Spoilers for Crime Syndicate #1 ahead!
When first introduced in the Batman family of titles, the Court of Owls proved to be one of the most exciting additions to the mythos in years. A secret society with deep ties to Gotham’s past, they proved to be more than a match for Batman and his allies. Thanks to overexposure in the following years, the Court has lost something of their luster, but now, in Crime Syndicate #1, they may be poised to make a major comeback.
The Court of Owls first appeared in Batman #1 by Scott Snyder, Greg Capullo, Jonathan Glapion, FCO Plascencia, and Comicraft in 2011. One of the initial storylines of the New 52 publishing initiative, it proved popular with fans and critics, and their introduction is now hailed as one of the best stories of the New 52 era. The Court of Owls was a secret society comprised of some of Gotham’s most powerful individuals, committed to controlling the city. This brought them into conflict with Batman, and in retaliation, the Court launched an all-out assault on Gotham with their army of undead assassins, called Talons. It was revealed that Courts existed in other cities, and they were all linked to Barbatos, a dark, universe-consuming entity. When he was defeated, the Court operated as a shell of its former self. In short, the concept became watered down to the point where it lost effectiveness, but now, on the new Earth-3, a new Court may be rising.
The link between the two Courts is Owlman, the Earth-3 equivalent of Batman. Beyond the obvious owl-based imagery connection, Owlman employs an army of Talons to enforce order in Gotham – when Earth is invaded by aliens, Owlman tells Alfred to have the Talons “lock Gotham down.”
This potentially new take on the Court of Owls is just what the concept needed. The original was over-extended in subsequent stories following their debut and lost a lot of its impact in the process; the new Court restores that edge and sense of menace. We do not know how Owlman recruits his Talons, but a previous incarnation killed the parents of one of his recruits – does the new Owlman employ a similar tactic? If he does, this puts a truly insidious spin on this new Court of Owls. Furthermore, the original Talons were essentially zombies—does the same hold true of these as well?
Whatever the case, all the ingredients for a new Court of Owls are in place: a demented and psychotic leader using an owl theme, a legion of soldiers at his disposal, ready to enforce his will on Gotham. With this new beginning, DC can restore the Court of Owls to its former glory. Fans can get a glimpse of this new Court in Crime Syndicate #1, written by Andy Schmidt, with art by Kieran McKeown, inks by Dexter Vines, and colors by Steve Oliff, which is available in stores now and on all digital comics platforms.
