170-504: Alfred Thaddeus Crane Pennyworth , originally Alfred Beagle and commonly known simply as Alfred , is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics , most commonly in association with the superhero Batman . Alfred is depicted as Batman's loyal and tireless butler , legal guardian, best friend, aide-de-camp , and surrogate father figure following the murders of his parents, Thomas and Martha Wayne . As
340-487: A naturalistic style of superheroes with human failings, fears, and inner demons - heroes who squabbled and worried about the likes of paying the rent. In contrast to the super-heroic do-gooder archetypes of established superheroes at the time, this ushered in a revolution. With dynamic artwork by Kirby, Steve Ditko , Don Heck , and others, complementing Lee's colorful, catchy prose, the new style became very popular among teenagers and college students who could identify with
510-493: A Royal Air Force combat medic and as ex- British Secret Service . In Batman: The Dark Knight Returns , an elderly Alfred still acts as Bruce's butler, mourning Bruce's diminished social contacts while continuing to loyally serve his master even after Bruce becomes Batman once again after a ten-year retirement. At the story's conclusion, having set Wayne Manor to self-destruct to protect Bruce Wayne's full secrets after his faked death during his fight with Superman, Alfred dies of
680-493: A tabloid -sized, 10-by-15-inch (250 mm × 380 mm), 36-page magazine with a card-stock, non-glossy cover. An anthology , it mixed humor features such as the funny animal comic "Pelion and Ossa" and the college-set "Jigger and Ginger" with such dramatic fare as the Western strip "Jack Woods" and the " yellow-peril " adventure "Barry O'Neill", featuring a Fu Manchu -styled villain, Fang Gow. Issue #6 (Oct. 1935) brought
850-471: A "must have" rating. Fellow IGN writer Jesse Schedeen named Crisis on Infinite Earths one of the best DC crossovers, agreeing it was unprecedented and dramatic. Marc Buxton of Comic Book Resources named "Crisis on Infinite Earths" the greatest comic book crossover ever, saying that no crossover has been bigger or as ambitious: "where some events seem hesitant to actually leave a mark on their respective universes, Crisis did it with aplomb". He praised
1020-409: A British noble who is a classically trained butler and an ex- Special Operations Executive operative of honor and ethics with connections within the intelligence community, he has been called "Batman's batman ". He serves as Bruce's moral anchor while providing comic relief with his sardonic and cynical attitude; as an amnesiac , he has also served as the supervillainous Outsider . A vital part of
1190-479: A Cockney accent, and simply arrived on Wayne Manor 's doorstep to announce that he was beginning his duties. In most early tales, he made bungling attempts to be a detective on a par with the young masters. He was given a four-page feature of his own, "The Adventures of Alfred", in Batman #22 (April–May 1944) and the feature lasted 13 issues, skipping Batman #35, with the last story in Batman #36. The stories followed
1360-522: A Robin tunic and calling on the Squire to assist the new Boy Wonder in finding Tim Drake, who had gone missing while hunting down Jason Todd. Alfred also assists Grayson in his role as Gotham's new Dark Knight. Alfred is left emotionally shattered by Bruce's death, commenting more than once that, even if his biological fatherhood is a fabrication, in a deeper sense he actually was Bruce Wayne's father, having watched over him for years and feeling he failed him in
1530-491: A Siegel/Shuster creation from the slush pile and used it as the cover feature (but only as a backup story) in Action Comics #1 (June 1938). The duo's alien hero, Superman , was dressed in a cape and colorful tights. The costume, influenced by Flash Gordon 's attire from 1934, evoked circus aerial performers and circus strongmen, and Superman became the archetype of the " superheroes " that would follow. In early 1939,
1700-600: A battle in the Middle East and was given a prosthetic replacement by him. An alternate universe version of Alfred Pennyworth from Earth-3 who is the leader of the Secret Society appears in the " Trinity War " event. Alfred makes a brief appearance in the 1997 Tangent Comics one-shot issue Green Lantern in a story revolving around the Tangent versions of King Faraday and Roy Raymond . In this version, Alfred Pennyworth
1870-538: A burglar in Batman #16 (Alfred's first appearance), he accidentally hit a switch and opened a sliding panel leading to the Batcave . He is helpful to the duo, following them to a theater where they had been captured, bound, and gagged by a criminal gang, and rescues them after Batman attracts his attention by knocking a rope down before the crooks return. This was revised in Batman #110 (September 1957); during his first night at Wayne Manor, Alfred awoke to moaning and followed
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#17328763004492040-505: A carefully-planned counterattack, culminating in a battle with Superboy of Earth-Prime, Kal-L , and Alexander Luthor Jr., with help from New Gods adversary Darkseid . In this final battle the Anti-Monitor, reduced to a flaming head, crashes into a star and is killed by Kal-L. Before the star explodes, Alex sends Kal-L, Earth-Two Lois Lane , Earth-Prime Superboy and himself to a pocket "paradise" dimension while Wonder Woman of Earth-Two
2210-718: A collection of English-language newspaper inserts originally published in Europe as the 1837 book Histoire de Mr. Vieux Bois by Rodolphe Töpffer . The G. W. Dillingham Company published the first known proto-comic-book magazine in the US, The Yellow Kid in McFadden's Flats , in 1897. A hardcover book, it reprinted material—primarily the October 18, 1896, to January 10, 1897, sequence titled "McFadden's Row of Flats"—from cartoonist Richard F. Outcault 's newspaper comic strip Hogan's Alley , starring
2380-442: A confrontation with Alfred, cut off Alfred's right hand. Julia confirms to Bruce later in the issue that Alfred survived the encounter and is in a stable condition. Following the death of Bruce Wayne, Julia says that with current medical technology, they can have Alfred's hand reattached without any complications. However Alfred refuses, stating that with Bruce dead, he no longer has need of it as he has no one left to serve. Even with
2550-689: A desire to destroy Batman and Robin. Calling himself the Outsider , he indirectly battled the Dynamic Duo on a number of occasions, using others as his puppets—the Grasshopper Gang in Detective #334, Zatanna in Detective #336, and even the Batmobile itself in Detective #340—and generally only appeared as a mocking voice over the radio. He did not physically appear in the comics until Detective #356, when he
2720-637: A desperate attempt to stop the upcoming onslaught. In 2022, a new DC Comics Crisis event occurred, named Dark Crisis On Infinite Earths which began in June 2022 and ended in December 2022. This series was written by Joshua Williamson and art by Daniel Sampere and Alejandro Sanchez. Following the death of the Justice League in issue #75 Pariah has tasked Deathstroke and the Secret Society of Supervillains to start
2890-530: A disaster for DC. Plotting became easier once a beginning and an ending had been determined and when Pérez became involved. Crisis on Infinite Earths was DC's first mainstream maxiseries , which was still a relatively new concept. Early in planning for Crisis on Infinite Earths , a list was made of characters that were part of the DCU; characters from other universes, such as those that formerly belonged to Charlton Comics , also were used. According to Wolfman, one of
3060-493: A distraction from Doctor Light . The Anti-Monitor creates a new body for himself and tries to use an antimatter cannon to penetrate the limbo universe and destroy the five partially merged Earths. The Flash dies stopping this attempt by using his speed to channel energy. During a lull in the war, the villains unite under Brainiac . He kills Earth-Two's Alexei Luthor while recruiting the Earth-One Lex Luthor to conquer
3230-401: A father. After discovering that the original Batman was actually lost in time after his battle with Darkseid , Alfred immediately seeks clues to his whereabouts. Eventually, Bruce finds his way to the present. After Batman successfully expands his mission globally with Batman Inc. , Bruce assumes full responsibility as a father, and Alfred assists him in raising Damian. In The New 52 , it
3400-590: A gradual decline, due to a shift away from print media in the wake of television and the impact of the Comics Code Authority . The late 1950s and the 1960s saw a superhero revival and superheroes remained the dominant character archetype throughout the late 20th century into the 21st century. Some fans collect comic books, helping drive up their value. Some have sold for more than US$ 1 million. Comic shops cater to fans, selling comic books, plastic sleeves ("bags") and cardboard backing ("boards") to protect
3570-494: A hallucination of Alfred Batman was experiencing due to exposure to a new form of Joker toxin reminded Bruce that this body wasn't him. When the demon Nezha used Damian Wayne to attack Lazarus Island, he reanimated Alfred's corpse to spy on Batman, using a portion of Alfred's real soul to make the impersonation convincing. However, Batman soon realised that this version of Alfred wasn't his true self, keeping "Alfred" in play so that he could feed Nezha false information. When "Alfred"
