DC Comic fans are ecstatic over former League of Assassins member, Onyx Adams finally returning to Gotham City after Thirteen years, but is it possible her reappearance could herald the revival of her crime-fighting partner, Orpheus?
Onyx's reappearance in Gotham City via Catwoman #41 (by Tini Howard, Nico Leon, Veronica Gandini, and Tom Napolitano) followed her journey in the aftermath of Shadow War: Alpha #1, trying to help the likes of Catwoman by removing the mob influence of five separate mob families, including the likes of Batman villain Black Mask. Onyx's return to dealing with mob families and gangs is reminiscent of her context during the early 2000s. However back then, she was always fighting alongside Batfamily member Orpheus, the two being their own dynamic duo against crime. Now that Onyx has been restored to her rightful place in the Gotham vigilante hierarchy, after a long absence, DC Comics may see fit to bring back the long-forgotten hero that is Orpheus.
Gavin King, the man who became the vigilante Orpheus, first appeared in his own dedicated five-issue miniseries titled Batman: Orpheus Rising (by Alex Simmons and Dwayne Turner) where he attempts to aid Batman in solving a slew of racially-motivated murders committed by the crime boss 'Rasputin'. During the miniseries, Orpheus garnered the respect of Batman with his arsenal of holographic weaponry and his willingness to die for the cause of justice. He was also officially given Batman's blessing to be the protector of the region of Gotham City known as 'The Hills'.
During the 2004 Batman crossover event Batman: War Games, Onyx and Orpheus aided Batman in maintaining control of Gotham City by founding the 'Hill Gang' to protect the poorer regions of the city from the influence of Gotham's criminal gangs. In Detective Comics #797, the pair would go as far as to stage an assault on the 'Iceberg Lounge', the lair of the Penguin to solidify their gang's power base. During the crossover event, Orpheus was killed by the Black Mask and Onyx took over leadership of their gang, dedicating her fight against crime to her fallen friend.
For eighteen years, Orpheus has been without a revival despite several reboots occurring within DC Comics that could allow for such an occurrence. Even the likes of Stephanie Brown, who died in the same comic book event, being brought back in 2009 as part of Batman: Gotham Underground. Onyx's return under the similar pretenses of cleaning up the streets by dealing with the mob, could pave way for the right excuse to bring back Orpheus to aid the ex-League of Assassins member in her fight.
The chance to bring Orpheus back into the fold and gain retribution against the likes of Black Mask would be cathartic for his fans and allow for the Batfamily to grow ever more diverse with their teammates. Thanks to the rebooted continuity of DC Comics, it is now entirely possible for Orpheus' death could be sidestepped similar to Azrael's return in the New 52 comic series Batman and Robin Eternal. Regardless of how or why he gets brought back, Orpheus' return would be a grand event for Gotham City and for DC Comic fans, especially in the wake of Batman's recent death.