Alfred (Batman)

Alfred Thaddeus Crane Pennyworth, originally Alfred Beagle and commonly known simply as Alfred, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, most commonly in association with the superhero Batman.

Alfred is depicted as Batman's meticulous, disciplined, loyal and tireless confidante, butler, legal guardian, best friend, aide-de-camp, and surrogate father figure following the murders of his parents, Thomas and Martha 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's batman". He serves as Bruce's moral anchor while providing comic relief with his sardonic and cynical attitude; as an amnesiac, he has also served as the supervillainous Outsider. A vital part of the Batman mythos, Alfred was nominated for the '' Wizard'' Fan Award for Favorite Supporting Male Character in 1994. Bane killed Alfred in 2019 during the ''City of Bane'' storyline, and he remains dead in the primary continuity of the DC Universe as of 2025.

In non-comics media, the character has been portrayed in live-action and voiced by actors William Austin, Eric Wilton, Michael Gough, Michael Caine, Jeremy Irons, Douglas Hodge, and Andy Serkis on film, and by Alan Napier, Efrem Zimbalist Jr., Ian Abercrombie, David McCallum, and Sean Pertwee on television, among others. Ralph Fiennes provided the voice of Alfred in the animated ''Lego Movie'' franchise, and Martin Jarvis voiced the character in the '' Batman: Arkham'' video game series. A young version of Pertwee's Alfred, played by Jack Bannon, is depicted before he became the butler to the Wayne family in the television series '' Pennyworth''.

Publication history

The character first appeared in ''Batman'' #16 (April 1944), by writer Don Cameron and artist Bob Kane. Evidence suggests that Alfred was created by the writers of the 1943 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.

Fictional character biography

In Alfred's first appearance, he was overweight and clean-shaven; however, when the 1943 ''Batman'' serial was released, William Austin, the actor who played Alfred, was trim and sported a thin moustache.

DC editors wanted the comic Alfred to resemble his cinematic counterpart, so in ''Detective Comics'' #83 (January 1944), Alfred vacationed at a health resort, where he slimmed down and grew a mustache.

This look has remained with the character ever since, even surviving his apparent "death" and resurrection.''Detective Comics'' #356 in 1966

Alfred was originally conceived as a comedic foil for Batman and Robin; he spoke with a Cockney accent, and simply arrived on Wayne Manor's doorstep to announce that he was beginning his duties.

In most early tales, he made bungling attempts to be a detective on a par with the young masters. He was given a four-page feature of his own, "The Adventures of Alfred", in ''Batman'' #22 (April–May 1944) and the feature lasted 13 issues, skipping ''Batman'' #35, with the last story in ''Batman'' #36.

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.

Pre-''Crisis''

The Pre-''Crisis'' comics (the comics that were published by DC Comics between 1938 and 1984) established Alfred as a retired actor and intelligence agent who followed the deathbed wish of his dying father (identified only as "Jarvis") to carry on the tradition of serving the Wayne family.

To that end, Alfred introduced himself to Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson at Wayne Manor and insisted on becoming their butler. Although the pair did not want one, especially since they did not want to jeopardize their secret identities with a servant in the house, they did not have the heart to reject Alfred.

Initially, Alfred discovered their identities by accident; while fighting a burglar in ''Batman'' #16 (Alfred's first appearance), he accidentally hit a switch and opened a sliding panel leading to the Batcave. 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 in ''Batman'' #110 (September 1957); during his first night at Wayne Manor, Alfred awoke to moaning and followed the sound to the secret passage to the staircase leading to the Batcave and met his would-be employers in their superhero 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 in ''Detective Comics'' #328 (June 1964). It was revealed in ''Detective 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, including telekinesis, and a desire to destroy Batman and Robin.

Calling himself the Outsider, he indirectly battled the Dynamic Duo on a number of occasions, using others as his puppets—the Grasshopper Gang in ''Detective'' #334, Zatanna in ''Detective'' #336, and even the Batmobile itself in ''Detective'' #340—and generally only appeared as a mocking voice over the radio.

