Alfred Pennyworth | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Publication information | |
Publisher | DC Comics |
First appearance |
|
Created by |
|
In-story information | |
Full name | Alfred Thaddeus Crane Pennyworth |
Team affiliations | Batman Family Wayne Family |
Supporting character of | Batman/Bruce Wayne |
Notable aliases | Alfred Beagle, Alfred J(arvis), Pennyworth, Thaddeus Crane, Thaddeus Middleton, The Eagle, Penny-One, The Outsider |
Abilities |
|
Alfred Thaddeus Crane Pennyworth, originallyAlfred Beagle and commonly known simply asAlfred, is a fictional character appearing inAmerican comic books published byDC Comics, most commonly in association with thesuperheroBatman.[2]
Alfred is depicted as Batman's meticulous, disciplined, loyal and tireless confidante,butler, legal guardian, best friend,aide-de-camp, and surrogatefather figure following the murders of his parents,Thomas andMartha Wayne. As a British noble who is a classically trained butler, whose skills extend far beyond mere housekeeping, Alfred is uniquely suited to support the lives of masked crime fighters. A former British intelligence officer, field medic and retired Shakespearean actor operative of honor and ethics with connections within the intelligence community, he has been called "Batman'sbatman".[3][4][5][6] He serves as Bruce's moral anchor while providing comic relief with his sardonic and cynical attitude; as anamnesiac, he has also served as thesupervillainousOutsider. A vital part of the Batmanmythos, Alfred was nominated for theWizard Fan Award for Favorite Supporting Male Character in 1994.[7]Bane killed Alfred in 2019 during theCity of Bane storyline, and heremains dead in the primarycontinuity of theDC Universe as of 2025.
In non-comics media, the character has been portrayed in live-action and voiced by actorsWilliam Austin, Eric Wilton,Michael Gough,Michael Caine,Jeremy Irons,Douglas Hodge, andAndy Serkis on film, and byAlan Napier,Efrem Zimbalist Jr.,Ian Abercrombie,David McCallum, andSean Pertwee on television, among others.Ralph Fiennes provided the voice of Alfred in the animatedLego Movie franchise, andMartin Jarvis voiced the character in theBatman: Arkham video game series. A young version of Pertwee's Alfred, played byJack Bannon, is depicted before he became the butler to the Wayne family in the television seriesPennyworth.
The character first appeared inBatman #16 (April 1944), by writerDon Cameron and artistBob Kane. Evidence suggests that Alfred was created by the writers of the1943 Batman serial—Victor McLeod, Leslie Swabacker, and Harry Fraser—and that DC Comics asked Don Cameron to write the first Alfred story, which was published prior to the serial's release.[1]
In Alfred's first appearance, he was overweight and clean-shaven; however, when the 1943Batman serial was released,William Austin, the actor who played Alfred, was trim and sported a thinmoustache. DC editors wanted the comic Alfred to resemble his cinematic counterpart, so inDetective Comics #83 (January 1944), Alfred vacationed at a health resort, where he slimmed down and grew a mustache.[8] This look has remained with the character ever since, even surviving his apparent "death"[Comics 1] and resurrection.[Comics 2]
Alfred was originally conceived as a comedic foil for Batman andRobin; he spoke with a Cockney accent, and simply arrived onWayne Manor's doorstep to announce that he was beginning his duties.[9] In most early tales, he made bungling attempts to be adetective on a par with the young masters. He was given a four-page feature of his own, "The Adventures of Alfred", inBatman #22 (April–May 1944)[10][Comics 3] and the feature lasted 13 issues, skippingBatman #35, with the last story inBatman #36.[Comics 4] The stories followed a simple formula, with Alfred solving a crime and catching the culprits entirely by accident. In later years, the comedic aspects of the character were downplayed.
