Batman & The Signal Mini Series Discussion Thread (SPOILERS)

[DragonPiece]

Discuss the first 3 issues of Duke Thomas mini series here!


IMO, I thought this was good. Lots of exposition, but thought it was handled well. Interesting new characters, and the art looks great.

EDIT: Positive or negative thoughts welcome, but please be civil in the read.

[Assam]

Hmm. Mixed thoughts on this.

The story is fairly standard cape stuff, with the exception of the 'meta' aspect, which wasn't too annoying, but overall the story was written rather well. Disappointed that I was right about the opening scene being a dream.

Duke as a character is likable here, but still very generic. No less generic than I think Dick and Tim can be on their own mind you, but still. It doesn't help that while I'm happy to see Riko and Iz here (although Iz being drawn much lighter than previously is a tad annoying) it just makes me wish I was reading about them, as I maintain Duke is the least interesting of the main We Are Robins.

I also can't say I'm liking the new characters. I get why they were introduced in the rapid fire way they were, but they're just not stand out enough to make an impact with the short time they were given and I'm not interested at all in the detective's story. I just finished the issue a few minutes ago, and I've already forgotten the new characters' names.

Then there's Bruce giving Duke his own HQ and saying he's trained with him longer than most of his allies. Yeah, f**k EVERYTHING about that.

So yeah, can't say I'm a fan. I'd probably give this a 4 or 5 out of 10. I'll say this though: If this Dial stuff ends up being connected to Dial H, they'll have my attention again.

[Katana500]

I really enjoyed it!

I think Duke already has a pretty cool supporting cast. The one armed detective certainly seems interesting and Dukes Cousin was also pretty cool. I definitely think that Dukes cousins rules are going to come into conflict with Bruces expectations of Duke and his 'job'

Seeing Iz and Riko was really cool! Im glad their back, I liked them both in We are Robin. Its nice that they are still both friends with Duke and that they seem to be taking the role of his main support.

The Hatch is interesting too! Batman's wallet though must be feeling the pain bankrolling so many vigilantes and bases within Gotham

[FlictsLantern]

Maybe I am spoiled rotten, but I felt this one felt a bit short in comparation to the most recent #1 I read from DC, Super Sons and Doomsday Clock.
This is such an easy book to define, a citizen of Gothan said it "Daytime is when this damned city supposed to be safe". That's it. Don't need to go full cosmic-level conspiracy right out of the bat.
Day time Gotham, Duke's relationship with the rest of the BatFamily, and him-batfamily-we are robins... I would take a step back and let those concepts build slowly. Like they say to writers, you can't put a character in mortal danger if people don't care for him. Duke deserved a better building on his series.

Oh, and by the way, I agree with katana500: Batman's new business: Secret Lairs "R" Us. he is sure giving them around a lot lately, huh?

[Barbatos666]

It left no real impression imo. There wasn't anything especially bad about it but I've honestly forgotten about it and I just read it a few hours ago. Duke gets a hide out and is gonna fight some weirdo metas is my primary takeaway.
I think Murphy's version is more compelling than Signal era Duke.

[Aioros22]

I have to commend Snyder because somehow, someway, despite using the characters likeness, he still hasn`t written a "family" arc, since ever. It`s either dream sequences, hallucinations or all dandaged or dressed up as Batman.

That takes creativity, I give him that.

[J. D. Guy]

Having gone through the other posts, I am seriously disappointed in how almost no one else wants to talk about what this issue actually did. Like, I think I'm the only person who even mentioned the characters' names. I'm barely the second person who mentioned Null's name, that's for sure.

Anywhere else, for any other book, we would be commenting and discussing about the goings on that actually happened, and speculating on the mystery of Duke's powers and their connection to the Arkham Juvie kids. Things like that. Anywhere else, for any other book...

Maybe I am spoiled rotten, but I felt this one felt a bit short in comparation to the most recent #1 I read from DC, Super Sons and Doomsday Clock.
This is such an easy book to define, a citizen of Gothan said it "Daytime is when this damned city supposed to be safe". That's it. Don't need to go full cosmic-level conspiracy right out of the bat.
Day time Gotham, Duke's relationship with the rest of the BatFamily, and him-batfamily-we are robins... I would take a step back and let those concepts build slowly. Like they say to writers, you can't put a character in mortal danger if people don't care for him. Duke deserved a better building on his series.

