Warning: SPOILERS for Batman vs. Robin #1The world's finest heroes, Batman and Superman, have long been considered close friends, but now Batman claims there's someone else who has always been his best friend: Alfred Pennyworth. Alfred's relationship to Batman, despite being his butler, is often depicted as fatherly. Bruce Wayne now claiming Alfred as his best friend makes their relationship—and Alfred's death—all the more emotional.
Dating back to the Golden Age of comics, Batman and Superman's friendship has a long and complicated history that's nearly as long as the superhero genre itself. The two may be close friends, but no one is as close to Bruce Wayne as his oldest ally—and friend—Alfred Pennyworth. Alfred debuted as a bumbling butler to Bruce Wayne in 1943, but his character has long since evolved into a staid—if sarcastic—figure, more akin to a surrogate father than a servant. The Bat-Family at large suffered a major loss with Alfred's death in the City of Bane storyline (along with the Wayne fortune and manor), but no one feels his loss as deeply as Batman himself.
That grief may be coming to an end as of Batman vs. Robin #1 by Mark Waid, Mahmud Asrar, Jordie Bellaire, and Steve Wands, which sees an apparently-resurrected Alfred return to Wayne Manor, shocking a skeptical Bruce. Bruce has been drawn back to the manor by a force he doesn't understand, which is when Alfred appears at the Manor's door, a bolt of lightning in his wake. Bruce tells the man that Alfred is dead, but of course the man insists he is Alfred, and, in a very Alfred move, suggests an examination. As he questions Alfred's memory, Bruce tells the reader in a caption: "Alfred Pennyworth was my best friend. My surrogate father. I want nothing more than to believe this is somehow really him."
A major character finally returning from the dead is no longer a surprise for comic book readers, but it's the emotional consequences of those deaths and resurrections that make this trope compelling. Alfred's return forces the normally reticent Batman to grapple with his emotions—grief and love. Batman readers know that Alfred is often considered a father-like figure to Batman, but to see Bruce Wayne call Alfred his "best friend" makes their relationship and Alfred's loss all the more emotional. There are very few people Batman trusts unconditionally, not even the dangerously powerful Superman, but he trusts Alfred with his life, his home, his children, and his unwavering friendship. Batman needs a friend like that in his corner, and Bruce's confession makes Alfred's return even sweeter.
Hopefully readers will continue to see the consequences—emotional and otherwise—of Alfred's return in future issues of Batman vs. Robin. Alfred Pennyworth is far more than just a butler to Bruce Wayne, and Bruce has no trouble calling Alfred his surrogate father and best friend. Superman's friendship with Batman has a long history, but Alfred's relationship with Bruce Wayne has a deep one, and fans will be overjoyed to see them reunite.
Batman vs. Robin #1 is available now from DC Comics!