Legends of the Dark Knight #1

[superfangirl1]

On patrol, he eventually comes across an alley, with a man mugging a father and mother with their young son. Bruce sees this, then jumps down yelling "not again!"

Bruce corners the thug to the wall, telling him how bad he's about to be hurt, but to repeat to himself, "No families. No kids." The thug looks back and tells him "That ain't no kid, you idiot" just as said "kid" (may be a little person?) strikes Bruce with a lead pipe. All four of them start beating up on him, as Bruce figures out it was trap especially set for him, but struggles to figure out who could have set it. Then it hits him.






A drunk Bruce (he might be drunk, he might be faking it) is talking to Alfred about how despite he having no powers or flashy green rings, he doesn't have any vulnerabilities. Alfred's silence leads Bruce to believe he thinks otherwise, and bets Alfred a dollar he can't name one vulnerability at that moment. Alfred refuses, and leaves the room.

Comments

[silverzeo]

..... the f-did I just watch here? An April Fools comic special?

Did Bruce had a Cesar-hubris thing going on, so Alfred set him up to get mugged?

[runespoor]

The lesson here clearly being that Bruce is right not to trust anyone.

[superfangirl1]

Yes, Alfred set everything up so Bruce can learn a lesson after his ranting insults about other heroes having vulnerabilities from the night before.

[shadowpsykie]

except Alfred would NEVER do that...

i could see him trying something else... but not this... never this

[amaniwolf]

Agreed, Alfred would never stoop to this level, using something that hurt Bruce that much to make a point. It's stupid and pathetic.

[mastermahan]

Exactly. Alfred works to keep Bruce grounded, but he does it with snark, not traumatizing Machivellian manipulations. The proper Alfred response would something like "Yes, truly nothing can hurt a man dressed up like a bat" or "Nothing off the top of my head, sir. I'll have to think about it the next time I'm sewing up your bullet wounds."

Apparently Alfred has been replaced by Hugo Strange.

[ensiform]

Exactly. This is one of the worst-written things I have ever read. It reads like it was written by a recent immigrant from a totalitarian regime who has a vague idea about Batman being some sort of vigilante but has never read any Batman books, and thinks having him brutally beaten into an understanding of just how wrong he is to think he's above the law is the right way to go about it.

Also: I nominate you for writing an Alfred miniseries.

[mastermahan]

I would kill to write an Alfred miniseries.

[endis_ni]

And I would help you hide the bodies for you to do so.

[korvar]

I can see Alfred doing this right up to the point where the four (or even just the "kid") shoot Batman with paintball guns or whatever, then he takes his dollar.

Also, I'm not sure I could name off the top of my head four folk who could beat Batman up, even with his back turned and distracted, who would actually do it given what a bad idea it is.

More problems: those four (or three plus Alfred) now know that something about that scenario makes Batman vulnerable.

Alfred taking the dollar directly from the Batbelt also seems wrong.

[runespoor]

Been done before, and better. (I don't want to use the words "ad nauseam", as I actually enjoy these digs at Bruce's enormous weak points, but the point stands.)

Unless the point was to cross a sort of Tony Stark's consciousness into Bruce's place, in which case, carry on.

Oh, or unless it's a dig at the Frank Miller school of proto-fascist Batman. As the "this is why I am superi--" is leading me to believe.

[lascoden]

That's kinda fucked up of Alfred. I mean, I get the point, but, geez. Reminding the guy of his parent's death, then beating him, just to prove a point? A little extreme. Bruce was being a dick as well. More so then usual. Bad writing, imo.

Also: Batman keeps a dollar in his belt? He really is prepared for anything.

[tsunamiwombat]

Prepared for visits to the Bat-Strip Cave perhaps?

[nezchan]

Robins have to earn their allowance somehow!

[shadowpsykie]

O_O

where is Icon?

[icon_uk]

You called? :)

[thenicochan]

And god knows...they've earned it!

[nezchan]

It's where Dick gained his greatest skills.

[mastermahan]

Well, Adam West did have the Bat-Pole...

[icon_uk]

Darn right they do

[sherkahn]

It's a clear emotional/psychological blind side Bruce has, and Alfred knows it.

And Bruce, remember that Mr. Pennyworth has wiped your ass since when you were a child. He will hand you your ass if you push him.

[nyadnar17]

This scene is messed up, but I love the fact that Batman has $1 in his utility belt...just in case.

[icon_uk]

I suspect Alfred slipped it in there before Bruce went on patrol, so he could be sure to have his moment of hammering his underlying point to death.

[tsunamiwombat]

Real Alfred would've just given Bruce a stern glare and a cutting remakr and Bruce would've said "fuck, your right Alfred >:\"

Because Alfred can verbally own bruce like that. He doesn't need to be so tactless

[shadowpsykie]

exactly, i am all for Alfred teach Bruce a lesson, but he would NEVER do this... and if he did... it woudn't be like this...

[lascoden]

Yes, this. That was exactly what I was trying to say.

[korvar]

Non-verbally own, you mean :)

[generalfreedom]

Wow... this is industrial grade horrible right here.

[daningram.insanejournal.com]

Hey, it's a tough economy. Every dollar counts.

[nezchan]

Some of those little panels of him being beaten HAVE to become icons.

[sadoeuphemist]

Hahaha, the woman's choking him out with her pearls, this is fantastic.