On this, you kind of have to realize that this isn't the first issue of an on-going series or a 12-issue maxi-series. It's the first part in a 3-part mini (shorter than the standard mini-series of 6 issues). To tell the story the way you would want would require way more time than what we have. Tony Patrick has to make due with the space he has to tell a complete story and showcase who Duke and The Signal are going forward. To his credit, in my opinion, he did a good job at making the best use of the time he had this issue.

That's how I took it. It does not in any way imply he's better-trained than any of the other bats, and the rest of the issue supports that.

This, in a nutshell. As I mentioned in my above post, Duke's lack of solo experience, and experience overall, caused him to barely get out his first fight with Null.

But some of the others don't need it as much, or wouldn't accept that from Bruce if offered. I couldn't see Nightwing accepting that offer, or Jason (?) - an independence thing. Damian has a HQ with Jon, and with Teen Titans, I don't see him needing a third one just for himself. Not wanting Duke to have something he needs that others do not need or wouldn't want doesn't feel fair - is he supposed to just work out of the bat cave? I can see Batman wanting the cave back to himself, and therefore setting Duke up elsewhere. I don't know.

I might have really misinterpreted stuff.

I'd say your takes and speculations are more spot on then some of the others, some of which, unfortunately including Assam's, have a history of assuming the worst with little to no provocation.

Ok. I misinterpreted then. But I guess I don't get the issue. If others have had HQs of their own in the past, why does Duke having one say anything about them? They just showed he had issues keeping his work private the panels before, so it was shown why he needs his own space. He is working at a different time of the day than the others, so using their places doesn't make sense. He will have a different set of people he works with who will need somewhere to go as well (I assume). Anyway, I'm missing something I guess.

Once again, I'd say you're spot on. Duke needing his own space for the role he's now adopting makes sense. This way, he can get done what he needs to get done without being entirely beholden by someone else's house rules and without drawing undue attention to the night time hangouts during the day.

So far, you're just about the only one who's willing to discuss and speak on what the issue presents, as opposed to some of everything else.

If Snyder's name wasn't on this, my brain might not have gone in this direction, but his getting an HQ comes off to me as Bruce considering him more worthy, that he doesn't need a team like the others.

You're the one putting that idea in your own head, though. The story itself doesn't support that. It's unfair to blame the character and the story and disavow them both because of it, something that's not even in the story.

Read it.

Enjoyed it.

Really like the optics of a daytime Gotham.

Now a Duke Thomas/The Signal fan.

Glad to have you on board!

Doesnt duke's cousin mention that school doesnt start for another week, maybe that means we will see the school somepoint in the future.

Precisely.

I thought it was a good first read. Im glad that he is a daylight hero, and they are establishing his supporting cast. My main problem is I want him to be his own character separate from the Bat family. He's going to be constantly compared to them, and alot of the resentment that people have for him comes from those comparisons. Its clear that people see him getting any kind of exposure as an attack on other Bat family members, and thats not fair to the character. Get him a new suit, without the Bat logos, and I will be cool with that. People will continue to hate on him for whatever reasons, but I thought this was a good start for the character.

I agree with you to a point, but it's not Duke's fault that so many use him as a vent for their frustrations with other characters. That's them and their perceptions, and divorcing a Batman-related character from Batman-related subjects doesn't do anything for the character that not being prejudiced against him in the first place wouldn't.

Other than that they need more than just 3 issues, there isn't anything wrong with the way they're going about Duke/The Signal of present. Also, in a sense, him having and developing his own daytime supporting cast does distance him the others in the family and allows him to be more his own character.

(Besides, Duke could do with more interactions with other Batfamily members and other DC heroes and characters in general, not less.)

It was a good first issue but the pace was pretty fast so it's a quick read.

I was confused about Null's mention of the dial but if it is a connection to Dial H I'd be pretty stoked.

We didn't have much time to dilly-dally, but I felt that the pace was pretty even. Definitely more so than I'd have pegged. Like, we got a look at Duke's current situation, both as the Signal and in his cousin Jay's home. They intro-ed Detective Aisi and managed to spend enough time on her to get you to want to know more about her situation, as well as to begin learning what kind of person she is. Last but not least, they managed to get the ball rolling on the mystery of Duke's powers, while also opening the way to a conspiracy in Gotham that's happening under everyone noses in broad daylight. All while bringing back and re-integrating two characters from Duke's past into his present.