The Pre-Crisis comics (the comics that were published by DC Comics between 1938 and 1984) established Alfred as a retired actor andintelligence agent who followed the deathbed wish of his dying father (identified only as "Jarvis") to carry on the tradition of serving the Wayne family.[11] To that end, Alfred introduced himself to Bruce Wayne andDick Grayson atWayne Manor and insisted on becoming their butler. Although the pair did not want one, especially since they did not want to jeopardize theirsecret identities with a servant in the house, they did not have the heart to reject Alfred. (The name "Pennyworth" was first used for Alfred in 1969,[12] and thereafter it has been assumed that his father was named Jarvis Pennyworth; as it is customary for British domestic servants to be called by surname it might have been implied on Alfred's introduction that Jarvis was the surname he shared with his father. The surname "Beagle" was explicitly used for Alfred starting in 1945[13] and on the introduction of "Pennyworth" this is treated as having always been their name byretcon.)
Initially, Alfred discovered their identities by accident; while fighting a burglar inBatman #16 (Alfred's first appearance), he accidentally hit a switch and opened a sliding panel leading to theBatcave. He is helpful to the duo, following them to a theater where they had been captured, bound, and gagged by a criminal gang, and rescues them after Batman attracts his attention by knocking a rope down before the crooks return. This was revised inBatman #110 (September 1957); during his first night at Wayne Manor, Alfred awoke to moaning and followed the sound to thesecret passage to the staircase leading to the Batcave and met his would-be employers in theirsuperhero identities with Batman wounded in the field. As it turned out, the wounds were actually insignificant, but Alfred's care convinced the residents that their butler could be trusted. Since then, Alfred cheerfully included the support staff duties of the Dynamic Duo on top of his regular tasks.
Ironically, Alfred's loyalty would lead him to become a member of Batman's rogue's gallery: While pushing Batman and Robin out of the way of a falling boulder, Alfred was seemingly killed inDetective Comics #328 (June 1964). It was revealed inDetective Comics #356 (October 1966) that he had been revived by a scientist named Brandon Crawford. His attempt at regeneration resulted in a dramatic change: Alfred awoke from his apparent death with pasty white skin with circular markings, superhuman powers, includingtelekinesis, and a desire to destroy Batman and Robin. Calling himself theOutsider, he indirectly battled the Dynamic Duo on a number of occasions, using others as his puppets—the Grasshopper Gang inDetective #334,Zatanna inDetective #336, and even theBatmobile itself inDetective #340—and generally only appeared as a mocking voice over the radio. He did not physically appear in the comics untilDetective #356, when he is bathed again in the rays of the regeneration machine during a struggle with Batman, and returns to normal, with no memory of his time as a supervillain.[14] His time as the Outsider is collected inShowcase Presents: Batman Volumes1 and2.
Alfred was later reunited with his long-lost daughter, Julia Remarque, though this element was not included in Post-Crisis comics. Her mother was the war heroineMademoiselle Marie, whom Alfred had met while working as an intelligence agent in occupied France duringWorld War II.
In the Post-Crisis comicscontinuity, Alfred has been the Wayne family butler all of Bruce's life and had helped his master establish his superhero career from the beginning. In addition, he was Bruce's legal guardian and father figure following the murder of the boy's parents. Alfred's history has beenmodified several times over the years, creating assorted versions. In one such version, Alfred was hired away from theBritish Royal Family by Bruce's parents, and he virtually raised Bruce after they were murdered.
Meanwhile, another version of Alfred's Post-Crisis life was slightly more closely linked to his Pre-Crisis counterpart. In this version, Alfred is an actor on the English stage who agrees to become the Waynes' butler to honor his father's dying wish that he continue the "family business" of serving the Waynes, his father having been butler for Bruce's grandparents. At the time he begins working for the Waynes, Bruce is a young child. After several months, Alfred voices the desire to quit and return home to continue his life as an actor. However, these plans are momentarily forgotten when young Bruce returns home after getting into a fight with a school bully. Alfred teaches Bruce to outsmart the bully, rather than use brute force. When Alfred's advice works, Bruce asks him to stay, and he agrees without a second thought. Shortly afterward, Bruce's parents are murdered, and Alfred steps in as the boy's legal guardian.
Alfred later helps Bruce raise his adopted wardsDick Grayson,Jason Todd, andTim Drake, all of whom also become his crimefighting partner,Robin. He also has close friendships with other members of theBatman family, includingBarbara Gordon andCassandra Cain. Alfred often acts as a father figure to Bruce, and a grandfather to Dick, Jason, and Tim. He is also highly respected by Batman's fellow superheroes, includingSuperman,Wonder Woman,Green Lantern, and the originalTeen Titans.