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#17328763004493740-448: A hostage, only to be disabled by a well timed sucker punch from Alfred. Presumably due to his lack of superpowers, the advanced combat training Bruce's other associates have, and Alfred's age, Alfred is the only member of the " Batman Family " that Bruce does not mind using a firearm , in his case favoring a shotgun when dealing with direct attacks on his person. Current issues of the various Batman comics seem to indicate that Alfred
3910-648: A letter to his son in which he describes the manor as a cursed place, and tells Alfred that he should not begin his service under the Wayne family. However, Jarvis was unable to send the letter as he was murdered that night. During Batman: Eternal , Alfred is reunited with his long-absent daughter, Julia Pennyworth, an agent of the Special Reconnaissance Regiment , when Batman finds her in Hong Kong and takes her back to Wayne Manor for medical treatment after she
4080-409: A machine that will theoretically download all of his memories as Batman into his mind. Bruce's original plan was for the machine to be used to create a series of clones of himself that could be programmed to continue his mission, but although the process failed because simulations confirmed that the human mind could not handle Batman's trauma, Bruce comes through the process by having Alfred take him to
4250-784: A map. An exclusive variant, based on the Sinestro Corps , was available at San Diego Comic-Con and Gen Con Indy conventions that year. DC Collectibles (then called DC Direct) released three series of action figures between 2005 and 2006. Based on the George Pérez artwork, the figures had a base with the logo of the series and certain figures included an accessory. The first series included Earth 2 Robin, Harbinger, Monitor, Psycho-Pirate, and Supergirl. Later series included Anti Monitor, Earth 2 Superman, Flash, Battle Armor Lex Luthor, Brainiac, Earth 1 Batman, Doctor Light, Earth Prime Superboy, Earth 2 Huntress, and Weaponer of Qward. Though it
4420-553: A meeting attended by president Jenette Kahn , Paul Levitz , vice president and executive editor Dick Giordano and DC's editors. In 1982, DC hired a researcher to go through their library and read every comic the company had published, a task that took two years. The series was delayed to 1983 due to the time for research, and again to 1985 when it was still not ready for 1983 and to coincide with DC's fiftieth anniversary. As an event like Crisis on Infinite Earths had never happened before, those working on it met for around two hours
4590-543: A member of Batman's rogue's gallery: While pushing Batman and Robin out of the way of a falling boulder, Alfred was seemingly killed in Detective Comics #328 (June 1964). It was revealed in Detective Comics #356 (October 1966) that he had been revived by a scientist named Brandon Crawford. His attempt at regeneration resulted in a dramatic change: Alfred awoke from his apparent death with pasty white skin with circular markings, superhuman powers, including telekinesis , and
4760-596: A million copies a month each; comics provided very popular cheap entertainment during World War II especially among soldiers, but with erratic quality in stories, art, and printing. In the early 1940s, over 90 percent of girls and boys from seven to seventeen read comic books. In 1941, H. G. Peter and William Moulton Marston , created the female superhero character Wonder Woman , who debuted in All Star Comics #8 (December 1941) and Sensation Comics featuring Wonder Woman in 1942. MLJ 's Pep Comics debuted as
4930-431: A new character: the shadowy, potentially villainous Monitor ; this laid the foundation for Crisis on Infinite Earths . In 1981, Wolfman was editing Green Lantern . He got a letter from a fan asking why a character did not recognize Green Lantern in a recent issue despite the two having had worked together in an issue three years earlier. Soon afterward, Wolfman pitched Crisis on Infinite Earths as The History of
5100-500: A profound impact upon the American comic-book industry. Their popularity, along with mainstream media attention and critical acclaim, combined with changing social tastes, led to a considerably darker tone in comic books during the 1990s nicknamed by fans as the "grim-and-gritty" era. The growing popularity of antiheroes such as Wolverine and the Punisher exemplified this change, as did
5270-442: A promotional item to consumers who mailed in coupons clipped from Procter & Gamble soap and toiletries products. The company printed 10,000 copies. The promotion proved a success, and Eastern Color that year produced similar periodicals for Canada Dry soft drinks , Kinney Shoes , Wheatena cereal and others, with print runs of from 100,000 to 250,000. Also in 1933, Gaines and Wildenberg collaborated with Dell to publish
Alfred Pennyworth - Misplaced Pages Continue
5440-472: A reason for the murder of Bruce's mother Martha . Alfred later denies the entire story, agreeing with Bruce that it was a fabrication. After the event of Final Crisis , when Batman is apparently killed in action, Alfred finds himself with the task of raising Bruce's biological son Damian with Grayson. Batman: Battle for the Cowl sees Alfred allowing Damian to take on his first mission as Robin, giving Damian
5610-415: A simple formula, with Alfred solving a crime and catching the culprits entirely by accident. In later years, the comedic aspects of the character were downplayed. The Pre- Crisis comics (the comics that were published by DC Comics between 1938 and 1984) established Alfred as a retired actor and intelligence agent who followed the deathbed wish of his dying father (identified only as "Jarvis") to carry on
5780-422: A stroke, his last thoughts being to consider how utterly proper it is that he should die as Wayne Manor ceases to exist. In the sequel, Batman: The Dark Knight Strikes Again , the Batcave computer has been programmed with an artificial intelligence named and apparently patterned after Alfred, to the point that it refers to Bruce as "Sir". In DCeased , Alfred became the newest host for The Spectre as he
5950-520: A superhero, science-fiction and adventure anthology, but after the title introduced the teen-humor feature "Archie" in 1942, the feature's popularity would soon eclipse all other MLJ properties, leading the publisher to rename itself Archie Comics . Following the end of World War II, the popularity of superheroes greatly diminished, while the comic-book industry itself expanded. A few well-established characters such as Superman , Batman and Wonder Woman continued to sell, but DC canceled series starring
6120-494: A ten-cent pricetag [ sic ] on the comic books". When Delacorte declined to continue with Famous Funnies: A Carnival of Comics , Eastern Color on its own published Famous Funnies #1 (cover-dated July 1934), a 68-page giant selling for 10¢. Distributed to newsstands by the mammoth American News Company , it proved a hit with readers during the cash-strapped Great Depression , selling 90 percent of its 200,000 print, although putting Eastern Color more than $ 4,000 in
6290-417: A thin moustache . DC editors wanted the comic Alfred to resemble his cinematic counterpart, so in Detective Comics #83 (January 1944), Alfred vacationed at a health resort, where he slimmed down and grew a mustache. This look has remained with the character ever since, even surviving his apparent "death" and resurrection. Alfred was originally conceived as a comedic foil for Batman and Robin ; he spoke with
6460-402: A third of all North American sales in the early 1950s. Its 90 titles averaged a circulation of 800,000 copies per title for every issue, with Walt Disney's Comics and Stories peaking at a circulation of three million a month in 1953. Eleven of the top 25 bestselling comic books at the time were Dell titles. Out of 40 publishers active in 1954, Dell, Atlas (i.e. Marvel), DC, and Archie were
6630-503: A true comic book. But it did offer all original material and was sold on newsstands ". The Funnies ran for 36 issues, published Saturdays through October 16, 1930. In 1933, salesperson Maxwell Gaines , sales manager Harry I. Wildenberg , and owner George Janosik of the Waterbury, Connecticut , company Eastern Color Printing —which printed, among other things, Sunday-paper comic-strip sections – produced Funnies on Parade as
6800-751: A way to keep their presses running. Like The Funnies , but only eight pages, this appeared as a newsprint magazine. Rather than using original material, however, it reprinted in color several comic strips licensed from the McNaught Syndicate , the Ledger Syndicate , and the Bell-McClure Syndicate . These included such popular strips as cartoonist Al Smith 's Mutt and Jeff , Ham Fisher 's Joe Palooka , and Percy Crosby 's Skippy . Eastern Color neither sold this periodical nor made it available on newsstands , but rather sent it out free as
6970-450: A way to make the character seem more interesting and hopefully spare him. Wolfman wanted to make the series unforgettable; he said that many writers had expressed interest in simplifying DC's continuity and he wanted to be the one to do so. Pérez says he was not the intended artist for Crisis on Infinite Earths , but was excited when he learned about it, seeing it as an opportunity for "revenge" against Marvel, which he blamed for blocking
Alfred Pennyworth - Misplaced Pages Continue
7140-402: A week, which was uncommon at the time. The groundwork for the series was laid the year before it was published. One of the greatest challenges for Wolfman and Giordano was coming up with a story. Wolfman cited making use of every DC character and creating a plot that was fun to read and filled with surprises as difficulties, as the series needed to sell well; if it did not, it could have caused
