Court of Owls

Court of Owls
The Court of Owls surrounds Batman, art by Greg Capullo
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
First appearance	Batman (vol. 2) #3 (December 2011)
Created by	Scott Snyder (writer) Greg Capullo (artist)
In-story information
Type of organization	Organized crime Secret society
Base(s)	Gotham City, then international (in "Robin War")
Agent(s)	The Talons
Roster
See: List of Court of Owls members

The Court of Owls is an organized crime group and secret society made up of wealthy Gothamites appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with the superhero Batman. They have secretly existed since colonial times in Gotham City. The Court kidnaps child performers from the circus to train and transform them into their assassins, known as Talons, which first appeared in Batman (vol. 2) #2 (2011). As part of the 2015–2016 "Robin War" storyline, the Court of Owls had expanded internationally and is now referred to as the Parliament of Owls.

Publication history[]

The Court of Owls were created by writer Scott Snyder and artist Greg Capullo and feature as Batman's main antagonists in the first two-story arcs of The New 52, the 2011 reboot of DC's continuity.^[1] They are first mentioned in Batman (vol. 2) #2 (2011) and make their first appearance in Batman (vol. 2) #3 when Batman discovers one of their secret bases of operation and where they are seen posing with one of their assassins, the Talon William Cobb, in a series of old photographs, finally providing Batman with proof of their existence.

Fictional team history[]

The New 52[]

This article's plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed. Please by removing unnecessary details and making it more concise. (June 2017) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

The Court of Owls is a conspiracy that has controlled Gotham City for centuries. They are a violent cabal of some of Gotham City's oldest and wealthiest families who use murder and money to wield political influence throughout history. Their bases of operation are hidden in some of the city's oldest structures. A nursery rhyme describing them has been passed down through Gotham's generations:

Beware the Court of Owls, that watches all the time,
Ruling Gotham from a shadowed perch, behind granite and lime.
They watch you at your hearth, they watch you in your bed.
Speak not a whispered word about them, or they'll send the Talon for your head.

To carry out their interests, they employ a breed of highly trained assassins known as Talons. The leaders of the organization appear to be human and wear white owl masks on their faces.

The earliest history of the Court of Owls dates back to Gotham's earliest days in the 1600s^[2] and it has been involved in many criminal acts in Gotham over the years.^[3] The Court of Owls took notice when billionaire philanthropist Bruce Wayne announces plans to rebuild and reshape Gotham City for the future.^[4] The Court sentences Bruce to death and their assassin, the Talon William Cobb, attempts to murder him during a meeting with Lincoln March. They struggle at the top of Wayne Tower and the killer survives a fall from the top.^[5] Batman discovers that their society has various secret headquarters throughout hidden rooms in every building established by the Alan Wayne Trust, created by Bruce's great-grandfather, Alan Wayne. Bruce recounts that, as a child, he believed the Court of Owls responsible for the death of his parents and personally investigated the conspiracy before determining that there was no evidence. Batman is caught and tortured by the Court, but escapes.^[6]

Not long after, apparently tired of their game and angered at Batman's escape and discovery of their lair, the Court unleashes the full might of their army of undead Talons on the city to kill Batman and his allies and retake Gotham for themselves.^[7]

In the 2012 storyline "Night of the Owls", which ran through the Batman-related books, the Court of Owls, angered at William Cobb's defeat at the hands of Batman, awaken all of their other Talons to reclaim Gotham City – literally and ideologically – from Batman. They also dispose of Cobb's body for Alfred Pennyworth to find. The Court's goal is to prove that they are the superior legend of Gotham City, not Batman. The Owls first attack the Batcave, but the injured Bruce still manages to defeat several of them due to their outdated fighting style. Alfred uncovers the forty targets of the Owls and sends a radio message out to the Batman family for help. Tim Drake and Jason Todd receive one and Jason decides to protect Mr. Freeze. Robin (Damian Wayne), Batwing and the Birds of Prey also answer Alfred's call. Bruce dons an armored Batsuit to be able to fight all of the Talons, while one of the assassins revives William Cobb.^[8]