He did not physically appear in the comics until ''Detective'' #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. His time as the Outsider is collected in ''Showcase Presents: Batman Volume''s ''1'' and ''2''.

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 heroine Mademoiselle Marie, whom Alfred had met while working as an intelligence agent in occupied France during World War II.

Post-''Crisis'' and Zero Hour

In the Post-''Crisis'' comics continuity, 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 been modified several times over the years, creating assorted versions.

In one such version, Alfred was hired away from the British 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 wards Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, and Tim Drake, all of whom also become his crimefighting partner, Robin. He also has close friendships with other members of the Batman family, including Barbara Gordon and Cassandra 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, including Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, and the original Teen 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 allows Stephanie Brown to die from neglect. He also develops feelings for Tim Drake's stepmother, but again, nothing comes of it.

In the ''Knightfall'' story arc, Alfred watches helplessly as Batman slowly crumbles under the pressure of fighting every escaped criminal in Arkham Asylum, who were set free by Bane. When Bane breaks Batman's back, Alfred tries to treat the injury, but Batman remains paraplegic and a wheelchair user.

During the events of '' Knightquest'', Alfred accompanies Bruce to England 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 to Gotham City, Alfred remains in England, after tendering his resignation. He spends some time vacationing in Antarctica and the Bahamas before returning to England. Dick Grayson tracks him down several months later and convinces him to return to Wayne Manor. In that story, it is revealed he had walked out of his own wedding years earlier.

His resourcefulness comes to the fore in the '' No Man's Land'' storyline, especially in ''Legends 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 uses hand-to-hand combat in a rare one-panel fight sequence between him and a pair of slavers that ends with his rescue by Batman.

In ''Batman'' #677, agents of Batman's mysterious enemy Black Glove attack and beat Alfred in front of Bruce and Jezebel Jet, severely injuring him. In the same issue, a reporter from ''The Gotham Gazette'' suggests to Commissioner Jim Gordon that Alfred may be Bruce's biological father and that this may be a reason for the murder of Bruce's mother Martha. Alfred later denies the entire story, agreeing with Bruce that it was a fabrication.

After the event of ''Final Crisis'', when Batman is apparently killed in action, Alfred finds himself with the task of raising Bruce's biological son Damian 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 the Squire 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 the ''Batman 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 with Darkseid, Alfred immediately seeks clues to his whereabouts. Eventually, Bruce finds his way to the present. After Batman successfully expands his mission globally with Batman Inc., Bruce assumes full responsibility as a father, and Alfred assists him in raising Damian.

''The New 52''

In ''The 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 was blackmailed by the Court 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.

During '' Batman: Eternal'', Alfred is reunited with his long-absent daughter, Julia Pennyworth, an agent of the Special 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.

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 by Hush and infected with a fear toxin, she discovers the Batcave and takes on her father's role to coordinate the Bat-Family's efforts against their foes.

Alfred is briefly transferred to Arkham 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.

When Hush was briefly kept prisoner in the Batcave, he managed to break out of his cell and lock Alfred in it before sabotaging the Batman Family's equipment via the Batcomputer as they fought various villains, including crashing the Batwing 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.

During the '' Batman: 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.

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 the Batman 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. 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.

''DC Rebirth''

Following the 2016 ''DC Rebirth'' continuity reboot, Alfred appears in ''Detective Comics'' and the third volume of ''Batman'', as well as in ''All-Star Batman''. In the latter, Alfred is among the many Gotham citizens blackmailed by Two-Face into stopping Batman from providing Two-Face's former self, Harvey Dent, a cure for his split personality; Alfred in particular reluctantly shoots down the Batwing as Batman is flying it.

When asked, Alfred reveals his secret; years earlier, he had hired a hitman to kill the Joker after the villain murdered Jason Todd and disabled Barbara 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 after Robin 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.

In ''Nightwing'' #78, Barbara visits Dick 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.

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.

Characterization

Name

In 1945, Alfred's name was given officially as Alfred Beagle. The surname "Beagle" was explicitly used for Alfred starting in 1945 and on the introduction of "Pennyworth" this is treated as having always been their name by retcon.

