Readers of Dick Grayson's adventures know that Nightwing was given a touching gift by Alfred upon his death, but this moment is far more tragic than it appears. When Alfred passed on the secret fortune he'd amassed working for Bruce Wayne, it was a nice moment for longtime Nightwing fans and opened the door to new possibilities. It revealed how much Dick Grayson was a son to Alfred, and justified his faith that Nightwing would immediately dedicate his money to good works.

However, Dick Grayson isn't Alfred's only child, and it seems the Wayne Family butler gave Nightwing his fortune rather than leaving it to his biological daughter. While Dick's inheritance was an emotional and touching moment, Alfred’s daughter is still around and was a part of his life. Julia Pennyworth may not be directly working with Batman, but she is an active ally and friend to Kate Kane’s Batwoman who could have used the funds for her own heroic mission.

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Julia Pennyworth was first created in Detective Comics (1937) #501 by Gerry Conway, Don Newton, Dan Adkins, Adrienne Roy, and Ben Oda. She believed that Alfred Pennyworth was the one who killed her mother until it was revealed in the next issue that he was actually her father. After DC continuity was reset Julia returned in Batman (2011) #28 by Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV, Dustin Nguyen, and Derek Fridolfs. She was shown to be an active ally to Batman and in close contact with Alfred. They had an established father-daughter relationship, and Julia even took over Alfred's support duties when he was injured.

Julia Pennyworth Alfred's Daughter Batman

After DC's Rebirth, reboot Julia was established to be working with Kate Kane’s Batwoman, becoming her ally and close friend. She kept up with Batman and the rest of the Bat-Family, maintaining contact even with her father, Alfred. Her relationship with her father, while rocky at first, ran deep as the two got to know each other more, and Alfred reclaimed some of the personal life he'd otherwise sacrificed to raise first Bruce, then Dick. Sadly, Alfred's untimely death at Bane's hands led Julia to cut off contact with the Bat-Family. Sadly, it seems Alfred overlooked his longlost child in favor of Nightwing.

Alfred wasn't there for Julia growing up, and despite their reconciliation, it seems that he sees Nightwing as his true legacy, as it was revealed in Nightwing #78 by Tom Taylor, Bruno Redondo, Adriano Lucas, and Wes Abbott that Alfred left all of his money to Dick Grayson. Touching as this was, the fact that Alfred explicitly left the money to Dick because he knew he'd use it wisely is unavoidably something of a slap in the face to Julia, who is likewise heroic, but doesn't have the same access to Bruce Wayne's fortune.

Readers can only hope that he left something to Julia in the background, but either way, when it came time for Alfred to empower someone to make the world better with his money, he chose Nightwing over the daughter whose childhood he missed.

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