Talon #0

The Long Run

I have a confession to make. I have not read “The Court of Owls.” I know this is a shameful admission, but until last month, I was spending my comic budget on back issues, and I have just recently discovered the joy that is Snyder’s Batman. I am in the process of trying to read all the DCNU back issues of Batman, but I have not yet managed to read them all.

Consequently, I had less idea than most about what to expect from this issue. I have done some research on “The Court of Owls” story arc, but I am still in the dark on a lot of issues. Before even reading it, I can tell you that the premise for the story is not particularly original, and the design of Talon’s costume is less than impressive, and neither of these facts indicate that I should have high hopes for the series. On the flipside, Talon is written by James Tynion IV who has done an excellent job with backup stories in Batman and Detective Comics, so that gives me hope that the series will be of a high quality.

In this issue, readers see the early life of Calvin Rose as he goes from abused child to Talon for the Court of Owls. Interspersed among the flashbacks, Calvin is attacked by another talon who was sent to kill him for abandoning his duties with the Court.

An Awesome Assassin?

The story is well told and well paced. One of Tynion’s strengths as a writer is delivering solid dialogue which feels genuine and relevant. This is as true in Talon as it is in all his other writing. Talon delivers a hero who has a distinctly Batman feel in the respect that he possesses no superpowers, operates primarily via stealth and martial arts, and utilizes gadgets, yet Calvin feels distinct in that he has blood on his hands, he is primarily an escape artist, and he has a distinct visual flair in both his actual physicality and his costume. As a new reader to the Court of Owls, I was definitely left with some questions about the organization, but it is to Tynion’s credit that I did not feel like I was missing any crucial information.

An Awful Assassin?

Nothing about this story leaps up and grabs me as especially amazing. The art is fine but nothing exceptional. Calvin seems like an admirable guy, but I do not yet know enough about him to have any real investment in his character. The Court of Owls, at this point, feels like a fairly generic Bilderberg with assassins style conspiracy.

The Problem with Escape Artistry

In addition to all of this, Calvin’s skill set as an escape artist creates some potential problems. Any story which focuses on escape as its primary plot mechanism runs into problems with creating scenarios from which the hero can escape. For instance, Prison Break was a television series based on the idea of escaping from prison, but by the end of the first season, the cast had escaped which left the writers searching for new situations from which the characters could escape. The writers and characters managed to do just that, and Prison Break is one of my favorite TV series, but I will quickly admit that it became convoluted as in subsequent seasons the heroes escaped federal pursuit, escaped each other, escaped pursuit while bringing down a Presidential conspiracy, escaped prison again, escaped pursuit again, worked for a government conspiracy while eluding capture from a corporate conspiracy and other government authorities, escaped each other again, and escaped prison for a third time. God help us if they try to do something like this with Talon.

The escape gimmick was also tried in DC comics once before with the publication of Mister Miracle back in the 1970’s. The series only lasted twenty-four issues. How often can you put a hero in a deathtrap before it becomes tired?

Of course, Talon possesses skills beyond the escape arts, so perhaps this will not become an issue, but with Talon already engaging in four escape feats in the first issue, it certainly appears that the series is starting off in that direction.

Conclusion

I have no doubt Tynion IV can write an excellent comic; he has already proven his ability. The question is whether he can create a good original intellectual property. For me, the jury is still out, but Talon makes an okay first appearance. If you are a huge Court of Owls or Batman fan, then enjoy, but everyone else should approach with a little cynicism.