Darth Bane's Prime

On this page I will be discussing what I believe to be Darth Bane's prime, and why I believe it to be his prime. I will be using his on page prime only, meaning I will not pick from Bane's off page appearances when choosing his prime.

Though most are of the opinion that Bane's peak was his orbalisk encrusted incarnation, I respectfully disagree and believe that Bane's peak was in DOE.

First off I have an analytical comparison of their respective force power right here: https://thesithoutcasts.forumotion.com/t109-darth-bane-s-force-strength-without-orbalisks#383
From this comparison, I have ascertained that there is not much of a difference in force power between Bane's orbalisk encrusted self, and Bane as he is later in life.

While discussing Bane's force abilities, Bane also has more knowledge of the force by DOE. Bane's section of Book of the Sith demonstrates knowledge of a vast number of force techniques, and was implicitly written between ROT and DOE. Bane also demonstrates three new tricks in DOE that he hadn't displayed prior, such as the death field, the lightning cocoon, and the ionic wave.

Another thing that I have analyzed, is Darth Bane's speed at various points during his life:
https://thesithoutcasts.forumotion.com/t106-darth-bane-s-speed#376
And the conclusion I came to from that is that DOE is Bane's speed peak of everything shown on page, making him faster than he was with the orbalisks.

Another thing for consideration here is Darth Bane's skill with a lightsaber.
What we can see as orbalisk encrusted Bane's best showing of skill was his flooring of Raskta Lsu:
“Bane brought his lightsaber down at the Echani, who crossed her blades into an X, attempting to block and trap her opponent's weapon at the point of intersection. But the Sith's move was only a feint meant to distract her, and at the last instant he pulled his weapon back and swung an elbow around to catch her in the ribs. The contact lifted her off her feet and sent her sprawling.”-ROT
After losing his orbalisks, Bane completely refines and retools his fighting style to better suit his needs:
“His style back then had been brutish and simple, though undeniably effective. Now, however, his technique was more advanced. Unable to simply bully his way heedlessly forward, he had developed an unpredictable, seemingly random style. Each time she thought she could anticipate where the next attack was coming from, he changed tactics, disrupting the rhythm of the battle and causing her to give ground. She was being driven back in a slow retreat.”-DOE
So from these quotes, it is obvious that Bane's technique in DOE is far more advanced than that of his orbalisk encrusted self. Additionally, Bane paid special attention to bettering and increasing the quality that showcased his best skill with the orbalisks, unpredictability and deception. Bane is very clearly a far better duelist later in his life than he was with the orbalisks.

Another very important factor to consider here is intelligence. In DOE, Bane expresses relief at how much more clearly he can think without the orbalisks:
"A decade earlier he would have eagerly engaged them in physical combat, his body pumped full of adrenaline released by the orbalisks that had covered his flesh. Swept up in a mindless rage, he would have carved a bloody swath through their numbers, hacking and slashing at his helpless enemies while relying on the impenetrable shells of the orbalisks to protect him from their blows. But the orbalisks were gone now. He was no longer invulnerable to physical attacks, yet he was also no longer a slave to the primal bloodlust that used to overwhelm him. Free from the parasitic infestation, he was able to dispatch his enemies using the Force rather than relying solely on brute strength."-DOE
From this it is very clear that Bane is far more intelligent without the Orbalisks.

Agility is another thing DOE Bane has over his orbalisk encrusted self. This one is practically common sense. In ROT, he's covered in orbalisks, so that extra mass is going to make him less agile. In DOE however, Bane charges through a swarm of dark tendrils and manages to evade them all.
“Lightsaber in hand, Bane charged toward her. The tendrils flew to intercept him, but Bane ducked, jumped, and dodged, weaving his way under, over, and around them as he bore down on Zannah.”-DOE

