Batman: The Adventures Continue Season II introduces the Court of Owls’ Talons, giving these undead assassins their most horrific form yet.
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Batman: The Adventures Continue Season II #2, by Alan Burnett, Paul Dini, Ty Templeton, Monica Kubina and Josh Reed, on sale now.
Batman: The Adventures Continue has largely taken advantage of the comic book medium to expand its mythos and introduce several new elements to the DC Animated Universe. Season II of this unique series has introduced the Court of Owls, integrating Gotham’s ancient evil into the world of Batman: The Animated Series. One component of the Court of Owls which is remarkably different in the DCAU, however, is their group of undead assassins, the Talons.
The Court of Owls unleashes their undead army in the pages of Batman: The Adventures Continue Season II #2. Indeed, the Talons are much more like an army here than the individual assassins they usually are. Their creation is also quite intricate. At the beginning of the issue, one of the Court’s Talons arrives with a great deal of equipment, meant to revive the rest of his brethren. As the Talon and his master head beneath City Hall, there lies a horde of Talons, waiting to be revived with a special formula. It’s unclear exactly what’s in the formula that could revive the Talons. Batman does note during his observations, however, that there are chemicals associated with Alchemy and ancient burials found within the Talons’ bodies.
These metaphysical components within the Talons, according to Batman, can’t be analyzed, but they do create zombies like the Talons. This method of creating the Talons is fairly different from the Talons in the mainstream DCU. In 2012’s Batman #7, by Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo, The Dark Knight discovered that the Talons contained a significant amount of the metal Electrum in their bodies. This Electrum acts as a conductor to revive the Talons into undead assassins with healing factors. Interestingly, in the DCAU, Talons appear to have more mystical origins, while the DCU Talons are more scientifically explained. Much like the original Talons, however, the DCAU Talons are also susceptible to cold, which Batman uses to his advantage.
Despite a few important similarities, there are some big differences between the original Talons and the Talons of the DCAU as well. In the mainstream DCU, most Talons retain their speech abilities and mental capacity. Yet the DCAU Talons are more like mindless zombies, with the exception of the first Talon who helped reanimate the others. In this way, the DCAU Talons are more of a mindless army, swarming their enemies relentlessly. When they first emerge, the DCAU Talons are also much more horrifying in appearance than the originals. These Talons don’t wear the typical Talon uniform.
Instead, most of their flesh is exposed, revealing gray, rotten skin and bones, a horrifying sight rendered palpable by the comic’s cartoony art. Outside of a mask and some spare pieces of armor, these Talons are basically zombies. Without much of their armor, the gray, withered bodies of these Talons become quite apparent. Some of the Talons have lost so much flesh that their spines are visible. The Talons’ open, gaping jaws, combined with their zombified appearance makes them a terrifying sight all around. One of the Talons is even seen with a pair of wings, making him appear as a zombified owl.
By combining the unsettling owl aesthetic with zombified bodies, these new versions of the Talons are a sight to behold. The way these Talons attack is quite terrifying as well. In their first fight with Deadman, the Talons swarm him, burning Boston Brand’s spirit to the touch. This overwhelming force is almost too much until Batman arrives.
Overall, the DCAU Talons might not be as skilled or mentally fit as the originals. Even so, the aesthetic and sheer numbers behind this army makes the Talons more terrifying than ever.
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