Alfred Pennyworth is the butler to the Wayne family and lifelong caretaker of the orphaned Bruce Wayne. He served as one of his teachers and helped in his operations as the vigilante Batman. Alfred would assist Bruce during his investigations into the Riddler, though was injured in an attack on their home.
Biography[]
Prior to his employment by the Wayne family, Alfred Pennyworth worked for the British Army, where he received training in martial arts and hand-to-hand combat. After an attack, he was forced to leave after receiving an injury to his leg, which forced him to rely on a cane. Comments made by Alfred indicates he briefly worked for an intelligence agency, referred to as "the circus", and was involved in forensic investigation. According to Bruce, he'd had no immediate family prior to his employment by the Waynes.
At some point after leaving the circus, Alfred was hired by the security branch of Wayne Enterprises and moved to Gotham. He became the bodyguard for Thomas Wayne. During Wayne's mayoral campaign, Alfred was aware of Thomas' attempts to deal with journalist Edward Elliot, who'd uncovered Martha's history of mental illness. He also knew of Wayne's desperate approach of mobster Carmine Falcone to deal with it, resulting the mobster's murder of Elliot to get Thomas under his thumb. Alfred also knew of Thomas' plans to reveal the exchange to the police, having either been present or told after the incident. However, these were stopped because of his and Martha's deaths at the hands of an apparent mugger.
Feeling responsible, Alfred became the legal guardian of their son Bruce, taking up the duties of a butler to better serve him. To help him cope with his grief and trauma, he trained him in hand-to-hand combat and martial arts. However, these failed to account for his emotional needed, which damaged their relationship over time. Alfred also began investigating the murder himself, suspecting Falcone was responsible, but was unable to find either evidence linking him to their deaths or identify their murderer.
When Bruce became the vigilante Batman, Alfred reluctantly began assisting in his activities, helping in several investigations. He also helped cover for him in social events and hide his activities from others, including their housekeeper Dory. Despite his assistance, Alfred's relationship with Bruce had become strained, with the two rarely speaking with each other. Alfred also served as the main contact between Bruce and his father's companies, which placed further strain on their relationship due to his focus on Batman.
The Batman[]
Investigating the Riddler[]
On Halloween of Bruce's second year as Batman, Alfred learned of the murder of Mayor Mitchell. During the early morning, he visited the Subway Bunker to tell Bruce of an upcoming visit from Wayne Enterprises' accountants. However, he found him in the midst of the investigation into the murder and learned that the killer had left a message for Batman. Revealing his arrangements with the accountants, Alfred confronted him on his negligence of his family's legacy and expressed concerns about the effects Batman was having on him. As Bruce left to rest, he watched the recording made from his contact lenses, being reminded of a young Bruce by the mayor's son.
Over the following day, Alfred began investigating the clues left by the killers for Bruce. Before the accountants arrived, he tried to help solve the cryptograph by using the letters recovered from the investigation. During his initial work, he assumed that there was a message hidden in it, attempting to get double letters to find other clues. At some point after the meeting with Wayne Enterprises' accountants, Bruce realized that the letters were the clues and asked Alfred to filter out the others that didn't fit into "he lies still". Alfred complied, leading them to uncover another clue: "drive". This led Batman to investigate Mitchell's cars, discovering further clues and evidence of the mayor's corruption.
After Commissioner Pete Savage was murdered, Alfred continued to help Bruce by investigating the clues found in the deathtrap used to kill him. Over the next nights, he uncovered another message: "You are el rata alada". As Bruce prepared to visit the funeral of Don Mitchell Jr., Alfred found watching recordings of Selina Kyle, sarcastically commenting that his interactions with her were "a positive step". He passed over the translation and expressed the belief that "el rata alada" was a rough translation of "stool pigeon". Noticing that Bruce wasn't wearing any cufflinks, Alfred gave him his, revealing them to have been a present from Thomas before his death.
Wayne Tower Bombing[]
Whilst Batman was investigating Gotham Orphanage, Alfred found a letter addressed to Bruce. Investigating further, he found a message for Batman held in a fireproof wrapper. Eventually realizing the package was a bomb, Alfred threw it away just moments before it detonated. However, he was caught in the blast and severely injured. He later recovered by emergency services and taken to Gotham General Hospital. Bruce only learned of the attack as he returned to Wayne Tower and later visited Alfred shortly after visiting the tower, where medical staff had been able to stabilize his condition.
Recovery[]
Alfred remained at the hospital to recover. The night after the attack, Bruce visited him to confront him on the allegations against his father, revealing he'd confronted Falcone and learned of his father's involvement in the murder of Edward Elliot. As he confronted him on lying about his father's reputation, Alfred furiously denied Thomas' willing involvement in the event, explaining that Thomas had only done so to protect his family, not his campaign as Riddler and Falcone had alleged. Alfred also explained Bruce's father had not known that Falcone would have killed the man and suggested the mobster had done so to get him into his pocket. He also revealed Thoams' plans to go to the police after Elliot's murder, only stopped by his and Martha's murder.
As Bruce realized it could have been Falcone who arranged his parents' deaths, Alfred explained his attempts to track down his parents' killer and failure to find them. He also revealed his blame for their deaths and expressed regret for how he brought Bruce up, believing he'd failed to account for his emotional need. As Bruce explained he didn't blame him and had actually been fearful for his life, the two reconnected and healed their relationship. Bruce soon left after noticing the Bat-Signal being lit, leaving Alfred to recover as he arrested Falcone and stopped Riddler's plans.
Behind the Scenes[]
During initial production of The Batman (then intended to star Ben Affleck version of the character), it was planned for Jeremy Irons to reprise his role. However, as production continued, it was decided to recast and redevelop the character to disassociate it its continuity.
Much of Alfred's backstory was developed by Andy Serkis, who envisioned him as a military man who'd been employed by Wayne Enterprises. The decision for the character to use a cane was added by director Matt Reeves, whilst Serkis suggested he have facial scars to suggest fit a military background. In contrast with most versions of the character, Alfred's relationship with Bruce was written as more strained and hostile, with Reeves suggesting he think's Bruce to be "insane".[1][2]
Notes[]
- Screenwriter Peter Craig based Alfred's characterization heavily on Geoff Johns' version from the Batman: Earth One graphic novels. Notable similarities include his more grizzled appearance, his history as the Wayne's bodyguard, having a more hostile relationship with Bruce, and reliance on a cane due to an injury.