This name was subsequently given to an alternative version of the character from the world of Earth-Two, and Pennyworth became Alfred's accepted surname in the mainstream continuity.

The name "Pennyworth" was first used for Alfred in 1969, 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.

Alfred has also used the alias "Thaddeus Crane", which is derived from his middle names.

His full name of Alfred Thaddeus Crane Pennyworth was depicted on his tombstone in ''Superman/Batman: Generations''. Grant Morrison's run has referred to the Beagle surname as a possible stage name.

Family

* Jarvis Pennyworth: Alfred's father in both Pre-''Crisis'' and ''New 52'' continuity. In the TV series, '' Pennyworth'' he is named Arthur instead.
* Mary Pennyworth: Alfred's mother in the TV series, '' Pennyworth''.
* Wilfred Pennyworth: Alfred's brother, Wilfred is referenced in the late 1960s and early 1970s and is mentioned in the 1997 film '' Batman & Robin''.
* Daphne Pennyworth: Alfred Pennyworth's niece, daughter of Wilfred Pennyworth, Daphne briefly appeared in the late 1960s/early 1970s.
* Mademoiselle Marie: A war heroine with whom Alfred (while working as an intelligence agent in France) has a daughter in Pre-''Crisis'' continuity.''Detective Comics'' #501-502
* Julia Remarque: Alfred's daughter by Mademoiselle Marie. Appears as Julia Pennyworth in ''New 52'' continuity as well as on ''Batwoman''.
* Margaret Wilson née Pennyworth: Alfred and Wilfred Pennyworth's sister in the 1997 film '' Batman & Robin''.
* Barbara Wilson: Alfred's niece, daughter of Margaret Wilson née Pennyworth in the 1997 film '' Batman & Robin''. In traditional comics, her name is Barbara Gordon and is the daughter of James Gordon, with no relation to Alfred other than her place as Batgirl.
* Theobald: Alfred's second cousin in Earth-One continuity.

Skills, resources, and abilities

A highly intelligent and resourceful man, Alfred runs the day-to-day operations of Wayne Manor and maintains much of the equipment of the Batcave 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 provided first aid up to and including suturing wounds and removing bullets, as well as occasional tactical support.

He is also able to perform arthroscopy and other advanced medical procedures, thus limiting, if not eliminating, the need for hospital medical 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'') and Hush'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 at martial 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 the ''Gotham Adventures'' comics, based on the animated adventures of Batman, and not within the standard DCU continuity).

During '' Batman: 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 a firearm, in his case favoring a shotgun when dealing with direct attacks on his person.

Current issues of the various ''Batman'' comics seem to indicate that Alfred is a pioneer in and has also mastered several fields of rose breeding (even creating his own, the "Pennyworth Blue"), computer programming, electrical engineering, chemical engineering, mechanical engineering, nanotechnology, and biotechnology as he singlehandedly builds, programs, and maintains much of Batman's next-generational technology such as the Batcomputer.

Other versions

All Star Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder

In Frank Miller and Jim Lee's ''All 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 and Vicki 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 a Royal Air Force combat medic and as ex-British Secret Service.

Batman: The Dark Knight Returns

In ''Batman: 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'', the Batcave computer has been programmed with an artificial intelligence named and apparently patterned after Alfred, to the point that it refers to Bruce as "Sir".

DCeased

In ''DCeased'', Alfred became the newest host for The 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 with Mxyzptlk and Corrigan was killed, thus possessing a rage-filled Alfred to battle the corrupted New Gods.

Earth One

Alfred appears as a main character in Geoff Johns' and Gary Frank's '' Batman: Earth One''.

This version is a former member of the Royal Marines who lost his right leg while saving Thomas Wayne during a battle in the Middle East and was given a prosthetic replacement by him.

