It’s a pretty common joke that absolutely no one stays dead in comic books, but oneBatmancharacter is pushing his luck. It used to be said that the only characters who truly died were Uncle Ben, Bucky Barnes, Jason Todd, and Gwen Stacy. But now three out of four are back, which is why I find it so surprising that DC has kept one iconic Batman character dead, asAlfred Pennyworthhas now been gone for five years.
Alfred Pennyworth has always been Batman’s most trusted confidant and a major father figure for him. It’s hard to imagine anyone else inBatman’s life who is more important to him- which is why it was so tragic when Alfred was brutally murdered by Bane inBatman#77 by Tom King and Mikel Janín.
Alfred’s death was genuinely surprising, and even more surprising is that DC has really madeno effort to bring Alfred Pennyworth back from the dead.He’s been gone for five years now, and there’s been no talk of his return at all, which is a pretty surprising decision considering how many lesser-known characters have come back for even less prominent roles in DC’s storytelling.
Alfred Pennyworth’s Death Didn’t Seem to Change Much About the Batman Family Comics
Batman#77 by Tom King, Mikel Janin, Tony S. Daniel, Norm Rapmund, Tomeu Morey, Jordie Bellaire, and Clayton Cowles
Alfred Pennyworth has always been portrayed as being absolutely indispensable toBruce Wayne’s ability to function as Batman. I can’t even count the number of comics I have seen where Alfred is in the Batcave on the Batcomputer providing information to Batman in the field. Or how about the times when Batman somehow manages to stumble back to the Batcave,full of stab wounds and bullets, only forAlfred to stitch him up and treat his wounds? There are also several stories that portray Alfred leaving Batman’s side as a major event.
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There have been a few times when Alfred has decided that he can’t help Batman in his crusade anymore and has left. Alfred leaving Bruce is treated with such importance that the final choice in theBatmangames by Telltale is whether the player will continue beingBatman at the cost of Alfred or give up the cowl to keep Alfred. That’s how importantAlfred has always been to Batmanand his mythos, which is why I find it so surprising that his death hasn’t really mattered all that much in the comics. You’d think that there would be tons of story opportunities about a Batman without Alfred, but apparently not.
Alfred Pennyworth Has Been at Batman’s Side for Decades
Still, His Death Didn’t Affect Much
When Alfred died, everyone thought it would be a pivotal moment in Batman’s history that absolutely changed everything, and yet, nothing has really changed. Even more bizarrely, Batman hasn’t hadany real stories that have spun out of Alfred’s death. I would think that the entire reason for killing off a character is that there’s more story potential without them as opposed to with them, but nothing much has changed in Batman’s world as a direct result of Alfred’s passing. Batman and the Bat-Family are mostly still the same, and onlythe larger Bat-Family had any real story beatsinvolving Alfred’s death.
Batman has had surprisingly little to say after the death of Alfred.
Batman has had surprisingly little to say after the death of his longtime ally and father figure. For the most part, he’s simply soldiered on, continuing to protect Gotham City as best he can, as he always does, with no real change in his behavior. The only times when Alfred’s death has been used are when enemies attempt to throw it in Bruce’s face, such as when theJoker zombified Alfred duringJoker Warand when Nezha created a demonic version of Alfred using Alfred’s soul inBatman vs. Robin. ButBatman simply defeated them and laid Alfredto rest again. Nothing really came of these story beats, which I find odd.
Every member of the Bat-Family got to have some kind of response to the death of Alfred, Damian especially.Red Hood got revenge on BaneduringTask Force Z, even though it turned out to not actually be Bane in the end. InNightwing#83 by Tom Taylor and Bruno Redondo, Nightwing uses Alfred’s money to honor his memory.Damian Wayne finally got revenge on BaneinBatman and Robin#12 by Joshua Williamson and Juan Ferreyra. Unlike Batman, these characters react to Alfred’s death, but Bruce Wayne hasn’t had a similar story moment, which is why I find it so strange thatDC insists on keeping Alfred dead.
But Not Batman for Some Reason
I’m not saying that I need Batman to ambush Bane in a dark alley and seek revenge; that’s been done enough. But I just think it’s weird that Alfred has been dead for half a decade and readers haven’t even gotten to see how Bruce manages without him, either emotionally or logistically. WhileBatman doesn’t have Wayne Manor anymore, he did for a while after Alfred’s death, and we never got to see how Bruce was managing in that giant house by himself. Batman is a characterwho is entirely driven by guiltover his failure to protect his loved ones, and yet he doesn’t have any stories exploring this key character trait in relation to Alfred.
All we’ve gotten is Alfred becoming a zombie due to the Joker, which results in Batman hallucinating the real Alfred and telling him not to give up. Then we got Nezha reviving a demonic version of Alfred, which Bruce quickly snuffed out, and a brief conversation between the real Alfred and Bruce where Alfred tells him not to feel guilty over being unable to save him. Batman then went right on fighting crime as he was before, withthese moments never even brought up again- which isn’t even to mention the other family members that Alfred did have beyond Bruce Wayne’s ragtag Bat-Family.
Alfred Pennyworth’s Death Could Have Led to So Many Great Batman Stories
For Example: What Happened to His Daughter?
While Alfred’s family has always been primarily Bruce Wayne and the rest of the Bat-Family,he does have a daughter, and her reaction to his death was shockingly underplayed. Julia simply stated she would have nothing to do with the Bat-Family anymore because of it, and that was it. I honestly feel like DC has been actively avoiding trying to explore any fallout from Alfred’s death, so that when he inevitably comes back, he’ll be able to slide back into continuity without any major hurdles or story elements to interact with.
5 Years After Alfred’s Death, Batman Finally Gets Justice - But Not the Way You Think
Alfred Pennyworth was brutally murdered by Bane, and after five years, Batman and Robin have finally achieved justice, but in a very unexpected form.
Alfred has been dead for a long time. It’s unclear how much longer DC will keep him dead, and I think it’s commendable that the publisher really did seem to commit to his death. Everyone thought Alfred would be back in six months at the absolute latest, but that hasn’t been the case. DC has stuck to its guns and kept Alfred dead in a comic book genre where almost no one stays dead for long. My only issue with it is that killing offAlfred Pennyworth, especially for this long, should have opened major story opportunities forBatman, and it seemingly hasn’t.
Alfred Pennyworth
Batman
One of DC’s most iconic heroes, Batman is the vigilante superhero persona of billionaire Bruce Wayne. Forged by tragedy with the death of his parents, Bruce dedicated his life to becoming the world’s leading martial artist, detective, and tactician. Recruiting an entire family of allies and sidekicks, Bruce wages war on evil as the dark knight of his hometown, Gotham City.
