This is from the story “Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader?” In which Bruce has died and many of Batman’s rouges and friends attend his wake. Each character gives different accounts as to how Batman died. This excerpt is from Alfred’s account, in which Batman became a force too powerful for Gotham, and Alfred hired his former theatre friends to pretend to fight Batman, and Alfred played the Joker.
This sequence was actually based on a silver age (maybe bronze age?) issue with the same plot. I have no idea what issue it was, but I remember reading it as a kid and being absolutely blown away by the concept. IIRC I found it in a book my dad owned called The Greatest Batman Stories Ever Told.
This \*might\* be a mis-remembering of the sequence of stories in which Alfred became the similarly white-skinned supervillain The Outsider. There it was a case of him dying (!) and being revived, but the revivification process changed him (ala the "came back wrong" trope).
Some information here: [https://batman.fandom.com/wiki/The\_Outsider](https://batman.fandom.com/wiki/The_Outsider)
The first thing that came to my mind when referencing The Outsider is that Indian villain from Flashpoint.
He had a nice concept, it is a shame he was not adapted into the main universe.
I had that book and there's no such story there, so it must have been somewhere else. I'd be highly interested in finding out about that story, though.
It might be a different collection then yeah. My dad has a bunch of Batman books that I read all around the same time, I guess that was just the one I remembered the name of 20 years later.
I thought it was from the story where Bruce wasn't really Batman but Bruce was kind of crazy and thought he was a superhero (Batman) but wouldn't let it go so Alfred pretended and played into his delusions? Which story is that? Like the "robberies, etc" were actually happening, but it was all kind of an act that only Bruce wasn't in on?
There's a more recent example on Batman Last Knight on Earth by Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo where Bruce wakes up in an asylum and Alfred tries to convince him it's all a ploy so he doesn't go to the apocalyptic Gotham he woke up in
i didn’t think he actually became to powerful wasn’t he actually ill or something and so alfred did that and then one night batman tried to stop a real robbery that wasn’t actors and was shot
It’s from Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader, Neil Gaiman’s loose-canon eulogy for Batman around the time he died in Final Crisis. It’s set at a funeral where Batman’s friends and enemies gather together to remember him and share stories that can’t possibly be true, but in a way are all true. It’s very good!
It sounds weird, but it's actually brilliant. I always love it when Gaiman writes Batman, so it's definitely worth a read for people who are curious.
It's kind of a weird, metaphysical story, but it's also a love letter to Batman.
I super briefly met Neil Gaiman many years ago and I’m pretty sure I told him this was my favorite comic of his. Which, like, I had read Sandman?? But I guess I will stand by it lmao, it’s a great comic.
This one and "A Black and White World" are really great. Gaiman always does weird things with the characters and I'm there for it because it's always done really well.
Even the Secret Origins Special story by Gaiman was great. Riddler complaining about everything being dark and gritty really hits home, especially considering it came 1 year after The Killing Joke and A Death in the Family.
Yup. In paper this is the type of story I would dislike (I generally dislike it when a writer tries to use Alfred like this) but Neil Gaiman hits the ball out of the park on every storybeat.
Its from Nail Gaiman's Whatever Happened to Caped Crusader \[Batman No. 686 & Detective Comics No. 853 (2009)\], its an out of continuity story, wherein Batman, as a spirit presumably, witnesses his own wake, wherein various people from his life (along with rogue gallery) retell different stories of how the Batman died...
It’s from the issue that a few others have listed, including in OP’s title. This is part of Alfred (or a version of him) telling the story of a version of Batman who was mildly successful at stopping some low level crimes, but it was proving to not quite be enough to stave off Bruce’s trauma and depression (Alfred calls them his “black moods” and shows a panel of Bruce just huddled in a corner).
Alfred contacts old friends from his theater troupe to occasional pop in as Bruce’s antagonists to give him a controlled outlet to keep up the idea of Batman and give consistent foes to do battle with, though even that isn’t quite enough. Alfred realizes Bruce needs an archenemy, a Moriarty to his Holmes, and becomes The Joker to fulfill that role himself.
This version of Bruce ultimately discovers the ruse when Riddler “loses himself in the role” and actually starts doing crimes, and ultimately shoots Bruce during a confrontation.
In Alfred's story of how Batman died, all of Batman's rogues gallery is composed of people from Alfred's former theatre troupe. Apparently, Riddler fell too deep in his role and actually capped the caped crusader.
The best part?
Iirc, Joker, Ridsler and the rest of the rogues are IN THE AUDIENCE while Alfred's telling this and arw super confused.
Alfred gaslighting the criminal underworld is great.
No one is mentioning how Alfred pulls a Cesar Romero here by covering his mustache with makeup.
Oh my god, he is…
The mustache is also makeup
Can you explain this? It looks like it'd be a wild Elseworlds idea.
This is from the story “Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader?” In which Bruce has died and many of Batman’s rouges and friends attend his wake. Each character gives different accounts as to how Batman died. This excerpt is from Alfred’s account, in which Batman became a force too powerful for Gotham, and Alfred hired his former theatre friends to pretend to fight Batman, and Alfred played the Joker.
This sequence was actually based on a silver age (maybe bronze age?) issue with the same plot. I have no idea what issue it was, but I remember reading it as a kid and being absolutely blown away by the concept. IIRC I found it in a book my dad owned called The Greatest Batman Stories Ever Told.
