Sorry, But DC Ruined the Court of Owls Before They Could Become Iconic

Summary

• The Court of Owls started strong but quickly lost their mystery and danger as DC expanded them too fast.
• Talons were almost unkillable, but their threat was diminished during the Night of the Owls event.
• DC squandered the potential of the Court by turning them into a global cult, leaving them toothless as villains.

The Court of Owls was one of the most popular villains created for Batman in recent memory. The shadowy organization instantly became a fan-favorite among readers, but instead of managing to capitalize off this fondness, DC immediately ruined the Court of Owls by expanding them far too fast.

The Court of Owls first appeared in Batman #2 (2011) by Scott Synder and Greg Capullo. After Bruce Wayne announces he intends to donate billions to Gotham charities, the Court of Owls reveals themselves by ordering one of their assassins, known as a Talon, to murder Bruce Wayne.

Up until this point, Bruce Wayne considered the Court of Owls to be nothing more than an urban legend. When the Court sends a Talon after him, it’s the first time that Batman realizes the Court is real. It’s a fantastic introduction of these new villains into the Batman mythos.

The Court’s Talons Were Batman’s Equal, But This Didn’t Hold Up

Batman #2 by Scott Snyder, Greg Capullo, Jonathan Glapion, FCO Plascencia, Richard Starkings, and Jimmy Betancourt.

The Talons are the immensely dangerous assassins of the Court of Owls. Using the metal alloy known as Electrum, the Talons are able to survive massive injuries. During his first encounter with one, Bruce Wayne manages to push a Talon off the top of a skyscraper. The Talon falls several hundred feet, but has absolutely no injuries afterward and can easily stand back up after the fall. This first impression shows that Talons are nearly unkillable beings who have the fighting skills to match Batman. However, this, like many other aspects of the Court of Owls, would be quickly diminished by DC.

The Court of Owls was a fantastic idea because it managed to transform Gotham City into unfamiliar territory for Batman. Many writers have hammered in the idea that Batman knows Gotham City just as much as he knows himself, but the Court of Owls proved this isn’t necessarily the case. They are a shadowy organization that worked against Batman for decades and Bruce never noticed. Their methods are too subtle and their reach too far for Batman to have seen the bigger picture. It was a intriguing concept, but over time the mystery and dangerousness of the Court has been massively reduced.

The Court Of Owls Quickly Lost Their Mystique

Their members were unknown, their reach was unknown, they could be anyone and anywhere

When the Court was first introduced, they were an unknowable and dangerous society. Their members were unknown, their reach was unknown, they could be anyone and anywhere, and their Talons were incredibly dangerous. It took Nightwing fighting for his life against a single Talon just to survive, and even then, Nightwing only barely won. While the Talons were initially positioned as a major threat, this was quickly removed during the Batman: Night of the Owls story, where the Court of Owls unleash every single Talon they have to kill high-ranking citizens of Gotham City, and this is where the Court’s downfall began.

Up until this point in the story, the Talons had been extremely dangerous enemies, with Batman and Nightwing both struggling to bring down a single one. But during Night of the Owls, the Court unleashes all of their Talons on Gotham, with a large number dedicated to just attacking Wayne Manor. While fans would rightfully assume this would be an absurdly dangerous situation, it’s resolved pretty easily. The members of the Bat-Family are able to take on the Talon army with little problems, with Batman even fighting off dozens by himself in the Batcave. After this massive battle, the Court is seemingly defeated, and its reputation has yet to fully recover.

DC Comics Squandered The Court Of Owls’ Potential

After the Court of Owls was introduced to great fanfare, DC didn’t seem to know what to do with them next. The publisher tried spinning a few characters out of the Court, such as Calvin Rose, a former Talon who managed to defect. Another Talon named Mary Turner defected and joined the Birds of Prey. However, neither of these characters was particularly well received. Both were phased out, with neither character appearing after the New 52 ended. Meanwhile, the actual Court itself floundered with no real stories of importance after its debut. DC tried to expand their threat by simply making them bigger, revealing that the Court of Owls was simply a small branch of the true organization, known as the Parliament of Owls.

The Parliament Of Owls was revealed in
Nightwing: Rebirth
#1 by Tim Seeley and Yanick Paquette!

This reveal was meant to show that the Court is a global threat and was a massive threat to everyone, but nothing really came of it. Aside from a few mentions here or there, the Court of Owls being turned into a global secret society has had no real effect on any of the heroes. But being revealed as a worldwide threat wasn’t the biggest upgrade the Court of Owls got. They were eventually revealed to be the servants of the dark god Barbatos. Their entire purpose as a secret society is not to control the world or anything, but to secretly prepare Batman to become a gateway to the Dark Multiverse.

The Court Of Owls Has Continued To Stumble After Their Introduction

They were servants of Barbatos, but Barbatos was quickly defeated after the events of Dark Nights: Metal.

The Court of Owls went from a secret society that controls Gotham City to a worldwide cult that worships a dark god that seeks to end the Multiverse by dragging it down into darkness. This escalation only took place over a few years, and it really didn’t help the Court’s reputation. DC’s continual attempts to make them relevant or scary have simply ended up leaving them appearing toothless. They were servants of Barbatos, but Barbatos was quickly defeated after the events of Dark Nights: Metal. The Court then didn’t even appear in Dark Nights: Death Metal, the sequel.

The Court of Owls simply grew too fast with no real sense of direction. Aside from Scott Snyder, their creator, no other writer seems to really want to tell a good Court of Owls story. This has resulted in the Court eventually just becoming a generic boogieman. If there’s a conspiracy or something weird going on in Gotham City, just tie it back to the Court of Owls. The comic Batman: City of Madness by Christian Ward and Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou, features a compelling story about a Lovecraftian reflection of Gotham City called the Gotham Below. This Gotham Below is guarded by the Court of Owls, simply because it’s a secret thing about Gotham. There really isnt any reason to involve the Court otherwise, and they have very little bearing on the actual story.

The Court Of Owls Are Nothing But Background Criminals Now

Despite their strong introduction as major villains for Batman during the New 52 era, DC has continually struggled to make use of them ever since. DC has tried to increase the scope of the Court of Owls, hoping that would make them more threatening, but it only made them more directionless. The more readers have learned about the Court, the less interesting they have also become. They went from a secret society with unknowable members to being a defeated cult that no longer seems to serve any purpose. That’s why, despite how cool they were the first time Batman fought them, the Court of Owls was quickly ruined by DC.