Television

Superhero Shows

The Wildest DC TV Show You've Never Seen Dropped Batman's Butler Into V For Vendetta

By Rafael Motamayor

June 27, 2026 6:00 pm EST

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DC comics have long been a source for some of the weirdest and most fun television series. From the 1966 "Batman" introducing the Batusi and shark-repellent batspray and "My Adventures With Superman" doing "Dragon Ball Z" in Metropolis, to "Legends of Tomorrow" having Gorilla Grodd go back in time to kill a young Barack Obama and "Doom Patrol" literally having a zombie apocalypse started by genetically-engineered sentient butts.

Yet there is arguably no stranger DC live-action show ever than "Gotham." And if the notion of a Batman show without Batman (focusing instead on James Gordon) that nevertheless featured everyone from the Joker to Penguin doesn't sound weird enough for you, you owe it to yourself to watch the "Gotham" prequel show — which is also a prequel to "V For Vendetta."

You heard that right. The Batman prequel has its own prequel, and this one focused on Batman's butler. "Pennyworth" came out one year after "Teen Titans Go! To the Movies" had already joked about how ridiculous the idea of an Alfred movie was, with "Gotham" creator Bruno Heller deciding to go even further back in time and tell the story of the most famous comic book butler. Set in the mid-1960s, the show explores the life of Alfred as a former SAS soldier as he starts his own security firm and comes to know Thomas and Martha Wayne. Most of the show is, honestly, quite dull and slow paced, but there are moments of brilliance. Is this the best version of the Alfred Pennyworth story? Probably not, but it's the only one set in an alternate history London that also includes superpowered British people and even a predecessor of V from Alan Moore and David Lloyd.

Beneath this mask there is an idea. of a show about Batman's butler

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Let's get right to the point. Yes, somehow Bruno Heller and Danny Cannon decided the best way to approach a show about Alfred Pennyworth was to just look at the most famous DC property set in London and not pay attention to how unconnected "V For Vendetta" is from Batman. Granted, the two elements don't really connect too much. Alfred never encounters V, for example, and it's not even the real V. It is quite easy to just forget about the "V For Vendetta" connection entirely until you see a Guy Fawkes mask.

The third season, when the show's low viewership prompted the addition of the subtitle "The Origin of Batman's Butler," introduced a flamboyant artist named Francis Foulkes who hides his identity behind a Guy Fawkes mask. Rather than fighting an authoritarian regime, however, this V plans to use a mind control drug to control the entire population of London for. well, the show is never very clear about this and it got canceled before it could really explore this story.

Even if it might be a bit disappointing that "Pennyworth" never went full Alan Moore, there are smaller references that hint at a shared universe and make this show a bafflingly entertaining watch. Much like Moore's comic, this prequel is set in an alternate timeline, one where the German Reich controls most of Europe, Jimmy Savile (who inspired the villains of "28 Years Later: The Bone Temple") was executed live on TV, Miami and Kyiv got destroyed in nuclear warfare, and there is a fascist group trying to take over the British government – a predecessor to Norsefire from the Alan Moore comic. Oh, and have I mentioned that Bruce Wayne now has a sister?

Pennyworth deserved a fourth season of madness

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"Gotham" went from a decent show to a fantastic one the moment the writing team decided to fully lean into the ridiculousness of its universe and disregard any notion of logic or sense. Even if that show's Bruce Wayne wasn't old enough to drink, the show went ahead and introduced every single famous (and even obscure) villain in his rogues' gallery, from Penguin to Professor Pyg. The series even adapted many famous Batman storylines without the Caped Crusader, including "Death of the Family" and "No Man's Land." The lack of Batman wasn't a bug, but a feature that allowed the writers to take famous elements from the comic and do wildly entertaining things with them (like turning the Joker into twins).

Likewise, "Pennyworth" was at its best when it did big swings, like Alfred having an affair with Queen Elizabeth II, or introducing the aforementioned older sister of Bruce Wayne. Yes, the show somehow introduces a whole new Wayne despite her never once being mentioned in "Gotham." It even brings in a whole lot of superpowered people in the third season, including an early version of Clayface.

Sadly, the wackier elements and the comic book connections are too few and far between, with the show spending way too much time meandering on dull plots. Half of "Pennyworth" Season 2 is about Alfred saving enough money to move to America only to decide against it at the last second. The wild alternate history barely impacts the story at all, despite the huge potential it presents. By the time Season 3 ends with a nuclear explosion in central London, it feels like too little, too late.