The Birds of Prey are one of the first to fight a Talon who is merciless and cruel in his methods, wanting to kill "street vermin".^[9] Nightwing receives the message and goes to save Mayor Sebastian Hady. Nightwing has no problem in killing the Talon attacking Hady due to it already being dead, but upon stopping it, he is knifed in the chest by a revived Cobb. Cobb credits Nightwing, his descendant, working for Batman as his worst betrayal.^[10] When Selina and Spark arrive to steal from the Penguin, they see the Penguin's car leaving, but are not aware that the Penguin himself is still alive and being viciously beat down by Ephraim Newhouse, a Talon.^[2] Bruce, meanwhile, continues to fight the Talons invading the Batcave and eventually manages to stop them, then heads out to save Jeremiah Arkham who is fighting the Talons through Roman Sionis.^[11] Nightwing is brutally beat down by Cobb who continues to mock him. Cobb demands that his heir impress him, eventually giving up and calling Nightwing a waste. Nightwing, however, retaliates and freezes Cobb, then offering to take Jeremiah Arkham from Batman.^[10][12]

Selina Kyle and Spark check the fight out, and while Spark wishes to back out, Selina jumps into the fight.^[2] After giving Arkham to Nightwing, Batman goes to save Lincoln March. Bruce combats Alton Carver, the Talon sent to kill March, but is unable to stop Carver from killing March, a mayoral candidate who wanted to make Gotham a better place. March gives Batman a package that will make Gotham better and Bruce heads out to burn down the lair of the Court of Owls.^[6] Damian heads off to the outskirts of Gotham and decapitates a Talon who was seeking to kill an army general^[13] and Batwing proceeds to mutilate a Talon who wanted to assassinate Lucius Fox.^[14]

Batgirl proceeds to meet a Talon named Mary Turner who, when she sees Batgirl, simply strokes her across the face. Batgirl swipes a piece of paper from Mary. Balloon bombs set off by the Court of Owls also begin to go off at random spots. Batgirl then pushes Mary into a balloon bomb, killing her. Commissioner Gordon is then found by a Court of Owls member, who tells him that Gotham is lost, not to activate the Bat-Signal and that, if he tried to stop the Court, a Talon would kill his daughter Barbara Gordon (Batgirl)^[15] The Outlaws capture Mr. Freeze and the Red Hood ends up talking an Owl into killing itself.^[16] The battle against the Owls begins to go the way of the Gotham citizens. Alton then awakens, believing himself to finally be free from fear and all that has bound him. Mr. Freeze, however, escapes and tries to kill Bruce Wayne, but once again ends up being stopped.^[17]

Selina and Spark initially think they have killed the Talon, but later realize that the Talon is, in a way, immortal. Ephraim takes Selina's whip and begins to mercilessly beat Spark and then choke Selina's lover with it, with Selina not understanding. Selina decides to bargain with the Talon, offering him a full set of Talon daggers. Ephraim begins to listen, but is shot in the head by the Penguin. Selina and Spark eventually decide not to steal the Talon daggers that the Penguin originally had in his possession and head off to deposit the Talon's body, which they leave at the Bat-Signal, with the Night of the Owls having come to a close.^[2]

Following the battle, Bruce tracks down the leadership of the grouping of the Court of Owls in Gotham City to the Powers family. However, when he finds the Court, they are all dead by poison. The next day, confused as to whether or not the Court killed his parents, he discovers Lincoln March had been a Talon and tracks him down. Confronting the living mayoral candidate, he learns that March used Mr. Freeze's Talon serum to survive, that March was a Talon created to compete with Batman and that March killed the grouping of the Court in Gotham for personal vengeance against Bruce. March claims to be Bruce's brother Thomas Wayne Jr. and he believes Bruce to be responsible for the deaths of Thomas and Martha Wayne. The two very quickly engage in combat, which March dubs "OWL to BAT."^[18] March claimed that he was visited by Martha Wayne every day while he was being trained by the Court of Owls. Batman continued his fight with March and he ended up escaping, though March's regenerative capabilities meant that Bruce could never be truly sure if Lincoln March would return. Bruce would also never be truly sure whether Lincoln March was telling the truth about his parentage without a DNA test, but many of the facts of his story could fit around the official paperwork – on the condition that Thomas and Martha Wayne had lied. Bruce mentions to Dick that when the Court of Owls returns, he will be ready.^[19]

Artist Greg Capullo signing a Court of Owls replica mask during an appearance at Midtown Comics

