Warning: contains spoilers for Pennyworth #1
In the world of spy films and media, no name has become quite so well known as Pennyworth, places Batman’s well-known butler, Alfred Pennyworth, smack in the middle of Bond’s world of British spying while managing to turn the poorly aged concept of Bond Girls on its head.
Since Fleming first conjured master spy James Bond’s exploits into existence, there have been women who ed 007—occasionally on missions and oftentimes in bed. The characters were typically an opportunity for Bond to show off his so-called charm, presenting spying as a thrilling, sexy position, and the women as just another perk of the job. Throughout the films, “Bond Girls” were often objectified, with some, like Goldfinger’s Pussy Galore, not consenting at all to Bond’s supposed irresistible charm. Not so with Pennyworth.
In DC’s Pennyworth #1, by Juan Gedeon and Scott Bryan Wilson, the cloak-and-dagger, slick stylings of 007 are reworked into a series that spends time exploring Alfred's clandestine days as a British secret agent. Alfred Pennyworth, is a young spy whose childhood love of acting has led him to a career on a different sort of stage. Along with him is his childhood friend, Shirley, the daughter of a chancellor whose mutual ion for acting led her to him in the field of espionage.
Pennyworth repeatedly shows Shirley’s skills as often outshining Alfred Pennyworth’s. Her quick-thinking, fighting skills, and master of languages all seem to be relatively flawless, while Alfred makes errors and fumbles to find quick solutions. In fact, it is Alfred’s errors that place them in dangerous situations—such as having their covers blown on a Russian submarine—and Shirley who gets the duo out of danger. In the comic, Alfred worshipfully opines about his partner’s skills in the field, describing her as “fearless, intelligent, and always three steps ahead.”
The position of women’s role in genre film and media is changing with actors such as Naomie Harris, who took on the role of Moneypenny in the new James Bond films and pushed for a more complex interpretation of the classic, insisting on being referred to as a “Bond woman” instead of the slightly more demeaning “Bond girl”. In today’s comics and media, showing a female character is capable in her position and more than just a sexual object for male character shouldn’t feel as revolutionary as it is. Pennyworth’s Shirley still feels fresh and exciting to read, and her relationship with Alfred is deftly written as one of mutual respect.