7310-456: A year. In 1929, Dell Publishing (founded by George T. Delacorte, Jr. ) published The Funnies , described by the Library of Congress as "a short-lived newspaper tabloid insert" and not to be confused with Dell's 1936 comic-book series of the same name. Historian Ron Goulart describes the 16-page, four-color periodical as "more a Sunday comic section without the rest of the newspaper than
7480-453: Is a 1985 to 1986 American comic book crossover series published by DC Comics . Written by Marv Wolfman and pencilled by George Pérez , it was first released as a 12-issue limited series from April 1985 to March 1986. As the main piece of a crossover event, some plot elements were featured in tie-in issues of other publications. Since its initial publication, the series has been reprinted in various formats and editions. The idea for
7650-499: Is a pioneer in and has also mastered several fields of rose breeding (even creating his own, the "Pennyworth Blue"), computer programming , electrical engineering , chemical engineering , mechanical engineering , nanotechnology , and biotechnology as he singlehandedly builds, programs, and maintains much of Batman's next-generational technology such as the Batcomputer . In Frank Miller and Jim Lee 's All Star Batman and Robin
7820-569: Is also aware of Bruce's secret identity. He ends the relationship after she apparently allows Stephanie Brown to die from neglect. He also develops feelings for Tim Drake's stepmother, but again, nothing comes of it. In the Knightfall story arc, Alfred watches helplessly as Batman slowly crumbles under the pressure of fighting every escaped criminal in Arkham Asylum , who were set free by Bane . When Bane breaks Batman's back, Alfred tries to treat
7990-606: Is an American comic book publisher best known for its superhero stories featuring characters including Batman , Superman , and Wonder Woman . The company debuted in February 1935 with New Fun: The Big Comic Magazine . Most of DC's comic books (as well as some published under its imprints Vertigo and Young Animal ) take place within a shared universe called the DC Universe (DCU) allowing plot elements, characters, and settings to cross over with each other. The concept of
8160-721: Is bathed again in the rays of the regeneration machine during a struggle with Batman, and returns to normal, with no memory of his time as a supervillain. His time as the Outsider is collected in Showcase Presents: Batman Volume s 1 and 2 . Alfred was later reunited with his long-lost daughter, Julia Remarque, though this element was not included in Post- Crisis comics. Her mother was the war heroine Mademoiselle Marie , whom Alfred had met while working as an intelligence agent in occupied France during World War II . In
8330-479: Is briefly transferred to Arkham Asylum before it is attacked as part of the conspiracy, but he manages to survive the explosion and trick Bane into helping him reach an emergency cave Batman had installed under Arkham, the cave's defenses knocking Bane out and allowing Alfred to call for help. When Hush was briefly kept prisoner in the Batcave, he managed to break out of his cell and lock Alfred in it before sabotaging
8500-633: Is captured and shown Alfred's body, but a recorded message reveals that he arranged for his own death so that Bruce could come back and stop Thomas, the message reaffirming Alfred's faith in Bruce as the true Batman. In Nightwing #78, Barbara visits Dick Grayson and reveals that Alfred was a billionaire, due to stock from Wayne Industries after Alfred became Bruce's legal guardian. Barbara then tells Dick that Alfred has left his fortune to Dick in his will. As part of Joker's mass assault on Gotham, he managed to temporarily reanimate Alfred's corpse to taunt Batman, but
8670-581: Is derived from his middle names. His full name of Alfred Thaddeus Crane Pennyworth was depicted on his tombstone in Superman/Batman : Generations . Grant Morrison 's run has referred to the Beagle surname as a possible stage name. A highly intelligent and resourceful man, Alfred runs the day-to-day operations of Wayne Manor and maintains much of the equipment of the Batcave beneath it. A former actor, he can use his acting and disguise skills to help Batman in
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#17328763004498840-518: Is killed as Batman uses him as a body shield against an attack by a possessed Nightwing, enough of Alfred's real self manifests to assure Batman that he didn't kill Alfred again as he wasn't actually alive now anyway. After Penguin's faked death activated Failsafe, a robot created by the Batman of Zur-En-Arh personality to go after Batman if he broke his rule, it was revealed that Failsafe could only be deactivated if Alfred confirmed that Batman had not crossed
9010-556: Is killed during the feud, Alfred inherits his estate and moves to Arizona, while allowing Dick Grayson and his son Jake to stay in Wayne Manor. Though Alfred does not approve of Grayson's crusade against superhumans after Bruce's death, he still occasionally visits him. When Grayson discovered that Jake is beginning to develop powers, his house is invaded by his own police force, the Crusaders, to take Jake away. Alfred attempts to strike one of
9180-402: Is not present are told from a third-person perspective. It also added some details, including internal monologue and updates to make the story more modern, such as characters having cell phones. In 2008, WizKids issued a toy pack centered around the Anti-Monitor as a part of its DC HeroClix toy line. The pack came with a large Anti-Monitor figure with LED-lit eyes, several smaller figures, and
9350-500: Is revealed that Alfred's father Jarvis Pennyworth was the butler of the Wayne family before Alfred when Bruce was a child. Jarvis was blackmailed by the Court of Owls to set a trap for the pregnant Martha Wayne. Despite declining, the Court managed to cause a car accident that caused the child to be born prematurely and eventually to have died. Jarvis attempted to resign from his service and write
9520-480: Is stabbed with a samurai sword through the chest by a Chinese gang boss she was hunting. Julia is initially hostile to Alfred, feeling that he has wasted his life going from a soldier to tending to a " fop " like Bruce Wayne. However, after Alfred is attacked by Hush and infected with a fear toxin, she discovers the Batcave and takes on her father's role to coordinate the Bat-Family's efforts against their foes. Alfred
9690-531: Is still "alive" within him until Alfred chose to serve the Batman Who Laughs on his own, but the "prime" Alfred denies that any version of him could do this. In this alternate reality, Nightwing ends an ongoing feud between superpowered beings by activating a device that de-powers 90 percent of the super powered population. This builds to a future where superpowers are outlawed and any superpowered being must take inhibitor medications or be imprisoned. When Bruce
9860-562: Is still nearly as resourceful. In one story in which he is kidnapped, he readily escapes and overcomes his captors without disturbing the cut of his suit. It was later mentioned that he had been kidnapped unsuccessfully 380 times (these events take place in the Gotham Adventures comics, based on the animated adventures of Batman, and not within the standard DCU continuity). During Batman: The Resurrection of Ra's al Ghul , Ubu, Ra's al Ghul 's musclebound bodyguard, attempts to use Alfred as
10030-460: Is taken symbolically as the beginning of a new era, although his success was not immediate. It took two years for the Flash to receive his own title, and Showcase itself was only a bimonthly book, though one which was to introduce a large number of enduring characters. By 1959, the slowly building superhero revival had become clear to DC's competitors. Archie jumped on board that year, and Charlton joined
10200-465: Is taken to Mount Olympus by Zeus . This leaves the heroes of the remaining Earth, none of whom remember the original past, to sort out the aftermath of this crisis. Only Psycho-Pirate, who is locked up in Arkham Asylum , remembers the multiverse. After the Anti-Monitor's defeat, it was the Justice League who were forever trapped fighting in Ragnarok. The Justice Society/All-Star Squadron came in to rescue
10370-605: Is the head of a publishing empire that owned "the House Of Mystery". In an alternate reality depicted in the Metals crossover, Alfred is killed by Bane, prompting Bruce to request Cyborg 's help in completing 'the Alfred Protocol', an artificial intelligence version of Alfred, created to allow Batman to keep some aspect of his 'father' with him. Once the Alfred Protocol is completed, its fixation on protecting its 'son' results in
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#173287630044910540-506: The History of the DC Universe limited series to summarize the DCU's new history. In the post-Crisis history, during the "Crisis" many heroes fought the Anti-Monitor's army. He attempted to collapse the positive universe's past and future into a single point in time to destroy it, leaving only the antimatter universe. Many of DC's characters had their histories rebooted . Wonder Woman's comic
10710-476: The JLA/Avengers crossover he had been working on. He enjoyed working with Wolfman again, and took a leave of absence from The New Teen Titans to draw the series. DC initially did not know Pérez would want to work on it. According to Pérez, he was motivated by the fact that DC did not know if the series was going to be a success. He also wanted "to draw everybody I could get my hands on" and called illustrating
10880-459: The A.I. version of Alfred murdering all of Batman's rogues gallery before merging with Bruce. The Batman Who Laughs – a monstrous version of Batman contaminated by the same chemicals that drove the Joker insane – claims that Alfred is the only member of his old family he left alive back on his world. The villain claims that he drove his own version of Alfred insane by implying that his original self