Elseworlds

* Alfred appears in the ''Elseworlds'' series '' Superman & Batman: Generations''. He serves the Wayne family before dying in 1967, but his spirit remains around to give Bruce advice, although Bruce admits he's unsure if this is actually Alfred's ghost or just Bruce hallucinating. In ''Generations 2'', he makes his final appearance in 1975, when he convinces the ghost of Dick Grayson not to kill the Joker; Joker had killed Grayson while he was acting as Batman in 1969, but the public were told that Joker only killed Robin as Dick's Robin Bruce Junior (Bruce Wayne's son) switched costumes with his mentor. Grayson's enraged ghost sought revenge, but Alfred managed to convince Dick to pass over, affirming that the Joker was an old man in no state to harm anyone but killing him would cross the line and compromise Batman's dedication to justice. However, when Grayson crosses over, Alfred's own soul does so as well, meaning he cannot come back to see Bruce and the others any more.
* In '' Batman: Castle of the Bat'', Alfred is reimagined as the hunchbacked Alfredo, the " Igor" to Doctor Bruce Wayne, whose experiments see him reviving his father's brain in the body of the giant "Bat-Man". In keeping with his role as "Igor", Alfredo is often forced to bear the brunt of his master's frustrations with the situation as the revived Thomas Wayne escapes to stalk highwaymen as the monstrous "Bat-Man".
* In ''Batman/Demon: A Tragedy'', Alfred Pennyworth is the alter ego of Merlin, who bound Bruce Wayne to Etrigan centuries prior and chose to serve him to make up for his actions.
* In ''Batman: Dark Allegiances'', Alfred is still Bruce Wayne's butler as Bruce faces various fascist-themed versions of his rogues gallery, but after the government asks Bruce to become an official American agent during World War II, Alfred joins Bruce and Selina Kyle in the field as the new Robin.
* In '' Batman: Dark Knight Dynasty'', in a timeline where Thomas and Martha Wayne were not killed in Crime Alley, Alfred assists the adult Bruce in investigating his parents' deaths when they apparently fall out of their penthouse (revealed to have been done due to the influence of Vandal Savage's henchwoman the Scarecrone when the Waynes threatened his plan to acquire the meteor that gave him his immortality). While studying available information on the meteor, Alfred discovers a record of the unusual energy reading it emits, but triggers a booby-trap that destroys Wayne Manor and kills him. Five centuries later, Bruce's descendant Brenda Wayne discovers a fragmented recording of Alfred and the energy reading that assists her in her own investigations into Savage's activities.
* In ''League of Justice'', where the Justice League exists in a world where magic is prominent, Alfred is reinvented as a zombie-like figure, reinforcing Bruce's idea that science is more reliable than magic despite its greater potential power.
* Alfred plays a prominent role in the " Vampire Batman" trilogy, in which Batman is turned into a vampire to fight Count Dracula, forging Batman's weapons to use against the remaining members of Dracula's "family" and subsequently working with Commissioner Gordon after Batman succumbs to his vampiric instincts and begins to kill his old enemies. At the conclusion of the trilogy, with Gordon being hunted by Two-Face and Killer Croc in the remains of the Batcave, Alfred sacrifices his life to allow the currently weakened Batman to drink his blood, giving his old master the strength to save Gordon and the people of Gotham one last time before he allows himself to die to end the threat that he has become.

Earth-3

An alternate universe version of Alfred Pennyworth from Earth-3 who is the leader of the Secret Society appears in the "Trinity War" event.

Tangent Comics

Alfred makes a brief appearance in the 1997 Tangent Comics one-shot issue ''Green Lantern'' in a story revolving around the Tangent versions of King Faraday and Roy Raymond (character), Roy Raymond.

In this version, Alfred Pennyworth is the head of a publishing empire that owned "the House Of Mystery".

Batman: The Murder Machine

In an alternate reality depicted in the ''Metals'' crossover, Alfred is killed by Bane, prompting Bruce to request Cyborg (DC Comics), Cyborg'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 the artificial intelligence, A.I. version of Alfred murdering all of Batman's Batman rogues gallery, rogues gallery before merging with Bruce.

The Batman Who Laughs

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.

Nightwing: The New Order

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.

