Exclusive: Batman Prequel “PENNYWORTH” Story Details Are Here!!

The King of Pilot “Ludens” gives us his take on at Epix’s Batman universe prequel PENNYWORTH:

“So by now, you guys should know I’m very impressed with what DC Entertainment is doing on television/streaming. It seems like the studio is moving in a direction focused on creating quality content rather than bombarding viewers with quantity. Initially, when presented with the opportunity to review ‘Pennyworth,’ I declined; the idea of the show didn’t interest me at all (actually, it kind of made me mad that they were doing this instead of other characters). But recently, after seeing the quality of the new shows that DC is putting out, I decided to give it a shot. So is ‘Pennyworth’ good? Here’s my take on it’s pilot episode, written by Bruno Heller…

To my surprise, the most intriguing thing to me about ‘Pennyworth’ is just how daring it is. You wouldn’t think it, given the subject matter. A prequel to the Batman canon following a young Alfred Pennyworth sounds… well, kind of bland. What could be so interesting about Alfred that could carry a whole series? Well to answer that question, I’ll have to split this up into parts: the world, the characters, and the story. These three factors combine to make a pilot episode, based around Alfred Pennyworth and the Batman mythos, that has the potential to be one of DC’s best, as crazy as that sounds.

The world of ‘Pennyworth’ is something unique in and of itself. It’s a weird mishmash of an alternate reality post-WW2 dystopic Britain, neon-soaked streets outside nightclubs, and high society. The show is no-holds-barred: R-rated swearing, gore, violence, sex, are all prevalent in the world of ‘Pennyworth.’ That may seem like a weird choice for a show based on Batman’s butler, but in my opinion, it works wonders. It does just enough to separate itself from the likes of ‘Gotham’ and ‘Titans’ to feel like its own thing. Everyone talks like they’re in a 1960s-era Britain using appropriate language like “oik” and “skulldiggery.” It’s strange, I haven’t ever really seen a show like that before. The closest approximation I can provide is something like ‘Peaky Blinders,’ but even that is different to what ‘Pennyworth’ presents.

The next part of what gives ‘Pennyworth’ the chance to be different and successful are the characters. Firstly, Alfred Pennyworth is just awesome in this show. He’s a British Army veteran currently working as a bouncer at a high-end nightclub. Alfred carries a lot of baggage from his time in the war, but he doesn’t let it get in the way of his life. He’s a young lad with a future ahead of him.

Similarly, Thomas Wayne is also in this show as a strapping young gentleman. He’s an import from the East Coast of the US, a billionaire living in Britain. His backstory, however, has been altered from his classic DC comics history as a surgeon. This time, Wayne is a financial analyst at a company that works for the US government (it’s kept intentionally vague, but it appears his organization comes into conflict with some of Britain’s gangs somehow). He isn’t married to Martha yet, in fact, he’s actually single. It is going to be interesting to see how they develop his character and relationships over the series.

Along with those two, we also have someone named Bet Sykes. She’s one of the main villains of the show, a brutal blonde with a hunger for violence. She strangely uses a Jaguar (the car) as her weapon of choice, often using it to intimidate and toy with her victims. I really liked her character, who is teetering on the edge of complete madness and psychopathy; there’s a great scene where she forces her prisoner to dance with her to an upbeat pop song, and it is CREEPY. Anyway, she’s working for a character called Harwood, who is necessarily the Carmine Falcone of the story. He’s a high-society British lord that has a desire to cleanse Great Britain of the filth it has amassed since the war.

In addition to them, we have Esme Whittaker, a dancer and aspiring actress that works at the nightclub where Alfred is a bouncer. She is Alfred’s primary love interest for the show, spurring him on throughout this episode. Then we have Thomas Wayne’s sister, Patricia, who doesn’t have much of a role in the pilot, but will most likely be important moving forward. We also have Alfred’s comrades from war: Dave Boy, Bazza, and Spanish. There are more characters introduced, but they mostly play insignificant roles and aren’t worth mentioning.

Moving on to the story of ‘Pennyworth.’ The main impetus for the show is that the Raven Society, a secretive group akin to the Court of Owls mixed with the Illuminati and Falcone crime family, need to capture Thomas Wayne. Alfred Pennyworth, bouncing one night at the nightclub, runs into Wayne and his sister. As such, the Ravens, through Bet Sykes and Harwood, try to get Pennyworth to give up Wayne’s location. They kidnap Esme and use her as leverage. Essentially, the entire episode, excluding the set-up, is focused on Alfred using any means necessary to get her back. Ever since the war, Alfred has been avoiding a life of violence and bloodshed, only using his skills for security. But this scenario throws him right back into the fray, almost like Robin in the new ‘Titans’ series. I love this choice to have Alfred be a hardened war veteran who gets pulled back into a life of murder and violence. There are multiple scenes where we see Alfred let loose his unmatched skills in combat, and they are just AMAZING. It’s bloody, brutal, and fuelled by strong pacing and character development.

Littered throughout the episode, we get flashbacks to Alfred’s time in the war. These provide some active development for some of the side characters of the show, as well as Alfred himself. Again, making Alfred a grizzled veteran was a smart move in my book. We also see what Alfred’s life is like on the homefront, living with his parents, who are pretty much the spitting image of what you think an old British couple looks like.

But the most exciting thing about the story of ‘Pennyworth’ is actually how unexpected it is. Characters you think are going to be key moving forward, are iced completely unceremoniously instead. Story threads you think are going to be expanded on throughout a multi-episode arc, are tied off straight away. It creates a story in which anything is possible, subverting the prequel-itis that many of these types of films/shows have. Could they kill Thomas Wayne or Alfred? I honestly don’t know, it’s a possibility. The idea of having this be a 10-part contained miniseries that doesn’t connect to anything gives it infinite possibilities. I LOVE that.

With all that said, I do not think the pilot of ‘Pennyworth’ is perfect. Actually, I think a lot of it could use some work. The dialogue, especially towards the end, can get really rough. The last five minutes fall so flat and breeze through events so quickly that it was challenging to process exactly what was happening. It reached a fantastic, intense climax right at the end, then just fell off a cliff into weirdness. I think the last section needs to be reworked entirely before production.

Ultimately, I believe ‘Pennyworth’ has the potential to be a fantastic show. If Epix allows it to have the budget it deserves, I think DC fans are in for a treat here. No, it’s not perfect, but nothing is. A work in progress is just that, a work in progress. If they iron out the issues this pilot has and make sure the rest of the series is up to this quality, I can see this becoming one of DC’s best shows. Give ‘Pennyworth’ a chance, folks, it just might surprise you.”

PENNYWORTH is eyeing a 2019 launch on EPIX.