11050-727: The Anti-Monitor (the Monitor's evil counterpart) is unleashed on the DC Multiverse and begins to destroy the various Earths that it comprises. The Monitor tries to recruit heroes from around the Multiverse but is murdered, while Brainiac collaborates with the villains to conquer the remaining Earths. Eventually, both the heroes and villains are united by the Spectre ; the series concludes with Kal-L , Superboy-Prime and Alexander Luthor Jr. defeating
11220-573: The Batman Family 's equipment via the Batcomputer as they fought various villains, including crashing the Batwing with Batman still in it. However, he was swiftly returned to captivity when Alfred escaped the cell and knocked Hush out, Alfred harshly informing Tommy that he was hardly going to be locked up in his own home. During the Batman: Endgame arc, the Joker broke into the Batcave, and during
11390-402: The Batman family , including Barbara Gordon and Cassandra Cain . Alfred often acts as a father figure to Bruce, and a grandfather to Dick, Jason, and Tim. He is also highly respected by Batman's fellow superheroes, including Superman , Wonder Woman , Green Lantern , and the original Teen Titans . Alfred has also been romantically linked to Dr. Leslie Thompkins , a Wayne family friend who
11560-567: The DC Extended Universe and the Marvel Cinematic Universe , said "We look at it as the multiverse. We have our TV universe and our film universe, but they all co-exist. For us, creatively, it's about allowing everyone to make the best possible product, to tell the best story, to do the best world. Everyone has a vision and you really want to let the visions shine through ... It's just a different approach." The storyline inspired
11730-649: The Flash and Green Lantern and converted All-American Comics and All Star Comics to Western titles, and Star Spangled Comics to a war title. The publisher also launched such science-fiction titles as Strange Adventures and Mystery in Space . Martin Goodman 's Timely Comics , also known as Atlas, canceled its three formerly high-selling superhero titles starring Captain America (created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby ),
11900-601: The Human Torch , and the Sub-Mariner , briefly reviving the characters in 1954 only to cancel them again shortly thereafter to focus on horror, science fiction, teen humor, romance and Western genres. Romance comics became strongly established, with Prize Comics ' Young Romance and with Young Love , the latter written and drawn by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby; those two titles' popularity led to an explosion of romance comics from many publishers. Dell 's comic books accounted for
12070-670: The Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency held hearings on comic book indecency from April to June 1954. In the wake of these troubles, a group of comics publishers, led by National and Archie, founded the Comics Code Authority in 1954 and drafted the Comics Code, intended as "the most stringent code in existence for any communications media". A Comic Code Seal of Approval soon appeared on virtually every comic book carried on newsstands. EC, after experimenting with less controversial comic books, dropped its comics line to focus on
12240-573: The United States , on average 32 pages, containing comics . While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publication of Action Comics , which included the debut of the superhero Superman . This was followed by a superhero boom that lasted until the end of World War II . After the war, while superheroes were marginalized, the comic book industry rapidly expanded and genres such as horror, crime, science fiction and romance became popular. The 1950s saw
12410-657: The Yellow Kid . The 196-page, square-bound, black-and-white publication, which also includes introductory text by E. W. Townsend , measured 5 by 7 inches (130 mm × 180 mm) and sold for 50 cents. The neologism "comic book" appears on the back cover. Despite the publication of a series of related Hearst comics soon afterward, the first monthly proto-comic book, Embee Distributing Company's Comic Monthly , did not appear until 1922. Produced in an 8 + 1 ⁄ 2 -by-9-inch (220 mm × 230 mm) format, it reprinted black-and-white newspaper comic strips and lasted
12580-520: The 1960s, DC, and then Marvel, began to include writer and artist credits on the comics that they published. Other notable companies publishing comics during the Silver Age included the American Comics Group (ACG), Charlton , Dell , Gold Key , Harvey Comics , and Tower . Sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll were featured, as the anti-authoritarian underground comix made waves in 1968, following
12750-457: The 1970s coincided with the appearance of comic-book specialty stores across North America. These specialty stores were a haven for more distinct voices and stories, but they also marginalized comics in the public eye. Serialized comic stories became longer and more complex, requiring readers to buy more issues to finish a story. In the mid-to-late 1980s, two series published by DC Comics , Batman: The Dark Knight Returns and Watchmen , had
12920-542: The 1990s changing the format and distribution of their comic books to more closely resemble non-comics publishing. The " minicomics " form, an extremely informal version of self-publishing , arose in the 1980s and became increasingly popular among artists in the 1990s, despite reaching an even more limited audience than the small presses. The development of the modern American comic book happened in stages. Publishers had collected comic strips in hardcover book form as early as 1842, with The Adventures of Obadiah Oldbuck ,
13090-758: The 2019 Arrowverse crossover, also titled " Crisis on Infinite Earths ", with the original date seen in the pilot episode of The Flash having been moved up by five years as a side effect of time travel. The comic book series was adapted as a novel by the original writer, Marv Wolfman. This novelization was then performed as an audio drama marketed as a "Movie in Your Mind" by publisher GraphicAudio. The story serves as inspiration for " Crisis on Infinite Earths ", an Arrowverse crossover event consisting of an episode each of Arrow , The Flash , Supergirl , Legends of Tomorrow and Batwoman . An animated film adaptation, Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths ,
13260-515: The 36-page Famous Funnies: A Carnival of Comics , which historians consider the first true American comic book; Goulart, for example, calls it "the cornerstone for one of the most lucrative branches of magazine publishing". Distribution took place through the Woolworth's department-store chain, though it remains unclear whether it was sold or given away; the cover displays no price, but Goulart refers, either metaphorically or literally, to "sticking
13430-580: The American comic book has been adapted periodically outside the United States, especially in Canada and the United Kingdom . While comics can be the work of a single creator, the labor of creating them is frequently divided between a number of specialists. There may be a separate writer and artist , or there may be separate artists for the characters and backgrounds. Particularly in superhero comic books,
13600-496: The Anti-Monitor and the creation of a single Earth in place of the Multiverse. Crisis on Infinite Earths is noted for its high death count; hundreds of characters died, including DC icons Kara Zor-El (the original Supergirl) and Barry Allen (the Flash of the Silver Age ). The story's events resulted in the entire DCU being rebooted , dividing the fictional universe's timeline into "pre-Crisis" and "post-Crisis" eras. The series
13770-431: The Anti-Monitor is released and begins destroying many of the realities with a wave of antimatter, planning on becoming sole ruler of all realities. On Earth-Three , Alexander Luthor and Lois Lane teleport their son Alexander Luthor Jr. to another reality as Earth-Three is consumed by the antimatter wave. To combat this, the Monitor recruits heroes and villains from across time and space to set up five towers, to help merge
13940-568: The Antimatter wave before being captured by the Anti Monitor. On Earth 1, various heroes attempt to save people from the approaching Anti Matter wave. During WWII, The Monitor's towers appear during a battle which Sgt. Rock , Haunted Tank , and the Losers are fighting together against Nazis. The Monitor is murdered by Harbinger who is possessed by one of the Anti-Monitor's shadow demons. However,
14110-722: The Bahamas before returning to England. Dick Grayson tracks him down several months later and convinces him to return to Wayne Manor . In that story, it is revealed he had walked out of his own wedding years earlier. His resourcefulness comes to the fore in the No Man's Land storyline, especially in Legends of the Dark Knight #118. Batman goes missing for weeks, leaving Alfred alone to watch his city for him. He uses his skills as an actor, storyteller, medic, and spy to survive and collect information on
14280-742: The Batman mythos , Alfred was nominated for the Wizard Fan Award for Favorite Supporting Male Character in 1994. Bane killed Alfred in 2019 during the City of Bane storyline, and he remains dead in the primary continuity of the DC Universe as of 2024. In non-comics media, the character has been portrayed in live-action and voiced by actors William Austin , Eric Wilton, Michael Gough , Michael Caine , Jeremy Irons , Douglas Hodge , and Andy Serkis on film, and by Alan Napier , Efrem Zimbalist Jr. , Ian Abercrombie , David McCallum , and Sean Pertwee on television, among others. Ralph Fiennes provided
