Alfred Pennyworth (Michael Caine)

"You still haven't given up on me?"

- Bruce Wayne

"Never."

- Alfred Pennyworth

Alfred Pennyworth was Bruce Wayne's butler and, above all, his friend.

Early Life
He served in the British military when he was younger. In one mission, he was dispatched with a unit to negotiate with the Burmese government and bribing them with jewels, but were constantly ambushed by a bandit who kept stealing the jewels. It wasn't until they found a kid playing with one of the jewels stolen from them, a ruby the size of a tangerine, that they discovered that the man stole the jewels simply because he wanted to cause chaos; Alfred later reflected that some men are looking for nothing but "to watch the world burn". They later caught the person by burning down his forest.

Creating a legend
During his service to the Wayne family, Alfred became a valued member of the household, Thomas and Martha trusting him with Bruce's guardianship in the event of their demise. When Bruce vanished for seven years, he was declared dead by Wayne Enterprise's CEO in order to claim his shares, but this plan was thwarted because Bruce left everything to Alfred. After Bruce returned from his training in the League of Shadows, he told Alfred that his goal was to become a symbol to frighten the mobsters and criminals of the city, reasoning that as a man he could be defeated but a symbol would be incorruptible and eternal. Alfred helped Bruce arrange the order of the tools necessary for Bruce to become Batman that he could not acquire from Wayne Enterprises- such as the components of the cowl-, also encouraging him to feign a social life to deflect attention from the idea that he could be Batman. When the League of Shadows attacked Wayne Manor, Alfred helped to save Bruce when he was trapped under a beam and rallied him to resume his fight against the League to save Gotham. In the aftermath, Alfred offered some suggestions about the repairs that could be carried out in the manor.

Continued crusade
Alfred continued to aid Bruce when he needed it while patrolling Gotham as Batman.

Protecting Bruce
"Some men aren't looking for anything logical,like money.They can't be bought, bullied, reasoned or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn."

- Alfred Pennyworth

Alfred and Bruce moved to a downtown penthouse and the batcave was relocated to the Gotham Docks as Wayne Manor was destroyed. Although he supported Bruce's decision as Batman, Alfred couldn't help but worry about him while he was on his nightly raids. Alfred eventually told Bruce to know his limits to which Bruce replied that Batman has no limits. Alfred was a source of wisdom to not only Bruce, but Rachel Dawes and on a more casual level, Harvey Dent. When Bruce traveled to Hong Kong to get a business man who was handling the mob's money, it was Alfred who came up with the alibi for Bruce. While reflecting on the Joker's impossible actions, Alfred recalled a tale from his army career to explain to Bruce how some men cannot be understood. Rachel gave him the task of giving Bruce a letter "when the time is right." Alfred later read it and discovered that she was going to marry Dent, having concluded that, while a day may come when Gotham no longer needed Batman, she was no longer sure that there would ever be a day when Bruce didn't need Batman.

Upon her death, Bruce was downtrodden; although Alfred was about to give him the letter, when Bruce expressed his belief that Rachel would have waited for him, he attempted to hide it saying, "It can wait." He later burned the letter, reflecting that, just as the people of Gotham would need to believe in Harvey Dent, Bruce needed to believe in Rachel's love for him.

Behind the scenes

 * Michael Caine portrays Alfred in the movie Batman Begins and its sequel The Dark Knight. Despite Bruce Wayne's lifelong rebellion and frequent departure from home as shown in the film, Alfred never loses faith in his master. He also has a flair for both sarcasm and fatherly banter, a frequent source for comic relief in the film.
 * Now that Batman is a fugitive from the law, Alfred's role as Batman's confidante is yet to be revealed.

See

 * Alfred Pennyworth
 * Alfred Pennyworth (Eric Wilton)
 * Alfred Pennyworth (William Austin)
 * Alfred Pennyworth (Alan Napier)
 * Alfred Pennyworth (Michael Gough)
 * Alfred Pennyworth (Ian Abercrombie)