Batman Comics

Batman 4 – 6

Writer: Scott Snyder

Artists: Greg Capullo, Jonathan Glapion

Hello dear readers! Today we continue our look at what we’ve learned about the Court of Owls, moving on to Batman issues 4, 5 and 6. If you missed the first part of this discussion check it out here!

In Batman 4 we get a surprisingly deep look into the dark time in Bruce’s life shortly after his parents’ murder. He became convinced that Thomas and Martha Wayne were killed as part of a larger conspiracy, but despite searching obsessively then and at later times through his life, Bruce never found any evidence of the Court of Owls.

I know I’m supposed to be concentrating on information today, but the artwork here is just so beautiful. There’s a distinct change (as you can see in the picture above) when we enter Bruce’s memory: details get fuzzy, contrast is high. As Bruce finishes telling Dick this story about his past, we learn not only what he discovered but also how it shaped him as a detective.

Batman had been examining Alan Wayne’s bones, and found that Alan was probably stabbed to death in a manner very similar to the unidentified man at the beginning of issue 1. He heads into the sewers searching for the source of a residue he found on the bones, but while he’s there Talon finds him and traps Batman in the Court’s labyrinth!

We know all about the labyrinth from my closer look at Batman 5, but there are a few details I didn’t mention that definitely help us know our enemy, I want to look at two particular things here. The walls covered in photos tell us that the Court of Owls has been around for a very very long time, and have been using their labyrinth to drive people crazy for just as long.

Of course, it’s also possible that they just built the labyrinth recently, and it’s all a very elaborate trick to make it appear old. Then there’s the room full of coffins, which tells us that they’ve either been keeping their Talons after they die, or new Talons are being prepared to fight. Neither one of those options sounds good to me!

Finally, we have Batman 6, where our hero fights back against the maddening effects of the labyrinth. Here’s where we really get the goods. First Batman and Talon fight, and it turns out Talon’s quite the talkative little guy.

Now that’s a lot of information! Who else has been forever entombed in the labyrinth? Will we ever find out? I love Batman’s answer when he’s offered last words. They fight, and when Talon thinks he has the upper hand, he asks the Court what he should do with Batman. We finally get a good look at the Court of Owls in action, and it is chilling.

They’re like ghouls! Or owls, I guess; I may never trust owls again (put them on the list with cats!).  I love how the top and bottom panels spill out over the edges of the frames, it really emphasizes that the Court is outside of the labyrinth they’ve put Batman into and brings out that overpowered feeling. This is probably my favourite page in the book – what is up with that child? She is extremely creepy, I like it.

Batman, of course, is not defeated, although he ends up in quite a tight spot and I’m a bit worried about him. The last page I wanted to share is the second-last page of the issue, and although we don’t get any specific information about the Court, I think it shows something very important.

The person (I hesitate to call her a “lady”) in the wheelchair seems to be in charge. Someone else, possibly the younger woman, is sentimental and wants to give Talon a chance to heal, but he’s “disposed of” in the river that Batman just escaped to, and that’s that. Besides, there are other Talons ready and waiting…

I hope that this look at the Court of Owls and what we’ve learned about them in Batman so far has been helpful, I know it was for me! Now I feel ready to take on the whole Court myself, as long as I’ve got Batman and his family on my side. In the next couple weeks we have wrap-up issues of Detective Comics, Batman and Robin, and other titles, as those story arcs conclude, and then on March 21st Batman 7 comes out. That issue will bring the Court’s first full assault on Gotham city, and apparently many secrets will be revealed – I can’t wait!

Batman 1 – 3

Writer: Scott Snyder

Artists: Greg Capullo, Jonathan Glapion

Since issue 1 of the DCnU, Batman has been focused on the Court of Owls, a mysterious group of Gotham’s elite whose motives, while unclear, are sinister. So far they’ve limited themselves to Batman himself, but in coming weeks the Court will attack Gotham City and spread to other comic titles including Batman & Robin, Detective Comics, and Batgirl.

I’m sure Batman is preparing for the Court of Owls’ attack by learning everything he can about his enemy, and we should do the same thing. Here’s what we’ve learned about the Court of Owls in Batman 1 – 3; issues 4 – 6 will be coming soon, but you can also read my overall thoughts on the excellent Batman 5 here.

Batman 1 gives us the first clue that the Court of Owls exists, when an unidentifiable man is found stabbed to death. The knives found inside the man are decorated with small owls.

As you can see, Batman’s not interested in the Court of Owls, he doesn’t want to even consider them. This issue also sets up the general theme of this book being about Gotham City itself, and Batman’s place in it.

