1989–1997
ALFRED FOREVER
(Batman, Batman Returns,
Batman Forever,
Batman & Robin)
Michael Gough’s
restrained and dignified
blockbuster butler
outlasted three Batmen:
first Michael Keaton, then
Val Kilmer, and finally
George Clooney. He also
starred in a Diet Coke
Batman tie-in commercial.1992
THE MILLENNIAL ICON
(Batman: The Animated Series)
This show began as a spinoff from
Batman Returns, but the sardonic
depiction of Alfred at the hands of
character designer Bruce Timm and
actor Efrem Zimbalist Jr. became a
pop-culture touchstone. An even
more chilled-out version of Austin’s
rendition, but with 1940s serials nearly
impossible to find in the ’90s, no kid
was the wiser.1994
A LT A : IG O R
(Batman: Castle of the Bat)
An alternate-universe
story in which Bruce is a
Victor Frankenstein–
esque tinkerer who learns
the hard way that man
should not play God. His
sniveling, hunchbacked
assistant? Alfredo.1987
BAT MENTOR
(Batman: Year One)
When the entire DC line got
rebooted in the mid-1980s,
Alfred was given a new and
more psychologically
complicated history with Bruce:
He’d been working for the family
since before Bruce’s parents
were murdered, and then he
guided the Batlad along his
vigilante path.2005–12
CAINE IS ABLE
(Batman Begins, The Dark Knight,
The Dark Knight Rises)
Michael Caine gets fitted for the
butler’s tux in Christopher
Nolan’s Batman films, with iconic
results: Steve Coogan and Rob
Brydon famously lampooned him
in The Trip, and the scene in which
he monologues about working for
the British military in Burma
became the subject of countless
bizarre remixes on YouTube.2008
FAKE NEWS
(Batman, Vol. 1,
No. 679)
As part of a story line
called “Batman R.I.P.,” a
baddie named Simon
Hurt attempts to smear
Alfred by telling the
world that he had an
affair with Martha Wayne
and is Bruce’s true father.
It doesn’t stick.2014–19
CUPCAKE DEFENDER
(Gotham)
One of the latest TV
versions of the Bat-
mythos takes place while
Bruce is still a child.
Sean Pertwee plays
Alfred as a dude who can
take on any threat,
including a supervillain
named Cupcake. (Look,
it’s a weird show.)2014
BIOLOGICAL DADDY
(Batman,
Vol. 2, No. 28)
This time, Alfred has
a biracial daughter,
Julia Pennyworth,
who turns out to be
a great addition to
Batman’s team.whenever batman comes home from a night of bloody derring-
do, he’s there, ready to sew up a few wounds, offer a pep talk,
trouble shoot some weaponry, and fetch a hot cup of cocoa: Alfred
Pennyworth, loyal valet (or, if we’re going to use expired British military
terminology, Batman’s batman). He was written into the Wayne Manor
household staff early on, in 1943, as an essentially comic character: the
bumbling Brit. Over time, and through the various reboots detailed here,
he was given more gravitas and a skill set that differs in many ways from,
say, Carson’s on Downton Abbey but that comes in handy when your boss is
a billionaire vigilante. Now he’s getting his own show on Epix, Pennyworth,
which elaborates on his backstory. Showrunners Bruno Heller and Danny
Cannon will offer up sexy tales of Alfred’s pre-buttling days as a member of
the elite British Special Air Service. abraham riesmanTracing the evolution of Alfred
Pennyworth from clueless sidekick
to special-forces stud.Batman’s
Butler’s
Killer Past
2013
ALT D: SUPERBUTLER
(Injustice: Gods Among
Us, Vol. 1, No. 36)
In one more alternate
universe—where
Superman goes rogue
after the Joker kills Lois
Lane—Alfred gains
temporary superpowers
and beats the crap
out of Supes.1981
HIS SECRET-AGENT SECRET
(Detective Comics, Vol. 1, No. 501)
So wait, why is Alfred always so good at sewing
up wounds and defending himself?
In this issue, his British-spy backstory is finally
declassified for fans.2009
KICK-ASS THERAPIST
(Whatever Happened to the
Caped Crusader?)
This out-of-continuity homage to all
the eras of the Dark Knight, written
by American Gods author Neil
Gaiman, includes a story in which it’s
revealed that Alfred orchestrated
every fight Batman ever got into,
out of a desire to help cheer up
a depressed Bruce. Alfred himself
even played the Joker!2002–3
KEEPER OF THE FLAME
(Birds of Prey)
The daughter of Batman and
Catwoman picks up the Bat-mantle
in Batsy’s absence with the
assistance of an Alfred played by
Ian Abercrombie. If he looks familiar,
it may be because of his run as one of
Elaine’s bosses on Seinfeld.68 new york | july 22–august 4, 2019
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