Collected editions

In other media

Television

Live-action

* Alfred appears in ''Batman (TV series), Batman'' (1966), portrayed by Alan Napier. No surname was given for this version as "Pennyworth" was not introduced in the comics until after the series had ended production.
* Alfred Pennyworth appears in a 1989 Diet Coke commercial, portrayed by Michael Gough.
* Alfred Pennyworth, based on his portrayal in '' Batman & Robin'' (1997), appears in a commercial promoting the home media release of the film, portrayed by Ian Abercrombie.
* Alfred Pennyworth appears in a series of Batman OnStar commercials, portrayed again by Michael Gough.
* Alfred Pennyworth appears in ''Birds of Prey (TV series), Birds of Prey'', portrayed again by Ian Abercrombie.
* A young List of Gotham (franchise) characters#Alfred_Pennyworth, Alfred Pennyworth appears in ''Gotham (TV series), Gotham'', portrayed by Sean Pertwee.
** Alfred appears in the prequel series '' Pennyworth'', portrayed by Jack Bannon. This series explores his past as a soldier in the Special Air Service (SAS), his affair with the Elizabeth II, Queen of England, and his involvement in the Alternate history, British Civil War leading into the events of ''V for Vendetta''.
* Alfred Pennyworth appears in ''Titans (2018 TV series), Titans'', portrayed by an uncredited actor. This version died sometime before the third season.

Animation

* Alfred Pennyworth appears in ''The Batman/Superman Hour'', voiced by Olan Soule.
* Alfred Pennyworth appears in ''Challenge of the Superfriends'', voiced by William Callaway.
* Alfred Pennyworth appears in ''The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians'', voiced by Andre Stojka.
* Alfred Pennyworth appears in television series set in the DC Animated Universe, voiced initially by Clive Revill and subsequently by Efrem Zimbalist Jr.. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.
* Alfred Pennyworth appears in ''The Batman (TV series), The Batman'' (2004), voiced by Alastair Duncan (actor, born 1958), Alastair Duncan.
* Alfred Pennyworth appears in ''Batman: The Brave and the Bold'', voiced by James Garrett. Additionally, the episode "The Super-Batman of Planet X!" features a robot inspired by Alfred named Alpha-Red (voiced by James Arnold Taylor) who serves the Batman of Zur-En-Arrh.
* Alfred Pennyworth appears in ''Young Justice (TV series), Young Justice'', voiced by Jeff Bennett.
* Alfred Pennyworth appears in ''Beware the Batman'', voiced by JB Blanc. This version is a former member of MI6 and Katana (DC Comics), Katana's godfather.
* Alfred Pennyworth appears in ''Lego DC Comics: Batman Be-Leaguered'', voiced by Nolan North.
* Alfred Pennyworth appears in ''Teen Titans Go!''.
* Alfred Pennyworth appears in the ''Scooby-Doo and Guess Who?'' episode "What a Night for a Dark Knight!", voiced by Steven Weber. This version is a family friend of Daphne Blake.
* Alfred Pennyworth appears in ''Harley Quinn (TV series), Harley Quinn'', voiced by Tom Hollander. This version operates as the vigilante Macaroni (fashion), Macaroni via a wig equipped with various gadgets.
* Alfred Pennyworth appears in ''DC Super Hero Girls (TV series), DC Super Hero Girls'', voiced again by Keith Ferguson (voice actor), Keith Ferguson.
* Alfred Pennyworth, based on the Golden Age version, appears in ''Batman: Caped Crusader'', voiced by Jason Watkins.

Film

Live-action

* Alfred appears in ''Batman'' (1943), portrayed by William Austin.
* Alfred appears in ''Batman and Robin (serial), Batman and Robin'' (1949), portrayed by Eric Wilton.
* Alfred appears in the ''Batman'' (1966) film of the Batman (1966 film), same name, portrayed again by Alan Napier.
* Alfred Pennyworth appears in the Batman in film#Tim Burton and Joel Schumacher series (1989–1997), Tim Burton/Joel Schumacher ''Batman'' film series, portrayed by Michael Gough in the present and Jon Simmons in flashbacks. This version is the uncle of Barbara Gordon, Barbara Wilson.
* Alfred Pennyworth appears in Christopher Nolan's ''The Dark Knight Trilogy'', portrayed by Michael Caine. This version is a former senior Non-commissioned officer, NCO in the Special Air Service, SAS and a veteran of tours of duty in Malayan Emergency, Malaya, Cyprus Emergency, Cyprus, Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation, Borneo, Aden Emergency, Aden, West Germany, and twice in The Troubles, Northern Ireland.
* Alfred Pennyworth appears in films set in the DC Extended Universe, portrayed by Jeremy Irons.
* Alfred Pennyworth appears in ''Joker (2019 film), Joker'', portrayed by Douglas Hodge.
* Alfred Pennyworth appears in ''The Batman (film), The Batman'' (2022), portrayed by Andy Serkis. This version is a former MI6 intelligence officer who served as the head of security to Thomas Wayne and has a hostile relationship with Bruce before they eventually reconcile.

