The upcoming Batman title Gotham Knights is set in a version of Gotham where two of the franchise's most iconic faces, Jim Gordon and Batman himself, are already dead. In their place, Nightwing, Batgirl, Robin, and Red Hood must step up to the plate and defend Gotham from a variety of well-known threats - and one that's determined to stay secret. The Court of Owls may not be the most famous Batman villains, but a hidden conspiracy will see them take center stage as the main antagonists of Gotham Knights.
Introduced in 2011 as part of the New 52 DC Universe reboot, the Court of Owls is a secret society that has been manipulating Gotham for centuries. In the original The Court of Owls and Night of the Owls comic story arcs, Batman was pitted directly against the Court of Owls and barely survived, particularly once it sent out its Talons - deadly reanimated assassins with superhuman abilities. Fans may wonder exactly how Batman's four apprentices are meant to take down the conspiracy without him, especially since the Court of Owls may be responsible for his untimely demise.
In a video titled "Gotham Knights - Court of Owls: Behind The Scenes," comic book creators Scott Snyder, Greg Capullo, and Jim Lee discussed how the developers expanded and elevated their original concept. The Court of Owls was originally designed to make Bruce Wayne feel like he no longer knew Gotham. After Batman's death in Gotham Knights, the new rendition of the storyline will be significantly extending the role of the Court of Owls. Gotham Knights creative director Patrick Redding added that the Talons have been designed with wildly different move sets, forcing players to adapt in order to be effective against them.
The official Gotham Knights Court of Owls story trailer sees established villain the Penguin explain the Court of Owls' presence to the player characters, with Nightwing commenting that the Court of Owls is just a myth. Fans of the original storyline may find this ironic, as a major plot point in the comics was Dick Grayson having been slated to be abducted and transformed into a Talon before Bruce Wayne adopted him. The video shows off several ominously masked Talons as well as sequences of the Bat family exploring ornate, dungeon-like locations full of traps.
Once one of the traps is triggered, things rapidly spiral out of control as the Talons converge on the heroes. All of this happens while a lilting nursery tune is sung in the background. The trailer shows some of the Talons running on all fours in an animalistic manner, which ensures they don't move like humans. Also shown is a glimpse of a member of the Court of Owls, complete with a smart suit and an uncanny owl face mask.
Gotham Knights releases in 2022 on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.