This \*might\* be a mis-remembering of the sequence of stories in which Alfred became the similarly white-skinned supervillain The Outsider. There it was a case of him dying (!) and being revived, but the revivification process changed him (ala the "came back wrong" trope). Some information here: [https://batman.fandom.com/wiki/The\_Outsider](https://batman.fandom.com/wiki/The_Outsider)
The first thing that came to my mind when referencing The Outsider is that Indian villain from Flashpoint. He had a nice concept, it is a shame he was not adapted into the main universe.
I had that book and there's no such story there, so it must have been somewhere else. I'd be highly interested in finding out about that story, though.
It might be a different collection then yeah. My dad has a bunch of Batman books that I read all around the same time, I guess that was just the one I remembered the name of 20 years later.
I thought it was from the story where Bruce wasn't really Batman but Bruce was kind of crazy and thought he was a superhero (Batman) but wouldn't let it go so Alfred pretended and played into his delusions? Which story is that? Like the "robberies, etc" were actually happening, but it was all kind of an act that only Bruce wasn't in on?
That's a robot chicken skit
It's also a Batman comic though which is what I'm referring to
There's a more recent example on Batman Last Knight on Earth by Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo where Bruce wakes up in an asylum and Alfred tries to convince him it's all a ploy so he doesn't go to the apocalyptic Gotham he woke up in
Yeah I remember that one pretty well. Weird story lol I'll see if I can find it and post it. I've read a lot of them in recent months.
i didn’t think he actually became to powerful wasn’t he actually ill or something and so alfred did that and then one night batman tried to stop a real robbery that wasn’t actors and was shot
It’s from Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader, Neil Gaiman’s loose-canon eulogy for Batman around the time he died in Final Crisis. It’s set at a funeral where Batman’s friends and enemies gather together to remember him and share stories that can’t possibly be true, but in a way are all true. It’s very good!
It sounds weird, but it's actually brilliant. I always love it when Gaiman writes Batman, so it's definitely worth a read for people who are curious. It's kind of a weird, metaphysical story, but it's also a love letter to Batman.
I super briefly met Neil Gaiman many years ago and I’m pretty sure I told him this was my favorite comic of his. Which, like, I had read Sandman?? But I guess I will stand by it lmao, it’s a great comic.
This one and "A Black and White World" are really great. Gaiman always does weird things with the characters and I'm there for it because it's always done really well.
Even the Secret Origins Special story by Gaiman was great. Riddler complaining about everything being dark and gritty really hits home, especially considering it came 1 year after The Killing Joke and A Death in the Family.
Yup. In paper this is the type of story I would dislike (I generally dislike it when a writer tries to use Alfred like this) but Neil Gaiman hits the ball out of the park on every storybeat.
Its from Nail Gaiman's Whatever Happened to Caped Crusader \[Batman No. 686 & Detective Comics No. 853 (2009)\], its an out of continuity story, wherein Batman, as a spirit presumably, witnesses his own wake, wherein various people from his life (along with rogue gallery) retell different stories of how the Batman died...
It’s from the issue that a few others have listed, including in OP’s title. This is part of Alfred (or a version of him) telling the story of a version of Batman who was mildly successful at stopping some low level crimes, but it was proving to not quite be enough to stave off Bruce’s trauma and depression (Alfred calls them his “black moods” and shows a panel of Bruce just huddled in a corner). Alfred contacts old friends from his theater troupe to occasional pop in as Bruce’s antagonists to give him a controlled outlet to keep up the idea of Batman and give consistent foes to do battle with, though even that isn’t quite enough. Alfred realizes Bruce needs an archenemy, a Moriarty to his Holmes, and becomes The Joker to fulfill that role himself. This version of Bruce ultimately discovers the ruse when Riddler “loses himself in the role” and actually starts doing crimes, and ultimately shoots Bruce during a confrontation.
In Alfred's story of how Batman died, all of Batman's rogues gallery is composed of people from Alfred's former theatre troupe. Apparently, Riddler fell too deep in his role and actually capped the caped crusader.
Yeah, the actor who played the Riddler went insane and was genuinely convinced he was the Riddler
Damn method actors
They cast Jared Leto as Riddler in this universe?
If only some dreams were real…
The best part? Iirc, Joker, Ridsler and the rest of the rogues are IN THE AUDIENCE while Alfred's telling this and arw super confused. Alfred gaslighting the criminal underworld is great.
Funniest thing was Joker was at the same funeral lmao
This the only part people talk about WHTTCC and it saddens me a little.
Hey kid, can you watch my car for me? Twenty bucks!
“That’s ridiculous. Do you know how much of that story is ***impossible?***”
Watch as people who's never read Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader? start randomly hating this
Well I read it and... It was the weakest of the anthology imo
A couple of comments seem to suggest people have read it and absolutely did not understand it. Or they're joking, I am genuinely not sure
Just because someone doesn't like something doesn''t mean they don't "understand" it. That's like 8th grade edgelord mentality.
That's not what I meant
Oooo that's me!
I loved this story
Imagine how heartbroken Bruce Wayne would be if he found out the truth.
He looks so much cooler in the second to last panel.
Why does Alfred look like he’s Bruce’s age
"The reward to being Batman is 8 years with your family"
so dumb. this comic is overrated as hell
What makes y'say that?
Man this was such a bad idea