Neat bit of continuity in a Zero Hour Batman issue

[bat39]

So I recently read the Batman Allies: Alfred Pennyworth trade, and discovered a neat bit of continuity in a Zero Hour tie-in.

I'm referring to ''The Battling Butler'' from Shadow of the Bat # 31. I first read the story as a kid, and it was my first exposure to what I later discovered was the original version of Alfred - an overweight clumsy clean-shaven chap who wanted to be an amateur detective.

But its only when I read the trade, that I learnt that this 90's story was basically a sequel to a Golden Age story, "Accidentally on Purpose", from Detective Comics # 83. Its a pretty significant story, since its the story where we see the transition from the original overweight clumsy Alfred to the lean, moustached, refined version we're all used to.

The plot is basically that Alfred goes off to a health farm, while Batman and Robin deal with a case of businessmen being hypnotized to rob themselves. The Dynamic Duo get captured, but Alfred comes to their rescue, revealing his new fitter avatar.

Now the Zero Hour tie-in is not only a sequel to this Golden Age story, but also a quasi-remake, and features, thanks to time-travel/multiversal shenanigans, the same version of Alfred from the original story.

The Zero Hour issue starts with Batman and Robin (Tim of course, not Dick) dealing with a similar case of businessmen being hypnotized to rob themselves, and Batman remembers the original case from years ago. But when they return to the Batcave, they find the overweight, clumsy, clean-shaven version of Alfred from the Golden Age, who showed up in this reality due to temporal anomalies from Zero Hour. We learn that from Alfred's perspective, he went off to the health farm (as in the Golden Age story) but somehow he instead ended up in the Post-Crisis Wayne Manor instead.

The rest of the issue is Bruce and Tim coping with this new clumsier Alfred who wants to be a detective while also trying to solve the hypnotism case, which it turns out is being orchestrated by the same villains from the original story who just got out of prison. As in the original story, Batman and Robin get captured, and as in the original story, Alfred ends up coming to rescue (or trying to anyway). And in the end, Alfred fades away, presumably to his own reality.

To me, its kinda amazing how they not only decided to bring back the original Alfred as a temporal anomaly, but also do so in the context the Golden Age story which saw his transformation into the more familiar version. Its awesome, and a bit mindblowing, how the same Alfred is basically destined to save Batman and Robin from the same crooks in two realities.

This deep-cut, back in a time when DC was otherwise doing its best to leave the Golden Age far behind, makes the story truly a hidden gem!

[Timothy Hunter]

So I recently read the Batman Allies: Alfred Pennyworth trade, and discovered a neat bit of continuity in a Zero Hour tie-in.

I'm referring to ''The Battling Butler'' from Shadow of the Bat # 31. I first read the story as a kid, and it was my first exposure to what I later discovered was the original version of Alfred - an overweight clumsy clean-shaven chap who wanted to be an amateur detective.

But its only when I read the trade, that I learnt that this 90's story was basically a sequel to a Golden Age story, "Accidentally on Purpose", from Detective Comics # 83. Its a pretty significant story, since its the story where we see the transition from the original overweight clumsy Alfred to the lean, moustached, refined version we're all used to.

The plot is basically that Alfred goes off to a health farm, while Batman and Robin deal with a case of businessmen being hypnotized to rob themselves. The Dynamic Duo get captured, but Alfred comes to their rescue, revealing his new fitter avatar.

Now the Zero Hour tie-in is not only a sequel to this Golden Age story, but also a quasi-remake, and features, thanks to time-travel/multiversal shenanigans, the same version of Alfred from the original story.

The Zero Hour issue starts with Batman and Robin (Tim of course, not Dick) dealing with a similar case of businessmen being hypnotized to rob themselves, and Batman remembers the original case from years ago. But when they return to the Batcave, they find the overweight, clumsy, clean-shaven version of Alfred from the Golden Age, who showed up in this reality due to temporal anomalies from Zero Hour. We learn that from Alfred's perspective, he went off to the health farm (as in the Golden Age story) but somehow he instead ended up in the Post-Crisis Wayne Manor instead.

The rest of the issue is Bruce and Tim coping with this new clumsier Alfred who wants to be a detective while also trying to solve the hypnotism case, which it turns out is being orchestrated by the same villains from the original story who just got out of prison. As in the original story, Batman and Robin get captured, and as in the original story, Alfred ends up coming to rescue (or trying to anyway). And in the end, Alfred fades away, presumably to his own reality.

To me, its kinda amazing how they not only decided to bring back the original Alfred as a temporal anomaly, but also do so in the context the Golden Age story which saw his transformation into the more familiar version. Its awesome, and a bit mindblowing, how the same Alfred is basically destined to save Batman and Robin from the same crooks in two realities.

This deep-cut, back in a time when DC was otherwise doing its best to leave the Golden Age far behind, makes the story truly a hidden gem!

I loved the story way back when. Shadow of the Bat wasn't always consistently great, but it features some of the best Batman "one and done" stories of the 90s.

[MajorHoy]

. . . To me, its kinda amazing how they not only decided to bring back the original Alfred as a temporal anomaly, but also do so in the context the Golden Age story which saw his transformation into the more familiar version. Its awesome, and a bit mindblowing, how the same Alfred is basically destined to save Batman and Robin from the same crooks in two realities.

This deep-cut, back in a time when DC was otherwise doing its best to leave the Golden Age far behind, makes the story truly a hidden gem!

Uh, I take it you haven't read a lot of other Zero Hour tie-in issues yet?

Zero Hour the series was subtitled "A Crisis in Time".
A lot of other tie-in issues played with past stories, including some Golden Age ones. And you should have seen the one for Superman: The Man of Steel.

[bat39]

Uh, I take it you haven't read a lot of other Zero Hour tie-in issues yet?

Zero Hour the series was subtitled "A Crisis in Time".
A lot of other tie-in issues played with past stories, including some Golden Age ones. And you should have seen the one for Superman: The Man of Steel.

Haven't actually read the Superman Zero Hour tie-ins yet, though I'm aware of that cover of course (its a bit low-key iconic at this point ).

I was talking more in terms of that general era. Back in the 90's, unlike say the 2000's or today, DC didn't really show much love for the Golden Age. Hell, one of the outcomes of Zero Hour was getting rid of the JSA completely. Also, continuity-wise they did their best to stick to the 'modern' Post-Crisis stuff and avoid anything Golden Age...apparently, a proposed Superman/Rocketeer crossover fell through because they didn't want the Siegal/Shuster Superman to be used.

Needless to say, the Golden Age got a LOT more love later, with Geoff John's JSA run and them starting to actually appear in other media for the first time with Smallville and the BatB cartoon. And right now, after another dry spell with the New 52 (which admittedly also tried to keep the JSA alive, albeit by rebooting them completely), it seems we're in the midst of another Golden Age resurgence - the CW Stargirl show, the JSA WW2 movie, the Black Adam movie, Alan Scott being part of the GL HBO Max series, the possibility of a new JSA comic, Superman Smashes the Klan...the list goes on.

[Mace Dolex]

I had that issue before giving it away since I bought the trade paperback, never did like Bret Blevins art though or Vince Giarrano on SOTB.

[Clark_Kent]

OP: that is an awesome bit of trivia, and I would have never known this without you pointing it out. Thank you! I read this issue during a Zero Hour re-read recently, and had no idea of a deeper tie it held. Thank you for posting this.