eventuallythebirdsmustland:

An ongoing list of my favourite comic characters
→ Alfred Pennworth | Batman’s Batman | DC

Alfred is probably hands down my absolute favourite character in any comic ever, so I figured that it was only fitting to start with him. On the surface he doesn’t seem like much. He’s just Bruce Wayne’s butler after all. He is nothing remarkable. But he is, he really is.

He may not be out there on a nightly basis fighting crime in Gotham City, but he is just as important as any of the Bats and Birds. If anything is is more important than them. He is the glue that holds the Batfamily together. He is the one that pick them up and puts the pieces back together when they break. He’s the one that patches them up when they are hurt. He is the one that acts as a bridge between them when their differences get too much.

Bruce isn’t an easy person to get to know after all. He isn’t easy to get close to. Alfred is the one that bridges that gap, that helps the others see Bruce as he really is. He helps them see that Bruce loves them and he helps Bruce see that his ‘children’ love him too. He keeps them all from losing themselves behind their respective cowls or the the Mission.

He makes them be human, makes them acknowledge both the frailties and strengths that come from just being human, of just being for a moment.

That’s what I love about him. In a house of such strong personalities and of people with such consuming and defining goals and drives, he is just there. He’s not the loudest, he’s not obtrusive, he just is. In the end, he is stronger than them all, he is the best of them all and he makes them see that good in themselves.

He is a father, a grandfather, a friend, a mentor, a medic, a teacher, a butler, an actor, a soldier and so many other things all at once. But when it all comes down to it, he is just Alfred and he is exactly what the Batfamily need to make them better, to keep them together and to keep them going.

This is probably the most perfect thing I’ve ever seen.