14450-465: The Boy Wonder , Alfred is a tougher individual with a different backstory. Following Batman's assault on the corrupt Gotham City police, Alfred and Vicki Vale are caught in the devastating car wreckage Batman creates (not aware of their presence) and Vale is badly hurt. Alfred is seen, shirtless and muscled, applying a tourniquet and generally taking control of the situation. He is described as having been
14620-675: The CCA) stopped publishing crime and horror titles, which was their entire business, and were forced out of the market altogether, turning to magazine publishing instead. By 1960, output had stabilized at about 1,500 releases per year (representing a greater than fifty percent decline since 1952). The dominant comic book genres of the post-CCA 1950s were funny animals, humor, romance , television properties, and Westerns . Detective, fantasy , teen, and war comics were also popular, but adventure, superheroes, and comic strip reprints were in decline, with Famous Funnies seeing its last issue in 1955. In
14790-554: The Crusaders, who kills him. Alfred Pennyworth appears in the Batman: Arkham franchise, voiced primarily by Martin Jarvis and by Hugh Fraser in Arkham VR . Alfred Pennyworth appears in both Batman: The Telltale Series and its sequel Batman: The Enemy Within , voiced by Enn Reitel . American comic book An American comic book is a thin periodical originating in
14960-700: The DC Multiverse a "convoluted mess". DC's comic book sales were also far below those of their competitor Marvel Comics . According to ComicsAlliance journalist Chris Sims, "the [DC] multiverse . . . felt old-fashioned. . . . Marvel, on the other hand, felt contemporary and when you stack them up against each other, there's one difference that sticks out above anything else: Marvel feels unified." Writer Marv Wolfman became popular among DC's readers for his work on Weird War Tales and The New Teen Titans . George Pérez , who illustrated The New Teen Titans , also began to rise to prominence in this era. In 1984, Pérez entered into an exclusive contract with DC, which
15130-437: The DC Universe , seeing it as a way to simplify the DCU and attract new readers. The History of the DC Universe ' s title was changed to Crisis on Infinite Earths because its premise, involving the destruction of entire worlds, sounded more like a crisis. Wolfman said when he pitched the series to DC, he realized it was going to be a completely new beginning for the DCU. "I knew up front, and they did too, how big this
15300-517: The DCU has provided DC's writers some challenges in maintaining continuity , due to conflicting events within different comics that need to reflect the shared nature of the universe. " Flash of Two Worlds " from The Flash #123 (September 1961), which featured Barry Allen (the Silver Age Flash ) teaming up with Jay Garrick (the Golden Age Flash) was the first DC comic to suggest that
15470-603: The DCU was a part of a multiverse . The DC Multiverse concept was expanded in later years with the DCU having infinite Earths; for example, the Golden Age versions of DC heroes resided on Earth-Two, while DC's Silver Age heroes were from Earth-One. Since "Crisis on Earth-One!" (1963), DC has used the word "Crisis" to describe important crossovers within the DC Multiverse. Over the years, various writers took liberties creating additional parallel Earths as plot devices and to house characters DC had acquired from other companies, making
15640-401: The Flash on the show, has said he thinks the goal of the series is to reach "Crisis on Infinite Earths": "Obviously we'd have to go, I think 10 years to reach that, so there's a possibility for sure. It'll be fun to get there." The concept of a multiverse has been explored several times throughout the history of the franchise. Talking in 2014, Geoff Johns , when discussing the difference between
15810-464: The Flash, the Justice League's roster was changed, and characters DC acquired from other companies, such as Fawcett Publications and Charlton Comics, were integrated into the DCU. The practice of re-envisioning characters in the new DCU lasted well into 1989, with properties such as Green Lantern , Hawkman , Black Orchid , and the Suicide Squad all being rebooted. The revamp raised sales 22% in
15980-587: The Modern Horror age. But as of 2009 historians and fans use " Bronze Age " to describe the period of American mainstream comics history that began with the period of concentrated changes to comic books in 1970. Unlike the Golden/Silver Age transition, the Silver/Bronze transition involves many continuing books, making the transition less sharp. The development of the " direct market " distribution system in
16150-435: The Monitor knew this would happen and his death releases enough energy to project two of the last five parallel Earths into a protective limbo that nullifies the wave. The Anti-Monitor recruits Psycho-Pirate to his cause, infusing him with part of his power to manipulate the heroes of Earth-4, Earth-S and Earth-X against the rest; this fails when all five Earths enter the limbo universe. Harbinger then recruits heroes from
16320-457: The Post- Crisis comics continuity , Alfred has been the Wayne family butler all of Bruce's life and had helped his master establish his superhero career from the beginning. In addition, he was Bruce's legal guardian and father figure following the murder of the boy's parents. Alfred's history has been modified several times over the years, creating assorted versions. In one such version, Alfred
16490-449: The Waynes, his father having been butler for Bruce's grandparents. At the time he begins working for the Waynes, Bruce is a young child. After several months, Alfred voices the desire to quit and return home to continue his life as an actor. However, these plans are momentarily forgotten when young Bruce returns home after getting into a fight with a school bully. Alfred teaches Bruce to outsmart
16660-407: The angsty and irreverent nature of characters like Spider-Man , Hulk , X-Men and Fantastic Four . This was a time of social upheaval, giving birth to a new generation of hip and more counter-cultural youngsters, who found a voice in these books. Because Marvel's books were distributed by its rival, National, from 1957 until 1968 Marvel were restricted to publishing only eight titles a month. This
16830-408: The art may be divided between: The process begins with the writer (often in collaboration with one or more others, who may include the editor and/or the penciller) coming up with a story idea or concept, then working it up into a plot and storyline , finalizing it with a script . After the art is prepared, the dialogue and captions are lettered onto the page from the script, and an editor may have
17000-471: The bandwagon in 1960. In 1961, at the demand of publisher Martin Goodman (who was reacting to a surge in sales of National's newest superhero title The Justice League of America ), writer/editor Stan Lee and artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby created the Fantastic Four for Atlas, which now re-named itself Marvel Comics . With an innovation that changed the comic-book industry, Fantastic Four #1 initiated
17170-439: The bully, rather than use brute force. When Alfred's advice works, Bruce asks him to stay, and he agrees without a second thought. Shortly afterward, Bruce's parents are murdered, and Alfred steps in as the boy's legal guardian. Alfred later helps Bruce raise his adopted wards Dick Grayson , Jason Todd , and Tim Drake , all of whom also become his crimefighting partner, Robin . He also has close friendships with other members of
17340-435: The characters, with the primary DC continuity referred to as Earth-One. They were created after renegade scientist Krona built a machine and used it to look back into the beginning of time. A cosmic being from the beginning known as the Monitor catalogues these realities, but he has an evil counterpart, the Anti-Monitor , who comes from an antimatter universe. After Pariah causes an accident with antimatter in his universe,
17510-494: The comic books. An American comic book is also known as a floppy comic . It is typically thin and stapled, unlike traditional books . American comic books are one of the three major comic book industries globally, along with Japanese manga and the Franco-Belgian comic books . The typical size and page count of comics have varied over the decades, generally tending toward smaller formats and fewer pages. Historically,
17680-529: The comic-book debut of Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster , the future creators of Superman . The two began their careers with the musketeer swashbuckler "Henri Duval", doing the first two installments before turning it over to others and, under the pseudonyms "Leger and Reuths", they created the supernatural -crimefighter adventure Doctor Occult . In 1938, after Wheeler-Nicholson's partner Harry Donenfeld had ousted him, National Allied editor Vin Sullivan pulled
17850-579: The company "wonderful stepping-stones" for new characters and comics. The series was marketed with the tagline "Worlds will live, worlds will die and nothing will ever be the same". The series began in January 1985 and lasted for twelve issues, ending in December 1985 (issues cover dated April 1985 through March 1986). The close spacing of Crisis on Infinite Earths and Marvel's similar crossover Secret Wars caused some fans to create conspiracy theories about idea theft . According to writer Steve Gerber ,