A lot got done here, which made it feel more evenly paced than it otherwise would have. More over, it helped make it filling while also making you long for more.

[Katana500]

What are your predictions for the next issue J D Guy Im interested to see where other people think the story will go

[JasonTodd428]

I really enjoyed it!

I think Duke already has a pretty cool supporting cast. The one armed detective certainly seems interesting and Dukes Cousin was also pretty cool. I definitely think that Dukes cousins rules are going to come into conflict with Bruces expectations of Duke and his 'job'

Seeing Iz and Riko was really cool! Im glad their back, I liked them both in We are Robin. Its nice that they are still both friends with Duke and that they seem to be taking the role of his main support.

The Hatch is interesting too! Batman's wallet though must be feeling the pain bankrolling so many vigilantes and bases within Gotham

I quite agree. I really enjoyed this issue. I loved the supporting cast and was glad to see Iz and Riko again. That detective was pretty interesting to me and I'm curious what her deal is. I'm looking forward to the next issue.

Now for my only complaint here. That damned line about Duke having trained longer than "most" of Batman's allies. WTF Snyder! You just couldn't leave well enough alone could you? Just had to push fans' buttons didn't ya? All that should have been said there was that Duke has trained for a while with Bruce and his other allies, the latter which is something that was shown in the recent story Role Call in the recent New Talent Showcase. That would have been believable at least. There was no need to try to falsely elevate Duke at the expense of most of the other Bat Family members. He's not even close to their experience level as yet so stop acting like he is. That is NOT the way to get people invested in a new character at all.

(rant over)

That being said I still really liked what I saw here so I'll keep reading so long as lines like that one are kept to a minimum.

[K Nikk]

Maybe the comment about training longer is about how long he was trained before being put into action? Started the others too early for example (or they were already trained). So not that he is BETTER trained, but that he kept him in reserve longer.... Is that a possible interpretation?

[Caivu]

Maybe the comment about training longer is about how long he was trained before being put into action? Started the others too early for example (or they were already trained). So not that he is BETTER trained, but that he kept him in reserve longer.... Is that a possible interpretation?

That's how I took it. It does not in any way imply he's better-trained than any of the other bats, and the rest of the issue supports that.

[okiedokiewo]

Then there's Bruce giving Duke his own HQ and saying he's trained with him longer than most of his allies. Yeah, f**k EVERYTHING about that.

One of the biggest problems I've had with Duke is his writers' need to put down/undermine other characters in order to prop him up. Cut it out already. That's not how you win fans, and it's not needed to begin with. It adds nothing.

[DragonPiece]

Then there's Bruce giving Duke his own HQ and saying he's trained with him longer than most of his allies. Yeah, f**k EVERYTHING about that.

Just like everytime Snyder wrote Duke, I feel like he's just exaggerating Duke. The scene is referring to Bruce meeting Duke all the way back in zero year, before he met even Dick. Yet obviously, how it's written implies Duke has went on more adventures with Batman than any of the other sidekicks. This leads to the obvious annoyance that people like you and rev516 have with Duke. I wish it was written better to just say that, instead of leading to confusion.

[Doctor Bifrost]

"Lark? Too soft."

I have to assume Bruce means "for a boy." Because I don't remember him ever raising an eyebrow over Bluebird, even after he had accepted Harper Row as part of the family.

The issue... just didn't do much for me. People pointed out, in this thread, things that took place on it, and I'd think, "Oh, yeah, that happened." Nothing they've done with Duke has made me interested in him. (The same was true of Bluebird, although I liked Harper Row when she was hacking and messing with electronics and protecting her brother, before she put on a costume. I guess yet another young, costumed, building-hopping partner-to-the-Bat in the war against crime is just wearing thin for me.)

[K Nikk]

"Lark? Too soft."

I have to assume Bruce means "for a boy." Because I don't remember him ever raising an eyebrow over Bluebird, even after he had accepted Harper Row as part of the family.

Comparison between reaction to “lark” and “bluebird” don’t make sense to me. “Lark” is a synonym for something for fun, or foolish, or a waste of time. Bluebird does not have those connotations. So to me at least, yes, Lark would be “too soft” for a boy but also too soft for a girl. It’s not a name to be taken seriously. Are there similar connotations to Bluebird?