Batman
has a well-known and timeless gallery of villains, but one of its more recent opponents poses one of the biggest threats to Gotham City. The merciful group is only known as the Court of Owls, a secret society with comic origins, revealed in the pages of the relaunch of New 52 in 2011. In fact, they are so secret, you may not even know who ‘ t they are. When Batman underwent the cap under the leadership of the creative team of Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo – a team that would soon be considered one of the best if ever to take over the Caped Crusader – the cluttered solitaire turned out to be a match for the Dark Knight.
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What is the Court of Owls?
The Court of Owls has long been a legend in Gotham City. “Beware of the Court of Owls,” began a local nursery, “which has been watching all along, Gotham reigning from a shady stake, behind granite and lime.” When Bruce Wayne was placed at the intersection of a murder plot, he learned that the Court and his killers are very real.
Some of Gotham’s richest and most connected families formed the Court of Owls. For centuries, they used their power and influence to turn the tide of politics and control the city according to their designs, and often resorted to using high-profile assassins called Talons to achieve their repulsive goals.
The Wayne family was one of the longest-serving rivals of the cabal. Alan Wayne, one of the builders of the town and Bruce’s great-grandfather, was plagued by the Court of Owls until they tortured him to death in 1922. As a young man, Bruce himself had seen the legend and suspected that the Court had a hand in the death of his parents, believing that her murder was too random to be just coincidence.
“In many ways, it was my first case as a detective,” he told Dick Grayson. Bruce found no trace of her or her involvement in Waynes’ death. He sporadically looked into society as he honed his skills as an adult, but the Court removed his view until he himself became a target.
After surviving the assassination, Batman decided the location of her toilets, the first of which was erected as long ago as the 1800s. The Dark Knight quickly earned the honor of the group, and the Court of Owls declared war on the city they intended to keep ruling. They considered it the Night of the Owls, and their events are reproducible across multiple titles in the DC universe.
When the Court directed the leaders of Gotham to murder in the long night – and it succeeded in eliminating many of them – the fight to save the city would involve every member of the Bat family, by Jason Todd to Barbara Gordon, Alfred Pennyworth, and even the Batcave itself. Batman and his allies eventually went on to triumph, but before the ruling members of the group could bring them to justice, they apparently committed suicide, leaving Batman unanswered to answer his many questions about this horrific and powerful organization. The Court of Owls was defeated, but not completely gone, disappeared again into the shadows.
The Court of Owls’ Origins
The masked society dates back centuries, having established its fortune long before Gotham was a city. The group exercised its influence since colonial times and held a firm grip on its power, eliminating anyone who threatened it. “We are the shadow architecture of this great city,” one member described. “We keep up the walls, the bureaucracies, the small institutions. They give us their power. ”
Notable members of The Court of Owls
Lincoln March, who first met Bruce Wayne as a candidate for mayor, would eventually be revealed as a member of the Court of Owls itself. The discovery of Batman and the ensuing battle against the Court was incredibly personal, as he had long sworn to be the protector of the city, but March yielded an even more emotional gut when he revealed that he might be the long is Bruce’s lost brother. March eliminated most of the cabal in revenge after they targeted him next to Bruce and later returned the Dark Knight and his allies, although his relationship with Bruce remained questionable.
William Cobb was the first Talon to take the Boss without fear and kill him almost more than once. After apparently dying in one of these exchanges, Bruce was able to determine that he was Dick Grayson’s great-grandfather. Dick’s life would soon be intertwined with the Court of Owls, and eventually he would be forced to join the newly baptized Owls Parliament to take them inside in the current DC Comics continuity.
Strengths and possibilities
Not only were the killers of the Court of Owls, the Talons, strong enough to take on Batman (and even some of his enemies in the Night of the Owls’ affairs), they were able to recover from mortal wounds and the death itself thanks to a chemical compound that gave its metahuman regenerative capacities. The decision to reinstate her was made by the Court, which would wake up the killers when the need arose to help them regain power in Gotham City.
Talons were also skilled fighters. Stealthy and deadly, they have used claw-like blades as their signature weapons to stab their target in specific parts of the body to make their dead as painful as possible.
The Court of Owls in TV and video games
The Court of Owls most prominently made an appearance in the television series Gotham, where they worked their machinations behind the scenes until they came to the forefront of the third season of the series. In this iteration of the shadow group, they were responsible for the deaths of Thomas and Martha Wayne, as well as other Gotham citizens who threatened their power. The solitaire hit the end at the hands of the League of Shadows when one of their own turned against them.
The Court also made a brief appearance in the form of a Talon killer in the 2018 Lego DC Super-Villains.
The animated film of Batman vs. Robin introduced the Court of Owls and Talon in 2015, when Batman explored the idea of the shadow group behind the death of his parents. The film is loosely based on the story of the comics, against Bruce and Damian, while they clash over their different personalities and philosophies against crime. She triumphed over the Court of Owls and her deadly killers, though Damian was left with questions about who he is and how he fits into his father’s life.
The Court of Owls In the Next Batman Game?
With Scott Snyder simply placing the first line of the children’s daycare, “Beware of the Court of Owls,” and the tagline “Capture the Knight,” it is not a stretch to suggest that the secret society will play a role in the next Batman game. Whether it’s the shadow group themselves or the killers they unleash, Batman will surely have a lot to contend with in his next battle to save Gotham City.
Kelly Knox is a freelance writer who also contributes to StarWars.com, DCComics.com, Nerdist, and more. Follow her on Twitter @kelly_knox to talk about Star Wars, Dungeons & Dragons, and comics.
