Warning: This post contains spoilers for The Batman.
Bruce Wayne’s faithful butler and surrogate father, Alfred Pennyworth, gets a new and darker backstory in The Batman, tying into the film’s overarching mystery. Alfred is one of the most important supporting characters in the Batman mythos and is rarely omitted from live-action Batman adaptations. The Batman not only takes a dark and relatively realistic approach to adapting the Dark Knight's iconic characters and storylines, but it also features numerous references to the comics and other media adaptations, including teases for more classic characters to appear in sequels and spinoffs. Alfred’s ties to the circus and notable scar exemplify this, offering hints to his and Bruce Wayne’s history, but not the tie to Robin that some may see it as.
In most iterations of Batman, Alfred raised Bruce Wayne following the death of his parents. As one of Batman’s few confidants, Alfred is an invaluable ally who helps Wayne maintain his dual identity and even assists him in defeating criminals in some cases. Numerous iterations of Alfred have a background in the British military or MI6, subsequently giving them extremely valuable skills and connections to assist Bruce Wayne. Alfred also frequently serves as a moral compass for his young ward, helping him through ethical dilemmas. More recent versions of the character have also tried to steer Bruce away from his nocturnal superhero activities out of concern for his safety.
Past film versions of Alfred have adapted these characteristics well. The 1960s and Tim Burton versions of Alfred were shown providing Bruce Wayne with invaluable assistance on missions to capture Gotham’s various criminals. The Dark Knight Trilogy’s Alfred did as well, along with wishing to see Bruce abandon his Batman persona for a safer and happier life, which was the case at the end of The Dark Knight Rises, much to his relief. In the DCEU, Alfred helped Batman build and maintain his high-tech arsenal of gadgets and vehicles, as well as warning him against his more brutal and violent actions in response to the death of Dick Grayson and the existential terror Bruce felt after Superman’s battle with General Zod in Metropolis. The Batman’s Alfred may have a darker backstory, but he is still an accurate representation of Bruce Wayne’s butler and guardian.
Alfred's Origins In DC Comics Explained
Alfred debuted in 1943, with DC Comics’ pre-Crisis continuities (Earth-One and Earth-Two) having him become Bruce Wayne’s butler well after Wayne became Batman and trained Dick Grayson as Robin. Initially a comedic character, Alfred’s backstory was rewritten following the Crisis on Infinite Earths continuity reboot, adding the character’s most familiar elements, such as his service to the Wayne family preceding Thomas and Martha Wayne’s murder, his role as Bruce Wayne’s adopted father, and his assistance to Bruce informing his Batman persona. In the post-Flashpoint mainstream DC universe, Alfred was murdered by Bane, a member of Batman’s rogue’s gallery.
Alfred's Scar In The Batman: How Did He Get It?
In The Batman, Alfred notably has a scar near his left eyebrow. The film never directly addresses it but implies a possible origin, as Alfred is shown with the scar before he’s injured by The Riddler’s bomb (which was intended for Bruce Wayne). As revealed in Before The Batman: An Original Movie Novel, a prequel to Matt Reeves' film, this version of Alfred once served in British Intelligence, and thus is a master of several martial arts. While The Batman doesn’t fully delve into Bruce Wayne’s training, it does reveal that he trained with Alfred, and perhaps still does. With this in mind, Alfred might have received the scar during a practice fight with Wayne, who strikes hard even when pulling his punches - as revealed by James Gordon.
Alfred's Circus Past: Is He Connected To The Flying Graysons?
Another scene in The Batman reveals that Alfred is seemingly connected with the circus — a first for any live-action version of the character. Given this iteration of Alfred’s British Intelligence past and training of Bruce Wayne that might seem strange, but Alfred's mention of the circus actually means the British Intelligence service, affectionately known as "The Circus". That nickname was coined by John Le Carre in his spy novels, and came to be adopted by the real life service. So while it may seem that Alfred's past was tied to the trapeze, he was actually a military man and probably involved in active espionage.
Even without that explicit call out of Alfred's link to the Graysons, The Batman makes references to various Robins from the comics as well. Batman’s batarang being hidden in his chest armor is a nod to the emergency “R” emblem shuriken used by Tim Drake (the third Robin) as a backup weapon. At the end of the film, Catwoman leaves for Blüdhaven, a city close to Gotham that Dick Grayson protects after assuming the superhero identity of Nightwing as an adult. The Batman’s sequels seem poised to adopt many elements of the Batman mythos, including Robin and already has a logical way to introduce Dick Grayson in a sequel.
Why The Batman Gives Alfred A Darker Backstory
One of The Batman’s biggest twists is that the Wayne family is part of Gotham City’s corruption, taking some inspiration from Batman: The Telltale Series. Unlike the video game’s iteration of the Wayne family, however, The Batman reveals that Thomas Wayne was a flawed yet ultimately good man who made a horrid mistake in asking Carmine Falcone to intimidate a journalist who could harm Wayne’s reputation. Like his Telltale Series counterpart, Alfred didn’t approve of Thomas Wayne’s actions, yet didn’t reveal the truth to Bruce, allowing him to believe that his father was infallible. The goal of both iterations was to tie the wealthy and privileged Wayne family into the corruption and injustice that runs rampant in Gotham City, but The Batman established a less blatantly malicious Thomas Wayne and an Alfred who, despite his darker backstory, helps clean up the Wayne family’s mistakes by assisting Batman.