Alfred has also been romantically linked to Dr.Leslie Thompkins, a Wayne family friend who is also aware of Bruce's secret identity. He ends the relationship after she apparently allowsStephanie Brown to die from neglect. He also develops feelings for Tim Drake's stepmother, but again, nothing comes of it.
In theKnightfall story arc, Alfred watches helplessly as Batman slowly crumbles under the pressure of fighting every escaped criminal inArkham Asylum, who were set free byBane. When Bane breaks Batman's back, Alfred tries to treat the injury, but Batman remainsparaplegic and a wheelchair user. During the events ofKnightquest, Alfred accompanies Bruce toEngland and becomes enraged when he insists on endangering his own health. This is the culmination of several weeks of Bruce's self-destructive behavior, and when Bruce returns toGotham City, Alfred remains in England, tendering his resignation. He spends some time vacationing inAntarctica andthe Bahamas before returning to England. Dick Grayson tracks him down several months later and convinces him to return toWayne Manor. In that story, it is revealed he had walked out of his own wedding years earlier.
His resourcefulness comes to the fore in theNo Man's Land storyline, especially inLegends of the Dark Knight #118. Batman goes missing for weeks, leaving Alfred alone to watch his city for him. He uses his skills as an actor, storyteller, medic, and spy to survive and collect information on the recently destroyed Gotham City. Alfred even useshand-to-hand combat in a rare one-panel fight sequence between him and a pair of slavers that ends with his rescue by Batman.
InBatman #677, agents of Batman's mysterious enemy Black Glove attack and beat Alfred in front of Bruce andJezebel Jet, severely injuring him. In the same issue, a reporter fromThe Gotham Gazette suggests toCommissioner Jim Gordon that Alfred may be Bruce's biological father and that this may be a reason for the murder of Bruce's motherMartha. Alfred later denies the entire story, agreeing with Bruce that it was a fabrication.
After the event ofFinal Crisis, when Batman is apparently killed in action, Alfred finds himself with the task of raising Bruce's biological sonDamian with Grayson.Batman: Battle for the Cowl sees Alfred allowing Damian to take on his first mission as Robin, giving Damian a Robin tunic and calling on theSquire to assist the new Boy Wonder in finding Tim Drake, who had gone missing while hunting down Jason Todd. Alfred also assists Grayson in his role as Gotham's new Dark Knight.
Alfred is left emotionally shattered by Bruce's death, commenting more than once that, even if his biological fatherhood is a fabrication, in a deeper sense he actually was Bruce Wayne's father, having watched over him for years and feeling he failed him in the last moments. In theBatman and the Outsiders Special, Alfred is seen apologizing at the graves of Thomas and Martha Wayne for Bruce's death, commenting that he grieves as a parent, regarding Bruce as his son. Later, a secret panel in Alfred's room opens, the result of a fail-safe planted by Bruce in the event of his death. Bruce leaves him one final task and also bids him an emotional goodbye, telling Alfred he considered him as a father.
After discovering that the original Batman was actually lost in time after his battle withDarkseid, Alfred immediately seeks clues to his whereabouts. Eventually, Bruce finds his way to the present. After Batman successfully expands his mission globally withBatman Inc., Bruce assumes full responsibility as a father, and Alfred assists him in raising Damian.
