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I may have missed something obvious in The Dark Knight Rises, but if Bane knew that a little girl (Talia) could escape the pit (albeit with his help) then surely he must have thought that Batman would be able to escape from it.

I know he broke Batman's back but did he maybe underestimate his mental resilience?

Or is it just a plot device to tie in Talia's pit escape?

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    "did he maybe underestimate his mental resilience?" - Yes, he did, apparently.
    – Napoleon Wilson ♦
    Dec 15, 2014 at 16:05

4 Answers 4

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Talia was no ordinary child. A child born in hell, forged by suffering, hardened by pain. Not a man from privilege.

After his defeat, Bane asks Batman:

I broke you. How have you come back?

I think this makes it quite clear that Bane was sure that Bruce would not be able to escape.

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To add to the other answers, Talia herself might have taken the decision to put Batman in the pit.

She was the only one to ever rise from that pit of hell and that too as a child (with much less wing span and energy). She was a legend of that pit. Only the prison doctor and Bane were actual remaining witnesses to that climb. She would expect nobody to climb out and nobody did.

This would be the slow, painful death that Batman deserved. The intention was to kill his soul prior to his body. Thus he was made to witness the destruction of Gotham.

Her behaviour is consistent at the end of the movie when she asks Bane not to kill Batman and let him feel the heat and fire of 12 million souls he failed.

So pretty much looks like Talia's decision to me.

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    Note that Talia al Ghul has often exhibited a form of jealousy towards Bruce, who was Ra's favorite student. Putting him in the pit makes sense, in this way. Talia's escape was the stuff of legends; so she put him there to prove to herself (or Ra's) that she is able to escape but Bruce is not, thus justifying that she's better than Bruce in Ra's eyes. Isn't winning so much sweeter if your nemesis succumbs to something that you've been able to overcome?
    – Flater
    Feb 21, 2018 at 8:36
  • @Flater I agree.
    – Vedran Šego
    Feb 22, 2018 at 9:48
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He broke Batman both physically but also mentally

First of, Talia was no mere child as Vedran Šego said but a child born in the pit. She also happens to be the daughter of Ra's Al Ghul which is a big deal.

Many prisoners tried the climb but only Talia survived because she wasn't using a rope. It is the fear of death that gives one the strength to make the jump.

Bane is convinced he broke Batman's will to live completely and that he won't be able to succeed in climbing out.

As to why he put him in the pit:

Thinking Batman wouldn't be able to escape, throwing him in the pit was the best way to give him the slow death with a glimmer of hope that Bane is always talking about.

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He wants to weaken batman both mentally and physically so he broke his back and put him in that pit so that everytime he try to escape from it and met with failure he feels frustrated,agitated .This generally brings loss of hope in life,living to a person.Just think about a criminal who committed crime who is not hanged instead kept in white rooms.This is known as white room torture where the person can not escape but live the life without any hope.In the similar way Bane wants to torture the batman by making him live in this pit with all those discouragement that is felt by the fellow men around him.Bane always thinks that talia is the greatest person of all in terms of courage and will so he underestimated batman in comparison to talia

Bonus: But desi desi basara basara lines will give goosebumps to me everytime i watch and the screenplay with bats coming out from everywhere

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