During the "Forever Evil" storyline, the Court of Owls see the news from the Crime Syndicate that the Justice League is "dead" and claims that the Court of Owls will prosper. With their existence threatened, they will dig into the foundations of their arcane history and use it to adapt. A prominent member of the Court of Owls leads his daughter down into a safe place, which turned out to be where the Court of Owls began. As they enter the tunnels beneath the city, the girl admits that she is scared and her father reveals that strength comes through fear, recounting the tale of the Gotham Butcher. Curious, the girl wonders how their history can save them from a crazed mob of rioters. Her father explains that, while they could use their control of established institutions to quell threats in the past, this situation is more dire and so they have gone below to the home of the one who started it all. From the shadows, a woman shouts for them to stop, warning that they cannot bring back the First. She had murdered more of their brothers earlier in service of preventing the First's awakening and she would not hesitate now. To her surprise, though, the man's daughter leaps onto her back and tears into her flesh with knives. Proud, her father leads her through the great wooden doors to the chamber of the First Talon. Once through the doors, they are eagerly anticipating the look on the faces of the First Talon's victims when they see the first and most terrible weapon that the Court has ever used.^[20] Some of the Talons are shown to be on ice at Blackgate Penitentiary at the time when Bane is causing an uprising there.^[21] Bane arrives at the area where the Talons are being held and makes plans to use them as weapons.^[22]The Scarecrow and the Man-Bat attempt to steal the frozen Talons from Blackgate Penitentiary while the Penguin is having a meeting with Bane. Bane later arrives at Blackgate Penitentiary as the Man-Bat and his fellow Man-Bats are attempting to transport the Talons to Mr. Freeze and is able to keep one from leaving.^[23] The Man-Bats are able to bring the remaining Talons to Mr. Freeze. Bane later fights Killer Croc and is able to defeat him, while setting his sights on retrieving the Talons.^[24] Bane wakes up William Cobb and takes him through Gotham, where he fights the inmates of Arkham Asylum. Bane begins recruiting the Gotham citizens to his side, offering his base at Wayne Tower as a haven to the people to escape the rule of the Arkham inmates. He tells Cobb his plan to turn the city over to the Court, in exchange for use of the Talons at his disposal to be powered by his drug, Venom.^[25] The Talons attack Bane's men and eventually set their target on Bane. With the help of Cobb, Bane is able to injure the Talons enough to activate their regenerative powers in order to remove the mind-control technology.^[26] The Venom-induced Arkham villains attack Bane and the Talons at Blackgate. They bring Bane back to Arkham Asylum, where Bane begins to defeat them as the Venom wears off.^[27] Following the defeat of the Crime Syndicate, Bane and the Talons are defeated by Batman, who regains control of Gotham City.^[28]

At the conclusion of the 2014-2015 series Batman Eternal, it is revealed that Lincoln March used the Court's resources to fund the Cluemaster's campaign against Batman, reasoning that Batman would not pay close attention to the Cluemaster as a candidate while March let the Cluemaster do all the work of wearing Batman down, planning to step in and kill the Dark Knight at the last minute before retreating back into the shadows, reasoning that Batman's public death at the hands of an unknown enemy would forever end the "myth" of the Dark Knight. However, the plan fails when Batman's allies and the people of Gotham City rally together against March's assault after Commissioner Gordon calls on them to stand up for the city in Batman's name, forcing March to retreat. As he flees through the sewers, he is captured by the restored Court and locked away in suspended animation. The Court of Owls reflects that they may release him in a decade or so if they decide they need him again.^[29]

In the 2015 - 2016 storyline "Robin War", the Court of Owls reanimate Lincoln March, who has devised a way to obtain their prophesied Gray Son. Councilwoman Noctua, a member of the Court, rises to power in Gotham City and implants a set of laws and regulations that ban all Robin paraphernalia and will imprison those caught possessing or wearing anything Robin-related. This obtains the attention of the original four Robins: Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, Tim Drake and Damian Wayne (the current Robin), who all arrive in Gotham to train the hundreds of members of the Robins street gang. All the Robins (apart from Grayson) are imprisoned and the Court tries to force Tim and Jason to fight each other to the death. This fails and all the Robins escape imprisonment. Damian finds Lincoln March, who blackmails the former, implanting an explosive device within Damian. In order to spare the other Robins, Damian agrees to become the Court of Owls' 'Gray Son' and leads a group of Talons to prevent the Robins from interfering. Dick Grayson confronts Lincoln March, who reveals that the whole event was a ruse to bring Grayson to him and for the former to accept his destiny as the 'Gray Son'. Using the explosive device in Damian as leverage, Lincoln successfully brings Grayson into the Court of Owls, ending the Robin War.^{[volume & issue needed]}

