father dies and that sends her and bane underground to plan out just how they are going to get Bruce. And then they use The Joker to do it they needed someone insane enough to go at the city the mob and the bat all at once all alone but they gave him the set up money in the first place. In the end batman does what talia wants and saves the day but becomes an outcast in the processe. Everything that happened was her an bane's plan. And there plan was almost perfect but Batman found a way like always. But he sacrifices himself to do it or so it seems. This sets it up for the nightwing movie and the come back of batman and the bat and nightwing have and eventful time with killer croc the penguin and poison ivy.

Answer 7

I have a theory. When commissioner gordon went into sewer trying to find the people who to police thought took congressman, he was caught and taken to bane's lair. At that point one of the guy searched gordon and handed bane a paper stack from gordon's suit pocket. I am assuming its the same paper that had commissioner's speech about the truth of dent and batman. Not to name who he is but may be enough information which helped bane figure out who batman was. Just a theory..:)

Answer 8

What if, few loyal associates of Ghu'l who survived and are functional, helped Talia with all the information about her father's killer? Dr. Crane for example.

Answer 9

I believe that in the Knightfall story arc it is with the assistance of Bird and Talon (his falcon) that Bane is able to learn the identity of Batman.