The trusted butler of Bruce Wayne and indefatigable side-kick of Batman has finally gotten his own series, and fans have been excited to look at a chapter of Alfred Pennyworth's life that has previously gone unexplored. Pennyworth, which premiered its first season in 2019 on EPIX, focuses on a young Alfred recently returned from fighting overseas as part of the SAS and reintegrating into civilian life. As he begins to find a new purpose, qualities and behavior take shape that will serve him well in the employ of the Wayne Family, and later the Caped Crusader.
The series is already set in an alternate timeline, which gives Gotham creator Bruno Heller a lot of creative license, but there are a few aspects of Alfred's character origins that fans will want to see, while others have been highlighted many times in other Batman series, films, and comic books.
10 NEEDS TO SHOW: HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH THE WAYNES
In order to assume the role of the Wayne family butler, Alfred Pennyworth would have needed to feel a strong sense of loyalty to Thomas and Martha Wayne that went above and beyond typical domestic staff.
Pennyworth should present what sort of relationship Alfred had with the couple, and therefore why he agreed to be so firmly connected to their family, enough to one day safeguard their orphaned child and help him become the Caped Crusader.
9 SHOULDN'T: HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH BRUCE WAYNE
Pennyworth is specifically about Alfred's life before he became attached to the Batman mythos, and so needs to highlight Alfred's identity apart from the Dark Knight. Bruce Wayne doesn't need to feature in the story, except perhaps as a small child.
Watching Alfred become connected to an infant Bruce would bridge a gap between Pennyworth and Gotham, which showcased the relationship between a middle-aged Alfred and a newly orphaned Bruce, but that should be where the timeline stops.
8 NEEDS TO SHOW: HIS LIFE BEFORE WORKING FOR THE WAYNE FAMILY
Since most live-action versions of Alfred depict him as a valet in his middle-aged or senior years, there hasn't been a focus on Alfred's life before working for the Wayne family or Batman, but it doesn't mean that fans haven't wanted to see what a young Alfred got up to.
The series should focus on not only his SAS military days, but also his relationship with his family and friends, and what paths he took prior to becoming employed by the Waynes. Knowing his aspirations, dreams, trials, and tribulations will enable fans to connect with him beyond being a traditionally stuffy and stalwart butler.
7 SHOULDN'T: HELPING BATMAN
Enough time and focus has been devoted to Alfred's proximity to Batman and helping him in his crime-fighting duties. Another Batman film is already on the way to exploring his early days as a protector of Gotham City in Matt Reeves's The Batman, so that period will be well-documented.
Emphasis should be on Alfred as his own crime fighter, and so far Pennyworth has shown great promise in that area, by chronicling the contracts of his private security firm, and their missions for the CIA, The No Name League, and the Crown.
6 NEEDS TO SHOW: HOW HE BECOMES A BUTLER
In most origin stories involved Alfred, he's always been a butler and goes into the employ of the Waynes because either his father did so, or he came very highly recommended from an agency. Only a few detail his former military career, and none seem to indicate why he would relish being a domestic servant.
Pennyworth highlights Alfred's problem with being brought up as part of England's "servant class", juxtaposing his demeanor as a defiant and proud young man with the sanctimonious and deferential valet he's been depicted as in other Batman stories. Why he decides to become a butler, and just what those duties entail with the Waynes, need to be revealed.
5 SHOULDN'T: HIS CAREER AS AN ACTOR
Besides having been a butler with former SAS training, one of the most salient aspects of Alfred's life prior to becoming Batman's valet was his employment as a trained actor, which helped him develop the skills for disguising his voice and appearance that he passed on to his employer.
As intriguing as the concept is, Pennyworth should focus on Alfred's skills at espionage and spycraft. It's a side of Alfred only hinted at in other origin stories and will make for more James Bond-style excitement.
4 NEEDS TO SHOW: HIS ELITE SKILLS
By the time viewers meet him in Pennyworth, Alfred has already had an exciting life in the SAS for ten years. When he returns to civilian life, he puts his combat skills to good use as the leader of a private security firm, taking professional contracts that involve protection and assassinations.
Because recent iterations of Alfred have been revealed to have a plethora of skills from technical and culinary genius to expert marksman, Pennyworth should demonstrate to viewers how Alfred acquired all the capabilities he would ever need to assist Batman later in life.
3 SHOULDN'T: TOO MANY FIELDS OF INTEREST
Recently, various Batman comics have released issues focusing on Alfred's mastery of a multitude of fields, from computer programming to chemical engineering, nanotechnology, and electrical engineering. His Jack-of-all-Trades persona is impressive and well-suited to becoming "Batman's batman", but doesn't quite fit in a more realistic series.
Alfred shouldn't be superhuman but suitably adept at a variety of skills, but not to the point where his credentials become ridiculous. That sort of character can exist in a comic book world of hypertrophied heroes like Batman, but not in the gritty world created by Pennyworth.
2 NEEDS TO SHOW: HIS FAMILY
Alfred may be a part of the Bat-Family, but viewers should get a chance to see Alfred's kin before he worked for the Caped Crusader. Batman comics (and Batwoman) have introduced his daughter, Julia, while films like Batman and Robin have introduced his niece Barbara Wilson, but Alfred is generally regarded as a lone wolf, just like his master.
Pennyworth has already shown his father and mother, who seem to have instilled in him a sense of right and wrong and firm moral standing, and there may be more relatives to come or even someone to carry on the Pennyworth name.
1 SHOULDN'T: HIS BUMBLING PERSONA
Early interpretations of the Alfred character focused on a persona that could only be described as bumbling, intended to provide light-hearted comic relief. Actors like Alan Napier and Ian Abercrombie were some of the first live-action versions of Alfred to appear and their jocular personalities were intended to juxtapose against Batman's seriousness.
Alfred should have a sense of humor, particularly possessed of the same caustic wit that he's used to pepper many of Batman's exploits, but never be made the butt of a joke at his expense.
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