DC Rebirth[]

This article needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (September 2017)

In Nightwing (vol. 3), Lincoln March addresses the Parliament of Owls as they decide to cast aside their connection to the Court of Owls in Gotham and don black owl masks. As March begins to preach his new role in the Parliament, he is killed by the Raptor, who reveals that both he and the Parliament agree that March's own desires began to become a hindrance to them and they needed a clean path to Nightwing.^[30] Dick Grayson has finally re-obtained his secret identity and has returned to the role of Nightwing. He willingly works for the Parliament in order to bring them down from the inside; they are wary of and suspect Grayson's true intentions, but they do not know that their leverage over him has been resolved. To keep him in check, the Parliament partners him with the Raptor to aid in his missions.^[31]

In the 2017 storyline Dark Nights: Metal, it is subsequently revealed that the Court of Owls were predominately a cult that worshiped Barbatos, a dark god associated with bats who hailed from the Dark Multiverse beneath the DC Multiverse. A cell of members ambush the Justice League and offer Batman up as the key to open up the Dark Multiverse, but are subsequently brutally murdered by The Batman Who Laughs and his Robins.

In the Watchmen sequel Doomsday Clock, the remaining representatives of the Court of Owls are among the villains that attend the underground meeting held by the Riddler to talk about the Superman Theory. Their judge states that the Court of Owls are not relocating to Kahndaq.^[32]

Members[]

• R. H. Orchard – Built the Orchard Hotel in 1893. His son Benjamin Orchard ran away from home and joined Haly's Circus. R. H. turned his own son into a Talon as a reprisal for turning his back on his legacy.
• Maria Powers – The wife of Joseph Powers, the owner of the Powers Hotel and a member of the Court of Owls.
• Lincoln March – A Gotham City mayoral candidate who claims to be Thomas Wayne Jr.
• Thurston Moody – A wealthy Gotham nobleman who is a potential member of the Court of Owls in the 1800s. He used kidnapped children as slaves beneath Gotham City, which was uncovered by Jonah Hex and Amadeus Arkham.
• Sebastian Clark – The former Grandmaster of the Court. His father Erastus wrote a tell-all book on the Court, but was killed along with everyone who had any connection to the book, which he had published in secret in another state. Sebastian has what may be the only surviving copy. Sebastian escaped the Court when it came for his father and lived in Europe for years under an assumed identity. He then returned to Gotham and started selling security software of his own design to presumed members of the Court in an effort to uncover all he could about the Court so he could take it down. He befriended Calvin Rose and became his benefactor for a while, before Calvin realized he had been the Grandmaster of the Court. It seems Sebastian was using Calvin in a power grab to take the Court's assets and, with the help of Bane, take over Gotham City. His plan was thwarted by Calvin and Batman and he ended up in Blackgate Prison.
• John Wycliffe – The Grandmaster of the Court after Sebastian Clark. A descendant of Bartholomew Wycliffe, one of the signers of Gotham's original charter. He was killed by Sebastian Clark.

Talons[]

The Talons are a group of deadly assassins that are absolutely loyal to the Court of Owls. They remain "sleeping" deep within their inner sanctum until they are "called" upon. The Court, seemingly obsessed with Greek mythology, began using electrum (a highly conductive alloy of silver and gold with trace amounts of copper and other elements) to treat their "retired" Talons.^[33] A serum was eventually developed that, coupled with the electrum, could bring the dead Talons back to life. Talons so revived appear to be nigh-unkillable, surviving knives through the skull, electrocution, losing a body part, falling from the height of a skyscraper, etc. If exposed to extreme cold the revived Talons will shut down, entering a kind of stasis. The only means verified to kill a revived Talon is a poison developed by the Court itself. The Talons are highly trained and conditioned. They are extremely proficient with knives and experts in hand-to-hand combat. In order to remain undetected, the Talons are masters of stealth and concealment. Prior to the Night of the Owls, the Court only had one active Talon at a time. A new Talon must prove himself worthy to earn that mantle by killing his predecessor in single combat in the Labyrinth. Talons are to follow the Court's orders and serve until they are deemed unfit for service due to age or failure, at which point they face their chosen successor. Revived Talons can be returned to their former selves with the help of the Lazarus Pit.^[34] The Talons below are listed by when they were first active.

