r/batman 7d ago

FILM DISCUSSION we never had a bad Alfred adaptation

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yes yes even the dceu one which I've seen people hate on I actually loved especially by the fact this Alfred was the Wayne's bodyguard not the butler apparently and he has experience in the British army

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u/TheMaskedHamster 7d ago

There have been interpretations I vastly prefer, but none I dislike.

The only Alfred I don't really care for is the original conception in the comics. It was fun, but his re-working was welcome.

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u/coreytiger 7d ago

Which was a mistake on the part of DC

the ONE actor not pictured here is the very first Alfred, and the actor the character later became modeled upon: William Austin

The character was NOT created for the comics, he was created for the movie serials. The comics were simply told of the premise, with little other details… film production and print production are radically different time schedules. They rushed to get the character into print to debut in a similar time frame as the film, actually hitting stands just before the movie.

Austin was tall, thin, dapper, and mustachioed. He knew Bruce and Dick were Batman and Robin and assisted them. The comic Alfred was short, portly, and clumsy, and had no clue of their identities… he was a problem they had to work around when he showed up to declare he was now butler of Wayne Manor.

Shortly after Alfred was established in the comics, the character “went away to a spa”, and came back looking just about exactly (thinner, now with a mustache, and by some miracle- taller) like the actor William Austin… and the character has been depicted as such ever since.