Comics Review: "Night of the Owls"

Night of the Owls

Batman #8


The night of the owls begins as the talons attack Wayne Manor. It seems that at least a dozen of them flew to the manor, and Bruce was able to hold off many while Alfred fled to the batcave. Bruce soon followed suit, but the owls were already there. Bruce and Alfred retreated to the armory, where Alfred picked up a list of owl targets from a microchip Bruce took from a fallen talon. The list included most prominent Gotham political members. While Bruce reduced the batcave temperature to thwart the regenerative capacity of the talons, he began to fight them in a super bat suit. Meanwhile, Alfred put a call out to all members of the bat family: Robin, Tim Drake, Red Hood, Nightwing, Batgirl, and the Birds of Prey. Let the crossover begin!

 

Nightwing #8

The call goes out to Nightwing, as he's investigating his own mysterious murder. Nightwing rushes to Mayor Hady's office, and is able to defeat some of the talons, although a few casualties are suffered. The best part is a recap of someone born in 1901, a poor child who through his juggling skill became a child of Gotham, eventually a talon.... and is now an ancestor of Dick, at the mayor's office, trying to kill him. Very well done, and an excellent start to the NOTO crossover!

 

Batwing #9

Batwing is not a character that I have heard of, so it was interesting reading a crossover NOTO story with him in. A very quick wiki skim told me that Batwing is a suit, worn by this guy from Africa. Lucius Fox and some other guy named Matu were also prominent in this story. Basically, Lucius was helping the other two work on improvements t the Batwing suit, as they are all part of Batman Inc., and afterwards they go to this fancy gala dinner. Unfortunately, the court decides to attack, and a talon is there to kill Lucius. A flashback at the start showed us the late 19th-century court deciding what to do with a particularly animalistic talon.... was this him? The talon was brutal, but after an extended fight, Nightwing was able to defeat him. Overall, this story didn't really add much to the general NOTO story thus far. But I think that's what NOTO is.... the story of how various members of the bat family attempt to fight the owl attack. I like that we actually get to see all these various attacks and who's actually fighting them. I am really looking forward to the next "Batman" book, though, as I think that's where the main storyline is going to develop, given that it set the groundwork for this whole crossover. I also like how snippets of Alfred's call for help are seen in the crossover books. Good stuff thus far.

 

Detective Comics #9

Arkham Asylum is the setting for the next chapter of NOTO. We hear the story told mostly from the viewpoint of Dr. Arkham, who feels pleasure and purpose in trying to rehabilitate criminals, including Clayface and Black Mask. This is, of course, why the court intends to kill him. While Arkham is taking to a rehabilitating Black Mask, the talons attack. Batman arrives in time to hold them off, but in despair, Arkham tells Black Mask to become his old self, and vows to follow him. The inmates of the asylum are let loose to fight the talons in a huge riot, while Batman attempts to flee, but is stopped by Black Mask in the process. Batman doesn't succumb to his mind control and easily defeats him, however. Then, Batman grabs Arkham and leaves in the batmobile, calling out to Nightwing in the meantime. Batman intends to drop Arkham off with Nightwing and track down Lincoln March, apparently to be continued in the next issues of "Batman" and "Birds of Prey." This was a nicely drawn story, and I liked that we not only got to see Arkham, but it's architect as well. Dr. Arkham seems to be an interesting character, so I hope we get to see more of him both in NOTO and afterwards. Cameos from some of the lesser known or the rogues gallery was also a plus.

 

Batman #9

The story continues in the batcave, as Batman fights off the talons, as the temperature in the cave continues to pop. Eventually, the temperature gets so low, the bats come out of their caves. Snyder gives us a nice aside about how the oldest Wayne's who lived in the mansion used owls to hunt down the bat infestations, but the bats only returned with a vengeance as the owls left. After the talons are defeated, with some help from the dinosaur, Batman gets an updated list from Alfred, showing the two targets left to save: Lincoln March and Dr. Arkham. Batman goes to Arkham first, which we saw already, and then he continues to look for March. Unfortunately, he's too late, but March h a parting gift for Bruce Wayne: a list of three likely members of the court. Batman now intends to hunt them down.

 

We also got a treat, part one of Jarvis's account of the fall of the house of Wayne. Odd name choice, given Stark's butler's name. Jarvis is Alfred's father, and served a young Bruce and his parents. Alfred was due to serve him next, but Jarvis learned that the Wayne grounds are cursed. The owls are seemingly after him. Martha, Bruce's mom, didn't like the corruption of Gotham, so decided to relocate. Somehow, Jarvis did something to mess something up, which I assume we will find out soon.