Among the known Talons are:

• Uriah Boone – Uriah Boone was one of the oldest Talons, active at some point before Gotham became an industrialized city. Centuries later, when the Batman confronted the Court about the Joker's supposed immortality, Uriah was hiding in the shadows, ready to defend the members, and engaged the Batman in a fight.^{[volume & issue needed]}
• Ephraim Newhouse – Ephraim Newhouse was the Talon of 1665. However, his sloppiness forced the court to retire him, stripping him of his weapons and armor with a mark of disgrace on his record. Four of his knives were stolen by Catwoman centuries later. During the Night of the Owls storyline, Ephraim was revived and sent by the Court to assassinate Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot. By sheer coincidence, the Penguin was in possession of the fifth knife which Catwoman had set her own sights on. In the ensuing conflict, Catwoman saved the Penguin's life and promised the five knives back to the Talon, preying on his need for redemption in the eyes of the Court of Owls. The Penguin shot him through the head before an exchange could be made, and so Catwoman – feeling as though she and the Talon were kindred spirits – laid his body on the roof of the Gotham City Police Department with his five knives and turned on the Bat-Signal.^[2]
• Henry Ballard – Henry Ballard was encountered by the Birds of Prey. He remembered the Gotham City of 1847 as a violent place and saw the city's present the same way. When he was unmasked, he already had the appearance of an old man. He seemingly regards women as "vermin", suggesting misogynistic traits. The Birds of Prey managed to subdue him when Poison Ivy dragged him into a refrigerated train car meant for carrying meat.^[9]
• Alexander Staunton – Alexander Staunton was the Talon of 1856. He was effective, but his killings lacked the subtlety the Court of the day felt was essential and he was retired. During the Night of the Owls, he was sent to kill Lucius Fox, but was stopped by Batwing.^{[volume & issue needed]}
• Felix Harmon – Felix Harmon was known as the Gotham Butcher who was the Talon of the 1860s. He is shown as a young strongman at Haly's Circus in 1852. He killed 140 civilians the Court had not targeted for execution, as well as two Court members. In 1862, he killed everyone in the Carpenter Home for Orphans and set the building on fire. He states that he started killing as young as 14 years old. He is a complete psychopath and is physically huge, shown to be about 9-10' tall and heavily muscled. His teeth are pointed and his fingernails are like claws. He is noted as being an expert tracker. The Court finally subdued and killed him, placing him in the Tomb of the Unworthy. He is revived out of desperation to kill Calvin Rose. During their final confrontation he has his left arm severed, is cut in half and is beheaded. As one of the revived Talons he is nigh-unkillable, but before he could fully revive, he was placed in a custom-built cryo-facility.^{[volume & issue needed]}
• Xiao Loong – Xiao Loong was the Talon of the 1890s. He was an acrobat of Chinese descent. In his time, he was sent to assassinate Thurston Moody, the former deputy head of Gotham Sanitation, who was a member of a terrorist group called the August 7.^{[volume & issue needed]}
• The O'Malleys – Three generations of O'Malleys have served as Talons: James O'Malley, his son Brandon and his grandson Nathaniel. Nathaniel is seen as a failure by his grandfather in particular, especially for having failed to sire an heir. Nathaniel reveals that he chose not to sire an heir so the line would end and cease serving the Court as Talons. All three O'Malleys are revived, but Nathaniel chooses to help Calvin Rose fight the Court.^{[volume & issue needed]}
• Jonas – Jonas was the Talon of the 1920s. He was from a poor African American farming family in Georgia. From a very young age Jonas had a love for animals, especially birds. His mother, however, after losing her mind, killed all the pet chickens of Jonas with an ax in a fit of madness. After the Spanish flu killed his family, he ran away and was taken in by Haly's Circus. The Court of Owls took notice of the young boy, noting his fearlessness while training the dangerous animals. He completed his training as a Talon defeating William Cobb in the Court's Labyrinth. Jonas was, however, mentally unstable, carving a "feather" into his flesh after taking the life of a victim. He was seen to be proficient with blades and knives like most of the Talons, but also carried an ax.^{[volume & issue needed]}