Animation

* Alfred Pennyworth appears in the DCAU films ''Batman: Mask of the Phantasm'', ''Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero'' and ''Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman'', voiced again by Efrem Zimbalist Jr.
* Alfred Pennyworth appears in ''The Batman vs. Dracula'', voiced again by Alastair Duncan.
* Alfred Pennyworth appears in ''Batman: Gotham Knight'', voiced by David McCallum.
* Alfred Pennyworth appears in ''Superman/Batman: Public Enemies'', voiced by Alan Oppenheimer.
* Alfred Pennyworth appears in ''Batman: Under the Red Hood'', voiced by Jim Piddock.
* Alfred Pennyworth appears in ''Batman: Year One (film), Batman: Year One'', voiced by Jeff Bennett.
* Alfred Pennyworth appears in ''Justice League: Doom'', voiced by Robin Atkin Downes.
* Alfred Pennyworth appears in ''Batman: The Dark Knight Returns (film), Batman: The Dark Knight Returns'', voiced by Michael Jackson (radio commentator), Michael Jackson.
* Alfred Pennyworth appears in films set in the DC Animated Movie Universe (DCAMU):
** Alfred appears in ''Son of Batman'' and ''Batman vs. Robin'', voiced again by David McCallum.
** Alfred appears in ''Batman: Bad Blood'', voiced again by James Garrett.
** Alfred appears in ''Batman: Hush (film), Batman: Hush'', voiced again by James Garrett.
** Alfred makes a non-speaking cameo appearance in ''The Death of Superman (film), The Death of Superman''.
* Alfred Pennyworth makes a non-speaking cameo appearance in ''Lego Batman: The Movie - DC Super Heroes Unite''.
* Alfred Pennyworth appears in ''Batman: Assault on Arkham'', voiced by Martin Jarvis.
* Alfred Pennyworth appears in the ''Batman Unlimited'' film series, voiced again by Alastair Duncan.
* Alfred Pennyworth makes a non-speaking cameo appearance in ''Lego DC Comics Super Heroes: Justice League – Gotham City Breakout''.
* Alfred Pennyworth appears in ''Batman: The Killing Joke (film), Batman: The Killing Joke'', voiced again by Brian George.
* Alfred Pennyworth appears in ''Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders'' and ''Batman vs. Two-Face'', voiced by Steven Weber.
* Alfred Pennyworth appears in ''The Lego Movie (franchise), The Lego Movie'' franchise, voiced by Ralph Fiennes.
* Alfred Pennyworth appears in ''DC Super Heroes vs. Eagle Talon'', voiced by Frogman.
* Alfred Pennyworth appears in ''Teen Titans Go! To the Movies''.
* Alfred Pennyworth appears in ''Batman: Gotham by Gaslight'', voiced by Anthony Head.
* Alfred Pennyworth appears in ''Lego DC Batman: Family Matters'', voiced by Nolan North.
* Alfred Pennyworth appears in ''Batman vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'', voiced again by Brian George.
* Alfred Pennyworth appears in ''Batman Ninja'', voiced by Hōchū Ōtsuka and Adam Croasdell in the Japanese and English versions respectively.
* Alfred Pennyworth makes a non-speaking cameo appearance in ''Batman: Death in the Family''.
* Alfred Pennyworth makes a non-speaking cameo appearance in ''Space Jam: A New Legacy''.
* Alfred Pennyworth appears in ''Lego DC Shazam! Magic and Monsters'', voiced by Nolan North.
* Alfred Pennyworth appears in ''Batman: The Long Halloween (film), Batman: The Long Halloween'', voiced again by Alastair Duncan.
* Alfred Pennyworth appears in ''Batman: The Doom That Came to Gotham (film), Batman: The Doom That Came to Gotham'', voiced again by Brian George.
* Alfred Pennyworth appears in ''Merry Little Batman'', voiced by James Cromwell.
* Alfred Pennyworth appears in ''Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths'', voiced again by Alastair Duncan.

