Batman & Robin #9: More Night of the Owls

[aeka]

I can't say I cared too much for this issue to be honest, but it did have its moments.

Comments

[shadowpsykie]

hmmm this kill... i think its justified....

[darkknightjrk]

Hell, these guys are basically higher-functioning zombies--all the Bat-Fam's been using some extreme measures on them.

[lascoden]

I would not be surprised if he came back if they put the head back on. Also, do zombies fall under the "no-killing" policy?

[md84]

Batman did kill Dracula once. If vampires are fair game, zombies definitely are.

[arxh]

and more recently the whole Black Lantern mess had Dick and Damian using flamethrowers on the resurrected heroes.

[mrstatham]

Given a large portion of the Talons are, as everyone's pointing out, over a hundred years old and effectively dead anyway, I'd say this was more Damian putting the guy out of his misery.

[darkknightjrk]

Devoting a whole two-page spread to that whole land thing was a little tedious, but Damian playing baby general was hella fun. :D

[maxisanacorn]

AHHH I missed Lee Garbett Damian! He draws him great!

[jlbarnett]

the whole thing is pretty ridiculous to me. This is a city in the USA. It can't be conquered or anything like that and limiting their dealings to a single city makes them weak.

[lascoden]

They may be happy with just the one city. They've been there since it was founded, so they may see it as their "nest", with no need to venture out. But, I think they are desperate. They are close to losing their grip on the city. So, it seems their plan is essentially:
1. Wreck shit up
2. Hide for awhile
3. Pick up the pieces

[atom_punk]

That does seem to be their overall MO through the years.

As the historical flashbacks show, they kill people who are of interest or a threat and send agents to claim whatever resources they want.

So presumably the Court intends to wipe out all these people crucial to Gotham's functioning (Mayor, DA, military and civil leaders, etc) and replace them with puppets under their control, essentially putting Gotham firmly beneath their heel. Even if Batman escapes death, the Court will be firmly entrenched in Gotham, possibly beyond recovery.

At the same time, presumably an outsider or someone at the state or federal level might be convinced the murders are the usual Gotham madness and not investigate a possible conspiracy involving the replacements for these leaders.

An interesting idea of the city coming alive and two parties fighting for control of its heart.

[md84]

It's kind of awesome that Bruce -- in and out of the cowl -- has basically been a huge spanner in the Court of Owl's centuries long plans without even being aware of their existence until recently.

[icon_uk]

Isn't that how most gangs and drug operations work? Using a single locale where control can be maintained absolutely? Expansion can be dilution.

[jlbarnett]

actually not really. I mean street gangs sure. But drug gangs spread all over. THe US is cvurrently having problem with a Columbian gang called MS13

[big_daddy_d]

I actually really liked this issue and loved seeing Damian take leadership and kick ass!

[crinos]

My how times had changed.

Last time Damien decapitated someone, it was a d list villain who was largely harmless and all were up in arms.

Now he decapitates a zombie ninja assassin and its awesome.

Glad Damien grew into his own. Very nice.

[icon_uk]

I like how the head on the branch appears to be an owl sitting in the tree.

[md84]

So he not only somehow fails to kill a little kid, said kid ends up being adopted into another family and his descendant ends up being a problem for the Court anyway. That is just so many levels of failure right there.

And why did he even bother giving that monologue anyway? If you're going to kill someone, just do it and be done with it.

[atom_punk]

Pretty sure the process of bringing Talons back to life as zombie-warriors would mess with their brains and re-prioritize "evil monologue" above "get the job done"

[eyz]

Awww...that's a big regression on Damian's development.....apart if you count those Owls as basically zombies.

Batman. Has. No. Problem. Killing zombies!!

[damar148]

"So this guy will sacrifice himself for his country in exchange for some land. Good, we'll kill his entire family so we can buy the property for ourselves...in the unlikely case of an colonial victory."

The Court of Owls are dicks.

[atom_punk]

Well the Court does seem to take elements from the Illuminati and the idea of inherent nobility, i.e. "We are noble, thus by virtue of being noble anything we do is also noble and right, and screw you if you disagree" and so they feel perfectly justified in doing whatever they want to Gotham and killing opponents.

Makes sense they'd oppose the American Revolution and its principles that all men deserve equal rights and the right to self-determinate.

"in the unlikely case of an colonial victory"

To be fair, the nascent USA winning the War of Independence was an unexpected event. This was a small cluster of colonies fighting a global power and managing to achieve victory, something never seen in history at the time

[kraesil]

Court of Owls has been good so far.

[sherkahn]

You need to burn the body, Damian.

the DCnU US military would love to get their hands on this kind of tech.

[daningram.insanejournal.com]

Ya know, given the Talon's ability to think, plan, hold grudges, carry on conversations and carry out missions, I am utterly baffled as to how anyone would consider them 'dead' to begin with.