WARNING: The following contains spoilers for The Joker #4, by James Tynion IV, Guillem March, Arif Prianto and Tom Napolitano, on sale now.
One of the biggest additions to the DC Universe from the New 52 era a full decade ago is the Court of Owls, a secret society that operates out of the shadows of Gotham City quietly manipulating and steering the course of the city for generations. Appearing in everything from television, film and video games, the Court of Owls continues to drive in the Infinite Frontier era.
And fresh off the crossover event "Joker War," the Court is hungry for revenge and more lethally intent than ever to keep their agenda a secret from prying eyes as they select a new target for their sect of unstoppable assassins, the Talons: Barbara Gordon.
After enduring the horrors of "Joker War" firsthand, with the Clown Prince of Crime confirming he was aware of Batgirl's identity, with the storyline ultimately resulting in the death of Barbara's younger brother James, Jr., Barbara decided to leave the mantle of Batgirl behind in the aftermath. Instead, Barbara decided to reclaim her previous alter ego as Oracle and run surveillance and support for the Bat-Family from the Clocktower, forming her own impromptu iteration of the Birds of Prey to address the fallout from "Joker War" and totalitarian forces tightening their grip on Gotham as first directly hinted at during Future State.
The Court of Owls have steadily been rebuilding since being massacred by the Batman Who Laughs during the DC Rebirth era. The Joker took advantage of the secret society licking their wounds by infiltrating the hidden crypt where the Court kept their dormant Talons and administered a serum that made them loyal to his commands before being thwarted by Batman. For this injustice in stealing away their Talons for his own nefarious ends, the Court of Owls had officially had enough of the Joker and decided to make an example of the Clown Prince of Crime by mercilessly hunting him down and killing him. And to carry out this bloody vendetta, the Court turned to one man who knew the supervillain particularly well: Retired police commissioner Jim Gordon.
A young woman named Cressida approached Gordon with the offer to track down the Joker to Belize and kill him, offering him a small fortune in return. Unbeknownst to Gordon and the Bat Family, Cressida's recruitment of Gordon paid off an old family debt she had with Court's inner circle and paved her way to join them. Batman and Oracle began investigating exactly who Gordon's mysterious benefactor is, with Oracle deploying her teammates to find out. And as Oracle moves closer to discovering the truth, a Talon is seen quietly observing her from the shadows of the Clocktower, poised to strike and maintain the Court's secrets.
The Court of Owls tends to only target those that they feel are a hindrance to their plans for Gotham, quietly disposing of everyone from mayoral candidates to Bruce Wayne when he previously attempted a move to massively renovate Gotham's infrastructure and crumbling neighborhoods. And now, as Oracle begins prying into the Court of Owls' affairs to keep an eye on her father, the Talons are moving to silence Barbara Gordon before she can tip off the Dark Knight or her father. But whether she's Batgirl or Oracle, it's never wise to underestimate Barbara in whatever role she takes on.