Alfred Pennyworth

[Source]

"*That's a Smith & Wesson... and you've had your six.*"
―Alfred Pennyworth confronts Prof. Dent[src]
**Alfred Pennyworth**, (born as **Alfred Beagle**), was a human actor and Senior Operational Officer within the British Secret Intelligence Service who later served as the butler and bodyguard to Bruce Wayne.

## Biography

### Early life

Born on 25 August 1930 in Scotland under the name of Alfred Beagle, he grew up in Edinburgh alongside a younger brother Wilfred and raised by his parents Jarvis and Euphemia Beagle. His first job was as a milkman in Edinburgh and claimed that he lost his virginity to an adult woman in an ATS uniform at the age of 14. Beagle later enlisted in the Royal Navy once he became of age, during which time he acquired two tattoos. As a member of the British Commonwealth Forces Korea he served in various conflicts during the Korean War, gaining skill as a field medic.

After the war, Beagle was honourably discharged from the navy and worked as, among other things, a lorry driver, a lifeguard, a coffin polisher, a footballer, a bodybuilder and eventually an actor. Beagle later applied to a position within the "Secret Service", part of the Civil Service, and rose to the rank of principal officer. At around this time Beagle was forced by MI6 to adopt a new identity and Alfred legally changed his last name to Pennyworth. He was known to have been married by 1962, the result of which was in the birth of his son.

### Time in MI6

"*In my day, we did it all with a snorkel and a pair of flippers.*"
―Alfred Pennyworth[src]

all over the world.

During this time Alfred received a special mission, loaning his services to the MI6. After this mission ended, Alfred was forced to retire from service and move to the United States of America. and started working as a butler for the Wayne Family, carrying over the family tradition, per his father's dying wish.

He was later approached to become a teacher for the MI5, instructing its agents in subterfuge through the use of stagecraft.

#### Adventures against SMERSH

"*World domination, the same old dream. Our asylums are full of people who think they're Napoleon. Or god.*"
―Alfred Pennyworth[src]
Pennyworth later returned to London but, six months after he had left the city, he was sent on a mission to Istanbul in an attempt to obtain a lektor decoder device from a stunning Russian cipher clerk named Tatiana Romanova, who had supposedly fallen in love with a photograph of him. Yet Tatiana had unknowingly been set up by the Head of Operations of the Soviet organization SMERSH, Rosa Klebb who sought to avenge the murder one of their operatives. Pennyworth was aided by Kerim Bey, who helped the British agent bring both the device and Romanova from Istanbul to Venice.

But despite several SMERSH agents attempting to kill Pennyworth, most notably Bulgarian hitman Krilencu at a Gypsy camp and the devious assassin Red Grant, who attempted to garrote Pennyworth on the Orient Express before he was killed himself after being tricked into opening Pennyworth's attaché case in a manner that detonates a tear gas booby trap, allowing Pennyworth to attack and kill him. Pennyworth and Romanova escaped with the leKtor to Venice. Rosa Klebb, disguised as a hotel maid, attempted to steal back the lektor and kill Pennyworth, but ended up being shot herself by Romanova.

Shortly before his next assignment, Pennyworth's superior in MI6, gave him the choice of either selecting a new weapon on a mission to investigate the recent disappearance of MI6 operative Jon Strangeways or to return to standard intelligence duties. He was then given a choice of using a Walther PPK or a Smith & Wesson .38 Special 5-round hammerless revolver. Pennyworth reluctantly decided to take the weapons on the mission and the Walther proved valuable in Jamaica, where Strangeways had gone missing.

Although Pennyworth's life was threatened on the mission several times by various murderous operatives, one of whom placed a tarantula in his bed, Pennyworth found help in CIA agent King Faraday and native fisherman, Quarrel, who aided Pennyworth in his investigation of Strangeways' disappearance. After finally determining that a Dr. Julius Yes was responsible for Strangeways' murder, Pennyworth killed Dr. Yes in revenge and destroyed his island, Crab Key, before escaping in a boat with a beautiful Jamaican native named Vesper Honey-Ryder. The two later encountered a Navy ship whose crew offered to tow their boat back to the Jamaican mainland.

#### Time in France

**Alfred**: "*My dear girl, don't flatter yourself. What I did this evening was for King and country. You don't think it gave me any pleasure, do you?*"
**Volpe**: "*But of course, I forgot your ego, Mr. Pennyworth. Alfred Pennyworth, who only has to make love to a women and she stars to hear heavenly choirs singing. She repents, then immediately returns to the side of right and virtue. But not this one. What a blow it must have been, you having a failure.*"
**Alfred**: "*Well, you can't win them all...*"
―Alfred and Fiona Volpe, after the former is betrayed by the latter[src]
In France, Alfred Pennyworth fought and killed Hydra operative Colonel Jacques Bouvar, avenging the murder of two of Pennyworth's former colleagues. After encountering several Hydra agents at a health spa in the south of England, Pennyworth investigated the hijacking of an Avro Vulcan loaded with two atomic bombs, which had been taken by Hydra. The organisation demanded a ransom against Britain and the United States for the return of the bombs. Pennyworth followed a lead to the Bahamas, where he met up with his CIA counterpart and friend King Faraday.

