DC: Facts About Murder of Alfred Pennyworth Even Diehard Fans Don’t Know

Alfred Thaddeus Crane Pennyworth has been the butler and chauffeur of Bruce Wayne ever since his parents were murdered in a dark alley by one of Gotham’s notorious villains. He was an integral member of the Batcave crew from the Batman’s beginning as he acted not only as his master’s stalwart servant but also as a sort of surrogate father figure to Bruce, helping him through some very difficult times. Alfred is quick-witted and caring and likewise, has always been respected by members of all three families: the Waynes, the Elliots, and the Gordons. That being said, these are the 5 random facts about Alfred’s murder many fans don’t know about –

Alfred’s Death In Injustice: Gods Among Us

A notable instance of Alfred’s death occurred in issue #12 of the Injustice: Gods Among Us graphic novel. The Man of Steel, tired of constantly being on the hunt for Batman, decides to send a troublesome murderer named Zsasz to Wayne Manor with orders to find out whether or not Bruce Wayne is still alive, and if he isn’t, find and kill his son Damian. To say that this decision was a mistake is a vast understatement as Zsasz cuts down Alfred while the boy watches on in horror. However, we later discover that Damian had used one of the Lazarus Pits to resurrect his butler and return him back to his former self.

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Alfred’s Death Was A Way To Force Batman To Retire

Bane admits that it is an honor to have broken Batman having thought himself worthy of taking Batman on. In the case of killing Alfred, Bane was attempting to take away Batman’s one friend in life but found that it only made him rage against him more. But here’s the real kicker – Bruce Wayne would never retire from crime-fighting because his life has been dedicated to keeping Gotham safe and curing himself by staying active and preventing his body from being overcome with pressure or stress which is why Bane and many others have wrongfully believed Batman wouldn’t or couldn’t quit.

Alfred Lied To Wayne To Take Bane Down

It’s clear that in Alfred’s view, he was never really Bane’s pawn. He just so happened to be the key element in Bane’s plan to take Gotham over. As far as Batman was concerned, Alfred was the “key” component keeping the Dark Knight away from actually saving Gotham City. This is ironic because the truth is that without Alfred on the inside, Bruce wouldn’t have had any chance of being able to accomplish killing The Joker. It all sounds like some kind of twisted riddle when you think about it. In addition, as crazy as this may sound, Alfred played directly into Bane’s scheme by pretending that he had escaped from The Dark Knight Rises.

Related: Batman’s Butler Alfred Was Once A Supervillain?

Thomas Wayne Ordered Alfred’s Death

Unlike in the storyline of Batman: Knightfall, Bane was not the mastermind behind Alfred’s death. It was rather Thomas Wayne. He thought that killing Alfred Pennyworth would finally break Bruce. Of course, it didn’t work. Rather than breaking, this enraged and angered Bruce even more, and watching his mentor die at someone else’s hands made him even more determined to take down this enemy as he finally understood what kind of man Alfred truly was to him.

Alfred Later Resurrected By The Joker

During the Joker War, a mysterious villain, the Designer sets out on a quest to punish Batman. The Joker finds out that Alfred Pennyworth and Batman are one and the same, so he uses this information against Batman during his war. The Joker also uses a formula created by the Designer to torture Batman even further but only succeeded in resurrecting Alfred, something which didn’t work out very well for him at all because when Alfred came back to life, he was nothing more than a walking corpse.