Who came first?
Dan Newcombe
I went through the $.50 boxes at my store the other day and found some of
the "Untold Legends of Batman" so I got them.
In this, it has Alfred showing up after Batman and Robin have already
teamed up, yet in Batman: Year One, Alfered is there before there ever
is a Robin.
So which is the real case? Is this another case like Dark Knight Returns
where Frank Miller trashes continuity? Or does this have to do with that
Infinite Earth Midlife Crisis stuff?
I still think that an Alfred mini-series would be awsome...
-Dan
--
Dan Newcombe dnew...@cybernet.cse.fau.edu and many others...
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Pre-Crisis, Alfred's father had worked for the Wayne family and Alfred
came to Bruce and basically assumed the duties of a gentleman's gentleman.
Post Crisis, Alfred was the Wayne butler back when Thomas and Martha were
shot and killed, and therefore, was with Bruce from the start.
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|Chris Lenger|
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Aaron Michael Severson
Okay. The actual first appearance of Alfred in the comics was in Batman
#16, April/May 1943 ("Here Comes Alfred"). Alfred's father Jarvis was
Thomas Wayne's butler until the deaths of Thomas and Martha; Alfred
was a "musical hall actor" until his father, on his deathbed, persuaded
him to continue with the honorable family tradition of domestic service
(for an extended meditation on the value and honor of same, read
the novel THE REMAINS OF THE DAY). Alfred arrived in Gotham, looked up
his father's old employer, and showed up one day on Bruce Wayne's doorstep.
Not sure what to make of Alfred, Bruce and Dick allow him to stay while
they figure out what to do about him. While they're away, however, Alfred
accidentally discovers the entrance to the Batcave (interesting, the cave's
first real appearance in the comics) and discovers that his new employers
are actually Batman and Robin. A few nights later, as Bruce and Dick are
reassuring themselves that Alfred is too stupid to stumble onto their
secret, Alfred walks in with their costumes over one arm, and calmly
informs them that the police are shining the Bat-Signal. He reminds them
of his deductive abilities (which they had earlier mocked) and declines
to tell them that he found their secret only by accident. Bruce and Dick
decide that they had best keep Alfred on since he now knows their secret
identities. (Incidentally, in these early stories, Alfred is rotund,
balding, and clean-shaven; his modern appearance is a product of the first
Batman serial in that same year, explained in the comics as the result of
Alfred's vacation at a health resort, from which Alfred returns thin,
with his hair combed over his balding pate, and sporting a narrow mustache).
This was later attributed to Alfred Beagle, the butler of the Earth-Two
Batman and Robin (last seen in one of the Huntress backups in Wonder Woman,
around #313-#315). The version in UNTOLD LEGEND OF THE BATMAN is the
"Earth-One" Alfred, who fought in World War 2, aiding the French Resistance,
later became a stage actor with his brother Wilfred, and coming to America
under similar circumstances to that of his Earth-Two counterpart. This
Alfred learned his employers' secret one night when Batman had been badly
injured, and Robin sought Alfred's first aid skills. The Earth-One
Alfred Pennyworth also had a daughter, Julia Remarque (whose mother was
Mademosielle Marie, a DC character contemporary with Sgt. Rock, a leader
of the French Resistance).
The Post-Crisis Alfred Pennyworth was again persuaded by his father to become
a butler, but in the Post-Crisis universe, Alfred was butler to Thomas
and Martha Wayne (his father having served Thomas Wayne's father). He helped
to raise Bruce Wayne, and remained at Wayne Manor while Bruce went abroad
seeking training. Like his counterparts, he is skilled in first aid (again
a product of army service) and in acting. He has no children (Julia
Remarque has gone POOF since Batman #400).
In personality, temperament, and abilities, Alfred really hasn't changed
dramatically since 1944-45. Why make him Thomas and Martha's butler,then?
1) in the Pre-Crisis universe, Bruce Wayne was raised by his Uncle Phillip
and (on Earth-One) by the kindly housekeeper Mrs. Chilton, who unbeknownst
to Bruce (though apparently known to Alfred and Dick) was the mother of Joey
Chill, the man who killed Bruce's parents. Post-Crisis, after his parents'
death, Bruce was raised by Alfred and by Judith Thompkins (see Detective
#574-#578). I suspect the Mrs. Chilton angle was ruled to be too hokey to
continue, on the same grounds that Batwoman (though not Kathy Kane) and
Streaky the Super-Cat were erased by the Crisis. It was just a little too
cute.
2) Given the darker tone of the modern Batman, having Alfred raise Bruce
helps to solidify Alfred's motivation in staying with Bruce and helping him
in his vigilante career. In the 40s, when Batman and Robin were much lighter
in tone, and much more fun, the fact that he was helpful, amusing, and knew
their secret identities was enough reason for Alfred to be around. But given
the psychological extremes of the recent Batman character, we needed some
reason why Alfred would stick around. In a way, Bruce is Alfred and Judith's
son.
3) In dealing with the early Batman in Batman Year One, the reason that
Miller played up the presence of Alfred was that, as Denny O'Neil has
also noted, in the absence of Robin, Batman needs a foil, someone he can
talk to, someone to provide a little levity.
Finally, I would object to the remark that Alfred is another example of
Frank Miller "mucking up the continuity." Had Miller made Alfred into
a cocaine snorting schizophrenic, or a serial killer, I would object. However,
Alfred's character has not really changed. So what does it matter, really?
AX...@asuacad.bitnet
Severson) says:
>
>Chill, the man who killed Bruce's parents. Post-Crisis, after his parents'
>death, Bruce was raised by Alfred and by Judith Thompkins (see Detective
Isn't that "Leslie" Thompkins?
>
>
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Todd Corbeil AXTOC@ASUACAD +
Arizona State University AX...@ASUVM.INRE.ASU.EDU +
The race for the Rose Bowl has begun! Go Sun Devils!!!