18020-478: The continuity established by decades' worth of stories to weave together a cohesive, metatextual tapestry that both appealed to long-time readers and brought in massive amounts of money". The series' success inspired DC to begin a tradition of "summer crossovers"; some of these include Invasion! (1988–1989), Armageddon 2001 (1991), Zero Hour: Crisis in Time ! (1994), and Identity Crisis (2004), and some mention
18190-432: The countercultural era. Legal issues and paper shortages led to a decline in underground comix output from its 1972 peak. In 1974 the passage of anti-paraphernalia laws in the US led to the closing of most head shops, which throttled underground comix distribution. Its readership also dried up as the hippie movement itself petered out in the mid-1970s. Wizard originally used the phrase "Bronze Age", in 1995, to denote
18360-459: The country. Some cities passed laws banning comic books entirely. In 1954, psychiatrist Fredric Wertham published his book Seduction of the Innocent , where he discussed what he perceived as sadistic and homosexual undertones in horror comics and superhero comics respectively, and singled out EC Comics due to its success as a publisher of these genres. In response to growing public anxiety,
18530-564: The darker tone of some independent publishers such as First Comics , Dark Horse Comics , and (founded in the 1990s) Image Comics . This tendency towards darkness and nihilism was manifested in DC's production of heavily promoted comic book stories such as " A Death in the Family " in the Batman series (in which The Joker brutally murdered Batman's sidekick Robin ), while at Marvel the continuing popularity of
18700-471: The early days of comic books, this practice had all but vanished during the 1940s and 1950s. Comic books were produced by comic book companies rather than by individual creators (EC being a notable exception, a company that not only credited its creative teams but also featured creators' biographies). Even comic books by revered and collectible artists like Carl Barks were not known by their creator's name— Disney comics by Barks were signed " Walt Disney ". In
18870-505: The events of Crisis on Infinite Earths . The second part of one of DC's later crossovers, Convergence (2015), heavily references the series and sees DC's superheroes travel back to its era. The writers of Convergence all had fun writing stories set during Crisis on Infinite Earths , calling the series an exciting time for DC. The series had an immediate effect on DC, dividing the company's history into two eras: "Pre-Crisis" and "Post-Crisis". Wolfman and Pérez teamed again to produce
19040-426: The field when necessary, and is even capable of impersonating Bruce Wayne on the telephone convincingly, as well as giving Bruce various lessons that help him maintain his covers. He has also provided first aid up to and including suturing wounds and removing bullets, as well as occasional tactical support. He is also able to perform arthroscopy and other advanced medical procedures, thus limiting, if not eliminating,
19210-444: The final say (but, once ready for printing, it is difficult and expensive to make any major changes), before the comic is sent to the printer. The creative team, the writer and artist(s), may work for a comic book publisher who handles the marketing, advertising, and other logistics. A wholesale distributor, such as Diamond Comic Distributors , the largest in the US, distributes the printed product to retailers. Another aspect of
19380-643: The first year, and DC beat Marvel in direct market sales for the first time in August and September 1987. The Man of Steel #1 was the bestselling comic book issue of 1986. Crisis on Infinite Earths has been referenced several times in the various television series that comprise the Arrowverse , starting with the first episode of The Flash which aired in October 2014. It features a newspaper from 2024 that reads "Flash Missing, Vanishes in Crisis". Grant Gustin , who plays
19550-487: The hit, however, after realizing that committing cold-blooded murder would betray Batman's ideals. In Batman #77 (part of the "City of Bane" storyline), an evil version of Thomas Wayne from an alternate dimension invades Gotham City and defeats Batman, and uses Alfred as a hostage to keep the rest of the Bat-Family out. At Thomas' behest, Bane breaks Alfred's neck, killing him after Robin sneaks into Gotham City to rescue him and defeat Bane. When Bruce comes back to Gotham, he
19720-537: The injury, but Batman remains paraplegic and a wheelchair user. During the events of Knightquest , Alfred accompanies Bruce to England and becomes enraged when he insists on endangering his own health. This is the culmination of several weeks of Bruce's self-destructive behavior, and when Bruce returns to Gotham City , Alfred remains in England, tendering his resignation. He spends some time vacationing in Antarctica and
19890-569: The inking to Jerry Ordway despite Giordano's objections. The idea for Crisis on Infinite Earths was first noted in the December 1981 issue of The Comics Journal , which mentioned a twelve-part maxiseries scheduled for 1982. The series was announced in Giordano's "Meanwhile..." column DC ran in its titles cover dated June 1984. Giordano warned readers that "odd occurrences" would begin to happen throughout DC's comics. He also clarified it would commemorate DC's fiftieth anniversary and would provide
20060-483: The introduction of the Comics Code Authority in the wake of Senate hearings on juvenile delinquency , which, ignoring the social problems caused by the wars of 1939–45 and 1950–52, sought to blame those problems solely on comics. While there was only a 9% drop in the number of releases between 1952 and 1953, circulation plummeted by an estimated 30–40%. The cause of the decrease is not entirely clear. Television had begun to provide competition with comic books, but there
20230-550: The last moments. In the Batman and the Outsiders Special , Alfred is seen apologizing at the graves of Thomas and Martha Wayne for Bruce's death, commenting that he grieves as a parent, regarding Bruce as his son. Later, a secret panel in Alfred's room opens, the result of a fail-safe planted by Bruce in the event of his death. Bruce leaves him one final task and also bids him an emotional goodbye, telling Alfred he considered him as
20400-623: The late 1940s and early 1950s horror and true-crime comics flourished, many containing graphic violence and gore. Due to such content, moral crusaders became concerned with the impact of comics on the youth, and were blaming comic books for everything from poor grades to juvenile delinquency to drug abuse. This perceived indecency resulted in the collection and public burning of comic books in Spencer, West Virginia and Binghamton, New York in 1948, which received national attention and triggered other public burnings by schools and parent groups across
20570-459: The latter, Alfred is among the many Gotham citizens blackmailed by Two-Face into stopping Batman from providing Two-Face's former self, Harvey Dent, a cure for his split personality ; Alfred in particular reluctantly shoots down the Batwing as Batman is flying it. When asked, Alfred reveals his secret; years earlier, he had hired a hitman to kill the Joker after the villain murdered Jason Todd and disabled Barbara Gordon . Alfred soon cancelled
20740-422: The line, but there was no protocol in place for what might happen if Alfred died before Failsafe was activated. In 1945, Alfred's name was given officially as Alfred Beagle . This name was subsequently given to an alternative version of the character from the world of Earth-Two , and Pennyworth became Alfred's accepted surname in the mainstream continuity. Alfred has also used the alias " Thaddeus Crane ", which
20910-403: The loss of Bruce as Batman, Alfred still assists the Batman Family in the Batcave along with Julia. After Bruce is discovered to be alive but with no memory of who he is or of his life as Batman, Alfred tells Bruce everything that had happened in his life up to the point of the creation of Batman, but accepts Bruce's request not to learn any more. Alfred did this so that, after years of service to
21080-433: The major players in volume of sales. By this point, former big-time players Fawcett and Fiction House had ceased publishing. Circulation peaked in 1952 when 3,161 issues of various comics were published with a total circulation of about one billion copies. After 1952, the number of individual releases dropped every year for the rest of the decade, with the biggest falls occurring in 1955–56. The rapid decline followed
21250-429: The multiverse back into one to make it stronger. The Monitor dispatches a team of heroes across time and space to defend mysterious machines that could be the key to saving the remaining universes. Meanwhile, we learn Flash didn't disappear after his trial, but rather traveled to the future, and Pariah, constantly witnessing the destruction of worlds, arrives on the doomed Earth-1. Barry Allen of Earth-One encounters
21420-482: The multiverse using the Anti-Monitor's remains as a generator. Meanwhile, Superboy-Prime, having become disillusioned with the surviving Earth, engages in a destructive rampage after confronting the modern Superboy, Connor Kent. The battle culminates in the two Superboys colliding with Luthor's multiverse generator, restoring the Earth (with slight alterations to continuity) and recreating the lost multiverse. The conclusion to
21590-585: The need for hospital medical treatment even in the face of grievous injuries, helping to maintain Batman's secret identity by ensuring that Bruce Wayne has no need to visit hospitals for wounds inflicted on Batman. Nevertheless, Batman still requires professional medical treatment when Bane breaks his back ( Batman: Knightfall ) and Hush 's machinations result in him sustaining a skull fracture ( Batman: Hush ). On these occasions, Alfred admits that his own skills are inadequate for such medical procedures. While not as skilled at martial arts as Bruce Wayne, Alfred
