From the inception of the Batman character, he was stated to be in peak human condition. He has been depicted this way for his entire publication history, and then Bane came along. Now, I understand that when Bane was on Venom, he was stronger and more durable; the problem is when he kicked the drug and rebuilt himself. Pound-for-pound, do you think Bruce is as strong as Bane? Why or why not?

no he not as strong but he is faster than Bane.

Has it ever actually been stated that Bane is stronger, or is that just the general assumption?

I think it's just the general assumption, given that Bane is physically bigger.

@nickzambuto: It's a general assumption but Batman is actually as strong as Bane without Venom. Both of them are able to lift 1,000 pounds. I'm not sure about the New 52 though, because Bane's a metahuman for some reason. Anyways, with a maximum healthy dose of Venom, Bane can lift 2,000 pounds. He can max out to lifting over 3,000 pounds if he overdoses but there are various effects like memory loss, fatigue, loss of sanity, etc. I personally don't trust the wikis, because at point, it said Bane could lift 44,000 pounds with Venom. If you look at the Batman wiki, it says he lifts 1,500 pounds without Venom, can lift up to 4,000 pounds with venom, and 6,000 pounds if he overdoses. It doesn't make any sense though because someone who lifts 1,000 pounds shouldn't be able to hurt someone who lifts 6,000 pounds with their fists.

@viperking: Hasn't bane over powered batman before off of venom? Everything else you said made sense and I agree with it but I'm just asking. I always believed bane to be stronger off of venom. Also other characters are described as peak human but arent as strong as batman so there seems to be some leeway.

@jayc1324: Not that I can think of. Batman has beaten Bane (off Venom) every single time. In the Bane: One Shot Special, Detective Comics 701, and my personal favorite, the Legacy arc. Batman gets his rematch and beats Bane physically, causing Ra's to disown him.

@viperking: Alright then. I like to think bane is stronger because of his size but I can buy batman being just as strong. Although that takes away from the greatness of bane a little imo

@jayc1324: Not necessarily. The greatness of Bane was that not only is he a physical match for Batman, but he is also an intellectual one. He's great because, even without Venom, he's not just one or the other. He's almost as smart as the Riddler and almost as strong as Killer Croc. He combines both areas to make himself a great villain.

Bane is far superior in strength, his strength feats are much better. Ripping zombies in half, tearing people's limbs off and beating them with it, breaking the neck of very large gryphon with ease etc. But it could be that it's not in Bats character to do this sort of things so maybe that's why Bane has superior strength feats.

That's brutality, not strength. Ripping off limbs isn't all that impressive actually.

This is not impressive to you? He ripped his armor along with his arm hehe

@bigcimmerian Yeah, I can accept that Bane, even without Venom, is stronger. I wouldn't go so far as to say "far superior". That's why I stated "pound-for pound" in my topic question. My assertion is that Bane is stronger because he's bigger. In other words, if Bane and Bruce were roughly equal in stature, they would be about the same strength. Both Batman and Bane are highly trained and naturally gifted athletes after all. I don't think King Snake has a superior genetic heritage than Thomas Wayne, but I digress.

Yeah, I agree that he's not far superior in strength, but we should accept he's slightly stronger.