Posted in: Batman, Comics, DC Comics | Tagged: alfred pennyworth, Tom King, wonder woman

Tom King Brings Back Batman's Alfred Pennyworth… But Only Briefly

Tom King is bringing back Batman's Alfred Pennyworth, but only briefly, in upcoming issues of Wonder Woman

Published Sat, 17 Jan 2026 07:57:07 -0600

Article Summary

Tom King discusses briefly bringing back Alfred Pennyworth in upcoming Wonder Woman comics.
Explains his original intent behind Alfred’s death and its ongoing impact on Batman’s storylines.
Hints at Alfred’s appearance in a Styx underworld storyline, reflecting on Alfred’s lasting legacy.
Compares Batman’s supporting cast to Star Trek’s trio, emphasizing Alfred’s role in Batman’s psyche.

In a candid moment during his appearance on the Word Balloon podcast with host John Siuntres, DC writer Tom King opened up about one of the most controversial decisions from his 2016-2019 Batman run: the death of Alfred Pennyworth.

Tom King Brings Back Batman's Alfred Pennyworth... But Only Briefly — *Batman* #77

Bane's brutal neck-snap of Alfred Pennyworth, Bruce Wayne's surrogate father, confidant, butler and moral anchor, in front of Damian Wayne, was a bit of a shocker. It also looked like it was set up in a way which could have been reversed, a performance for Damian that relied on sight lines. But instead, Tom King was fired from the book, and DC Comics decided to stick with the newly established status quo, for seven years now. Tom King has previously explained the thematic intent, showing Bruce's maturity in his grief without breaking down, paralleling his parents' deaths. But courtesy of Tom King's Wonder Woman, we have just had a run-in with the young Jason Todd after his death in the underworld, meeting Steve Trevor… and there's more to come. "There is a Styx run in with Alfred. I got to hint that he's still out there. At least I got to do that because I was the one who killed him all those years ago. And nobody loves Alfred more than me. I adore writing that character. I don't know how you write Batman without Alfred. It amazes me that they've done it for so long."

Tom King Confirms The Matriarch is The Daughter Of The Sovereign — *Trinity* #6

So anything beyond the river Styx? "I have no inside information. It could be another 20 years. I thought he'd be back in two months after I did it. It's shocked me that it's lasted this long."

And what does the relationship share with Star Trek? "I will say I think it's an easy Trek comparison. The reason I think a lot of Trek succeeds is because you have that trinity at the centre of it of Jim, Spock and Bones. And and and I think the reason a lot of Batman succeeds is that you have Alfred, Gordon, Batman. It's it's the two aspects of Batman's brain that are outside of him. like just like you know Bones is Jim's kind of human gut and Spock is his sort of logical side and that's almost one to one, like Gordon is is his is his overreacting human obsessive side and Alfred is more of his hesitation and logical side and it's just amazing that two of the things that have driven so much story have have this their center. It can't be a coincidence." It's notable that right after they killed Spock, they brought him right back. How long can DC Comics hold out? The Search For Alfred Pennyworth?

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!