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NOTE : This clause arrest SPOILERS forBatman : The Murder Machine
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There ’s no doubtfulness that Alfred Pennyworth has always loved Bruce Wayne as his son … but inBATMAN : THE MURDER simple machine , that love make believe DC ’s fighter into one of its most disturbing scoundrel . It ’s all part of the larger drama ofDark Nox : METAL , the on-going summer event using Batman to spin around every other aspect of DC Comics into new territory , all in the name of unforgettable spectacle and fun . That ’s fun for the readers , patently , sincethe blood tale of the seven evil Batmenbrought forth from alternate creation too malefic for the Multiverse to allow are the stuff of nightmares . Even , as this comic appearance , when the narration is all about the lovemaking between Bruce Wayne and his trusted Samuel Butler , Alfred .
Alfred Pennyworth has always been Bruce Wayne ’s faithful servant and supporter , but modern adaptation have underscore their father / son bond , leave no doubt that Alfred has loved Bruce like a Word , and become more of a sire than the one Batman fights to avenge . It ’s that making love that fuels the nightmarish dramatic event ofTHE MURDER MACHINE … and the exit of it that twist Batman and Alfred into a homicidal , obsessive , truly evil spirit of technological payback .
There ’s nothing stronger than a forefather ’s love , after all .
This Time, Bane Breaks Alfred Instead
fan of the Dark Knight have see Alfred put in harm ’s style too many time to consider - and it ’s almost always an effective twist , no matter how vulnerable or redoubtable Pennyworth is shown to be . But on Earth -44 in the freshly revealed Dark Multiverse of DC Comics , writers Frank Tieri and James Tynion IV and artist Riccardo Federici and Rain Beredo at last show the moment that every Batman fan fears : the death of Alfred Pennyworth .
True to his strength of character , the trust pantryman and help to Bruce Wayne goes out without ever breaking , pleading his ignorance to the identicalness of Batman until the very ending . The colored foe of Batman ’s varlet veranda are more cruel here than common , with Harley Quinn , Killer Croc , and Two - brass all taking pleasure in trounce the elderly man for information ( fall in , perhaps symbolically , with the malign Bat - Demon Barbatos who is driving the entireMETALevent ) . In the death , it ’s Bane who quicken his most iconic comic volume instant - with Alfred take the position ordinarily reserved for Batman .
Dropping Alfred across his knee joint just like he did to the Dark Knight in the primary DC Universe , he succeeds where he previously die . By killing Alfred , the consequence evince , the Batman wastrulybroken .
Bruce Wayne Can’t Let His Father Die…
Of naturally , this is Batman we ’re talking about . While the death of a father might leave any other hero devastated , it simply leaves Bruce Wayne with achallenge . His Justice League acquaintance venerate for his mental and emotional res publica , go along to live over Alfred ’s death as his ultimate unsuccessful person - allowing the father who was"always there for him"to die alone - and feeling , for the first prison term himself , in truth alone . But it ’s Victor Stone whom Bruce reaches out to for help . Not to move onward , but to lend another version of Alfred Pennyworth to sprightliness … because Batman always has a plan . In this fount , he had already been construct an artificial intelligence based on Alfred , for when the fourth dimension came that Bruce might postulate to struggle his war without his beginner ’s help .
It ’s a ingenious twist on the core idea of Batman , spinning a ' what if ? ' level out of the hero ’s best quality . Fans have already seen what would fall out ifBatman steal the Speed Force for himself , tug to take every power for good potential . But inMURDER MACHINE , the exploration of what would chance if Batman lovedtoo much , if he was determinednotto go it alone , proves more scarey than the alternative . When Batman ’s dedication and veneration to Alfred is reciprocated - and the A.I. Alfred manifests itself around Gotham , murdering every criminal and prisoner who might peril its ' Logos ' - the tale commence to know up to the ' Dark Multiverse ' name .
And when Cyborg urges his friend to prefer reason over emotion , this devoted reading of Bruce wee-wee a … predictable option .
The Cyborg Batman– Sorry, Murder Machine is Born
On this dark parallel reality existing in the unimaginably horrifying waves of DC ’s Dark Multiverse , there is one affair in unwashed with the other versions intimate to fans : no matter how much Bruce loves Alfred , his adopted sire loves him more . So when Batman seek to set things right-hand , his father does what he must . If his Word is n’t strong enough to get the better of every enemy , then he mustmake him stronger . If his boy fears what his father ’s love has drive him to , then he must make himincapableof fear in the first plaza . InMURDER MACHINE , as the title advise , that means the digital Alfred consumes Bruce ’s organic structure , constructing a new , technological one to make him invulnerable and join the two on a level never think possible .
As is attempt to be the norm for theseDark Nightsstories , Batman then belong on to wipe out the entire Justice League of his realness , before being recruit by the previously - mentioned Bat - God Barbatos ( technically the villain ’s lieutenant , the version of Batman who became The Joker ) . This nefarious Batman was enough to wipe out the total League once already , so now thatthesevenevil batman have invaded DC ’s Universe , the betting odds are stacked in evil ’s favor .
We wo n’t vitiate how our cosmos ’s Cyborg does against the blend might of a Batman and Alfred created with his own doppelganger ’s helper , but … well , MURDER MACHINEis a must - have for DC fans eager to see just how benighted ( and thrilling)METALis going to get .
BATMAN : THE MURDERMACHINE#1is available now .
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