 

Batgirl #9

The batgirl portion of the story starts as a flashback to ancient Japan, as a girl writes to her family about making bomb balloons, and the great honor associated with it. Fast forward a few months, and the same girl is working in Haly's circus and adopted by the talons. In the present, a similar bomb goes off, and Batgirl goes to the scene to find a female talon, who she fights for a while before the talon flees. Meanwhile, the court finds Gordon, and tells him not to intervene, or Barbara dies. So, he doesn't intervene as various crossovers to come are reported to him, including fights with Robin and Red Hood. When he defies the court and tries to call Barbara, the court detonates a bunch of bombs in response. Barbara makes her way there, and then hears Alfred's call. She encounters the talon again, and sends her into one of the bombs, defeating her for now. Meanwhile, Gordon again defies the court and tries to turn on the bat signal, only to have a huge owl signal projected. The court figured the best way to have Gordon do their bidding was by telling him not to. Meanwhile, the talon, who's tongue has been cut out, writes something to Barbara when she asks why the talon didn't just kill her in their fist battle. She writes something like "I hav mask 2 I understand." Unfortunately, I don't quite understand what they meant. Overall, a solid entry into the NOTO story. I le how we get flashbacks for the talons, so they're not just bland enemies.

 

Batman & Robin #9

Robin answers the call of Alfred, and heads to save a military general who is conducting training exercises. The soldiers are very hesitant to follow Damien, but they eventually just do after realizing he knows what he's talking about. The threat? A talon who, many years ago, had to kill someone to get their land for the court. The general is a descendent, although he didn't know because he was adopted after his family was killed. The talon is here to kill him and obtain rights to that land. Thankfully, Robin eventually cuts his head off. This issue was perhaps the weakest of the NOTO crossovers thus far, because it didn't really highlight the personal story of the talon involved. Not a bad story, but nothing overly special either.

 

Birds of Prey #9

Next up are the Birds of Prey, consisting of Black Canary (with a voice that kills, although thankfully she can talk unlike Black Bolt), Sterling the spy, Katana with the magic sword, Batgirl, and Poison Ivy. The birds get the call, and attack the talon. It's not clear who this talons is (except that he's old) nor who his target is. So the issue really becomes a big fight a la AVX: VS, and the birds eventually send him into a train freezer cart to chill out. This was also a weaker issue compared to some others, for it's lack of any story to add to the NOTO crossover. Nice artwork, though.

 

Catwoman #9

Selina Kyle takes center stage as she and a partner, Spark, attempt to rob Penguin of A ancient knife. Turns out that knife belonged to a talon from the 17th century, whose focus on honor caused him to lose a knife, and be shamed by the court before being put to sleep. Newly awakened now, he was assigned to kill Penguin, and to his surprise, he found his knife there as he almost offed Cobblepot. Catwoman and Spark noticed, and fight off the talon. Eventually, Penguin is able to shoot the talon in the head and end the battle. Catwoman leaves the talon with the knife, saying that even villains deserve mercy, something she understands from her own life.

 

Nightwing #9

The story of the Grayson legacy continues as we get more flashbacks into this William Cobb's past. Turns out he continued to court Amelia and even got her pregnant,nut was rejected by her father. Rejected and sad, he joined the court, and after a tough hazing ritual involving months of starvation, he became the best talon of them all. To ensure his legacy, he went back to Amelia's home, stole his son, and had him raised in Haly's circus as a grey son of Gotham (get it?). And now, he is disappointed with his descendent, Dick. They continue to fight, with Dick nearly destroyed. However, he leads his great-grandfather into the sewers, where liquid nitrogen flows in the pipes, and uses the cold to defeat him. Outside of the "Batman" series, this remains the best of NOTO, really fleshing out this talon's story.

 

Red Hood and the Outlaws #9

Red Hood and his allies, a fire-wielding galactic princess and a Hawkeye clone, are next up in the fight against the court. They are hanging out in Chinatown when they receive the call, and decide to help save Mr. Freeze from being assassinated by a talon. Mr. Freeze doesn't want their help, but in the ensuing scuffle, the talon flees. While the two allies fight Freeze, Jason goes after the talon. The talon leads him to Haly's circus, and after realizing that the talon was likely an acrobat, Jason commiserates with him regarding being dead and brought back. The talon says he wants to end life on his terms, and allows Jason to kill him. Meanwhile, Mr. Freeze is apprehended by an electrical arrow, and Jason delivers him to the GCPD. We see what happened to Batgirl, as she dragged her talon to the rooftop as well, changed the owlsignal back to the batsignal, and patiently waits for Batman's safe return. She was about to go all feisty on Jason, but Jason said he did a good deed for once, and left. This was an excellent chapter of NOTO, showing a talon who actually regret and a change of heart, and also showcasing Mr. Freeze. Good stuff.

 

All-Star Western #9

Is Jonah Hex time, as we get a blast from the past, owl style. Or not. I felt completely lost in this book. I didn't really know any of the characters, and the book didn't give a good job of subtly introducing them to new readers. Which is fine, since it's issue 9, but it doesn't mesh well with the rest of the NOTO books. There was a talon attack, and Hex made the talon flee. There was also some battle against some gang, and some hullabaloo at the Wayne Casino in Gotham, but overall the story seemed sorta lame. A side story dealt with Cinnamon getting revenge for her father's death with the assistance of her partner and lover, Nighthawk. Overall, a weird part of NOTO, and probably would've been better if not included.

