The iconic DC and Image Comics characters of Batman and Spawn are getting a new crossover at the end of the year, and at a recent panel at this year’s New York Comic Con, Spawn’s creator, Todd McFarlane, spoke on why the mysterious Batman-related group known as the Court of Owls will be part of the story! Let’s just say it wasn’t Todd’s idea, but thanks to a popular Batman artist, the Court is confirmed to make an appearance in all their villainous glory!
Talked about during the Spawn 30th Anniversary Panel at NYCC, Batman/Spawn is written by prolific comic creator Todd McFarlane and drawn by fan-favorite Batman artist Greg Capullo and will mark the third time The Dark Knight and this popular Hellspawn character will cross paths. Arriving in comic shops, digital storefronts, and even Barnes & Noble locations in December, this latest crossover story has been confirmed to not share anything in common with the previous two Batman/Spawn outings but will draw from Greg Capullo and Scott Snyder’s acclaimed Batman run from the New 52 era and beyond, specifically in regard to the Court of Owls.
A shady cabal of uber-rich, extremely sadistic, and super influential individuals that have stalked the shadows of Gotham City from the beginning of its centuries-long history, the Court of Owls premiered just over a decade ago to great fanfare and have put Batman through the wringer more times than once. Now an integral part of the return of this superhero pairing, when the conversation between Todd and Greg eventually turns to the Court, Todd succinctly tells fans, “If you like the Court of Owls, it was Greg’s choice. So if you don’t, it was Greg's choice,” letting slip whose idea it was to add them into the story, to begin with, and further opening up the topic for some interesting thoughts on why this mysterious cult will play an important role in the larger Batman/Spawn story.
The Court of Owl's Batman/Spawn Appearance Explained
Recounting the moment Greg jumped on board the project, Todd says he remembers asking Greg what he wanted to draw, with the Court of Owls being his response. After Todd admits he “didn’t know anything about the Court of Owls at that point” and needed to do his research, Greg says that he thought it would be cool to have one of the Court’s Talons be involved, with one final detail about the Court solidifying their Batman/Spawn appearance: Greg telling Todd they’ve been around for centuries.
Todd then says that with “the Spawns” — a reference to the centuries-long shared lineage that comes with being any number of Hellspawn across the ages — and the evil Court of Priests involved, using the Court of Owls would make it “easy to make this bridge from the one universe to the other universe using the characters that’s there,” as the also centuries-old, time, space, and dimension-hopping Court of Priests can “manifest” themselves on the “DC side” through the Court of Owls, thus folding them into the story effortlessly!
So while Todd McFarlane may not have had the idea for (or even known about) these conniving Bat-villains before enlisting the skills of Greg Capullo, knowing the Court is poised to be a huge threat to our dueling heroes before this book hits store shelves in December is a fun tidbit of nerd knowledge to know. Batman and Spawn are about to duke it out one more time but to defeat the Court of Owls, they’ll need to put their differences aside and fight for the greater good together.
Source: Spawn 30th Anniversary Panel