21760-467: The people of Gotham and the world, Bruce could finally accept his reward of a life without pain and the burning desire to be Batman, allowing his life as Bruce Wayne to finally begin. However, when the new villain Mr. Bloom launches a mass attack that apparently kills Jim Gordon—the new Batman—the amnesic Bruce pieces together enough information to deduce that he was once Batman, and convinces Alfred to subject him to
21930-480: The point of brain-death and then download his memories onto his blank brain. With his master restored, Alfred's hand is subsequently reattached, Bruce joking that they used a random hand from the reserves rather than keeping Alfred's hand on ice all this time. Following the 2016 DC Rebirth continuity reboot, Alfred appears in Detective Comics and the third volume of Batman , as well as in All-Star Batman . In
22100-559: The process involved in successful comics is the interaction between the readers/fans and the creator(s). Fan art and letters to the editor were commonly printed in the back of the book, until, in the early 21st century, various Internet forums started to replace this tradition. The growth of comic specialty stores helped permit several waves of independently-produced comics, beginning in the mid-1970s. Some early examples of these – generally referred to as "independent" or "alternative" comics – such as Big Apple Comix , continued somewhat in
22270-505: The publication of Robert Crumb 's irregularly published Zap Comix . Frank Stack had published The Adventures of Jesus as far back as 1962, and there had been a trickle of such publications until Crumb's success. What had started as a self-publishing scene soon grew into a minor industry, with Print Mint , Kitchen Sink , Last Gasp and Apex Novelties among the more well-known publishers. These comix were often extremely graphic, and largely distributed in head shops that flourished in
22440-408: The purposes of Crisis on Infinite Earths was to showcase all the characters DC had. The series is infamous for its high death count. Hundreds of characters died; among the most noted was Barry Allen's. Wolfman has said he did not want to kill Allen, but DC ordered him to because it perceived the character as dull. Therefore, he conceived Allen's death—in which he runs through time before vanishing—as
22610-491: The recently destroyed Gotham City. Alfred even uses hand-to-hand combat in a rare one-panel fight sequence between him and a pair of slavers that ends with his rescue by Batman. In Batman #677, agents of Batman's mysterious enemy Black Glove attack and beat Alfred in front of Bruce and Jezebel Jet , severely injuring him. In the same issue, a reporter from The Gotham Gazette suggests to Commissioner Jim Gordon that Alfred may be Bruce's biological father and that this may be
22780-650: The red. That quickly changed, with the book turning a $ 30,000 profit each issue starting with #12. Famous Funnies would eventually run 218 issues, inspire imitators, and largely launch a new mass medium . When the supply of available existing comic strips began to dwindle, early comic books began to include a small amount of new, original material in comic-strip format. Inevitably, a comic book of all-original material, with no comic-strip reprints, debuted. Fledgling publisher Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson founded National Allied Publications, which would evolve into DC Comics , to release New Fun #1 (Feb. 1935). This came out as
22950-460: The remaining Earths to lead an assault on the Anti-Monitor in the antimatter universe, using the powers of Alexander Luthor Jr. , the last survivor of Earth-Three , to open a portal between the limbo and antimatter universes. Pariah tracks down the Anti-Monitor at his fortress, and the heroes destroy a converter, powered by stellar energy, used to destroy the last five Earths; the injured Anti-Monitor retreats and Supergirl dies from his attacks after
23120-414: The remaining Earths. A furious Anti-Monitor absorbs the energy of millions of worlds and vows to travel back through time to prevent the creation of the multiverse. The Spectre unites the heroes and villains by warning them about the Anti-Monitor's plan; the heroes travel back in time to stop the Anti-Monitor, while the villains travel back in time to the ancient planet Oa to prevent Krona from creating
23290-620: The satirical Mad —a former comic book which was now converted to a magazine format in order to circumvent the Code. DC started a revival in superhero comics in 1956 with the October 1956 revival of its former golden age top-seller The Flash in Showcase #4. Many comics historians peg this as the beginning of the Silver Age of American comic books, although Marvel (at this point still known variously as both Timely and Atlas ) had started reviving some of its old superheroes as early as 1954. The new Flash
23460-430: The series "got virtually no promotion ... How many handouts did you see? How many posters did you see in people's windows? How much information was really distributed to the press and how much was gotten just by individual reporters going to Marv Wolfman and [ Crisis artist] George Pérez?" Elements to set up Crisis on Infinite Earths were put in DC's comics years before the crossover took place; an example of this
23630-401: The series as "a crucial turning point for DC Comics" and credited it with saving the company. Goldstein called Wolfman's idea to simplify the DCU bold and unprecedented, noting the story's exceptional size and saying the story was "unbelievable", if somewhat aged. He also praised Pérez's detailed artwork, saying no other artist could have possibly illustrated it as well as he did and gave the book
23800-440: The series for exploring the entire DCU and felt it was a fitting event for DC's fiftieth anniversary. Nerdist News noted that many of the series' central events—such as the deaths of Supergirl and Barry Allen—have become iconic moments in DC's history. Not all reviewers have been as positive. Chris Sims wrote the series was messy and built awkwardly, describing it as "a textbook definition of style over substance". Sims said it
23970-682: The series some of the most fun he ever had. Pérez was excited because not only did he get to draw the Teen Titans again, but also obscure characters he was not familiar with, saying he could possibly have never gotten another chance. Wolfman has said one panel in Crisis on Infinite Earths shows the Marvel Universe being destroyed. When Giordano (the series' initial inker ) had difficulty meeting deadlines while continuing as DC vice president and executive editor, editorial coordinator Pat Bastienne reassigned
24140-638: The series stemmed from Wolfman's desire to abandon the DC Multiverse depicted in the company's comics—which he thought was unfriendly to readers—and create a single, unified DC Universe (DCU). The foundation of Crisis on Infinite Earths developed through a character called the Monitor , introduced in Wolfman's The New Teen Titans in July 1982 before the series itself started. At the start of Crisis on Infinite Earths ,
24310-401: The series. When Wolfman and Giordano reiterated this in a 1984 meeting, some editors were not pleased; one was so miffed he did not speak for the rest of the meeting. Tie-ins for Crisis on Infinite Earths were published in DC's ongoing series . Unlike the 1991 Marvel crossover storyline The Infinity Gauntlet , where Marvel only published tie-ins in titles that needed a boost in sales,
24480-408: The size was derived from folding one sheet of Quarter Imperial paper (15 in × 11 in or 380 mm × 280 mm), to print 4 pages which were each 7 + 1 ⁄ 2 by 11 inches (190 mm × 280 mm). This also meant that the page count had to be some multiple of 4. In recent decades, standard comics have been trimmed at about 6.625 x 10.25 inches. The format of
24650-474: The sound to the secret passage to the staircase leading to the Batcave and met his would-be employers in their superhero identities with Batman wounded in the field. As it turned out, the wounds were actually insignificant, but Alfred's care convinced the residents that their butler could be trusted. Since then, Alfred cheerfully included the support staff duties of the Dynamic Duo on top of his regular tasks. Ironically, Alfred's loyalty would lead him to become
24820-729: The success of Superman in Action Comics prompted editors at National Comics Publications (the future DC Comics) to request more superheroes for its titles. In response, Bob Kane and Bill Finger created Batman , who debuted in Detective Comics #27 (May 1939). The period from the late 1930s through roughly the end of the 1940s is referred to by comic book experts as the Golden Age of comic books . It featured extremely large print-runs, with Action Comics and Captain Marvel selling over half
24990-484: The superheroes return to the present; only those present at the dawn of time remember the original realities. A cosmically empowered Anti-Monitor attacks again, transporting the new Earth to the antimatter universe and summoning a horde of shadow demons. There are casualties ranging from Dove , Lori Lemaris , Green Arrow of Earth-Two, Prince Ra-Man, Clayface II, Bug-Eyed Bandit , Kole , Huntress of Earth-Two, Robin of Earth-Two, Sunburst, and Ten-Eyed Man . He falls in
25160-467: The team but were outmatched by Surtur. Alan Scott then sacrificed himself by becoming the pawn of Surtur known as the Dread Lantern, leading Surtur to other worlds in exchange for his promise that he will always spare Earth. Despite relatively limited marketing and DC being unsure if the series would be successful, Crisis on Infinite Earths was a bestseller. IGN ' s Hilary Goldstein summarized
