It is finally Bat week and I’m super hyped. I just have to say, how cool would it be to see the Court of Owls as the villains for the sequel? I know, that’s kind of getting ahead of myself, but I think we know The Batman will succeed at the box office. Warner Bros. has already green lighted more spin-offs, including the Penguin show and the one centered around Gotham P.D., so this sounds like a separate Bat Universe. Think of it as an adjacent universe right next to the DC Cinematic Universe. Hey, if Marvel can do the whole multiverse thing, then why can’t DC do the same? I am confident The Batman can build itself into a bigger universe and if it does, then Batman has to fight bigger enemies. The best villains I can think of are the Court of Owls, the infamous secret criminal syndicate created by Scott Snyder. Robert Pattinson has recently expressed interest in bringing these villains to fight Batman for a sequel. He has the right idea and Matt Reeves is entertaining the idea. For the first Batman movie, it only makes sense that he would use the more classic villains. But if The Batman exceeds expectations, then he’ll have every reason to go bigger. Sure, he can have his Batman fight more classic villains, but I think we need to see villains that we haven’t seen before in the live-action movies. That is still a rather lengthy list, but based on the tone Matt Reeves is going for, I do believe that the Court of Owls will fit for his version of Gotham City. Let’s just observe what we have seen in the trailers for The Batman. Matt Reeves is emphasizing on the classic crime noir tone that makes Batman the Batman. It’s also what makes Gotham City that cesspool of crime and corruption that really puts the Detective in Detective Comics.
The Batman seems to be focusing on the deep corruption that is plaguing Gotham City. In fact, it looks like that is the primary motivation behind the Riddler’s actions. Watch all the trailers and you’ll see and hear the Riddler target Gotham’s wealthiest elite figures, including Bruce Wayne. There’s even a line of dialogue where he tells Bruce that he has to pay for the sins of his father. Whoa, now things are getting deep. Was Bruce’s father actually a part of the corruption that has made Gotham suffer for so long? I don’t know about you other Batman fans out there, but I’m getting some Telltale vibes here. In that game’s story, it was revealed that Thomas Wayne was actually a member of ring of corrupt Gotham elites. Since he was a doctor and in charge of Arkham Asylum, he would often commit innocent people where they would lose their minds. The Telltale games made a bold move by making Thomas Wayne a bad guy and I think Matt Reeves has done the same. That could be the sole motivation behind the Riddler’s vendetta against Gotham’s wealthy elites, including Bruce Wayne. If my theory is correct, then Gotham’s corruption runs deeper than we think.
What does any of this have to do with the Court of Owls? Well, with their reputation and history of being a secret society, they are the sole architects of the corruption that has plagued Gotham for decades. In fact, they have been around for centuries. Now I’ll be honest, I haven’t kept up with the comics that have pitted Batman against the Court of Owls. I don’t know too much about the lore behind this organization, but I’ve always dug the Talon assassins that have given Batman a run for his money. His first encounter with a Talon assassin gave him more than he could handle and it looked like Batman met his physical match. Batman’s pursuit of Talon led him to a conspiracy that ran deeper than he could possibly imagine. This is what led him to his first encounter with the Court of Owls. Okay, I just have to say, whenever I think of the Court of Owls, I can’t get that image of Bruce Wayne fighting them in his robe out of my head. The Court of Owls sent a group of Talons to kill Bruce Wayne in his own home, where they chased him to the highest level of Wayne Manor. Since Bruce didn’t have time to dress up in his Batsuit, he was forced to fight them barefoot and in his bathrobe. That was just so cool to see and honestly a little funny. Where else would you see Bruce Wayne fighting a group of guys trying to kill him while he’s dressed in his bathrobe? The answer is never.
This is where the Court of Owls can really stand out as villains in a sequel to The Batman. If his vision involves diving deeper into the corruption of the wealthy Gothamites, then the best way to do that is to give us the Court of Owls. Heck, it’s possible that they already exist in this new Bat universe and the Gothamites Riddler is targeting have connections to the organization. That’s just a theory, but I think it’s a plausible. These villains essentially kicked off the beginning of the New 52 era and they have been fan-favorites ever since. We’ve seen the Court of Owls portrayed well in some animated DC movies and they all showed them as the ultimate criminal organization. Unlike crime lords like the Penguin, the members of the Court of Owls operate in secret and play the facade of benevolent philanthropists out in the open. They actually sound like they could try to recruit Bruce Wayne to their organization. That sounds like a great idea for a sequel to The Batman, doesn’t it? If Matt Reeves wants to do something different, then that is the way to go. What are your thoughts, Batman fans? Do you think the Court of Owls will be good villains for a Batman sequel?
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