10 Unbelievable Retcons That Changed Comics For The Better

Alfred Pennyworth first appeared in Batman #16 as a bumbling, fat valet who came to work for Bruce Wayne after a deathbed promise from his father, Jarvis, and merely stumbled into the discovery of the Bat-cave.

With modern eyes, this character hurts on so many levels. His dim-witted nature despite being part of British Intelligence was only the tip of the iceberg with every "Mawster Bruce" they wrote for him. Luckily, Alfred would be changed to fit more in line with the actor from the 1943 Batman serial, with a lean frame and a moustache that would become his iconic look. Gone too, was his bumbling demeanour.

Then Crisis on Infinite Earths happened and the continuity shifted so that Alfred Pennyworth was always the valet for the Wayne family and, upon their death, became Bruce’s guardian.

Needless to say, this change was one of the best things to happen to the Bat-mythos. It gave Bruce a strong role model for him to be able to lean on and instil in the moral compass that would make Bruce the hero he would later become.