25330-409: The technology necessary for the Anti-Monitor's plan to succeed. The villains fail, and Krona continues his experiment. The Anti-Monitor waits for Alexander Luthor Jr. to reopen the portal between the positive and antimatter universes, capturing the heroes, but a magically empowered Spectre creates an energy overload which shatters space and time. The five Earths merge into a single shared universe, and
25500-466: The tradition of serving the Wayne family. To that end, Alfred introduced himself to Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson at Wayne Manor and insisted on becoming their butler. Although the pair did not want one, especially since they did not want to jeopardize their secret identities with a servant in the house, they did not have the heart to reject Alfred. (The name "Pennyworth" was first used for Alfred in 1969, and thereafter it has been assumed that his father
25670-417: The tradition of the earlier underground comics , while others, such as Star Reach , resembled the output of mainstream publishers in format and genre but were published by smaller artist-owned ventures or by a single artist. This so-called " small press " scene (a term derived from the limited quantity of comics printed in each press-run) continued to grow and diversify, with a number of small publishers in
25840-450: The trilogy, Final Crisis , began in May 2008 and ended in January 2009. The series was written by Grant Morrison , with art by J. G. Jones , Carlos Pacheco , Marco Rudy, and Doug Mahnke . In Final Crisis , Darkseid arrives on Earth and begins a conquest to overthrow reality, as part of a plan by Libra to conquer the Multiverse. The Justice League and Green Lantern Corps join forces in
26010-426: The trilogy, the seven-part Infinite Crisis , was written by Geoff Johns and illustrated by Phil Jimenez , Pérez, Ivan Reis , and Jerry Ordway . It was published from October 2005 to June 2006, with a number of tie-in issues. In the series, Kal-L, Alexander Luthor, and Superboy-Prime escape from the pocket dimension they were left in at the end of the original series; Luthor, having gone insane, attempts to recreate
26180-483: The various X-Men books led to storylines involving the genocide of superpowered "mutants" in allegorical stories about religious and ethnic persecution. In addition, published formats like the graphic novel and the related trade paperback enabled the comic book to gain some respectability as literature. As a result, these formats are now common in book retail and the collections of US public libraries . Crisis on Infinite Earths Crisis on Infinite Earths
26350-410: The vast majority of DC's comics featured events that directly tied to the crossover. The following comic book issues were labeled as part of the crossover; their covers contained a banner that read "Special Crisis Cross-Over", along with the logo for DC's fiftieth anniversary. The conflicting stories of the DCU are explained as a Multiverse, containing many parallel universes and alternate versions of
26520-458: The voice of Alfred in the animated Lego Movie franchise , and Martin Jarvis voiced the character in the Batman: Arkham video game series. A young version of Pertwee's Alfred, played by Jack Bannon , depicts the character before he became the butler to the Wayne family in the television series Pennyworth . The character first appeared in Batman #16 (April 1944), by writer Don Cameron and artist Bob Kane . Evidence suggests that Alfred
26690-406: Was a bestseller for DC. The story is credited with popularizing the idea of a large-scale crossover in comics. Crisis on Infinite Earths is the first installment in what became known as the Crisis trilogy. It was followed by Infinite Crisis (2005–2006) and Final Crisis (2008–2009). Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths (2022) also served as a sequel to Crisis on Infinite Earths . DC Comics
26860-408: Was a cloud with a silver lining, and proved the making of Marvel, allowing the company to concentrate its brightest and best talent on a small number of titles, at a time when its rivals were spreading their creative talents very thin across a huge number of monthly titles. The quality of Marvel's product soared in consequence, and sales soared with it. While the creators of comics were given credit in
27030-464: Was also a rise in conservative values with the election in 1952 of Dwight Eisenhower . The Comics Code Authority, a self-censoring body founded to curb the juvenile delinquency alleged to be due to the crime and horror comics, has often been targeted as the culprit, but sales had begun to drop the year before it was founded. The major publishers were not seriously harmed by the drop in sales, but smaller publishers were killed off: EC (the prime target of
27200-416: Was created by the writers of the 1943 Batman serial —Victor McLeod, Leslie Swabacker, and Harry Fraser—and that DC Comics asked Don Cameron to write the first Alfred story, which was published prior to the serial's release. In Alfred's first appearance, he was overweight and clean-shaven; however, when the 1943 Batman serial was released, William Austin , the actor who played Alfred, was trim and sported
27370-464: Was far from the best work of Wolfman and Pérez; however, he still thought it was groundbreaking, saying, "It's the first time in comics history that EVERYTHING was in danger". A novelization of Crisis on Infinite Earths was written by Wolfman and published by iBooks in 2005, with cover art by Pérez and Alex Ross . The book follows the events of the original series; most of the story is presented from Barry Allen's point of view , while parts where he
27540-418: Was going to be," he said. "But, no-one knew how well it would sell, or whether it would sell at all. It was a risk DC was willing to take, because my thoughts were that DC needed a lot of help at that time, and they did too." Wolfman also said he saw it as an attempt to improve DC's reputation for storytelling which many readers at the time saw as old-fashioned. The crossover was fleshed out and coordinated at
27710-540: Was hired away from the British Royal Family by Bruce's parents, and he virtually raised Bruce after they were murdered. Meanwhile, another version of Alfred's Post- Crisis life was slightly more closely linked to his Pre- Crisis counterpart. In this version, Alfred is an actor on the English stage who agrees to become the Waynes' butler to honor his father's dying wish that he continue the "family business" of serving
27880-458: Was later extended one year. Although The New Teen Titans was a major success for DC, the company's comic book sales were still below Marvel's. Wolfman began to attribute this to the DC Multiverse, feeling "The Flash of Two Worlds" had created a "nightmare": it was not reader-friendly for new readers to be able to keep track of and writers struggled with the continuity errors it caused. In The New Teen Titans #21 (July 1982), Wolfman introduced
28050-456: Was named Jarvis Pennyworth; as it is customary for British domestic servants to be called by surname it might have been implied on Alfred's introduction that Jarvis was the surname he shared with his father. The surname "Beagle" was explicitly used for Alfred starting in 1945 and on the introduction of "Pennyworth" this is treated as having always been their name by retcon .) Initially, Alfred discovered their identities by accident; while fighting
28220-409: Was not the first large-scale comic book crossover, Crisis on Infinite Earths is generally credited with popularizing the idea. Comics historian Matthew K. Manning wrote that Crisis on Infinite Earths paved way for all future crossovers of similar scale, and Andrew J. Friedenthal said " Crisis showed the two major superhero comic book publishers (DC Comics and Marvel Comics) how they could utilize
28390-457: Was relaunched entirely by Pérez, Wein, and Greg Potter . Superman was first re-envisioned in the limited series The Man of Steel by John Byrne ; his comic was retitled The Adventures of Superman to make way for a new Superman series . Batman was minimally affected by the reboot, and his comic was not relaunched. However, he was still given an updated origin , courtesy of Frank Miller . In addition, Wally West replaced Barry Allen as
28560-410: Was released in three parts during 2024, beginning with Part One on January 9. Zero Hour: Crisis in Time! is a follow-up to Crisis on Infinite Earths , and Identity Crisis also adheres to the continuity changes of Crisis on Infinite Earths and Zero Hour: Crisis in Time! . Crisis on Infinite Earths is the first installment in what became known as the Crisis trilogy. The second part of
28730-497: Was the Monitor's appearance in The New Teen Titans . In a January 3, 1983 memo, Giordano, Wolfman, and Len Wein instructed editors and writers to use the Monitor twice in the coming year but not to show him: "Because this series involves the entire DC Universe we do ask that each Editor and writer cooperate with the project by using a character called The Monitor in their books twice during the next year". This served to set up
28900-608: Was the last survivor of the Bat Family after a plague claimed most of the heroes. The Spectre himself was defeated in battle with Mxyzptlk and Corrigan was killed, thus possessing a rage-filled Alfred to battle the corrupted New Gods . Alfred appears as a main character in Geoff Johns ' and Gary Frank 's Batman: Earth One . This version is a former member of the Royal Marines who lost his right leg while saving Thomas Wayne during
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