You know, I'm something of a Bane appreciator myself.
He's actually my favorite DC character and a top 10 villain as a whole for me, so I very much get that passion for the character. It's funny, I've had almost the exact opposite experience as you when it comes to the art of Knightfall. That interior panel of Bane breaking Batman's back really landed for me when I first saw it. That dynamic onomatopoeia of the crack, the bright orange background that contrasts the two characters, and the bold, almost primal, "BREAK YOU." Even viewed outside the context of the story as a kid who just liked Bane from a design standpoint and was looking for cool images of him online, it hit like a truck.
The cover? I actually wasn't a fan. I think by the point I saw it, I already had my perfect mental image of the character. That overly muscled, monstrously roided up look just didn't suit how I saw Bane. Tend to prefer a comparatively subtle kind of musculature for him, something that reflects the kind of characterization I prefer for him. Still huge, but not to such an exaggerated degree.
As I've become more familiar with Kelley Jones' art style, I've grown to appreciate it that much more. Everything Jones draws is exaggerated, not just Bane. So that ridiculously top heavy beast that normally feels a little out of place in most depictions of Batman, actually fits perfectly within the world he draws. I also get what you mean as that exaggerated style also means that the impact of the back break is much more visually visceral and painful to look at. In the interior panel? Ehhhh, yeah that looks like it hurts. On the cover? Oh my god, his spine is definitely not supposed to bend like that.
You've really done a great of capturing that here, while still keeping true to your style, and I can definitely feel the love put into it. Really great stuff, my man.