Batman: Gotham Knights Reveals First Look at Court of Owls

WB Montreal's big reveal of its new Batman project called Gotham Knights gave everyone a preview of the first prominent video game appearance of the Court of Owls, an infamous crime faction Batman's long had to contend with in Gotham City. This group is one that's long been rumored to have a major role in the new Batman game, though all of those theories were largely based on rumors and speculations prior to the DC FanDome event since nothing was officially known about the game.

The Court of Owls made only a brief appearance in the lengthy trailer for the new Batman: Gotham Knights game. We saw a look at a sinister setup orchestrated by the Court of Owls where countless caskets were suspended in the air.

Though the Court of Owls' involvement in the new Batman game was indeed based on rumors early on, it became more and more likely that we'd see the group involved somehow as more teasers were released. Those teasers dated as far back as September 2019 when we saw several symbols presented for Batman Day to apparently represent different factions from Gotham's various crime organizations. One of those looked a whole lot like the Court of Owls, but the game's teasers have been going for so long now that it's easy to imagine people would've forgotten about that by now.

More recent teasers may have refreshed Batman fans' memories though. One of the clues shared by WB Montreal's cryptic Twitter account set up for the game showed a sigil which again looked like a Court of Owls crest. It was part of a weeklong campaign of teasers and hid a numeric code in it that rewarded sleuths with another piece of the Batman puzzle if they deciphered it.

The final key. Return 8.22.2020 to #DCFanDome pic.twitter.com/YjwEVRxilT

— r3dakt3d (@r3dakt3d) August 21, 2020

For those who've largely just stuck to Batman games and movies, it's easy to be unfamiliar with the Court of Owls since they haven't made a prominent video game appearance until now. The Court of Owls is a group of some of Gotham's most well-established and influential individuals and families, and it's been around for a long enough time that it's become one of Gotham's legends. Where money and influence aren't enough, they employ the use of the Talons, a group of skilled assassins imbued with superhuman abilities that allow them to face off against Batman and other Gotham inhabitants.

The new Batman game featuring the Court of Owls isn't the only game planned for DC FanDome either. Rocksteady Studios announced prior to the event its plans to show off Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League as well.