![]() | This section's plot summarymay betoo long or excessively detailed. Pleasehelp improve it by removing unnecessary details and making it more concise.(May 2017) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
InThe New 52, it is revealed that Alfred's father Jarvis Pennyworth was the butler of the Wayne family before Alfred when Bruce was a child. Jarvis wasblackmailed by theCourt of Owls to set a trap for the pregnant Martha Wayne. Despite declining, the Court managed to cause a car accident that caused the child to be born prematurely and eventually to have died. Jarvis attempted to resign from his service and write a letter to his son in which he describes the manor as a cursed place, and tells Alfred that he should not begin his service under the Wayne family. However, Jarvis was unable to send the letter as he was murdered that night.[Comics 5]
DuringBatman: Eternal, Alfred is reunited with his long-absent daughter, Julia Pennyworth, an agent of theSpecial Reconnaissance Regiment, when Batman finds her in Hong Kong and takes her back to Wayne Manor for medical treatment after she is stabbed with a samurai sword through the chest by a Chinese gang boss she was hunting.[15] Julia is initially hostile to Alfred, feeling that he has wasted his life going from a soldier to tending to a "fop" like Bruce Wayne. However, after Alfred is attacked byHush and infected with a fear toxin,[16] she discovers theBatcave and takes on her father's role to coordinate the Bat-Family's efforts against their foes.[17] Alfred is briefly transferred toArkham Asylum before it is attacked as part of the conspiracy, but he manages to survive the explosion and trick Bane into helping him reach an emergency cave Batman had installed under Arkham, the cave's defenses knocking Bane out and allowing Alfred to call for help.[18]
WhenHush was briefly kept prisoner in the Batcave, he managed to break out of his cell and lock Alfred in it before sabotaging theBatman Family's equipment via theBatcomputer as they fought various villains, including crashing theBatwing with Batman still in it. However, he was swiftly returned to captivity when Alfred escaped the cell and knocked Hush out, Alfred harshly informing Tommy that he was hardly going to be locked up in his own home.[19]
During theBatman: Endgame arc, the Joker broke into the Batcave, and during a confrontation with Alfred, cut off Alfred's right hand. Julia confirms to Bruce later in the issue that Alfred survived the encounter and is in a stable condition.[volume & issue needed] Following the death of Bruce Wayne, Julia says that with current medical technology, they can have Alfred's hand reattached without any complications. However Alfred refuses, stating that with Bruce dead, he no longer has need of it as he has no one left to serve.
Even with the loss of Bruce as Batman, Alfred still assists theBatman Family in the Batcave along with Julia. After Bruce is discovered to be alive but with no memory of who he is or of his life as Batman, Alfred tells Bruce everything that had happened in his life up to the point of the creation of Batman, but accepts Bruce's request not to learn any more. Alfred did this so that, after years of service to the people of Gotham and the world, Bruce could finally accept his reward of a life without pain and the burning desire to be Batman, allowing his life as Bruce Wayne to finally begin. However, when the new villain Mr. Bloom launches a mass attack that apparently kills Jim Gordon—the new Batman—the amnesic Bruce pieces together enough information to deduce that he was once Batman, and convinces Alfred to subject him to a machine that will theoretically download all of his memories as Batman into his mind.
Bruce's original plan was for the machine to be used to create a series of clones of himself that could be programmed to continue his mission, but although the process failed because simulations confirmed that the human mind could not handle Batman's trauma, Bruce comes through the process by having Alfred take him to the point of brain-death and then download his memories onto his blank brain.[20] With his master restored, Alfred's hand is subsequently reattached, Bruce joking that they used a random hand from the reserves rather than keeping Alfred's hand on ice all this time.[21]
![]() | This sectionneeds expansion. You can help byadding to it.(May 2017) |
Following the 2016DC Rebirth continuity reboot, Alfred appears inDetective Comics and the third volume ofBatman, as well as inAll-Star Batman. In the latter, Alfred is among the many Gotham citizens blackmailed byTwo-Face into stopping Batman from providing Two-Face's former self, Harvey Dent, a cure for hissplit personality; Alfred in particular reluctantly shoots down theBatwing as Batman is flying it. When asked, Alfred reveals his secret; years earlier, he had hired a hitman to killthe Joker after the villain murderedJason Todd and disabledBarbara Gordon. Alfred soon cancelled the hit, however, after realizing that committing cold-blooded murder would betray Batman's ideals.
In Batman #77 (part of the "City of Bane" storyline), an evil version of Thomas Wayne from an alternate dimension invades Gotham City and defeats Batman, and uses Alfred as a hostage to keep the rest of the Bat-Family out. At Thomas' behest, Bane breaks Alfred's neck, killing him afterRobin sneaks into Gotham City to rescue him and defeat Bane. When Bruce comes back to Gotham, he is captured and shown Alfred's body, but a recorded message reveals that he arranged for his own death so that Bruce could come back and stop Thomas, the message reaffirming Alfred's faith in Bruce as the true Batman.[22] InNightwing #78, Barbara visitsDick Grayson and reveals that Alfred was a billionaire, due to stock from Wayne Industries after Alfred became Bruce's legal guardian. Barbara then tells Dick that Alfred has left his fortune to Dick in his will.
