Batman Vs Superman: 7 Key Details To Make Jeremy Irons The Definitive Alfred

2. Batman's Batman

The phrase "Batman's batman" has been used to describe Alfred - a batman being a military term for a soldier assigned to an officer as a servant and bodyguard. While Robin gets all the credit for being Batman's sidekick and the other members of the Bat Family enjoy their own series titles (Nightwing, Batgirl, Batwoman, Batwhatever), Alfred provides plenty of heroism in his own right. He's a true "batman" in the sense that he wouldn't have earned his own series title, though, because his actions are deeply motivated by servitude to his officer. I could have lumped this entry in with the entry for Alfred's resourcefulness or even his physical prowess - indeed, in the aforementioned instance where Alfred incapacitates Ra's al Ghul's devoted henchman Ubu, he states immediately following "I am every bit as loyal to Batman as you are to Ra's, and I too cannot fail him." But the thrill Alfred gets out of this - as well as the sense of fulfillment that is likely not dissimilar from the small smiles Bruce Wayne allows himself every now and then - isn't encapsulated by just saying "oh yeah, he's resourceful". Both Gough and Caine brought a bit of this to their big screen portrayals of the butler, with the latter being highly involved during the middle act of The Dark Knight - Alfred is there with Bruce thinking of alibis, arranging transportation, analyzing the Joker footage, and hunting the criminal, and during all of this Caine is animated and as enthusiastic about the process as Christian Bale is. Irons needs this drive, too, as it's a major element of Alfred's character.