The pair suspected a rich playboy, Emilio Largo, and searched the area around his yacht and then the area where they thought the yacht may have travelled. After finding the plane, but without the nuclear devices on board, the two agents arranged for Largo's yacht to be tracked and ambushed once the bombs were being moved by Largo. Pennyworth succeeded and Largo was ultimately killed by his vengeful mistress Mademoiselle Marie. During this time, he had an affair with Marie which left her pregnant.

#### Fight against Hydra

**Alfred**: "*Do you expect me to talk?*"
**von Spitz**: "*No, Mr. Pennyworth. I expect you to die!*"
―Alfred Pennyworth and Auric von Spitz[src]
Subsequently, Pennyworth was sent on a mission to Mexico, where he ensured that a revolutionary named Mr. Ramirez could no longer finance his revolutions. After the successful completion of his mission, Pennyworth was attacked by an assailant, who he killed before taking a plane to Miami.

In Miami, Pennyworth was instructed to observe former Nazi Auric von Spitz, who was staying at the same hotel. However, Pennyworth became romantically involved with von Spitz's girlfriend, Kitty Masterson, who later died of suffocation as a result of being entirely covered in gold. Pennyworth returned to London, where he was ordered to investigate von Spitz's involvement in the possibly illegal transportation of gold, but he was warned that, if he treated the assignment as a personal vendetta, he would be replaced on the mission by 008.

While investigating von Spitz, Pennyworth traveled from England to Geneva, Switzerland, where he met Kitty Masterson's vengeful sister, Titty Masterson, before she was killed by von Spitz's henchman, Oddwork, with the modified bowler hat that he always wore. Pennyworth determined that von Spitz was indeed illegally smuggling gold but he was soon imprisoned by the criminal, who ordered his transportation to the United States, where Pennyworth learned the specifics of the criminal's planned Operation Grand Slam (the robbery of Fort Knox). Pennyworth ultimately prevented the criminal's destructive plan from becoming a reality and managed to kill both Oddwork by electrocuting him through his hat and, finally, von Spitz.

##### Mission in Asia

**Zemo**: "*Alfred Pennyworth, allow me to introduce myself. I am Baron Heinrich Zemo. They told me you were assassinated in Hong Kong.*"
**Alfred**: "*Yes, this is my second life.*"
**Zemo**: "*You only live twice, Mr. Pennyworth.*"
―Alfred and Baron Zemo meet for the first time[src]
Shortly thereafter, Pennyworth traveled to Japan, where he faked his own death to avert attention from Hydra. He was then sent to investigate the capture of a U.S. spacecraft in Japan to by an unidentified spacecraft. Upon his arrival, Pennyworth was contacted by Aki, assistant to the Japanese secret service leader Tiger Tanaka. In Tokyo, he met up with Dikko Henderson, an informant whom secretly worked as a Hydra operative. Henderson suggested that a third power was using Osato Chemicals, a vast multinational corporation, to launch spacecraft from Japan to attack US and Russian space crafts and trigger war between the two superpowers. However, Henderson was apparently stabbed to death before he could reveal more. Pennyworth subdued Henderson's supposed killer, then took his place and infiltrated Osato Chemicals to find more information. Soon, Pennyworth established that the mastermind behind the hijacking was Heinrich Zemo, a leader in Hydra, and followed the trail to Zemo's island headquarters.

After being rescued by Aki, she stopped her car near a subway entrance. Mistrustful, Pennyworth chased her only to fall into a "trap" set by Tiger Tanaka, whom was working alongside the US. After verifying Tanaka's credentials via a codeword, the MI6 agent worked alongside him to examine the paperwork found in Osato's safe. Pennyworth also trained with Tanaka in ninjitsu who changed his appearance to be Japanese as cover and wedded him to Kissy Suzuki. He would also encounter the American super-soldier, Captain America, his sidekick, Bucky Barnes, as well as the Canadian soldier, Jim Logan, all of whom were tasked to help the Japanese in the operation. Pennyworth, Barnes, and Kissy would later find Zemo's lair in a Volcano. After being taken prisoner at the base, Pennyworth finally met Baron Zemo face-to-face for the first time. During their exchange, Tanaka's ninja troops, along with Captain America and Jim Logan, attacked the island. Pennyworth managed to distract Zemo and created a diversion which allowed him to open the hatch, letting his allies in. During the battle, Mr. Osato was killed by Zemo, who activated his death ray in order to destroy the base and all his enemies in it. However, Captain America forced him to fire the weapon wildly, which resulted, ironically, in Zemo dying by his own hand. Pennyworth, Kissy, Tanaka, Logan, Barnes, Captain America and the surviving ninjas escaped through the cave tunnel before it exploded, and were rescued by submarine. Shortly after this, Alfred would retire from active service as an MI6 agent.

#### Return from first retirement

"*Where is he? I shan't ask you politely next time. Where is Henderson?*"
―Alfred Pennyworth[src]
Three years later, Pennyworth was called back into service when he learned that Dikko Henderson, his former supposed ally, had actually been a Hydra operative for years. He was tasked with bringing Henderson to justice and Pennyworth raced around the globe looking for the criminal until he found him during a cloning operation. After a fight, Pennyworth apparently killed Henderson by melting him in hot mud.

