WATCH: Batman writer Scott Snyder explains the origin of the Court of Owls

It's hard to come up with new villains for Batman who can compare with the Joker, Riddler, Two-Face, Poison Ivy, Mr. Freeze, and some of the other best bad guys in comics. But in 2011, Scott Snyder and artist Greg Capullo pulled off that trick when they introduced the Court of Owls in the New 52 reboot of Batman. A secret society of wealthy families were controlling Gotham for centuries, and they were so good at it that not even Batman suspected they were real until it was nearly too late.

In SYFY WIRE's latest Batman at 80 video, Snyder explained how he and Capullo conceived of the Dark Knight's most elusive adversaries.

"For me, the Court of Owls represents my worst fears about history coming back to get you," said Snyder. "Not learning the lessons of the past. Your home suddenly becoming terrifying ... and strange."

Additionally, Snyder recalled how he and Capullo were a united front for the first time when they lobbied DC to let them experiment with the mindbending Batman #5.

The Court of Owls has already shown up in Gotham, and they were the featured villains in the animated film Batman vs. Robin. Should they be the next Batman villains to make the jump to the big screen? Neal Adams, one of the most iconic Batman artists of all time, wasn't shy about endorsing the Court of Owls.

"I hope to see a better Batman than we've ever seen in the next three movies," said Adams before picking Court of Owls and Ra's al Ghul as two of his three picks. For the rest of the details, you're just going to have to check out the entire video!