Video games

* Alfred Pennyworth appears in ''Batman: Vengeance'', voiced again by Efrem Zimbalist Jr.
* Alfred Pennyworth appears in the ''Batman Begins (video game), Batman Begins'' film tie-in game, voiced by Michael Caine.
* Alfred Pennyworth appears in ''Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure'', voiced by Jim Piddock.
* Alfred Pennyworth appears in ''The Dark Knight Rises'' tie-in game, voiced by Steven French (actor), Steven French.
* Alfred Pennyworth appears in ''Batman (2013 arcade game), Batman'' (2013), voiced by David Lodge (voice actor), David Lodge.
* Alfred Pennyworth appears in ''Batman: The Telltale Series'', voiced by Enn Reitel.
* Alfred Pennyworth appears in ''Batman: The Enemy Within'', voiced again by Enn Reitel.
* Alfred Pennyworth appears in ''Gotham Knights (video game), Gotham Knights'', voiced by Gildart Jackson. This version provides technical assistance and moral support to the eponymous Gotham Knights following Bruce Wayne's death.
* Alfred Pennyworth appears in ''Justice League: Cosmic Chaos'', voiced again by Alastair Duncan.

Lego series

* Alfred Pennyworth appears as a playable character in ''Lego Batman: The Videogame'',''Game Informer'' features a two-page gallery of the many heroes and villains who appear in the game with a picture for each character and a descriptive paragraph. See "''LEGO Batman'': Character Gallery", ''Game Informer'' 186 (October 2008): 92. voiced by Keith Ferguson (voice actor), Keith Ferguson.
* Alfred Pennyworth appears as a playable character in ''Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes'', voiced by Steve Blum.
* The comic book and ''Batman'' (1966) incarnations of Alfred Pennyworth appear as separate playable characters in ''Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham'', with the former voiced by Robin Atkin Downes.
* Alfred Pennyworth appears in ''Lego Dimensions'', voiced again by Robin Atkin Downes.
* Alfred Pennyworth appears as a NPC in ''Lego DC Super-Villains''. Additionally, ''The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part'' incarnation of Pennyworth appears as a playable DLC character.

''Batman: Arkham''

Alfred Pennyworth appears in the '' Batman: Arkham'' franchise, voiced primarily by Martin Jarvis and by Hugh Fraser (actor), Hugh Fraser in ''Batman: Arkham VR''.

Miscellaneous

* Alfred Pennyworth appears in the BBC radio drama adaptation of " Batman: Knightfall", voiced by Michael Gough.
* Alfred Pennyworth appears in the ''Batman Black and White'' motion comic, voiced by Michael Dobson (actor), Michael Dobson.
* Alfred Pennyworth appears in ''Smallville Season 11''.
* Alfred Pennyworth appears in ''Injustice: Gods Among Us (comics), Injustice: Gods Among Us''. This version is a member of Batman's Insurgency.
* Alfred Pennyworth appears in ''Holy Musical B@man!'', portrayed by Chris Allen.
* Alfred Pennyworth appears in ''DC Heroes United'', voiced by Andrew Wheildon-Dennis.
* A character based on Alfred Pennyworth called Alfred Copperworth appears in ''World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King''.
* A character based on Alfred Pennyworth called Aloysius Pennyworth appears in the ''Danganronpa'' franchise, depicted as the butler of Byakuya Togami and appearing in ''Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls'' and ''Dangaronpa: Togami''.

References

Plot summary citations

External links

Alfred Pennyworth
at DC Comics' official website

Alfred Pennyworth
on IMDb
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pennyworth, Alfred
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