Batman's Butler, Alfred, Is Getting His Own TV Series
Yeah, you read that right. Alfred Pennyworth, Batman’s longtime butler, is apparently a strong enough character to lead a ten-episode television series by himself. No caped crusader, no boy wonder, no crime fighting, just Alfred god-damn Pennyworth.
When I first read this, I let out a huuuuuge eyeroll and a sigh, and thought this was probably the most pointless prequel that nobody asked for since…well…
But I dug a little deeper, and found a Mashable article in which it’s revealed that the Alfred this show will focus on isn’t the one from Gotham, or any other pre-existing Alfreds. They’ll be pulling from the Alfred introduced to comic fans in Geoff Johns’ 2012 comic, ‘Earth One':
It’s also exciting that Pennyworth is going with Alfred’s backstory as a special forces soldier who forms his own private security company, which is loosely consistent with the Alfred detailed in the popular comic series Batman: Earth One, which introduces Alfred as a close friend of Thomas Wayne who is brought to Wayne Manor to be the family’s head of security after Thomas’s mayoral campaign puts the family in danger. Drawing from Earth One in any capacity is a great start to any Batman adaptation, as the short and yet-unfinished series is a fan favorite.
‘Earth One’ is a FANTASTIC comic book that’s pretty universally beloved, so I couldn’t agree with Alexis Nedd any more when she says, “Drawing from Earth One in any capacity is a great start to any Batman adaptation.” Alfred, in that book, is a certified badass who takes absolutely no shit from anyone, INCLUDING Bruce Wayne.
He’s also, as that article pointed out, less butler-y and more Wayne Manor head-of-security-y in this new show/Earth One, which explains how he’s able to help the World’s Greatest Detective hunt down criminals just a little bit better than previous incarnations of the character.
I’m not a consistent ‘Gotham’ viewer, but I do watch the CW’s ‘Supergirl’ and that rules, so fuck it…I’m giving ‘Pennyworth’ a shot when it premieres.