As part of Joker's mass assault on Gotham, he managed to temporarily reanimate Alfred's corpse to taunt Batman, but a hallucination of Alfred Batman was experiencing due to exposure to a new form of Joker toxin reminded Bruce that this body wasn't him.
When the demon Nezha used Damian Wayne to attack Lazarus Island, he reanimated Alfred's corpse to spy on Batman, using a portion of Alfred's real soul to make the impersonation convincing. However, Batman soon realised that this version of Alfred wasn't his true self, keeping "Alfred" in play so that he could feed Nezha false information. When "Alfred" is killed as Batman uses him as a body shield against an attack by a possessed Nightwing, enough of Alfred's real self manifests to assure Batman that he didn't kill Alfred again as he wasn't actually alive now anyway.[23]
After Penguin's faked death activated Failsafe, a robot created by the Batman of Zur-En-Arh personality to go after Batman if he broke his rule, it was revealed that Failsafe could only be deactivated if Alfred confirmed that Batman had not crossed the line, but there was no protocol in place for what might happen if Alfred died before Failsafe was activated.
In 1945, Alfred's name was given officially asAlfred Beagle.[Comics 6] This name was subsequently given to an alternative version of the character from the world ofEarth-Two, andPennyworth became Alfred's accepted surname in the mainstream continuity.[Comics 7] Alfred has also used the alias "Thaddeus Crane", which is derived from his middle names.[Comics 8] His full name ofAlfred Thaddeus Crane Pennyworth was depicted on his tombstone inSuperman/Batman: Generations.Grant Morrison's run has referred to the Beagle surname as a possible stage name.[Comics 9]
A highly intelligent and resourceful man, Alfred runs the day-to-day operations ofWayne Manor and maintains much of the equipment of theBatcave beneath it. A former actor, he can use his acting and disguise skills to help Batman in the field when necessary, and is even capable of impersonating Bruce Wayne on the telephone convincingly, as well as giving Bruce various lessons that help him maintain his covers. He has also providedfirst aid up to and including suturing wounds and removing bullets, as well as occasional tactical support. He is also able to performarthroscopy and other advanced medical procedures, thus limiting, if not eliminating, the need for hospitalmedical treatment even in the face of grievous injuries, helping to maintain Batman's secret identity by ensuring that Bruce Wayne has no need to visit hospitals for wounds inflicted on Batman. Nevertheless, Batman still requires professional medical treatment when Bane breaks his back (Batman: Knightfall) andHush's machinations result in him sustaining a skull fracture (Batman: Hush). On these occasions, Alfred admits that his own skills are inadequate for such medical procedures.
While not as skilled atmartial arts as Bruce Wayne, Alfred is still nearly as resourceful. In one story in which he is kidnapped, he readily escapes and overcomes his captors without disturbing the cut of his suit. It was later mentioned that he had been kidnapped unsuccessfully 380 times (these events take place in theGotham Adventures comics, based on the animated adventures of Batman, and not within the standard DCU continuity).[Comics 12] DuringBatman: The Resurrection of Ra's al Ghul, Ubu,Ra's al Ghul's musclebound bodyguard, attempts to use Alfred as a hostage, only to be disabled by a well timed sucker punch from Alfred.
Presumably due to his lack of superpowers, the advanced combat training Bruce's other associates have, and Alfred's age, Alfred is the only member of the "Batman Family" that Bruce does not mind using afirearm, in his case favoring ashotgun when dealing with direct attacks on his person.
Current issues of the variousBatman comics seem to indicate that Alfred is a pioneer in and has also mastered several fields ofrose breeding (even creating his own, the "Pennyworth Blue"),computer programming,electrical engineering,chemical engineering,mechanical engineering,nanotechnology, andbiotechnology as he singlehandedly builds, programs, and maintains much of Batman's next-generational technology such as theBatcomputer.[Comics 13]
InFrank Miller andJim Lee'sAll Star Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder, Alfred is a tougher individual with a different backstory. Following Batman's assault on the corrupt Gotham City police, Alfred andVicki Vale are caught in the devastating car wreckage Batman creates (not aware of their presence) and Vale is badly hurt. Alfred is seen, shirtless and muscled, applying a tourniquet and generally taking control of the situation. He is described as having been aRoyal Air Forcecombat medic and as ex-British Secret Service.
