Alfred Pennyworth has been Bruce Wayne's faithful butler all of Bruce's life. Sure, Alfred was hesitant to help Bruce when he first took up the cowl and became Batman, but now whenever Batman's out in the field, Alfred is there in the Batcave providing support.
But Alfred is so much more than just a butler. He's been Bruce's father figure after the deaths of Thomas and Martha Wayne, and he has an impressive list of badass moments in his own right. So, here's the 10 most savage things the Alfred Pennyworth has done in Batman history!
10 Anytime he mocks Batman
He is vengeance, he is the night, he is mocked by his own butler. Batman is a dark, brooding figure so it's no surprise his stories tend to be melancholy. Thankfully, we have Alfred's biting wit to provide some levity.
Alfred never misses a chance to get in a good zinger. Our favorite of Alfred's mockery is probably, "Why, you're the very model of sanity. Oh by the way, I pressed your tights and put away your exploding gas balls," from Batman: Mask of the Phantasm.
9 He recreated the Wayne family murders
Alfred is nothing if not theatrical, he is a retired actor after all, but he may have gone a bit overboard with this one. It's early in Batman's career, and he's so confident in his abilities that he bets Alfred one dollar that he's basically invincible. Alfred takes the bet and comes up with an idea that can only be described as a bit much.
The macabre reenactment of the Wayne family murders occurs in Legends of the Dark Knight, Volume 1. Alfred hires a team of individuals to recreate the fateful night Thomas and Martha Wayne were murdered. When Batman intervenes, he finds the family is really a group of thugs and they beat him unconscious.
8 He killed the Penguin
There are a lot of different versions of Alfred, but none are as badass as the Alfred from Earth-1. In Batman: Earth One, Alfred is a former member of the Royal Marines and was the one to train Bruce in various forms of martial arts and acrobatics. This version of Alfred is also not afraid to get his hands dirty.
In a confrontation between Batman and Mayor Oswald Cobblepot, aka The Penguin, the mayor reveals that he hired someone to kill Thomas Wayne, but a mugger got to the Waynes first. Penguin then gets ready to kill Batman when Alfred walks in and fatally shoots Cobblepot with a shotgun.
7 He slapped Bruce Wayne
We've all seen the meme of Batman slapping Robin across the face, but in Batman: Earth One, it's Alfred that recreates the iconic scene. To be fair, Alfred was only looking out for Bruce. He slaps Bruce right across the face and tells him that he isn't ready to be Batman.
Bruce then charges Alfred into a wall but Alfred, being a former soldier, unleashes a series of blows to put Bruce in his place, all while listing Batman's weaknesses: "No guns? No recon? No tactics? Just a stupid bat costume? A useless cape?"
6 He killed a vampire and teamed up with Bane
In the pages of Batman Eternal, we find Alfred making his way through Arkham Asylum, or what's left of it, surrounded by an army of undead vampires. To escape this sticky situation he finds himself in, he, out of necessity, teams up with one of Batman's most imposing rogues, Bane.
During their escape, Alfred, a former soldier, earns Bane's respect when the butler straight up stabs a vampire in the jugular, leaving Bane impressed. Like all great action heroes, he even gives Bane a one-liner following the encounter, saying, "It's like riding a bicycle, you never forget."
5 He punched Deathstroke in the face
If you hadn't noticed yet, it's a bad idea to mess with Alfred, even if you're a mercenary/assassin and one of the most fiercest fighters in the DC Universe. Slade Wilson, aka Deathstroke, made the mistake of getting on Alfred's bad side in Outsiders Volume 4, issue 18.
Deathstroke had shot two men who then landed on Alfred's car. To make matters worse, Deathstroke proceeds to insult Alfred before stabbing one of the victims. At this point, Alfred is royally ticked off, so he gives Deathstroke a good thrashing by punching him right in the face.
4 He was Batman...for a night
It's strange, Alfred is such an integral part of the Batman mythos but he's probably the last person you'd expect to don the cape and cowl. However, that's exactly what happened in the pages of Batman: Rebirth when Batman calls Alfred asking him to stall the lunatic superhero, Gotham.
Ever the faithful butler, Alfred donned a Batsuit and drove the Batmobile crashing into Gotham at high speeds. Alfred gave his best "I'm Batman," but it wasn't exactly convincing. At least Alfred was able to give Batman the time he needed before getting to safety.
3 He shot the Predator point blank
The Predator, the terrifying extraterrestrial trophy hunter, is not an easy target to bring down by any means, so when the Predator got the jump on Batman, the monstrous alien nearly killed the caped crusader and wrought havoc on Gotham City for weeks.
During the rematch between Batman and Predator, Alfred, channeling his inner Schwarzenegger, bravely stepped in wielding a blunderbuss and shot the Predator point blank in the chest. It wasn't enough to kill Predator, but Alfred deserves credit for his sheer savageness.
2 He beat the living daylights out of Superman
Injustice: Gods Among Us sees Superman tricked by the Joker into killing Lois Lane and their unborn child, who Superman believed to be Doomsday, setting off a chain of events that leads to Superman basically becoming dictator of the world. Naturally, Batman opposes him, but there's not a lot Batman can do against Superman in a battle of strength.
After witnessing Batman get brutally hurt by Superman, Alfred takes a nanotech pill that grants him super-strength. Alfred headbutts Superman square in the nose, causing a fountain of blood cascading down Superman's face. Alfred then proceeds to absolutely pummel Superman into the ground before helping Bruce.
1 He became the Joker
Batman has died, and friend and foe alike have gathered for his wake, each of them giving eulogies recounting how Batman died. However, each eulogy tells a different story. The mystery surrounding Batman's death serves as the premise of Neil Gaiman's legendary story, Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader?
During Alfred's eulogy, he reveals that Batman had spent long periods of time failing to apprehend any criminals, which sent Bruce deeper into depression and wore away his sanity. To help him, Alfred hires several actor friends of his to portray Batman's Rogues Gallery, with Alfred himself playing the most important role. Alfred recalls that Bruce needed a Moriarty to his Sherlock Holmes, so he became the Joker, Batman's archenemy and reason for living.