Bane wasn't always the masked mystery man we saw in "The Dark Knight Rises." Apparently, in an earlier version of the film, Tom Hardy's back-breaker had an origin story that never made it to the final cut — a story that explained how he got that mask, and how he got those scars on his back.

In an interview with GQ, costume designer Lindy Hemming revealed a scene featuring Bane's back story (literally), a sequence that never made it into the final film.

"The thing that you should have seen during that sequence is [Bane] being injured in his youth," said Hemming. "So one of the fundamental things about his costume is that he has this scar from the back injury. Even if he hasn’t got the bulletproof vest on, he still has to wear the waist belt and the braces. In that scene in the prison, where he’s learning to fight the same way Batman learned to fight, he’s wearing an early version of his waist belt. It’s showing support, but it’s not the finished one he eventually wears. He’s also wearing an early version of his gas mask, all glued together … If you look at the film, unless they’ve cut it—and I’m sure they haven’t—there’s a whole early section for Tom Hardy where he’s fighting and being taunted by people. He’s got chains on him, and he’s standing on a wooden thing while people are attacking him. And in that scene, he’s wearing a much more ragged, primitive version of the mask."

When told that this scene didn't make it into "Rises," Hemming replied, "Well that’s an awful shame, but I suppose you have to cut things. I won’t elaborate on it too much, because it isn’t in the film, but there was another section that showed you why he had the mask and where it came from."

In other Bane news, see below for some early concept designs of what Bane's back scars could have looked like.

Thanks to /Film and CBM for the links.

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