Alfred "Al" Pennyworth

"Lets make one thing perfectly clear mate: You ever say im your bloody butler again, im going to hit your so hard your ancestors will feel it in the next world, got it?"

A grizzled, cynical former Royal Marine.

Born and raised in a rough section of East London in, to a Nigerian mother and a White father, Al [as he prefers to be called] had a rough start in life. Bullied by both white and black schoolchildren due to his mixed heritage when he was young, he was taught how to fight by an old friend of his fathers, a former Royal Marine Officer and Mercenary Edmund "Eddie" Dorance, an expert martial artist, so even though Al had no formal martial arts training in the traditional sense, he has the equivalent of a Black belt in Karate, Kung Fu and Tae Kwon Do. When his parents when he was 12, his father Jarvis moved to Gotham City, USA, to work for an old school friend of his, Sir Thomas Wayne, as his butler and chauffeur. Though Jarvis and Al's mother Jessica had a joint custody agreement over Al, and Jarvis encouraged his son to visit, Al only met his father occasionally during the School holidays, as he was angry that he would move so far away, and for the divorce which had a large effect on the young man. After finishing high school, instead of going on a scholarship to Oxford, something both of his parents encouraged him to do, he instead enlisted in the British Armed Forces, after his best friend Freddie was wounded in the 1996 Manchester Bombing. He enlisted in the Royal Marines, where he would serve for the next 9 years with distinction in several combat zones, including Kosovo during the Yugoslav Wars, Sierra Leone during the Civil War [where he saved the life of a young US Special Forces corporal Slade Wilson] Afghanistan and Iraq, before being honorably discharged with the rank of Captain in 2005, after an insurgent attack in Iraq left him with shrapnel in his leg. During his time in the Marines, he met, fell in love and later married Tatsu Yamashiro, the Chinese-Japanese daughter of a powerful Yakuza boss. Tatsu and Al later divorced, due to Tatsu's refusal to part ways with her father and brothers Maseo and Takeo criminal enterprises, and due to Al later testifying against Takeo in court over his role in the murder of a local Japanese businessman. After his discharge, he visited his father Jarvis in hospital after he had a heart attack. Although their reunion is slightly less than warm [Jarvis and Al had refused to talk to one another after Al decided to enlist in the Armed Forces rather than pursue his University education, something Jarvis strongly disapproved of] Jarvis convinces his son to become the head of security for his employer, Bruce Wayne. After Wayne was later accused of murdering James Ryder, a former Gotham City Bulletin reporter who along with Wayne was investigating the deaths of Wayne's father Thomas and Al's father Jarvis [both of which looked suspicious], despite being offered money by Joe Fox, the man who had Ryder killed and later framed Bruce for the crime and was in some way involved in Thomas and Jarvis's murder, Al refused to turn on Wayne out of respect to his father, and along with Wayne's closest friend Leslie Thompkins, he helped the young billionaire escape Gotham. Traveling the world, Al and Leslie, along with other teachers including Al's ex-wife Tatsu, taught Wayne the skills he needed so that, in 2015, Bruce [under the name John Blake] along with Al and Leslie, return to Gotham to bring down Fox and the other people involved in the deaths of Ryder, Thomas and Jarvis, as the hero Batman.

Abilities

 * Indomitable Will: He has no known superhuman powers, but he does have an extreme, almost superhuman "force of will". Despite his war wound, he refuses to let it impair him, either physically or mentally, and he even refuses to use pain medication for either his leg or other wounds he has sustained, as he refuses to use any type of drugs in his system, due to the death of a friend from his youth due to a drug-overdose.
 * Peak Human Conditioning: His training in the Royal Marines, combined with his own intense physical training, means Al is in Peak Human Condition. His strength and speed are quite extraordinary; despite the shrapnel in his leg, his will and own physical strength means he can run extremely fast, at an Olympic level. However, he is slower then the younger and more versatile Wayne, due to him being in his early 40s.
 * Master Fighter: Al is an exceptional Martial artist and fighter. By the age of 19, he had the equivalent of black pelts in Karate, Kung Fu and Tae Kwon Do despite not having any official formal training. He learnt other combat skills in the Marines, along with further honing of his martial arts skills with his wife Tatsu, herself an expert martial artist. Despite now being in his early 40s, he is still skilled engough to take on the younger Bruce Wayne in a fair fight. He also taught Wayne many of his current combat skills.
 * Weapon Master: Through his martial arts and military training, he has become an expert on the use of several weapons, guns and melee alike. Proficient with most melee weapons, he prefers unarmed combat, but when pushed, will use knifes [he learnt combat knife fighting in the marines] or even Katana's in a fight [which he learnt from Tatsu]. He was trained and became proficient in the use of guns during his time in the British military. He is an experienced Sniper and marksman, and is well versed in most military weapons, from pistols to missile launchers.
 * Skilled at Stealth: His military training has made him skilled at stealth, capable of breaching high security facilities without being detected. However, Bruce Wayne is far more skilled in this regard, due to training he received in the League of Shadows.
 * Expert Marksman: Due to his training in the military,Al is an expert marksman who almost never misses his targets. 9/10 times he's successful. His skills as a marksman are equaled by Bruce Wayne, and surpassed by few.


 * Intellect: Al is an exceptionally smart individual. While in high school, he scored well engough to earn an all expenses paid scholarship to Oxford. Even while in the military, he earned a University degree in Law with honors, testament to his exceptional intelligence.
 * Multi-Lingual: He is able to speak Nigerian [his mothers native tongue] and English fluently, along with being able to speak on at least a conversational level in Pashto, Arabic and Kurdish [which he learnt while serving in the middle east].  
 * Master Strategist: Hi's military training makes him a very skilled Strategist, and he commonly utilizes cunning tactics to outwit his foes, and has taught Bruce Wayne in the art of strategy. He is also a good leader, reaching the rank of Captain in the Royal Marines
 * Skilled Tracker: .He is effective at tracking suspects, having learnt it in the military. During his time in the Marines, he earned the nickname Bloodhound due to his great skill at tracking down Terrorist leaders.
 * Law: He is well versed in British Law, having earned a correspondence degree in Law from Oxford Law School while serving in the military.