Alfred Pennyworth (New Earth)/Quotes
Talk0this wiki
Category page
It may not be the definitive list, so please add any important quotations that may be missing, ensuring to cite the original source.
Pages with a quote from this character will automatically be added here along with the quote.
Someone can represent what he stood for. The ideals that made Batman - justice, consequence and ironclad resolve to protect. And there is none other has the wherewithal to uphold those ideals than you, Richard Grayson. 
Facts on faith. This should be quite interesting.
Teacher, mentor, partner, but never a father... of course, Master Bruce, of course.
I do believe you've splashed Sulfuric acid on the Chippendale table. Personally, I prefer to use Lemon Pledge. Ah, well, what's a priceless antique in the pursuit of science?
I will say one thing for your night time activities -- you do tend to antagonize the most interesting people.
I do believe I have forgotten how to sigh. But if I could, I would.
Gotham City is Hell. We are all in Hell. And I am the King of Hell.
Would it be too much to inquire of your cloak? Did you perhaps give it to some particularly desperate charity?
Very astute sir. Perhaps you should study to become a detective.
You chose as your name "The Batman". I like to think you did so deliberately. As if you aspired to be both. Bat and man. Perhaps you can be.
Two children... the same... and yet very different.
Sir, as loath as you might be to hear this, I do not intend to spend the rest of my life playing nurse.
The past casts a long shadow--but maybe the bright light of the future will help to dispel it.
It is my belief, sir, that the admirable manner in which you've recovered from your disastrous encounter with Bane indicates that on a certain level you've learned a lesson.
Do keep your wits about you sir! And don't let the mask slip as she charms you into carelessness!
Never say die, young sirs.
Master Bruce has a very clear idea of human perfection towards which he constantly strives, you understand. The absolute physical mastery of the top martial artists, gymnasts or yogis... the logical deductive skills of master philosophers, forensic scientists and detectives... the understanding, discrimination and moral clarity of ultimate zen adepts... need I continue? His is a mind like no other. I have grave doubts either of us will ever fully comprehend its decisions, but we must never underestimate its strength and resilience.
Forgive me, sir, but this is a conversational tone that I am unaccustomed to... pacifying a neurotic Batman.
I know when you were a boy you thought you might find answers to your parents' murder in the Court of Owls, and my suspicion is that perhaps you were hoping you might find more answers now.
The past can talk to the future... if the present has ears to hear and eyes to see with.
Try to think of your Batman not as a memorial -- you and I know he'd hate that -- but as a performance. Think of Batman as a great role, like a Hamlet, or Willie Loman... or even James Bond. And play it to suit your strength.
You're fallible and no longer immortal -- like a small part inside of the young boy that Talia didn't destroy still believes himself to be. As you unfortunately know better than most, Bruce, each of us has a day when we realize for the first time that nothing lasts forever.
So, in keeping with conventional wisdom, you've decided to secretly drug your girlfriend.
I watched him smile. I watched him cry. I watched him grow. I watched him bleed. I did my best. I want you both to know that. But I failed him... and in the process failed you. And though it may not provide your spirits with any solace, I want you to know that I grieve as a parent... for he was my son, too.
Seeing as how the fate of all human existence hangs in the balance... perhaps you'd forgive my curiosity if I inquire after your progress?
I learned long since, Master Timothy, that all the worry in the world doesn't change a thing! So... I don't.
So far as I can ascertain, this "comic book" purports to be the "unauthorized story of Gotham's dark knight detective."
When these things stop making you sick is the time to hang up the old cape, Sir.
Denied the opportunity to confront a psychotic arsonist. I can only imagine your disappointment.
This is the home of hopeless causes and blind faith.
You're only human. Both of you. You'd do well to remember this the next time you're in Gotham -- every face you see, should it be an innocent or the basest villain... each and every one of them owes you their lives.
Despite my current predicament, I must say it is a pleasure to meet a kindred soul. You see, I am every bit as loyal to Batman as you are to Ra's, and I too cannot fail him.
It's this place...this Santa Prisca. I can't help remembering the last time we were here. I was nearly a shark's dinner--
Everyone has a vulnerability.
It's armchair psychology at best, lad, but as much as he would probably deny it-- I believe Master Bruce is almost as obsessive about family as he is about preventing crime.
All the time I was with the master, I was isolated from the world. Now I've seen the lives of ordinary people. Their emotions run deep, but their understanding of themselves and their lives is shallow. Like children.
Richard John Grayson! GET BACK INTO THIS BED THIS INSTANT!
Batman formed the Outsiders so there would always be a "Batman" outside of Gotham. And as egotistical as it may sound, he hoped that a team representing different aspects of himself would fare best against the evil force that is gathering... that individuals with distinct abilities, when placed together, would form a unique unit capable of combating the darkness. Batman understood that there's no use in saving only one city from the abyss. That a world-view is necessary... and he wanted each one of you here to be a part of his vision to help save the future.
This is not a strike mission. This is a campaign, a campaign that will be long and bitter.
I will not stand here and let you butcher this man as though we were in some abbatoir.
Master Richard carries so much on his young shoulders, the normal troubles associated with adolescence in addition to sharing Master Bruce's crusade. I only wonder if he knows how casually he is throwing away the years of his youth.
My god, man. I can only hope that Master Tim wished for you to journey to the Wizard and procure yourself a heart.
If you're not cut out for this dangerous business, now is the time to admit it.
Godspeed, Gentlemen... and I hope no one minds if I have a bit of a lie-down.
I know you tend to heal faster and with more finality than my usual patient, Master Clark. But do make an effort not to fire any lasers from that eye for a few days. The cornea took a thrashing.
Master, if you need me I'll be in the west library. Weeping.
You know them better than I... but if I might suggest? There are more important things in the world than secrets.
Yes, his parents are dead and it would be no small kindness not to remind the boy of it. All you need do, Master Bruce, is play the required role for one evening. It shouldn't prove too difficult for you. As simple as putting on a costume, one might say.
Power up the new computer, Alfred. I need to run a probability matrix for potential targets now.: Batman
- Ah. Well. No.: Alfred
- No?: Batman
- No. The computer isn't ready. The laptop will have to do.: Alfred
- The laptop is anemic. I have no leads, Alfred. I need brute processing -- why isn't it ready!: Batman
- The qubits on the quantum chips seem dodgy at the current operating temperature... the neural net continues to mire in local minima and refuses to generalize beyond the training set... not to mention, the liquid cooling system is leaking all over the cave and I doubt will ever come out of my trousers... more to the point, I am building a machine that has never -- not even in the imaginations of the engineers of its component parts -- yet existed. That is why it isn't ready.: Alfred
- When will it be?: Batman
- Thursday.: Alfred
- Thursday?: Batman
- What you're doing is healing. You're accepting that things change. But moving on with one's life and forgetting are two separate things. And, dare I say, it's better to celebrate the way someone lived... than to be driven by the way they died.
.jpg)