Pennyworth was then tasked with investigating a major diamond smuggling ring which began in Africa and ran through Holland and the UK to the United States. Disguised as professional smuggler and murderer Peter Franks, Pennyworth traveled to Amsterdam to meet contact Molly Case: he was given the diamonds and traveled to the US, where he was met by CIA agent Joe Atkinson. Pennyworth moved through the chain, which lead to the Whyte House, a casino-hotel owned by the reclusive billionaire Willard Whyte.

Pennyworth followed the diamonds to a pick-up by Bert Saxby, Whyte's head of security, and then onto a research laboratory owned by Whyte, where he found a satellite was being built by a laser refraction specialist, Professor Dr. Metz. Suspecting Whyte, Pennyworth tried to confront him, but instead met Henderson, who captured the agent and explained to him that the satellite could blow up nuclear missiles. Henderson admitted that he intended to auction it to the highest bidder. Pennyworth escaped and freed the captive Whyte and they established that Henderson was using an offshore oil rig as his base. Pennyworth attacked the rig, stopping Henderson's operation and finally ending his life.

### Becoming a butler

Following the deathbed request of his father who used to be a butler for the Wayne family, Alfred sought out Bruce Wayne to fulfill his father's last request. Upon arriving at Wayne Manor, Alfred introduced himself to Wayne and insisted on becoming his butler and bodyguard. Not wanting or needing a butler, Wayne at first rejected Beagle's offer but soon relented after the former secret agent discovered his would-be employer's secret: Bruce Wayne was Batman. Alfred proved his worth by calmly attending to his employer's injuries and from then on added the support staff duties to his regular tasks.

## Personality and traits

"*Do I look like the sort of man who would make trouble?*"
―Alfred Pennyworth[src]
Alfred Beagle was a highly unique individual. He appeared to be of sound mind and strong spirit. He was highly intelligent, exceedingly cunning and diabolically independent. He was also extremely sensible, calm, mature and sly. Like most who lose a parent in their youth, Beagle had slight abandonment issues, which was why he would at times refrain from making friends or having long-lasting relationships. Beagle had strong interpersonal skills. He could act comfortably in many situations, but did not seek out companionship except, most notably, for sexual recreation. Alfred's lone wolf personality-type tended to attract others and something he and his charge Bruce Wayne had in common. Beagle was very idealistic, but solitary. He seldom discussed his problems with other people. He was highly manipulative, calculating and possessed a high level of intelligence. He sometimes had a hot temper.

During his time in MI6, he was not self-destructive, but he could be a challenge to his superiors, who mostly despised his unorthodox skills of completing a job and his personality. Beagle was goal-oriented, but he often sought those goals in an indirect and secretive way. He thrived when not revealing all of himself, carefully organizing the aspects of his personality he revealed to others. Thus Beagle was excellent at burying information he did not wish to reveal, making him a very good security risk if questioned under almost any circumstance, including his time later in life as an ally of Batman. Beagle used humor as a shield and a weapon. He was skilled at making cutting remarks that revealed insecurities of others or mocked death, danger and risk so he could intimidate people who were a threat to him, or cause his allies to move forward. Even though Beagle clearly didn't see the world black and white, he also didn't tend to see it in stark terms of chaos and order.

He had acquired strong tastes throughout his life including an enjoyment of golf, cars, women, gambling, food and drink. He even described himself as a heavy drinker and smoker. Beagle was also deeply loyal to his British and Scottish roots, even tattooing the saying "Scotland forever". He also expressed the opinion of wanting Scotland to be independent of the United Kingdom. His concept of his nationality appeared to be a large part of his identity.

## Relationships

### Family

#### Clive Reston

"*You'd know me as Alfred Pennyworth. I served as the bodyguard and butler of Bruce Wayne for many years. Perhaps you remember me. Clive Reston was my son... the man you and your son killed.*"
―Alfred[src]

#### Julia Remarque

"*Forgive me, sir... but I couldn't let you hurt her. Not her. Not Julia.*"
―Alfred[src]

### Friends

#### Bruce Wayne

"*Teacher, mentor, partner, but never a father.*"
―Alfred to Bruce Wayne[src]

### Romances

#### Mademoiselle Marie

**Alfred**: "*I was right. Couldn't miss.*"
**Marie**: "*I'm not with you.*"
**Alfred**: "*Oh you soon will be.*"
―Alfred and Marie[src]

#### Selina Kyle

"*A little spanking will do the trick. And believe me, it will hurt you more than it will me.*"
―Alfred[src]

## Powers and Abilities

### Powers

Alfred had no known superhuman abilities.

### Abilities

"*I was trained by the best. British intelligence. But in retrospect I would rather have been a poet. Or a farmer.*"
―Alfred Pennyworth[src]
**Master Hand-to-Hand Combatant:**

**Acting:** He was an actor prior to becoming a butler and would also use his natural acting talents during his time in MI6.

**Medical Science:** Alfred was capable of providing first aid and had basic medical skills.

## Appearances

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