Alton Carver held the role of the Court of Owls' Talon longer than most of his collegues, a total of twenty-six years. As such, his body ended up deteriorating, his overall skills became dull and he started making mistakes in both his assassinations and his battle strategies. His biggest failure was a confrontation with Batman, who was just starting his career. The Dark Knight interrupted the Talon mission, prevented him from killing his target and forced him to flee. Carver, terrified from the hero figure, was then put to sleep by the court. During his slumber he had a neverending nightmare centered around the Giant Bat that defeated him.

During the Night of Owls, he was selected to kill Lincoln March, and had the chance to fight Batman once more. He survived the fight and he's still on the loose.