[thanekos]

Superman, Batman.. I kind of hope Damon Lindelof's got the makings of an awkward DC hat trick up his sleeve.

[jlroberson]

I absolutely love Lemire's art here. But that said, this story goes out of character for Bruce--even an early Bruce--and Alfred. What Alfred did here was cruel no matter what the purpose was. Trust-shattering cruel.

[md84]

Yeah, this is just...yeah.

Batman would never claim to have no weaknesses. He knows all too well that he's pushing his luck every time he goes out on patrol, and that chances are good he'll be killed either by a member of his Rogue's gallery or by some lucky punk with a gun. And he considers the latter to be more likely. Bruce would also never deride his fellow heroes like that. Deep down Bruce does respect them. Heck, even Bruce getting drunk is a bit OOC. He's usually depicted as being a bit of a teetotaller, right down to faking social drinking by drinking water in martini glasses.

And Alfred? Alfred would NEVER do anything that cruel to Bruce. If he really thought Bruce was being a jerk, he'd say it to his face.

[icon_uk]

The worst thing I can imagine Alfred doing in this situation would be something like "So, what ARE your parents getting you for Christmas this year master Bruce" followed by Bruce's "MY PARENTS ARE DE.... oh...yeah, point made Alfred, do that again and you're fired, but point made."

[icon_uk]

What annoys me is that there is probably a really GREAT story to be told about this situation.

Where, after the devastating snark that others upthread have already outlined (Along the lines of "I'm sure I'll have time to ponder your invincibility next time I'm digging a bullet out of your arm"), we see a list of weaknesses outlined inside Alfred's head, because I imagine he worries himself sick about each and every scenario whenever his extended family is on patrol.

This is just... crass, cruel and OOC for Alfred.

[wizardru]

Alfred Pennyworth is one of the following:

1) Father Figure
2) Snarky commentator who brings perspective
3) Loyal Manservant
4) Unofficial Crime Fighter
5) Old Friend

This story has it's heart in the right place, but just doesn't track. If this were an Elseworlds story, sure. But this this doesn't track at all.

[freddylloyd]

Modern superhero comics are largely about resolving philosophical differences through action, in particular kicking other people in the face. So I can see the temptation to writers to have Alfred make his point that way. Without someone beating someone else up, the story would be better told in prose.

But, as you point out, that's not what the modern Alfred is about. Within the "bat-family" he's one of the two people who doesn't dress up in a costume to kick others in the face. Every so often the comics might show him defending himself physically, but the point and joy of those scenes is that Alfred usually just deploys killer snark. Surely he could get this point across using his words.

[damar148]

I really hate Lindelof. Never watched Lost, but I hated what he did to Prometheus, and this just confirms the guy being a hack.

[twospirit.blogspot.com]

Alternate head canon:
Bruce: Tell me what my weakness is.
Alfred:

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Alternate head canon:
Bruce: Tell me what my weakness is.
Alfred: <leaves in silence>
<slips out and goes on a nice vacation for a week or two>
<comes back to Bruce up to his ears in bills and housekeeping duties, unable to cope with having a full-time job, being Batman, AND running a manor>
Alfred: ....What did we learn?

[cyberghostface]

Could three thugs really be able to beat Batman like this, even if they took him by surprise?

[q99]

In some eras they definitely could. Recently, not so much.

[icon_uk]

Best I can come up with is that it'd be the ultimate sneak attack, not only being attacked by the ones he's just saved, but those who are mimicking his family dynamic. At some level he'd be fighting against his parents.

[jetblack927]

Why am I having a flashback to "The Untold Legend of Batman" where it turned out to be Robin haunting Batman with his father's (The First Batman) costume to bring him back from the brink of madness he was succumbing to. And my god, The Art, THE ART!!!

[jcbaggee]

Sorry guys, I could totally see Alfred doing this.

You're absolutely right that Alfred loves Bruce and doesn't want to see him hurt, but this was a point Alfred had had to drive home: you are not invulnerable.

Bruce may have gotten whipped and he may be in a bad shape, but it's nothing he hasn't taken before and nothing Alfred can't patch up; I'd wager Alfred made especially sure to pay them to subdue but not severely injure Bruce. And it probably broke his heart to do so, but the lesson imparted was definitely worth it.

[runespoor]

But Bruce knows perfectly well he has that weak point. See Gotham Knights #1. Bruce also knows perfectly well he's a "mere human" and not invulnerable, starting with Batman: Year One. Bruce has a hubris problem, but not that way: he thinks he knows better than everyone, not that he is better.

And again, the lesson I take from this is "you can't trust anyone".

[freddylloyd]

Arguably this story takes place so early in Batman's career that Bruce Wayne hasn't learned this lesson yet. Aren't the stories in this Legends of the Dark Knight digital series, like the old print magazine, set at any time in the current Batman history? And it seems more likely than not that Gotham Knights, #1, no longer applies, alas.

All in all, I find this story unbelievable on the basis of Alfred's character/symbolic meaning rather than Batman history. But that's because that history is so shadowy it could hide almost any event.

[icon_uk]

One of Batman's greatest strengths is that he KNOWS he's not invulnerable, He has a realistic assessment of his skills, otherwise he'd never last five minutes in his chosen vocation.

[kraesil]

...WTF did I just read?