Warning! Spoilers ahead for Batman #98 and Robin #4!
Alfred Pennyworth has been an important part of the Bat-family for decades, and his death at the hands of Bane was a huge loss to Batman, Robin and the rest of the Bat-family. While death seems like a temporary inconvenience to most mainstream comic characters, Alfred has yet to return to the main DC continuity. But it’s possible that his apparitions to both Batman and Robin are more than just embodiments of the Waynes’ shared grief.
Alfred in the main continuity may have been murdered by Bane, yet his presence remains in the form of flashbacks, drug-induced hallucinations, and in the case of Robin, a ghostly father figure offering “old man gibberish.” Since his death in Tom King and Tony Daniel’s City of Bane arc, Alfred has remained dead for an uncommonly long amount of time given his place in a mainstream comic title such as Batman. It seems like it’s only a matter of time before the forces of DC Multiverse conspire to bring the Waynes’ butler back from the grave, yet there has been seemingly no movement on that front… or has there?
Alfred’s return to the comics may already have been hinted at in Batman #98 by James Tynion IV and Jorge Jimenez, as a hallucinating Batman sees visions of Alfred comforting him and rebuilding his faith in himself as Gotham’s defender. The Alfred Bruce sees cuts deep through his grief and gives Batman the fighting spirit he needs to end the Joker War and save Gotham yet again. This Alfred, however, admits that he is nothing more than a figment of Bruce’s mind, telling him what he needs to hear and helping Bruce process his grief following the demise of his second father figure. While this Alfred claims to be a figment of Bruce’s grieving psyche, he still needs to be told what is going on, perhaps insinuating that this is Alfred’s spirit reaching out from the other side and asking for context before dispensing advice and insight. The largest clue that Alfred’s ghost may be returning to the main continuity comes from Damian Wayne’s solo adventure, Robin.
As Robin has run away from Gotham and begun his own quest to track down the League of Lazarus, he has been advised by an apparition of Alfred appearing at key moments offering wisdom and advice to young Damian. In Robin #1 by Joshua Williamson and Gleb Melnikov, Damian dismisses the initial apparition of Alfred as a manifestation of his guilt, and logically, not real. Alfred continues to advise Damian at different points of the series, giving brief snippets of insight and attempting to act as a rational influence in Damian’s quest. This all changes in Robin #4 when Damian meets up with Ra’s Al Ghul on a secluded island, and Alfred is nowhere to be seen until Robin returns to Corto Maltese. Damian himself comments on the uncharacteristic appearance, saying “I noticed you were nowhere to be seen while my grandfather spoke his own kind of old man gibberish.” While this could simply be that Damian’s psyche was still reeling from the shock of seeing Ra’s Al Ghul, it could also be tangible proof that Alfred’s spirit is crossing over from the afterlife and avoiding exposing his true nature to those more in tune with the supernatural, such as Ra’s Al Ghul.
Alfred’s return as a disembodied spirit would be consistent with hints given during Dark Nights: Death Metal that Alfred could see a permanent return to the main continuity, while respecting the finality of his death. While Batman and Robin invariably depend on the support of Alfred, his death has left a critical absence in the Dark Knight’s life. While Alfred Pennyworth’s earthly remains may still be interred in a Gotham graveyard, it appears his spirit may still be lingering around to offer counsel to the family he has served for so long.
