Warning! This post contains SPOILERS for Gotham Knights episodes 1-4The CW's new Gotham Knights show prominently features the Court of Owls as the main villains, but they have a few key differences from their comic counterparts. Taking place after the murder of Batman, Bruce Wayne's adopted son Turner Hayes (Oscar Morgan) finds himself targeted as a suspect along with a trio of teenage rouges who've been framed as well. However, the Court of Owls is quickly revealed to be the true orchestrators behind the murder, the shadowy cabal of Gotham's rich and elite with origins dating back to the foundations of the city itself.
Desperate to clear their names, Turner joins Harper and Cullen Row (Fallon Smythe and Tyler DiChiara), along with Duela, aka the Joker's Daughter (Olivia Rose Keegan). Together with Stephanie Brown and one of Batman's Robin Carrie Kelley (Anna Lore and Navia Ziraili Robinson), the titular Gotham Knights have begun to uncover the secrets of the Court as they continue to target anyone who stands in their way. Despite the new timeline that's been created for Gotham Knights, which has been remixing and adding several new elements to the Batman mythos, the Court of Owls only has a few notable differences between their depiction on the CW and in the comics.
Gotham Knights’ Court of Owls Kills Batman
Beginning with Gotham Knights' pilot episode, it's revealed that Batman has been murdered, and the Court of Owls are the primary suspects by the premiere's ending. Likewise, their role in Bruce Wayne's death is further evidenced by Gotham Knights episode 4. While the exact murderer has yet to be revealed, the Court's involvement has been confirmed. Having something to do with a recent change in Wayne's will, which the Court didn't want happening, the villains have gone to great lengths to cover it up via Batman's murder and pinning it on Turner and his fellow fugitives.
While the Court of Owls has tried to kill Batman in the past, they've obviously never succeeded in the comics, making his murder in Gotham Knights the first true deviation in their CW depiction. However, their first appearance in the comics did coincide with Wayne wanting to renovate massive parts of Gotham's infrastructure, something the Court was actively against due to their lairs secretly embedded within the architecture of Gotham itself. Perhaps Wayne had something similar in mind by changing his will, an act that would have similarly made the Court reveal themselves as a true threat behind the myths and old nursery rhyme as they did in the comics.
The Court of Owls Uses Actual Coins
In the comics, the Court of Owls utilizes a rare metal known as electrum to reanimate their assassins known as the Talons, allowing them to serve as immortal puppets for decades or centuries. As such, each Talon typically has a false tooth with the rare metal embedded within and stamped with the image of an owl. Inspired by ancient Athenian Owl coins given to the dead so they might pass into the Underworld, Gotham Knights sees the Court using real coins, leaving them behind after a Talon is dispatched to kill a target. Both Batman and Mayor Hamilton Hill were left with coins after they were killed.
While the still-living mayoral candidate Lincoln March was also given a coin, this may be a ruse to divert suspicions. After all, March was a pawn of the Court of Owls in the original comics, as they wanted March in power to control the political landscape. However, March ended up becoming more of a problem for the Court than he was worth, convinced that he was Bruce Wayne's secret younger brother Thomas Wayne Jr. (though the truth about March has never been confirmed). As such, it will be interesting to see if Gotham Knights will pick up this mystery about March in the episodes to come.
The Talons’ Weapons Are Far More Deadly
During the Gotham Knights' investigation into the Talons, their examination of one of the assassins' knives revealed that they left behind distinct cuts on the bodies of their victims. Likewise, they also discovered that the blades are dipped in some sort of hallucinogenic agent, causing their targets to become delirious and manic just before their deaths. Although making their victims look as though they'd lost their mental fortitude was a darkly clever way to keep their actions hidden and maintain their anonymity as nothing more than a myth, the comics' Court of Owls took a different approach compared to these deadly blades.
When Batman first found himself in the clutches of the Court in the comics, he was dumped in a massive underground labyrinth beneath Gotham. Trapped for days with no clear way out, Batman was eventually forced to drink from a fountain at the maze's center like many of the Court's victims before him. However, the water was laced with drugs which similarity made him hallucinate, becoming increasingly unhinged. While he was meant to be judged by the Court and executed by their Talon, Batman managed to escape despite his wounds and compromised psyche. It was a harrowing experience that truly began Batman's ongoing war with the Court of Owls.
Cressida Clarke Was Never Batman’s Alfred Replacement
As revealed in this new continuity for the CW's Gotham Knights, Cressida Clarke became Bruce Wayne's attaché after Alfred presumably passed away, helping manage Wayne's personal life as well as Turner's. However, Cressida was revealed in Gotham Knights episode 4 to be an agent of the Court, having slipped poison into Bruce's food for days before his actual murder as a means of making him vulnerable. While the comics' version of Cressida is indeed an agent of the Court of Owls, she's never been connected to Bruce Wayne or his estate, making her role in Gotham Knights a brand-new addition created solely for the show.
Despite these aforementioned differences, the Court of Owls and their history are quite accurate to the comics. They're comprised of the rich elite, and Lincoln March is likely their pawn (or soon will be). Just like in the comics, they killed Batman's great-great-grandfather Alan Wayne who helped build Gotham as an architect, and they've reanimated their 100-year-old Talon from the dead, whose identity is from the comics: Felix Harmon, aka the Gotham Butcher. As such, it will be interesting to see what else from the Court of Owls' history is revealed as Gotham Knights continues.
Gotham Knights releases new episodes Tuesdays on the CW.
