Batman has always had one of the strongest rogues galleries in comic books. His villains aren’t just iconic. The upper echelon of them are downright household names. The Joker, Catwoman, the Penguin, Two-Face, Poison Ivy, and more are all known even by people outside the comic book space, which is a monstrous feat for any character to claim, especially villains. The Dark Knight’s enemies have become as synonymous with superheroic adventures as Batman himself, and while this is most true for his classic foes, that doesn’t mean that Batman’s newer villains aren’t just as entertaining. In fact, one of his newer villains is making a case to be an all-time classic, and they are even rumored to be the main bad guy in Matt Reeves’s The Batman Part II.
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The Court of Owls flew onto the scene in the first arc of Batman (2011), but in reality, they’d been pulling Gotham’s strings since its founding. The cabal of Gotham’s nefarious elites used their influence and undead assassins, the Talons, to steer the city from shadows so deep and unknowable that not even Batman thought they were real until they targeted him. Now, DC has completely reimagined the Court for an even more evil universe. Absolute Batman #17 gave us our first glimpse at the Absolute Court of Owls, and not only are they very different from their mainline counterparts, but Bruce’s own mother, Martha Wayne, is a member.
The Absolute Court of Change
Batman’s life had been irrevocably changed after his climactic clash with Bane. Although he beat the muscle-bound behemoth, his friends were ripped apart. Oz wanted nothing to do with him, Ed shut him out as he melded with his machines, and Harvey disappeared as he ran from his own thoughts. Even Batman was changed. Where Bruce always saw him as a means to an end, the faceless weapon to bring about change, Gotham City had embraced him as their savior. Bruce doesn’t recognize the symbol that Gotham turned Batman into.
Things only got worse when Bruce went to the one place he felt would always be the same: his mom’s house. However, when he got there, he overheard Martha and Jim Gordon talking about her wanting to do more to help keep her home safe. She was worried it would change everything, and Jim assured her it would never change how he felt, and they kissed. Bruce fled, and while he took his anger out on the introduction of Absolute Poison Ivy, Martha put her own plan into action.
Martha traveled to a payphone in a crowded center in Gotham and asked for help. On the other end of the line, the Court of Owls responded that they were always present and had waited for Martha to return to them. Unlike the Prime Court, whose members wore white masks and normal rich-person clothing, the three who answered were all clad in all-black Talon gear. Interestingly, instead of the normal clothes, they were all wearing customized all-black military-style costumes.
A Court of Pure Rebellion
Obviously, the Court of Owls will be massively different from its Prime Earth counterpart. Given that Martha Wayne used to be a member and is joining once again, it’s confirmed that their ranks are not made up of the rich and powerful. In fact, it’s likely they are not even villains at all, though it’s still highly unlikely that they are heroes. Given how the Red Hood Gang has been twisted into a young rebellion group, the Court of Owls likely also stands against the ruling hands of Gotham. Instead of being the overseers guiding everything from the shadows, they are the quiet rebellion trying to tear the system down.
This new Court of Owls is manned by the downtrodden of Gotham who are looking to change things. Much like the originals, they clearly operate in the shadows, but they likely don’t have endless resources or undead assassins anymore. They are just people in track suits and makeshift military gear, fighting against a system that was engineered to keep them subservient. Martha’s involvement just proves that rebellion runs in her family’s blood, even if they go about it in different ways. The brand new Court of Owls is a massive departure from the original, but still looks to be just as terrifying as the original.
Absolute Batman #17 is on sale now!
Who do you hope will be the main antagonist of The Batman Part II? Let us know in the comments or share your thoughts on the ComicBook Forum!
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Official art by Bastien Lecouffe-Deharme -
Image courtesy of Tor Books/Macmillan -
A photo of the Retrovolt Arcade taken in 2017, showing several classic arcade cabinets and stools. -
Courtesy of TOHO Animation