I'd say pain tolerance is also in DOE Bane's favor. In ROT, Bane was knocked unconscious by the pain of the lightning, the orbalisks burrowing expanding and exploding, and their corrosive toxin.
“Bane had stayed conscious through the torture of the electricity cooking him alive and the agony of the teeth burrowing into his flesh. But the indescribable pain from the chemicals released by the exploding orbalisks dissolving his body on a cellular level finally caused him to black out... only to wake up here.”-ROT
In DOE however, Bane is capable of maintaining consciousness through something far more painful.
"Bane threw himself to the side, but the tip of the tentacle still brushed against his left shoulder. The material of his clothes melted away as if it had been splashed with acid. A chunk of flesh beneath simply dissolved, and Bane screamed in agony. Once, orbalisks had fused themselves to his body with a burning chemical compound so intense it had nearly driven him mad. Ten years ago they had been removed when Bane's flesh had been literally cooked by a concentrated blast of his own violet lightning. During her interrogation, Serra had pumped him full of a drug that had felt like it was eating him alive from the inside. But the excruciating pain he felt from the mere touch of the dark side tendril was unlike anything Bane had ever experienced before. The damage was far from life threatening, but it nearly sent Bane into shock. He fell hard to the ground, his jaw slack and his eyes rolling back into his head. His mind was reeling from the brief contact. The pain radiated through every nerve in his body, but what he felt went far beyond any mere physical sensation. It was not the raw heat of the dark side but rather the empty chill of the void itself spreading through him. It touched every synapse in his mind, it clawed at the core of his spirit. In that instant he tasted utter annihilation, and felt the true horror of absolute nothingness. Somehow he managed to stay conscious, and when the next tentacle coiled in he was able to scramble to his feet and roll out of the way.”-DOE
And later on he manages to maintain the mental composure for the ritual of essence transfer after a far more profound contact with one of the tendrils.
“With his foe unarmed and helpless at his feet Bane brought his arm down for the coup de grace, only to have it intercepted mid-swing by one of the dark side tendrils. It wrapped itself around the elbow. Skin, muscle, sinew and bone dissolved instantaneously, severing the limb. His disembodied forearm and fist tumbled harmlessly to the ground, his lightsaber flicking off as the hilt slid from his suddenly nerveless fingers. The Dark Lord didn't scream this time; the pain was so intense it left him mute as he collapsed to the ground. Everything went black. Blind and alone, he felt the void closing in. In desperation he reached out with his left hand, clutching Zannah's wrist as she lay on the ground beside him. With his last act, he summoned all his remaining power and invoked the ritual of essence transfer.”-DOE

Physical strength is another important aspect, as it is something that Bane is renown for. The Orbalisks were known to boost his physical strength, however if the vast increase in Bane's physical augmentation abilities by the time of DOE is any indication, it is likely that Bane could match his orbalisk encrusted self in a contest of strength, and does perform a very impressive feat of strength while drugged.
“Another locked durasteel door blocked the only exit. Bane tossed the blaster aside and tore the door off its hinges.”-DOE
I'm not going to definitively state that DOE Bane is physically stronger, but I will say that his physical strength in DOE is at least equal to that of his orbalisk encrusted self.

Now as it is one of the primary properties of the orbalisks, I feel I must address invulnerability to physical attacks. It is evident that he is more vulnerable to physical attacks after losing the armor.
"But the orbalisks were gone now. He was no longer invulnerable to physical attacks"-DOE
Bane however is still capable of tanking lightsaber blows by using the force.
“She was less than a meter away, her blade already slashing in for the killing blow, when she felt all the hair on the back of her neck rise. A shimmering purple cocoon of dark side energy enveloped Bane, a fragile shell holding back a storm of pure power. She tried to pull back but it was too late. As her blade bit into the cocoon the energy was released in a sudden burst that sent both of them flying backward. Bane slammed hard into the wall against his back and crumpled to the ground. Zannah was tossed ten meters farther, landing hard on the stone floor.”-DOE
What becomes apparent from these two quotes is that Bane by DOE is capable of instantly throwing up a defense against lightsaber blades, but he evidently can't spam it too much, thus making the orbalisks a more constant form of protection. This edge actually goes to Bane's orbalisk encrusted self, but DOE Bane has lessened such a gap with his lightning cocoon, and the fact that he now uses defensive maneuvers in his fighting style. He won't be able to tank as many lightsaber blows but he won't have to.

One final aspect is his regenerative capabilities.
"Failing that, he had tried to dig it out by carving away the surrounding flesh. He'd drawn the knife across his chest in a long, straight line, feeling the agony of the blade slicing deep enough to cut through skin and muscle. And then he'd watched in amazement as the wound healed itself almost instantly, the creature having somehow caused his tissue to regenerate."-ROT
This is actually an edge I would definitively give to Bane's orbalisk encrusted self.


In the final analysis, we see that DOE Bane is faster, more agile, smarter, more skilled, more tolerant of pain, and has a wider breadth of knowledge in the force, while ROT Bane on the other hand is more imprervious to physical attacks and has a regenerative factor. Their strength in the force and physically is quite comparable.

Overall, DOE Bane is superior in almost every way, and is capable of compensating for one of the two things his orbalisk encrusted self is superior in, effectively leaving regeneration as the biggest advantage ROT Bane has, and that's not enough for me to place ROT Bane as Bane's prime. As such I declare Darth Bane in Dynasty of Evil to be the prime of the legendary Sith'ari.