The Court of Owls by Scott Snyder is one of the best Batman Stories of recent years. It was part of the New 52 publishing initiative, a reboot of DC continuity that was a little controversial with fans, but which did have good stories: the Court of Owls chief amongst them.

It’s basically Batman vs the Illuminati, and it’s amazing. The titular Court of Owls is a secret society of rich people operating behind the scenes to control Gotham (it’s an in-universe Illuminati). They wear owl masks, have gilded ceremonies and use a ninja, the Talon, to assassinate their enemies.

The Court has a centuries-long beef with the Wayne family, and in The Court of Owls comic, Batman (who thought they were a myth) faces off with them as they plot to retake the city. I don’t want to spoil anything else (you should go read it). It’s a good jumping-on point for new comic readers as well.

However, it does create continuity problems for the Batman mythos (partially because it was part of a reboot).

The Falcone Crime Family

There are several versions of the Batman mythology, but the early years of his story tend to involve a struggle with the Falcones.

Prior to Batman, Gotham was controlled by the Mob. The police were corrupt, the mayor was a puppet, and the people lived in poverty. There is mob infighting, chiefly because of the dissident Maroni family. But, generally, no one disputes that Gotham is ruled by the Falcone Crime Family and their leader, Carmine Falcone (known as the Roman).

Then Batman appears.

He teams up with GCPD Lt. James Gordon and Assistant District Attorney Harvey Dent to take down the Falcone mob, and, against all odds, they win.

The Falcone-led mob is beaten and in disarray, Gordon becomes Commissioner, Dent becomes D.A., and it seems like things are going to get better. But it doesn’t last.

The supernatural villains of Gotham (called ‘Freaks’ by the mob) begin to fill the power vacuum, taking over the mob. Worse still, Dent goes insane after having acid thrown in his face by Maroni, becoming the villain Two-Face.

A Continuity Clash

It’s a good story, that’s why there are so many versions (nearly every Batman movie adaptation has focused on it). It’s got heroics, great characters, endless potential, and a tragic end.

But The Court of Owls, which is also a great story, contradicts it.

How can the Falcone family rule Gotham if the Court of Owls rules Gotham behind the scenes? There’s no way for them to coexist without diminishing each other. Either Falcone is a pawn of the Court, or the Court is too weak to take on a gangster.

Gotham isn’t big enough for both of them.

If the mob is just a tool or front for the court, then the mob storyline isn’t that big a deal (and will become annoyingly convoluted). Alternatively, the Court of Owls are a bunch of pushovers who were kept at bay by gangsters, and shouldn’t pose any threat to Batman.

It’s one or the other

It seems we have to choose between the different storylines.

That’s probably fine. There are many versions of the Batman story. Some can use the mob, others can use the Court.

Personally, I’m inclined to choose the Falcone story. The idea of Batman taking on the mob, and the tragic consequences of his success (a dark victory, you might say) is more compelling to me than Batman taking on the Illuminati.

I’m in good company. Nearly every Batman adaptation, continuity and origin story has been about the mob. Though admittedly, the Court was only created in 2011. It’s conceivable that no one has yet gotten around to adapting them.

Still, I am reluctant to dismiss the Court of Owls entirely; it’s a great concept. The Court could also be a foil to Batman in the later stages of his career, once he’s largely dealt with the ‘Freaks’ or when they’re no longer a challenge for him.

A continuity clash or story problem is, itself, an opportunity for storytelling. And the question of whether Gotham is ruled (at the time of Batman’s origin) by the Mob or the Court of Owls sounds like an awesome premise for a comic book.

In other words, DC should make a Falcone mob vs the Court of Owls comic series.

A Rough Outline

There are a few beats that a comic series would need to hit (and I have a lot of thoughts generally).

It should feature a city-wide power struggle between the organisations about ten or twenty years before Batman’s debut, perhaps when Bruce is a kid (before his parents are killed). Although, this might not fit the timeline (unless the power struggle lasts several years).

Falcone would need to be the winner, so he can later go up against Batman, Gordon and Dent. But his victory needs to occur in a way that the Court could bounce back (and then also challenge Batman). There’s a fairly easy way to do this.

For the Mob to win against the Court of Owls (and their expert assassins), the Court needs to have been previously diminished in some way. Fortunately, DC’s ‘New Earth’ continuity has a ready-built explanation for this.

Before Gotham was a haven of crime and hopelessness, it was briefly home to the first Green Lantern, Alan Scott. This Green Lantern was a member of the Justice Society (precursors to the Justice League) that disappeared in the 50s-60s.

My proposed series of events is that, around WW2, the Justice Society encountered and defeated the Court of Owls. The Wayne family then destroyed and buried the remains of the Court, so thoroughly that not even Bruce believed they existed. Unbeknownst to them, however, a small sect survived.

When the Justice Society disappears (with Alan Scott in tow) and Gotham falls into economic depression, gangsters begin taking control. The Court of Owls, still small and diminished, sees an opportunity to retake Gotham. The gangsters refuse to bow before them, and a gang war ensues: a disorganised Mob vs the weak but resurgent Court.

This could serve as Carmine Falcone’s ‘origin story’. He should begin the story as a relatively minor mob boss or, better yet, a lieutenant to some other mob boss. As the story progresses, most of the gang leaders get beaten by the Court (and/or assassinated by the Talon). But not Falcone.

In some Batman continuities, Falcone was injured in a gang war and operated on by Thomas Wayne in the middle of Wayne Manor (with Bruce seeing the whole thing). In this comic, it could be the Court that injured him. Though this isn’t strictly necessary.

Ultimately, Falcone might hire Ra’s Al Ghul’s League of Assassins to deal with the Talon, as I’m not sure how else the mob would deal with Talon. This could be the beginning of Ra’s Al Ghul’s interest in Gotham.

Still, the Mob’s ultimate victory should be due to Falcone (perhaps with some help from his long-time rival Maroni). This would probably involve him going after the Court’s money or identifying individual Court members and blackmailing them. Perhaps he used money stolen from the Court to hire the League.

His victory should be costly; perhaps he loses loved ones, but it will make him the ‘King of Gotham’. Any personal losses can be used to inform his later characterisation. It could also be why he hates the Gotham ‘Freaks’ and actively suppresses them. They remind him of the Court.

Falcone’s eventual downfall and Gotham’s descent into chaos (spurred on by the Freaks) will give the Court another chance to rebuild. This time, they won’t take any chances. They intend to fully recover their strength (and build an army of Talons) before taking on Batman. That can be the in-universe explanation for why they don’t reemerge until relatively late.

Final Thought

In short, my explanation for why Falcone and Court didn’t get in each other’s way is basically that they did. The Justice Society largely destroyed the Court, and, later, Carmine Falcone was able to prevent its resurgence (with some help from the League of Assassins).

This makes Falcone into a much bigger threat/villain. He dealt with the Court, suppressed the Freaks, and conquered Gotham. Naturally, every mob boss assumes he can deal with Batman.

It was only when Falcone left the picture (due to Batman) that the Court fully recovered from its conflict with the Justice Society and confronted Batman.

And I reckon that the Mob-Court conflict, starring Falcone, would make a great comic. It’s basically gangsters taking on the Illuminati!

-Dexter