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Batman The Court of Owls Reading Order

Created by Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo (see their Batman Reading Order), The Court of Owls made its first appearance in Batman (vol. 2) #2 in 2011, at the beginning of the New 52 era. Before that, the Owls were not part of the DC Universe, but Snyder put some hints about it in his previous Batman work, Batman: Gates of Gotham.

The shadowy Court of Owls is an organized crime group and secret society made up of wealthy Gothamites who has secretly existed since colonial times in Gotham City. For a very long time, the Court was just an urban legend until Batman discovers one of their secret bases of operations. There he found a series of old photographs representing the members of the court with one of their assassins, the Talon (William Cobb)—The Court kidnaps child performers from the circus to train and transform them into their assassins, known as Talons.

Composed of some of Gotham City’s oldest and wealthiest families, The Court of Owls has controlled Gotham City for centuries, using murder and money to wield political influence throughout history. When they decide to send their killer after Bruce Wayne after he announced plans to rebuild and reshape Gotham City for the future, they revealed themselves to Batman.

“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.”

After a major storyline, The Court of Owls became a recurring villain in the DC Universe, not just Batman’s antagonists. Sometimes, the Court is just present in the background, sometimes it’s the target.

Batman The Court of Owls Reading Order

Batman: Night of the Owls

The Night of The Owls crossover pits Batman and his allies against the Court of Owls organization as they attempt to cement their control over Gotham City, which they have been manipulating in secret for centuries. The Full Reading Order here.

  • Batman: Night of the Owls (The New 52)
    Collects Batman #8-11, Nightwing #8-9, All Star Western #9, Catwoman #9, Batgirl #9, Batman: Dark Knight #9, Batman and Robin #9, Birds of Prey #9, Red Hood and the Outlaws #9.

Introduced in Batgirl #9, Mary Turner was a Talon for the Court of Owls. Her story continues in Batgirl Annual #1, then in Bird of Prey as Mary went rogue and joined the Birds of Prey under the name Strix.

A Western-era version of the Owls can be found in All-Star Western, as we get back to the early years of Gotham City. With Dr. Arkham in jail and his companions Hawkeye and Cinnamon nowhere to be found, things can only get worse for Hex when the Court of Owls begins to unfurl their plan to lay siege to Gotham.

Batman The Court of Owls Reading Order Logo

Talon, The Series

As a young performer with Haly’s Circus, young Calvin Rose was secretly being raised to be a master assassin–a killing machine called a Talon. The Talons have always served the mysterious Court of Owls, a group of wealthy individuals who will stop at nothing to maintain their grip on power in Gotham City. When Rose defects from the Talon’s ranks, he is marked for death and spends the next few years using all his training to hide from his former masters. After years on the run, Rose finally returns to Gotham City following the horrors of “The Night of Owls.” He’ll set off to investigate what remains of the Court of Owls, but will he be able to gain his freedom at long last?

Also, soon available in one volume:

Calvin briefly came back “Gothamite” in the Detective Comics issues of the Gothtopia storyline.

Forever Evil

The Trinity War/Forever Evil crossover event (Reading Order here) was about the “end” of the Justice League. The villains thought everything was for the taking, even in Gotham City, and Talons are among them (or against). Also, a special issue of Batman & Robin (without the dynamic duo) explores the history of the Court of Owls.

Batman The Court of Owls Reading Order

Last seen as the end of the Night of Owls event, Lincoln March is back for the conclusion of the Batman Eternal series. Really the end, the last issue:

The Court of Owls briefly came back in Batman during the Endgame storyline (optional):

Robin War

Robin War brings together the Dark Knight’s sidekicks—past and present—in an all-out war as the Court of Owls makes their move on Gotham! More details with the reading order of the event.

  • Robin War
    Collects Robin War #1-2, Robin: Son Of Batman #7, Grayson #15, Detective Comics #47, We Are Robin #7, Gotham Academy #13, Red Hood/Arsenal #7 and Teen Titans #15.

The Court of Owls briefly came back in Batman during the Epilogue, for just three pages (really optional):

Batman The Court of Owls Reading Order

We entered the Rebirth era with the return of the Court of Owls in the Nightwing series – except it’s the Parliament of Owls now.

Then Green Arrow came to Gotham City for a special “hunt” that involved the Owls in:

During the Dark Nights: Metal storyline, Scott Snyder rewrote some elements of the Court of Owls story (making them a cult that worshiped Barbatos). We can see the Owls during the event, you’ll find a complete reading order here. For our present subject, all you’ll need is:

  • Dark Days: The Road to Metal
    Collects Dark Days: The Forge #1 and Dark Days: The Casting #1, as well as classic DC stories that built the foundations of Metal, including Final Crisis #6-7, Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne #1, Batman #38-39, Nightwing #17 and more.
  • Dark Nights: Metal
    Collects Dark Nights: Metal #1-6, and Dark Knights Rising: The Wild Hunt #1 and Batman Lost #1.

In Nightwing again, Dick Grayson is not the same man as he was before, and the Court of Owls sees an opportunity:

Did I miss some notable appearances of the Court of Owls? Leave a comment.

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