Batmanis one of DC’s most beloved leading characters, but he is also one of the publisher’s most problematic. He often draws criticism for his brutal crime-fighting methods, his deep-seated distrust, and perhaps most of all, for raising a generation of child soldiers. This misuse of children remains one of the darkest marks against the Dark Knight in DC lore. However, there is a compelling argument that the fan-adored Alfred Pennyworth should also shoulder some of the blame, rather than leaving Batman to carry it alone for decades.
To be clear, this is not an Alfred Pennyworth-hate article. This writer fully acknowledges that the Wayne family butler was a cornerstone of the Bat-Family, andhis death remains one of the worst decisions DChas ever made. In fact, I’m firmly in the“Bring Alfred Pennyworth Back”camp.
However, my love for Alfred hasn’t blinded me to the fact that he is just as problematic, if not more so, than Bruce. While Batman is an adult and ultimately made the decision to involve children in his war on crime, there’s no denying that Alfred Pennyworth was the ‘premium adult’ in the room.He could have, and should have, at least tried to seriously stop Bruce’s child-endangering ways.
Alfred Pennyworth Helped Sustain the Bat-Family’s Cycle of Trauma
Alfred’s Silent Support of Bruce Enabled Batman’s Child-Endangering Decisions
The Bat-Family is perhaps most clearly defined by its trauma. It almost seems like a requirement to experience soul-shattering loss in order to truly belong.Batman himself is shaped by the traumaof witnessing his parents' murder, and as longtime readers know, he never truly recovered from it. While the responsibility to heal ultimately fell on Bruce, it is fair to question whether Alfred Pennyworth, who served as his guardian and emotional anchor,could have done more to guide him toward real recovery.Even if we assume Alfred did everything he could to help a young Bruce Wayne heal, there is no denying that he remained present as Bruce brought traumatized children into a life of violence.
Alfred knew Bruce was still deeply wounded, and he also saw that these children were not being offered healthy alternatives to cope with their pain. Instead of receiving therapy or support, they were given costumes and thrown into combat.This created a situation where the unhealed were leading the unhealed.Alfred, by choosing not to intervene in a meaningful way and continuing to support Bruce’s decisions, did not challenge this trauma cycle. Instead, he maintained it. Rather than helping the Bat-Family grow into something healthier, he ensured its cycle of trauma persisted.
Defenders argue that Alfred and Bruce believed crime-fighting gave the children purpose and a way to process their grief, but stories like J.M. DeMatteis’From the DC Vault:Death in the Family – Robin Lives(2024) make it clear that this path often caused more harm than healing. Jason Todd, in particular, shows how exposing traumatized children to life-or-death situations failed to protect them emotionally or physically.As the only relatively stable adult in the Bat-Family, Alfred had a responsibility to break the trauma cycle.His silence, whether rooted in love or loyalty, allowed it to continue, and in doing so, he became a driving part of the problem.
Alfred Pennyworth Was More Than a Butler, And That Makes His Silence Louder
Some may argue that it wasn’t Alfred’s place to intervene in how Bruce raised the Robins, since he wasn’t the one adopting the children and was officially just the butler. However, this argument falls apart under closer scrutiny.Referring to Alfred as“just the butler”ignores the depth of his role in the Wayne household.Alfred was a surrogate father to Bruce, a fact even Damian Wayne acknowledged by calling him a grandfather. More importantly, when children are being put in harm’s way, it becomes a moral and ethical responsibility to speak out, regardless of legal status.
Alfred also lived with Bruce and the children full-time, making him more than qualified to intervene. He was effectively an adoptive parent by proximity, and though Bruce may have held legal guardianship,Alfred often served as the emotional and physical caretaker of the Robins.This dynamic is well-established in the comics, and most recently reaffirmed in Mark Waid’sBatman and Robin: Year One(2024) series, which emphasizes Bruce’s absentee or distracted parenting while Alfred provides consistent support and care for Dick outside of crime-fighting.
Given this dynamic, Alfred was well within his rights to question or challenge Bruce’s parenting choices. One could perhaps excuse Alfred’s silence in the early years, when the situation was still unfolding.But after Jason Todd’s death, it becomes far more difficult to understand his inaction. That tragedy should have been the breaking point. At the very least,Alfred could have demanded that Bruce stop taking in more children, threatening to call social services, step away in protest, or even alert members of the Justice League. Instead, he remained, and his silence spoke volumes.
Alfred Pennyworth Was Complicit, But Not Indifferent to Batman’s Mistakes
Why Alfred Chose to Stay Despite Knowing Bruce Was Endangering Children
While there is no denying that Alfred was largely complacent when it came to Bruce’s endangerment of children, it would be inaccurate to suggest he always turned a blind eye. Alfred often called Bruce out on his behavior, frequently acting as the Dark Knight’s conscience in the narrative, and doing so with cleverness and wit. He regularly challenged Bruce’s ethics and, on occasion, even walked out in protest. However, these moments were rare and ultimately did little to stop Batman from continuing to involve children in his war on crime.
There is also a valid argument in Alfred’s favor that he recognized the foster care system as potentially just as dangerous.Jason Todd’s brief and damaging timeat Ma Gunn’s School for Boys supports this concern. Therefore, it was not as simple as calling child protective services on Batman. It is also likely that Alfred believed remaining present for Bruce and the children, even passively, was better than abandoning them completely in protest. WhileAlfred Pennyworth’shands are not entirely clean when it comes toBatman’streatment of his wards, most would agree that his intentions were always rooted in care and loyalty.
Alfred Pennyworth
Batman
One of DC’s most iconic heroes, Batman is the vigilante superhero persona of billionaire Bruce Wayne. Forged by tragedy with the death of his parents, Bruce dedicated his life to becoming the world’s leading martial artist, detective, and tactician. Recruiting an entire family of allies and sidekicks, Bruce wages war on evil as the dark knight of his hometown, Gotham City.
