The following content contains spoilers for Batman: Pennyworth R.I.P. #1 which is a book you all need to catch up on and is on sale now.
As the name suggests the comic book Batman: Pennyworth R.I.P. #1 is about the death of Alfred Pennyworth who was Batman’s tireless legal guardian, best friend, butler and mentor who was also a dear friend of his father and had a big secret hidden in him regarding the brutal murder of the parents of Batman Jacket, Thomas and Martha Wayne.
The book begins with everyone mourning the death of an incredibly amazing individual and remembering him in great words which was exactly how he was to be treated for how kind, intellectual and soft at heart he was. Such a character is always very refreshing to see in a world of action superheroes and thus with his death, the fans were also very saddened and so were the associated characters.
Ric or Dick Grayson or also known as Robin is one of the important characters in any Batman movie as he is a crime fighting partner of the vengeance and also his legal ward. There is a section in the book which shows narrations by this particular character and in that part we got to know that there was a huge secret Alfred knew related to the heartless murder of the Waynes.
Over a drink at the Sleazy bar, we see in the book where Dick tells the entire story to Batman aka Bruce Wayne. He tells him of the day when he saw Alfred being extremely sad and not his usual self. Noticing that, Dick decided to follow him and found him taking flowers to the place exactly where the Waynes were mercilessly murdered. That wasn’t the day when they were murdered and it was this fact that made Dick curious and filled with questions as to why was Alfred so sad on that particular day and exactly what was he trying to commemorate.
After a lot of struggle, Dick manages to sit with Alfred and basically confront him on this entire unusual incident he became a witness to. On constant pressure, Alfred revealed to him that the day he saw him was the day of Wayne’s anniversary and he went there to commemorate the love and bond both of them shared and the energy they radiated. He told him that he went there to thank him for Bruce who was nothing short of a blessing for Alfred and of course he went there to express his long lived guilt he had been hiding from the entire world. After gathering enough courage, Alfred finally opened up to Dick and told him that he was the one who was supposed to pick and drop the Wayne couple from the theatre where they were murdered. He couldn’t do his duty because Thomas had been forcing him to go on a vacation and he finally agreed to go there which is the decision Alfred regretted for his entire life. He expressed his pain in front of Dick telling him how deeply has the death affected him mentally and emotionally and that he is always thinking of the consequences which could have been averted only if he has remained persistent and not went for the vacation. Besides anything, this gesture showed that Alfred was a thorough gentlemen and someone with a heart of gold. Dick immediately calmed him down and did all what he could to bring an end to his regrets and guilt. He was somewhat successful and somewhat not.
The entire purpose of telling all this to Bruce was to make him aware of the love Alfred had for him and his family and the duty he has left with his death on the shoulders of Batman to continue with all the good Alfred did and try to repay him for all his kind and nice gestures. However, the only way Bruce could ever repay him was be happy and live his life to end crime which was all what Alfred did and wished for Batman to do.
The purpose of penning down this article is to open you to this side of the superhero world which on one hand has witness the most brutal and violent murderers on the other hand has also witnessed kind individual who were all about caring for others and loving them whole heartedly. Alfred was surely one of them and his death left an empty space in the lives of all the Batman fans exactly how it left an empty space in the life of Batman. He is a character who can qualify to be a role model for people since he was an epitome of loyalty in a world where backstabbers were all around. He is someone you need to take your inspiration from and you definitely should try and be like him in your respective lives. You can practically live his character in another unique way which is by getting his merchandise which we have assembled in Batman Jackets collection that you can easily check out on Movie Jackets where you will also be having access to amazing Leather Jackets and the iconic Loki TVA Jacket which is easily our best seller of the season.
