# Can Alfred in Batman be compared in certain ways to Gandalf?



## Only Mountain (May 13, 2012)

I'm sure we are all wondering this.


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## HLGStrider (May 13, 2012)

As I've said when other comparisons have been made, Gandalf is an archetypal character which means you'll find similarities between him and other mentor figures, but I wouldn't think that this particular comparison would hold up very far. Now, I'm not a comic book reader, so I'm only familiar with Alfred as portrayed in the films, but even though he is a character with a certain amount of gravitas who Wayne/Batman does go to for advice from time to time, his character is a servant and treats Batman with a deference Gandalf doesn't have time to spare. Gandalf, while he cares about his 'charges', is also not what I would consider a fatherly figure but more of a mysterious string puller. Even Aragorn, who Gandalf eventually does bow to as a king, treats Gandalf with a different sort of respect and reverence that I just can't imagine Batman showing to Alfred.


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## Troll (May 13, 2012)

Alfred is a mostly-passive tool in Bruce Wayne's arsenal that he relies on to carry out his mission. Gandalf actively motivates other people to fight for his cause.

I don't see much of a comparison, though it's a shame Michael Caine wasn't in any of the Jackson films. :*D


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## Only Mountain (May 13, 2012)

Perhaps Ra's Al Ghul can be compared to Gandalf.


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## HLGStrider (May 13, 2012)

Evil Gandalf?


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## Only Mountain (May 13, 2012)

Ra's Al Ghul wasn't evil.


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## HLGStrider (May 13, 2012)

Like I said, I'm not familiar with the comics only the movie so I googled him to see if maybe in the comics he was a good dude rather than a guy who I remember him being in Batman Begins which I haven't watched in several years and according to wikipedia: Ra's al Ghul is an international assassin whose ultimate goal is a world in perfect environmental balance. He believes that the best way to achieve this balance is to eliminate most of humanity. Ra's usually tries to assault the world's human populace with a biological weapon, such as a genetically-engineered virus. He is aided in this quest by the Lazarus Pits, reservoirs of rejuvenating chemicals that restore the dying to life; these pits have granted him a lifespan of several centuries.

That sounds pretty dang evil to me.


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## halva (Jun 19, 2012)

I agree with what was said before, not to forget about the servant perspective Alfred surely has. The only thing I think that can be compared is that Gandalf as well as Alfred really do care about Batman respectively the people of Middle-Earth.


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