Posted in: Batman, Comics, DC Comics | Tagged: alfred, batman 1, jorge jimenez, matt fraction

Matt Fraction Says No, That's Definitely Not A.I. Alfred In Batman #1

Matt Fraction says that no, that's definitely not A.I. Alfred in Batman #1, honest

I blame Bleeding Cool. They were the ones who started this off way back on the fourth of July, saying that "Meanwhile Alfred Pennyworth has returned from the dead in the form of an A.I. – and yes, we have seen that before. This one seems to follow Batman around, hologram or hallucination? We will see." And then at San Diego Comic-Con, adding insult to injury looking at a preview, saying "He's Batman's A.I. assistant in butler form it is looking like. Ask Jeeves"

Well, now Batman #1 has been published, and it's a lot clearer that this is just Bruce Wayne talking to the memory of Alfred, or what he believed he would be saying at any given moment. A hallucination, perhaps, but a willing one. Well, to some. Screen Rant says;

"This holographic Alfred looks so convincing that many readers may have initially mistaken him for the real butler. While an AI Alfred could sound like a hollow imitation, this hologram is so advanced that it perfectly captures his wit and banter. More impressively, it can form new opinions and respond naturally, making interactions feel genuinely like Alfred himself. Batman treats the Alfred AI as though it were truly his butler, and readers may find themselves doing the same. The technology is so advanced that Alfred even leaves the Batmobile to follow Bruce to a crime scene. There, he provides Batman with his trademark sass and sharp commentary, reminding fans exactly why Alfred has always been such an integral part of the mythos."

Which, you know, sounds quite A.I. like as well. Batman News says

"Enter: AI Alfred. Now Alfred can still technically stay dead, but still provide the iconic banter between him and Bruce that has been missing for the past six years. I feel very unsure about this as a solution. Not only is it pulled straight from the plot of a Black Mirror episode, it also reduces Alfred to a "thing". Rather than a human being with thoughts and opinions of his own, he is merely a marionetted approximation of whatever Bruce programmed."

But in an AMA, Matt Fraction says;

"he's the jimminninninny cricket on batman's shoulder, a mirror, a trampoline, a long bright needle for his darkest balloon. and he's not an AI hologram? at all. he's neither of those things. and won't be. so… not ai! not a hologram!"

So there you go. That's definitive. And hey, there is canon backup for that as well from Batman #98 a few years ago…

But Matt Fraction had a few more notes to share, and questions to answer, such as Jimmy Olson coming to Batman.

"Jimmy'll show up sooner or later though, but it'll be… well, from Batman's POV this time, as it's BATMAN, instead seeing Batman from Jimmy's POV in a SPJO book. i wonder if i could convince clayton to make jimmy's lettering font comic sans."

Tim Drake's boyfriend, Bernard;

"and yes! probably issue 3, for a start! i mean, maybe issue 3? who knows?!?! i mean i know but you know."

Then there's the timeline given that Jim Lee and Jeph Loeb's H2SH still hasn't concluded its first half…

"hush 2 happens. then red hood and batman 1 happens. once it's all published it'll be a linear timeline, but publishing timelines is not, as the vagaries of publishing often demand."

More villains;

"vandal savage, killer croc, a whole gaggle of gotham street gangs, evil cops, hugo strange, the riddler…"

And more on Vandal Savage,

"But i'll say this, inheriting vandal savage as head of the GCPD has been a GIFT, like the first time you taste sea salt on caramel or something. just a totally unexpected combination that tastes great together. im loving playing them against each other at this scale."

And having fewer of the Batman supporting cast

"yes! eventually! but "spotlight" maybe overstates it. to me, the two leads of the book are batman and bruce wayne; other characters drift around his orbit, but he's really front-and-center in things. so maybe your favorite batfam members won't get all the time and space you want them to get, but it's not for lack of love but of page space. I guess that's a thing that was a conscious choice to change from recent bat history, to re-address an earlier question — i wanted it to feel less like a team book or an ensemble book than it has in a while and really focus in on bruce and batman. that might be an academic difference, i don't know."

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