For those unfamiliar with the Court of Owls, it’s basically the Illuminati of Gotham. It’s a secret society that has influenced, controlled, and effectively ruled the city for centuries, composed of wealthy families and “Talons,” assassins trained from childhood. In one comic run, Bruce Wayne because its target, which would ostensibly be what Batman: Arkham Legacy is about. As with all rumors, though, it should be taken with a grain of salt, but there is a little proof indicating this to be the next Batman title.

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Back in September 2019, WB Games Montreal sent out a mysterious tweet (despite being completely incognitio online for four years) that showed a white symbol transitioning between six unknown logos. These are likely to be connected to the Court of Owls, as there is also the phrase “Capture the Knight,” but who exactly are the members of the Court of Owls?

 

High Ranking Court of Owl Members

The Court of Owls has a long history with Gotham City, dating back to the 1600s before it was even a full-fledged city, and has quite a few notable members throughout that time. The most prominent, well-known, and highest ranking members of the Court of Owls include R.H. Orchard, Maria Powers, Thurston Moody, Sebastian Clark, John Wycliffe, and Lincoln March.

Orchard built a hotel in 1893 and notably turned his son into a Talon for running away and joining the circus, Powers is the wife of Joseph Powers, another hotel owner. Moody was a wealthy Gotham citizen in the 1800s who used kidnapped children as slaves. Wycliffe is the descendant of an original Gotham charter signer who once ruled as Grandmaster of the Court before being killed by the former Grandmaster, Sebastian Clark, who is perhaps the most well-known member of the order. Sebastian Clark’s father tried to blow the whistle, with Sebastian holding the only written copy of his book detailing the Court. He tried to take Gotham City with the help of Bane, but ended up in Blackgate Prison.

While these figures could appear in the game, the likeliest to is Lincoln March who claims to actually be Thomas Wayne Jr., Bruce Wayne’s brother. As it turns out, Batman indeed had a brother who was born prematurely at the intersection of Lincoln and March but only lived for 12 hours. Then, weeks later, a child matching his deceased brother’s description turned out at an orphanage and was raised to believe he was Thomas Jr., but Batman could never verify this. Nonetheless, he seemingly concludes that the evidence is circumstantial and believes that his parents would have told him if it were the truth.

Either way, Lincoln March blames their death on Bruce and engages him several times, only to retreat in face of the Bat-Family and various citizens of Gotham. While a pinpoint adaptation cannot be ruled out, it would be interesting to see how this could manifest in the game, seeing as many believe Bruce Wayne is dead at the end of the Arkham series and the whole world, including the Court of Owls, now knows Batman’s identity (they didn’t in the comics, at first).

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The Talons

Talons are deadly assassins bred by and loyal to the Court, remaining in a deep sleep until selected by the Court to fulfill a task. They appear to be unkillable, with the only known way to shut down a Talon is a poison developed by the Court itself. As such, some Talons have been in the service of the Court for quite some time, so here are the known members.

Uriah Boone is the one of the oldest Talons, being active well before Gotham became a true city. In the comics, he once fought Batman in defense of the Court, when he was there seeking answers to Joker. Ephraim Newhouse was a disgrace Talon active in the 1600s who was retired and stripped of his iconic knives, which found their way into the hands of Catwoman. Henry Ballard was a misogynistic Talon who was subdued and defeated by the Bird of Prey. Alexander Staunton was an active Talon in 1856, but he was too sloppy for the Court. His last known mission was to kill Lucius Fox, but it failed. Felix Harmon was a Rogue Talon in the 1860s otherwise known as The Gotham Butcher. He killed 140 civilians, two court members, and set an orphanage on fire, none of which was ordered by the Court. Eventually, he was subdued, reluctantly being returned to service years later to kill Calvin Rose. Xiao Loong was the Talon of the 1890s. James O’Malley, Brandon O’Malley, and Nathaniel O’Malley all became Talons, with Nathaniel refusing to sire an heir in order to end his family’s involvement with the Talons. Nathaniel later turns on the court. William Cobb was born in 1901 and was the Talon sent to assassinate Bruce Wayne in the comic runs, and it also turned out that he was Grayson’s great-grandfather. Jonas was a Talon of the 1920s and was mentally unstable, carving a feather into himself every time he assassinated someone. Benjamin Orchard was turned into a Talon by his father in the 1930s. Mary is the Talon of the 1940s, and when awakened, ends up siding with Batgirl and Catwoman against the Court. Alton Carver is the youngest Talon, becoming one of the best but also one of the sloppiest. Calvin Rose is the only Talon to have ever escaped the Court of Owls.

It stands to reason that some of these Talons appear in the main storyline of the game, should the rumors prove to be true, but it’s uncertain if all of them would be featured to some capacity. They could serve as side missions akin to Batman: Arkham Knight, but that remains to be seen. Either way, facing off with the Court of Owls and its Talons sounds like a fun premise, so hopefully, the rumors are proven to true sooner rather than later.

Batman: Arkham Legacy is rumored to be in development.

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