Who is the mystery bidder in Batman & Robin?

Joel Schumacher’s Batman & Robin was notable for many things, from ice puns and Bat-nipples, to its eye-catching colourful palette and its ‘fun’ approach to crime-fighting.

The movie was also known for its collection of villains, which included Mr. Freeze, Poison Ivy, and Bane. This trio of foes became a big focus of the film, and they proved to be quite a match for the movie’s central heroes, Batman, Robin, and Batgirl.

But Batman & Robin also included a fourth villain, who popped up very briefly in the film, and who had his own agenda. This fourth villain was Dr. Jason Woodrue, who appeared early into the picture and was played by actor John Glover.

In the film, Woodrue is depicted as a mad scientist, working on a secret project in the Brazilian rainforest. Operating out of a Wayne Enterprises lab alongside botanist Dr. Pamela Isley, Jason Woodrue uses Isley’s research into plants for his own ill-gotten gain.

Utilising her studies and incorporating them into his own experiments, Woodrue manages to create a strength enhancing drug, which he names Venom. When introduced into the human body, Venom has the ability to turn an ordinary person into a hulking brute, which Woodrue believes is the key to creating a never-ending supply of supersoldiers.

One of his test subjects is Antonio Diego – a serial murderer who should be serving a life sentence in prison. However, after Woodrue brings Diego to his lab, he pumps his body with Venom, and transforms him into the green-skinned Bane.

With Bane now a living, breathing muscle-mountain, Woodrue has proof that his supersoldier formula works. He dubs Bane “the ideal killing machine”, and then starts the process of auctioning him off to a collection of nameless bidders, who have gathered in the lab to buy themselves a new goon.

In addition to the bidders who are present in the room, Woodrue also has a mystery bidder on the phone. Bane is expected to fetch a pretty penny, so Woodrue is opening up the auction to all those who can afford to purchase him, including those who can’t be present.

At the end of the auction, Bane is sold to the person on the end of the telephone. The details of the auction are never revealed on screen, so we don’t know how much they paid, but we can presume it was a lot.

But who is the bidder? Is it ever revealed who wanted to buy Bane from Jason Woodrue?

Unfortunately, the identity of the bidder is never revealed. Whoever was on the end of the telephone remains a mystery, so it really could have been anyone.

Anyone specific? Possibly. Or it could have been no one of any particular consequence. It’s quite likely the identity of the mystery bidder is just a throwaway thing, tossed into the movie by scriptwriter Akiva Goldsman, and nothing more.

But it doesn’t stop fans from theorising. After all, Batman & Robin exists in the world of DC Comics, so there are countless characters that could fill the role of the mystery bidder. But who?

Well, let’s do some spit-balling here. Whoever wanted to own Bane must be someone of influence or financial means.

The auction began at $10 million dollars. It’s never revealed how much Bane sold for, but if $10 million was the starting point, one can presume he sold for much more.

This would suggest someone like Lex Luthor, Maxwell Lord, or Vandal Savage would be the responsible party. All are considered extremely wealthy, and are amongst some of the richest people in the DC Universe, so they would certainly have the cash in the bank.

They seem the most likely contenders, but could it be anyone else? Well, there may be a hint in a piece of dialogue, which suggests it is someone other than Luthor, Lord, or Savage.

In the film, after sealing the deal with the winning bidder, Woodrue says: “Yes sir, I am so pleased you won the bidding, your supreme ruthlessness.” The conversation then comes to an end (more or less), and no names are exchanged.

However, there are three key words here, which are quire important. Those words are “your supreme ruthlessness”.

While Lex Luthor could be seen as being ruthless, certainly by his enemies, he’s not usually viewed this way by the general public. Lex often presents himself as a wealthy businessman and a man of the people, so it would seem unusual for someone to call him “your supreme ruthlessness”, meaning it’s unlikely for him to be the mystery bidder.

This title also doesn’t seem quite suitable for Maxwell Lord or Vandal Savage. I’m sure many words could be used to describe these guys, but not “your supreme ruthlessness’.

The term would be much more in line with someone like Ra’s al Ghul. al Ghul is an international villain, who oversees the secret organisation, the League of Assassins; he has no problems wiping out huge swathes of the population in order to achieve his goals; and he has the financial resources to pay for Bane.

Thanks to his life-prolonging Lazarus Pit, Ra’s al Ghul is essentially immortal, which in turn has allowed him to build up a vast wealth. Buying Bane would be no problem at all for Ra’s al Ghul, and having a supersoldier within his League of Assassins would certainly benefit him greatly.

It’s also worth noting that Ra’s al Ghul is a prolific Batman villain. If any ‘ruthless’ super villain is going to be funding the likes of Jason Woodrue, and operating on the fringes of a Batman movie, it’s going to be someone like Ra’s al Ghul.

So, does this mean Ra’s al Ghul is the mystery bidder in Batman & Robin? No – this really is just pure speculation and nothing more.

As it is never confirmed who the mystery bidder is in Batman & Robin, it really could be anyone. The person’s identity remains ambiguous, so it can be whoever you want it to be.

If you believe it is Ra’s al Ghul, then it is Ra’s al Ghul. If you want it to be Lex Luthor, then it is Lex Luthor. Whichever twisted, evil billionaire first pops into your head, then it’s going to be them and no one else.

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Thank you for stopping by I’ll Get Drive-Thru to read this post about Batman & Robin. For more posts, be sure to check out the recommended reads below.

Alex is the editor and writer of I’ll Get Drive-Thru – a blog which specialises in all things related to Batman and DC Comics. After graduating with a degree in film & television studies, Alex studied journalism, before acquiring NCTJ accreditation. Prior to creating I’ll Get Drive-Thru, Alex was a magazine editor, a senior copywriter, and a freelance writer. He is now, and always has been, a Bat-fan!