With Batman 2, we learn much more about the Court of Owls. Three hired goons steal ten statues of some sort from the Hellenistic wing (of Gotham City Museum, I assume), tying the Court to Ancient Greece (and not for the last time). Later, Batman and Jim Gordon CSI the stabbing victim, finding an implant in his tooth that also has the Owl emblem on it.

That nursery rhyme will be repeated many times over the coming issues of Batman, it’s so ominous! We don’t learn much more about the Court in this issue, but the next day when Bruce is meeting with Lincoln March (who’s campaigning to be Mayor) they’re attacked by Talon, the Court’s assassin. Our first view of this new foe is intimidating, he’s as big as Batman and has a wide array of knives and other weapons.

At the end of issue 2, Bruce still denies that the Court of Owls exists, but he won’t be able to maintain that for much longer. Batman 3 is where we really start delving into the historical aspect of things. The book starts with Alan Wayne, Bruce’s great- great-grandfather, the man who built Wayne Tower. In the later years of his life, he grew obsessed with owls and convinced that they were living inside the walls of his own home.

We learn more about the Court of Owls in the second half of this book, when Batman realizes that they’ve been developing ‘nests’ in the 13th floors of buildings funded by an Alan Wayne memorial trust. Here inside Wayne Tower itself he finds what may be their very first nest, with a photograph dating back to 1891.

From there Batman goes from nest to nest, I’m not sure if he’s just collecting information or if he’s destroying them as he goes. We can see their weaponry, different setups but all involving a fascinating array of swords, knives, axes, and other bladed weapons. Each nest has a different Talon uniform in it, and there are nearly twenty likely buildings.

So what have we learned? The Court has remained hidden, even from Batman, for at least the last hundred years, and possibly several times that. They’re well prepared for all sorts of aggressive and illegal activities, and are invested in maintaining control of Gotham City behind the scenes.

I’m especially curious about the Ancient Greek connection, though maybe they just liked the symbol because it represents wealth and power. In issues 4, 5, and 6, we’ll see what happens when things get a little more real for Batman — issue 3 ends with Batman triggering a tripwire that explodes the building, and as the story continues the Court of Owls really brings the fight to Batman in new and exciting ways.

Good evening Gotham! It’s an in-between week for comics, so there are no new Batman books to talk about today. That gives me a chance to share some favourite (love it) and not-so-favourite (livid)  moments from recent issues. Here we go!

Justice League 3, by Geoff Johns, Jim Lee and Scott Williams, gave us this page scoring points for love it. I enjoy stories about people from other places coming to our world, and seeing Wonder Woman getting to know the better parts of America is so much fun. Somehow I always knew she’d go for ice cream.

I love Wonder Woman’s kick-ass attitude! There’s a great Batman moment a bit later on in the issue, as the Justice League fights demons that are attacking the planet.

Vampire Batman, telling Green Lantern how to use his ring? How could I not love it?

Next up is Teen Titans 3, by Scott Lobdell, Brett Booth and Norm Rapmund. @VenPixel pointed out a livid moment in the issue, when Kid Flash cracks a four-digit code to unlock a door. I’m not an expert, but I don’t think the switches on the control panel could keep up with his Flash-enhanced typing skills (see ‘switch debouncing‘)!

Silly speedster, keypads are for humans. Another thing in Teen Titans that makes me livid is this scene, in which Red Robin is disguised as an old man ‘riding the rails’ to accompany Skitter across the country. When he reveals his superhero identity to Bunker, there’s a moment when Tim’s face is entirely bare – anyone as paranoid as Tim wouldn’t allow that.

Why isn’t he wearing the domino mask under the old man face? Wow, that was a weird sentence. I liked the comic overall, but I feel like they’ve been too lax with Tim going around unmasked. If we accept the idea that a tiny little mask protects his identity, we have to also assume he’ll be extremely diligent about wearing it.

Last for tonight we have Batman 3, by Scott Snyder, Greg Capullo and Jonathan Glapion. I haven’t really been talking in detail about storylines, but I definitely love the current story in Batman. ‘The Court of Owls’, a group of men who have been “ruling Gotham from the shadows since colonial times” attempted to kill Bruce Wayne. Bruce turns to Alfred for help, and Alfred shares this story about Bruce’s great, great grandfather Alan Wayne, and his terrible fear of owls.

I love the idea that Alfred’s father was butler to the Wayne family before him! And how he tries to drug Bruce with “medicinal” tea, now that’s a butler! The art is also beautiful, on this page I especially like the top panel (we’re inside the Batman cowl, watching Bruce and Alfred) and the use of colour.

That’s it for me! It’s been fun taking a love it or livid look at comics – I might do it again! Let me know what you think of these or any other Batman comics in the comments, and have a great night.