Batman (The New 52!) # 11

By Mark Rodriguez

Batman goes after the Court of Owls and finds they have all taken their own lives by poison. He discovers that Lincoln March was one of them and has betrayed them for his own ends. He took the same serum that the Talons take to survive his death and now suits up as Owlman. The biggest shocker was the revelation that Owlman is Thomas Wayne Jr, the brother Bruce never knew!

Some movie promotion here. I did get to see the midnight premiere of The Dark Knight Rises with Johnny, Moore and Pikachika. It was interesting to look back and remember that in the comics Batman was dealing with the Court of Owls at the time the movie was released. 

Batman # 11 hits the ground running with ‘My Brother’s Keeper’ as Batman and Owlman duke it out. Thomas compares their fight to the stories of other brothers and claims Bruce was greedy and took Gotham, leaving him behind to rot.

Owlman knocks Batman through the wall and out the building, but Bats shoots a grappling line around his neck to take him down with him. However, Thomas’ suit can fly, so he instead takes Batman throughout the part of Gotham that he grew up with.

Thomas monologues about the hell he lived when he grew up in Willowwood and the Owls took him in, as he smashes Batman against a building and then against a bell tower. He then flies near a plane and lets Batman go so he can be shredded into the propellers. Batman holds onto the wing with all he has as Thomas taunts him.

However, during their fight, Batman planted a bomb on Owlman’s back that blows up. With him gone, Batman flips back on top of the wing and out of harm’s way, but he is too tired to hang on and falls off. As he gazes at the city below him, Batman remembers he still has work to do and tosses a batrope. He hangs on as the rope grapples to the top of a building and swings Batman through a window and inside. Owlman however, is still up and about and he grabs Batman. 

Thomas tosses a bomb against the wall and waits for it kill them both, knowing that he can come back to life thanks to the Talon Serum. As he waits for it to go off, Thomas tells Bruce that he was ready to take the city as Thomas Wayne Jr, during the time that Bruce vanished to train around the world and become Batman. When Bruce came back, the plan was ruined, so the Owls set him up as Lincoln March instead.

As the bomb goes off and the building starts to go up in flames, Thomas says if he can’t be Gotham’s future, he will be its history. Bats agrees and pokes Owlman’s eyes, taking the chance to escape down an elevator shaft. The building explodes and is completely demolished. Bats narrates that after searching later on, no bodies were ever found.

At the Wayne Manor, Dick visits Bruce, eager to punch him as payback for the punch he got earlier. They discuss March’s story and say that his mother did lose a child during a car crash when she was still pregnant with a second child. However the child did die that day. However, a week later an unnamed child was admitted into Willowwood a week later, and Martha Wayne did visit that hospital often as well as other charities. The Owls could have used this information to build up this kid to be Thomas Wayne Jr/Lincoln March. The Court of Owls is still out there, and their resources are massive, but they did teach Bruce that Gotham doesn’t belong to Batman, but to everyone. Either way, whenever they return, Batman will be ready to take them down.

My Opinions-

This was quite the unexpected conclusion, mostly dealing with a final battle against a rogue member of the Owls instead of the true head of the organization. This introduces Batman to the Court of Owls, a secret society that even he never knew about. In the end, Batman never did take them, as they are still out there, hidden in the shadows. I loved the thrill ride, with the highlights being Batman's ordeal with the maze and the Night of Owls crossovers into the other comics. I might have missed the other stories the first time around (I was only collecting the main Batman books, Catwoman and Batgirl at the time and didn't want to buy the others), but thanks to getting the Night of the Owls TPB, I was able to get them all. I did enjoy the Nightwing and Red Hood comics.

Thomas Wayne Jr is an interesting character with his backstory that is still unclear whether it is true or not. His very existence marks a stain on Bruce's fond memories of his parents. No one likes finding out their parents were less than perfect. And yes, Thomas Wayne Jr, as well as another Talon, William Cobb will return in future tales. Loved his Owlman costume and he did have a great fight with Batman.

I was also wondering what became of the Court of Owls concept after the New 52 ended, but DC Rebirth apparently still acknowledges their existence. The Court of Owls also appeared in the Gotham tv show. There's also an animated movie called Batman VS Robin which is a bit of a mishmash of several things, but it does introduce the Court of Owls, features Batman in the maze and also has a Talon basically take the role of Nobody from the Batman and Robin comic series as he tries to get Damian to join him and start killing again. 

The next issue is kinda like the epilogue as it finally answers the question of who was this girl that rescued Batman, that seemed to be someone he already knew.