Whether you love or hate the DC Cinematic Universe, most fans can agree there have been some significant shifts in personality and tone from the comic book source material. Some fans like that, some fans don”t. Personally I fall into the second category and I”ve made my opinion no secret.
Despite my reservations that Superman should ever be a grimdark character, it”s where Batman has always lived (at least since the death of the Adam West era). Batman was made for this gritty universe where suspicion and paranoia rule the day. But what about Alfred?
While revealing the new BatCave, Entertainment Weekly also posted information from Jeremy Irons about what his role as Alfred would be in “Batman v Superman.” And it might be the most hands-on version (in canon) ever.
“Alfred is a lot more hands-on in our film than he has previously been. He”s a bit of a grease monkey, and he”s very involved in the decisions Bruce makes.”
For a majority of fans who don”t have encyclopedic knowledge of Alfred”s history, this version sounds far removed from the Alfred Pennyworth created by DC Comics writers Bob Kane and Bill Finger. A hyper-involved grease monkey runs counter to the prim, elderly English butler who became a surrogate father to Bruce Wayne after the death of his parents.
But this isn”t Alfred”s first foray into the world of “helpful sidekick.” While Alfred may have begun life as an overweight bumbling comic foil to Batman, the butler quickly morphed into a former intelligence agent who went into the service of the Wayne family to honor his father”s dying wish. Throughout the years Alfred has at times been skilled with firearms, hand-to-hand combat, computer programming, mechanical engineering, biotechnology, advance field first aid, and more. Even Alan Napier – who played Alfred in the Adam West show – occasionally donned the Batman costume when Bruce was in trouble.
Jeremy Irons didn”t say if his take on Alfred would have military training or just had an aptitude for mechanical tinkering picked up over the years as butler to Gotham”s most technologically advanced vigilante. But we”ll find out soon enough.
“Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” arrives in theaters on March 25, 2016.