 

Batman: The Dark Knight #9

This issue picks up where "Batman" #9 left off, with the death of Lincoln March. It's told from the point of view of Alton, the talon who killed March. We learn that Alton was chosen as a talon through a trial by fire at the circus, and became one of the best talons. However, he got rusty with old age, and was told that he was being considered for retirement. So, he went to see his possible successor, none other than Dick Grayson. After another slip up, including an encounter with Batman, he was out to sleep, only to wake to kill March. Which he did, but March shot him, and he died, but reawaken to find Batman there. They fought, but Batman threw him it a window into the sewers, where he survived. There's a super brief cameo from Tim Drake as well.... odd considering he's gracing the cover. And if Batman encountered a talon in the past, wouldn't he remember? A bit weird. Overall, a pretty decent story, and I liked how they focused on Alton's backstory. Now, onto the last few issues of the arc, all from Snyder in "Batman."

 

Batman Annual #1

Mr. Freeze is now in Arkham, following his defeat at the hands of Red Hood. But he has a plan for escape, messing with the wiring and escaping to find Penguin to get his guns back. Next, he plans to go to Wayne Labs and pick up his wife and leave. Robin and Nighwing fail to stop him, but Batman is able to defeat him and send him back to Arkham, using the talon formula that heats up your body temperature. Freeze helped design the talon formula, the culmination of ongoing work since Wayne returned om abroad 6 years before. Through flashbacks, we learn that Wayne tried to stop Freeze's research, but Freeze was so dedicated to saving his wife, he tried to go against Wayne, and ended up in a cryogenic accident in the process, becoming Mr. Freeze. Why not Dr. Freeze, since he has a doctorate? We later learn that Nora isn't actually his wife, but one of the earliest cryogenic patients who Freeze wrote his thesis on, making him a bit deluded. We also get two flashbacks regarding his mother. She fell in the ice and was saved but injured, and some time later, Freeze inexplicably throws her back into the ice, seemingly to die. Odd. Many reviews online seem to be mixed on this issue, since it heavily changed key aspects of Freeze's origins for his new continuity. Regardless, it was a good issue. No direct involvement with the owls, but the elements already in play, such as the talon formula, play a role here, making it a nice aside story.

 

Batman #10

A huge revelation in the story finally arrives, as Bruce hunts down the court. Eventually finding his way back to the abandoned house he was trapped in as a child, Bruce sees that a large number of the court apparently killed themselves. But he knows there's something more behind this. Only after looking at a picture of his parents, and noticing a pin that the late Lincoln March mentioned in recounting his parent's death, did he realize the truth. So, he followed Lincoln's clues to an old children's hospital, where he encounters Lincoln. Lincoln reveals that he was left here as a child, before he was taken by the court to be molded into a political candidate. And, his real name is Thomas Wayne, Jr. Thomas then puts on a newly designed talon suit, and charges at his brother.

 

In the continuing story of Alfred's dad, we learn that while Mrs. Wayne was pregnant with Thomas Jr., the owls were on their case. Jarvis received a call asking him to bring Mrs. Wayne to an abandoned docking bay, but he refused. Instead, they were going to see the new grounds for a school Mrs. Wayne was building for the underprivileged, on the corner of Lincoln and March....

 

Batman #11

The court of owls reaches it's epic finale! Batman and Thomas duke it out, until Batman is captured, and Thomas gives him a flying tour of the city, the way he saw it as a child. A mirrored view from what Bruce had. Then, he tried to kill Bruce on an airplane, but Bruce blew Thomas up, and landed in his new tower in Gotham. Unfortunately, Thomas survived, and tried to kill Bruce again, but in the subsequent explosion, the entire tower fell to the ground. No body was found, by authorities or by Batman. Bruce then reflects with Dick, about how he looked into old records, and he did have a brother, but that baby died in less than a day. Was Lincoln March his brother? Or did he court use the existing evidence to make up a compelling lie? Either way, the court still lives, and March likely does as well. Batman vows to keep watching, to keep an eye out for the court and for his possibly real brother.

 

The last part of the fall of the house of Wayne details Jarvis's last days. Mrs. Wayne lost the baby, and Jarvis, for failing to comply with orders, had himself on the owl hit list. They came for him, and Jarvis sent a letter of warning to Alfred just in time. It's not clear if Alfred ever got it, though. Either way, the talon kills Jarvis. We then see Alfred and Bruce at Jarvis's grave. While Bruce says he needs answers as to Lincoln's claims, Alfred says he is content with leaving the past, as he knows it, undisturbed. Overall, a good conclusion. The ties to earlier things, like "Gotham is," and the old Wayne Tower, were excellent. The personal connection to Bruce was good. And the court still lives, so it not a end-all ending.

 

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