• Benjamin Orchard – A Talon in the 1930s for one year. His father made him a Talon as punishment for running away to join Haly's Circus, but only allowed him to serve for one year before having him killed. He is revived for the Night of the Owls and guards the Orchard Hotel. It is unclear whether or not he survived the partial destruction of the hotel, but as a revived Talon he is nigh-unkillable.^{[volume & issue needed]}
• Mary Turner – Mary is the Talon of the 1940s. She was horribly disfigured at a young age by a bomb attached to a balloon which was sent by Emperor Hirohito to cause panic in the United States during World War II. Mary is awakened and sent to coerce Commissioner Gordon into letting his police force handle the Night of the Owls ineffectively and into inadvertently lighting a modified Bat-Signal which fills the sky with the symbol of the Court of Owls, thereby killing hope that the Batman will save Gotham. She faces Batgirl, but lets her go, because they both wear masks. Later, Catwoman broke Mary out of Blackgate Penitentiary, having been hired by a prominent member of the Court. When she realized his motivations, though, she turned on him, and with Batgirl, they defeated his Talons – including Mary, who turned on her master in the name of friendship with the two women. In order to protect Mary, Catwoman faced the police alone, leaving Batgirl to get Mary out.^[35] Batgirl's solution was to find a place for Mary with the Birds of Prey,^[36] giving her the codename "Strix" (which is Latin for "owl").^[37]
• Alton Carver – Alton Carver was the most recent Talon. Like every other Talon, Carver was a performer with Haly's Circus, but his fear of death prevented him from mastering the high wire. Frustrated, the ringmaster forced him to overcome his fear by setting his trailer ablaze with him inside. When he emerged, burned but alive, he was ready for the Court's training. Twenty-six years later, he had become one of the best Talons, but he had also become sloppy. He was warned that if he continued to make mistakes, he would be replaced with a boy who had already been chosen to succeed him. On the night of the mission that was meant to redeem him, Carver could not help but go to see the one who would replace him. He saw Dick Grayson perform and knew that the boy would outmatch him. Having delayed too long, he missed his chance to kill his target stealthily and was attacked by Batman. His failure forced the Court to retire him and he was not awakened again until the Night of the Owls. He was given mayoral candidate Lincoln March as a target. Though March was stabbed, he shot Carver in the head. Unexpectedly, though, Carver revived and attacked Batman, who had arrived on the scene. The battle ended with Carver sent careening through the window and onto the street below. Despite the fall, he managed to escape into the sewers.^{[volume & issue needed]}
• Calvin Rose – Calvin is shown locked in a dog kennel by his father at age 8 for three days, at which point he is able to break the chain on the door and escape to Haly's Circus. Calvin Rose was trained as an escape artist at Haly's Circus. He was then recruited by the Court of Owls and trained to be their next Talon. He completed all of the Court's tests to become the new Talon, including killing his predecessor in single combat in the Labyrinth. He even escaped the Labyrinth, which no one else at that point in time had ever done (Batman later escaped as well). On his first mission he disobeyed the Court, saving Sarah and Casey Washington and going on the run from the Court. He was the only Talon to ever escape the grasp of the Court of Owls. He is a world class escape artist and a trained assassin. He is killed by Bane, but revived by the Court. As a revived Talon he is nigh-unkillable, feels no pain and heals from any wound. He disobeyed the Court again and they sentenced him to die, even injecting him with the poison which appears to be the only thing capable of killing a revived Talon. He fought on to bring down Felix Harmon and Sebastian Clark, sustaining injuries that would have killed a normal man several times over. The poison very nearly killed him, but using dialysis, Lucius Fox and Casey Washington are able to remove the poison from his body and revive him. He is then ushered into service in Batman, Incorporated.^{[volume & issue needed]}