InBatman: The Dark Knight Returns, an elderly Alfred still acts as Bruce's butler, mourning Bruce's diminished social contacts while continuing to loyally serve his master even after Bruce becomes Batman once again after a ten-year retirement. At the story's conclusion, having set Wayne Manor to self-destruct to protect Bruce Wayne's full secrets after his faked death during his fight with Superman, Alfred dies of a stroke, his last thoughts being to consider how utterly proper it is that he should die as Wayne Manor ceases to exist.
In the sequel,Batman: The Dark Knight Strikes Again, theBatcave computer has been programmed with an artificial intelligence named and apparently patterned after Alfred, to the point that it refers to Bruce as "Sir".
InDCeased, Alfred became the newest host forThe Spectre as he was the last survivor of the Bat Family after a plague claimed most of the heroes. The Spectre himself was defeated in battle withMxyzptlk and Corrigan was killed, thus possessing a rage-filled Alfred to battle the corruptedNew Gods.[24][25]
Alfred appears as a main character inGeoff Johns' andGary Frank'sBatman: Earth One. This version is a former member of theRoyal Marines who lost his right leg while saving Thomas Wayne during a battle in theMiddle East and was given a prosthetic replacement by him.[26]
An alternate universe version of Alfred Pennyworth fromEarth-3 who is the leader of theSecret Society appears in the "Trinity War" event.[28]
Alfred makes a brief appearance in the 1997Tangent Comics one-shot issueGreen Lantern in a story revolving around the Tangent versions ofKing Faraday andRoy Raymond. In this version, Alfred Pennyworth is the head of a publishing empire that owned "the House Of Mystery".
In an alternate reality depicted in theMetals crossover, Alfred is killed by Bane, prompting Bruce to requestCyborg's help in completing 'the Alfred Protocol', an artificial intelligence version of Alfred, created to allow Batman to keep some aspect of his 'father' with him. Once the Alfred Protocol is completed, its fixation on protecting its 'son' results in theA.I. version of Alfred murdering all of Batman'srogues gallery before merging with Bruce.[29]
The Batman Who Laughs – a monstrous version of Batman contaminated by the same chemicals that drove the Joker insane – claims that Alfred is the only member of his old family he left alive back on his world. The villain claims that he drove his own version of Alfred insane by implying that his original self is still "alive" within him until Alfred chose to serve the Batman Who Laughs on his own, but the "prime" Alfred denies that any version of him could do this.
In this alternate reality, Nightwing ends an ongoing feud between superpowered beings by activating a device that de-powers 90 percent of the super powered population. This builds to a future where superpowers are outlawed and any superpowered being must take inhibitor medications or be imprisoned. When Bruce is killed during the feud, Alfred inherits his estate and moves to Arizona, while allowing Dick Grayson and his son Jake to stay in Wayne Manor. Though Alfred does not approve of Grayson's crusade against superhumans after Bruce's death, he still occasionally visits him. When Grayson discovered that Jake is beginning to develop powers, his house is invaded by his own police force, the Crusaders, to take Jake away. Alfred attempts to strike one of the Crusaders, who kills him.[30]
Title | Material collected | Published date | ISBN |
---|---|---|---|
Batman Allies: Alfred Pennyworth | Batman (vol. 1) #16, 31,Detective Comics #83, 356, 501-502, 806, 807,Untold Legends of the Batman #2,Batman Annual (vol. 1) #13,Batman: Shadow of the Bat #31,Batman: Gotham Adventures #16,Batman Eternal #31,Batman Annual (vol. 2) #1, 3 | March 2020 | 978-1401298944 |
Pennyworth | Pennyworth #1-7 | July 2022 | 978-1779515674 |
Alfred Pennyworth appears in theBatman: Arkham franchise, voiced primarily byMartin Jarvis and byHugh Fraser inBatman: Arkham VR.[37]