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"Master Wayne" no more.

At least, not in the brand-new Absolute Universe coming to DC Comics later this year. At San Diego Comic Con 2024, writer Scott Snyder and artist Nick Dragotta spoke about their addition to the Absolute line - Absolute Batman. And one of the most interesting things they talked about was Alfred Pennyworth.

The discussion took place at the DC Absolute Power panel (which we brought to you via liveblog). At about the 45-minute mark, Scott Snyder described this new take on Alfred, describing him as a massive departure from what fans have come to know as Batman's loyal butler. In fact...

"He's not a butler," Snyder says, "He's never been a butler. He's in town hunting somebody and he crashes into Batman.When he sees Bruce, he thinks this guy is just crazy. He's an idealist, he'll never make it."

Popverse Editor Graeme McMillan, who was at the event, says the crowd was treated to "badass" concept art of this new Alfred, to which they responded with "A collective OOOOH." (A quick note here, that art is not the image up above - DC has yet to release their SDCC showings.)

No details emerged on who that person Alfred's hunting will be, but you can bet that Popverse will let you know as soon as we do. Keep an eye on the site for more Absolute Batman news, as well as DC Comics news in general; San Diego ain't over yet.

Get a fuller San Diego Comic-Con experience with a full rundown of our SDCC 2024 stories, as well as all the big SDCC 2024 news, how to make the most out of San Diego Comic-Con, and the real burning question: how much does it actually cost to go to SDCC?