William Cobb[]

One of the Courts most prolific members, Cobb is the assassin sent to murder Bruce Wayne prior to the Night of the Owls. Born on October 10, 1901, William Cobb was the son of an ironworker and textile worker who lost his life while working on a bridge. This event robbed young William of his childhood, as he and his mother struggled to survive afterwards. After an encounter with a man named Nathaniel, Cobb joined a circus, mastering the art of throwing knives and earning fame. Cobb met and fell in love with Amelia Crowe, the daughter of Burton Crowe, which resulted in Amelia's pregnancy, but Burton disapproved and arranged for her to marry a second cousin. Through Nathaniel's efforts, Cobb joined the Court of Owls and became a Talon in order to make a difference in society. Cobb kidnapped his infant son and gave the boy to Nathaniel, urging Nathaniel to release the child in secret and prepare him for the legacy as the "Gray Son" of Gotham;^[38]Cobb's son becomes the first in his bloodline to be called Grayson, as it has been ever since. After failed attempts to defeat Batman, Batman discovers that Cobb is Dick Grayson's great-grandfather. Cobb is disappointed to learn that Dick, as Nightwing, is an ally of Batman and faces his great-grandson in combat, in which Dick is victorious.^[38]

After his body was retrieved by the Court, they made him fight another member named Jonas for the title of Talon. He fight ended with Cobb tossing and being put back into stasis. During the Forever Evil event, Bane began collecting many Court assassins to create an army to help him rule Gotham City. Cobb was the only one willing to join him. He manages to fight and defeat other Talons who were being controlled by the Mad Hatter and helped Bane win the unofficial "Arkham War", but was then defeated by a returned Batman. ^[39]

During the Year of the Villain event, Cobb actively stalks Dick, who had recently lost his memory following an encounter with KGBeast. He believe that this was his greatest opportunity to have Dick become the Gray Son of Gotham. He was soon contacted by Lex Luthor, who offered him the information needed to convert Dick to his side.^[40]

After the reality changing event of Dark Nights: Death Metal, Amanda Waller sends a group of villains to retrieve Talon from Arkham Asylum just before The Joker gassed it. He is then inducted into the Suicide Squad.^[41]

In other media[]

Television[]

• The Court of Owls appears in Gotham.^[42][43] Known members are Kathryn Monroe (portrayed by Kit Flanagan in season 2, Leslie Hendrix in season 3), James Gordon's uncle, Frank Gordon (portrayed by James Remar), the Talons (portrayed by Brandon Alan Smith, here wearing business suits and domino masks), and some unidentified people in owl masks with Sensei (portrayed by Raymond J. Barry) as their secret leader. James Gordon also briefly joins the Court of Owls in order to discover their plan to destroy Gotham. First appearing in "Wrath of the Villains: A Legion of Horribles", the Court of Owls are revealed to be Hugo Strange's employers, who have tasked him to find a means to revive the dead. In season 3, they work on weaponizing the poisonous blood of Jervis Tetch's sister, Alice, in order to "save Gotham City" by plunging it into chaos upon being manipulated by Ra's al Ghul and the League of Assassins. By "Heroes Rise: Pretty Hate Machine", all of the Court of Owls members were killed by the Talons working for Sensei because they condoned Hugo Strange’s unauthorized murder of Thomas Wayne and Martha Wayne.

Film[]

The Court of Owls appears in the animated film Batman vs. Robin, with an unidentified main Talon (voiced by Jeremy Sisto) that resembles Calvin Rose. This Talon is the son of an abusive jewel thief who turned his father in to the police, resulting in his death after a failed job. He was soon recruited into the Court of Owls, and developed a desire to help Damian Wayne / Robin realize his potential. In the film, Talon attempts to persuade Robin to join the Court of Owls following several encounters. However, Talon kills the Grandmaster (voiced by Robin Atkin Downes), the socialite Samantha Vanaver (voiced by Grey DeLisle), and betrays the rest of the Court of Owls after refusing to kill a kidnapped Robin and seizes control of the Court's army of zombified Talons. He tasks them with attacking the Batcave while he fights Robin, but they are destroyed by Batman, Nightwing and Alfred while the unnamed Talon is defeated by Robin and commits suicide.^[44]

Video games[]

• William Cobb / Talon appears as a playable character in Lego DC Super-Villains, voiced by Travis Willingham.^[45]
• The Court of Owls will appear in Gotham Knights.^[46]

Novels[]

• Batman: The Court of Owls is an original novel tie-in, published February 12, 2019, and written by Greg Cox. Set shortly after the Court's comic debut, Batman's investigation into a missing arts student at Gotham University reveals that said student had stumbled on clues left in the artwork of a prominent artist almost a century ago. Tracking the student's research reveals that the artist was a reluctant member of the Court and had created a serum that could theoretically allow the user to see the future, to the extent that certain pieces he created hint at Gotham's future costumed criminals, such as a statue at a fountain including fish that resemble "Joker Fish" or the statue of Lady Justice outside the courtroom where Harvey Dent was disfigured includes a statue of Janus, the two-faced god.
• Black Canary: Breaking Silence, the fifth novel in the DC Icons series, features the Court of Owls. The book was released on December 29, 2020 and was written by Alexandra Monir.

References[]

External links[]

• Court of Owls at DC Comics Wiki
• Court of Owls at Comic Vine
  • The Talons at Comic Vine
    • IMDB