The existence of the Court and their Talons has been passed down from generations in the form of an old Gotham City nursery rhyme: ' Beware The Court of Owls, that watches all the time, ruling Gotham from a shadow perch, behind granite and lime. The court members dressed in white owl masks and would often hide owls in their clothing, architecture, and live owls around allies and enemies to reference their operation. Here, victims would be left the wander, be given drugged water, photographed frequently, then mercy killed by a Talon, often in extremely brutal manners suggested by members in a process similar to gladiatorial combat.

A favoured way of killing their enemies was for Talons to drag victims under the sewers of Gotham to an underground marble labyrinth which the Court had access to. The Court used this chemical to engineer the Talons, a legion of superhuman assassins used to eliminate their enemies and typically groomed from a young age at facilities such as Haly's Circus. The Court ruled Gotham City from the shadows, harvesting a rare metal called Electrum from Gotham which was made from the regenerative chemical Dionesium.

Certain members of the Court believed that they could call forth Barbatos by chemically altering a member of House Wayne chosen by Barbatos with five metals originating from beyond their world. The court splintered off from the Tribe of Judas, a cult worshipping a cosmic bat deity known as Barbatos. The Myth of The Court of Owls is as old or possibly even older than Gotham City itself.

Batman gates