Batman: Pennyworth RIP #1
James Tynion IV, Peter Tomasi (w), Various (a)
DC Comics
Liz says: Grief is a messy emotion, one that is expressed in many different ways. When a beloved family member dies, denial, anger, bargaining, and depression all pave the road toward acceptance.
‘The Bat Family walks into a bar’ may sound like the beginning of a joke, but there is nothing humorous about the conversation that follows. After the funeral service of the Wayne family butler, the core family members – Bruce, Dick, Jason, Tim, Barbara, and Damian – convene in a rented-out dive bar as their unlikely venue. Dick (or ‘Ric’ as he’s been calling himself since he was shot in the head and lost his memories) offers to bartend as the others share stories and raise a glass to their dearly departed loved one.
The best moments of the issue are the flashbacks featuring Alfred, each a bittersweet testament to why the character is so beloved. One by one, the family members tell stories epitomizing their particular bond with Alfred, each drawn by a different artist. The Damian-centred sequence drawn by Chris Burnham (the primary artist on distinctive segments of the Morrison run, in which Damian was introduced and during which his dynamic with Alfred was formed) was especially wonderful and evocative of happier times.
As desirable as it may have been to see Bruce step up to the plate and bring his family together in mourning, it is far more fitting that he is incapable of doing so. Bruce is a man of immeasurable will, self-discipline, and strength, but he is deficient when it comes to coping with loss. Bruce is paralyzed by grief, unable to act when his adoptive sons and protégés cry out for help and walk away from him, one after the other.
After the deaths of Thomas and Martha Wayne, Alfred effectively became Bruce’s father, so when Bruce dedicates a children’s hospital to Alfred and erects a statue in his honor (the exact sort of memorials that have been built in the name of the Waynes), it’s his own clumsy, emotionally stunted way of demonstrating that he considers Alfred to be their equal as his parent.
Alfred Pennyworth has always been the beating heart of the Bat-Family, providing guidance, support, and love to Bruce and the children who followed him. Without him, they are a rudderless ship, and certainly a long way from healing. But though their reunion was brief, it allowed Alfred a chance to bring them together one more time – exactly as he would have wanted.
