Santa Prisca (DC Comics)

Infobox comics location
name = Santa Prisca


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publisher = DC Comics
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creators = Denny O'Neil
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country=Latin American
isle=y
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subcat = DC Comics
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Santa Prisca is a fictional country appearing in DC Comics, and is best known as the birthplace of the Batman villain Bane . It was created by Denny O'Neil in the pages of "The Question", and was used repeatedly throughout O'Neil's tenure as Group Editor for the Batman family of books.

Santa Prisca is a small island located in the northern Caribbean and shows strong influences from the period of Spanish colonialism, the introduction of African slaves, and its prominent role in the illegal drug trade. The island's climate is generally that of a "tropical paradise" although like many Caribbean islands it also sees hurricanes. Thomas Wayne visited the island to aid in hurricane relief while his wife remained in America, pregnant with Bruce Wayne.

In terms of how its atmosphere is usually depicted, the island is split into sections of opulence for vacationers and notable members of the drug trade, with the rest of the island living in poverty, and brutal oppression by various factions seeking to rule the island. Generally drug lords are seen as the true rulers of the island, and Santa Prisca has long been considered one of the key developers in the DC Universe's drug trade, and is the "birthplace" of the strength enhancing drug "Venom". The island has undergone many revolutions, and the villainous King Snake was blinded while working as a mercenary in the employ of anti-Communist rebels. Curiously the island is also the source of one of the key secret ingredients to "Zesti Soda", the most popular soda in the DC Universe, a fact that eventually led to a revolution on the island with the Zesti corporation largely having power over the island at the revolution's end.

More recently Bane returned to his homeland with the intent of removing the drug lords from power. He discovered that in his absence a new form of Venom had been developed and was being sold on the island. Enraged, he forgot his intricate plans to remove the drug lords and attacked them directly, only to be subdued and forced into their service.