Hardy's Bane had freakin' SWAG. I mean, it's Tom Hardy doing what he does best. He's become synonymous with 'weird choices that somehow work'. He's hamming it up a bit and having fun with it (in a way similar to how I think Farrell is with Penguin), but he's also extremely menacing and monstrous when he needs to be. His deliveries during the Batman sewer fight felt like Knightfall come to life. Like him or not, you can't deny that the voice became iconic. It's already worked it's way into other adaptations like Lego Batman and Harley Quinn. It's just an amazingly fun voice to do. The austerity and gentleman-like quality of it juxtaposed with such a monstrous visual. It's amazing. Everything he does with is eyes is also brilliant.
In a way, I think Bane was kind of the ultimate Batman movie baddie. He had the intimidation factor, evil as could be, the fun scene-stealing factor, grandest plan seen yet in a Batman film (yes, he and Talia were co-conspirators, it's literally established in the opening scene that the LOS guys are willing to DIE for him on the spot if he says so). Not saying he surpassed Ledger's Joker, but for me he was the best possible follow up because of how different it was.
