Duke Thomas: The Signal Appreciation 2019

[J. D. Guy]

* “Lifelines,” an eight-page story written by Andrea Shea with art by Neil Edwards and Scott Hanna

Duke Thomas, a.k.a. the Signal, trained under Batman to become Gotham City’s daytime protector. But his responsibilities as a superhero have vastly outweighed his responsibilities at home, and Duke becomes painfully aware of this fact when he learns the member of the Xiqu gang who stabbed him is none other than his childhood friend Danny Wong.

Nice! Always up for cool Signal stories. Love that this one seems to incorporate something from Duke younger years, as that part of him isn't as fleshed out outside the Zero Year Riddler stuff. I'm hoping this'll reference Duke's past as a tabletop gamer. Alas, I wish it was more than 8 pages. Gonna needed to be as inclusive and through as possible while still holding to the discretion of brevity.

Also, it seems we have another Asian-descent Gothamite. Don't have to many of those on the regular sans Cassandra (and Damian if you count him). Would have had Detective Aisi is Tony Patrick's mini was an ongoing, but..

[Korath]

I know I'm no t posting as much as I should, since I'm kind of in a comics burn out, but more Duke Thomas will always have my support, no matter how !

[J. D. Guy]

I know I'm no t posting as much as I should, since I'm kind of in a comics burn out, but more Duke Thomas will always have my support, no matter how !

For me, it's because I'm not as readily able to read right now. Still, I'm always for more Duke/The Signal content.

[lemonpeace]

Do you think Duke should be adopted by Bruce, stay with Doug's relatives, or be an emancipated minor (seeing as he's about 17 pushing 18 anyway)?

also, if you could pick a birthday for him (no birth year required) which date would you pick and why?

[Katana500]

Do you think Duke should be adopted by Bruce, stay with Doug's relatives, or an emancipated minor (seeing as he's about 17 pushing 18 anyway)?

also, if you could pick a birthday for him (no birth year required) which date would you pick and why?

Him staying with his tank of a cousin was interesting. But I doubt we will see his cousin and home life in general again unless their is a Batman and the Signal Season 2

[the illustrious mr. kenway]

Do you think Duke should be adopted by Bruce, stay with Doug's relatives, or an emancipated minor (seeing as he's about 17 pushing 18 anyway)?

also, if you could pick a birthday for him (no birth year required) which date would you pick and why?

the latter two as it helps give him a life/responsibilities outside of being the Signal.

[lemonpeace]

Him staying with his tank of a cousin was interesting. But I doubt we will see his cousin and home life in general again unless their is a Batman and the Signal Season 2

the latter two as it helps give him a life/responsibilities outside of being the Signal.

personally I'd be down with the emancipated minor angle or, better still, have him move to college; I'd prefer it so long as they keep Jay around. Have Jay be in on the Signal business so he could still be involved in Duke's life in a real/organic way.

[lemonpeace]

after this latest issue it appears Duke's powers have been evolved (or maybe inverted) so now his powers have something to do with darkness. I wonder if this will be something that he'll keep as part of his repertoire along with his light powers. also, it's implied the Lazarus Pit can alter metahuman physiology when they're put in it, I wonder if Duke will take a dip.



edit: I've been thinking about it, I don't think I'd want this shadow upgrade to be a regular occurrence; Duke being an hero who uses light was a pretty unique angle for a gotham hero. I'm hoping this is just a momentary phase and, if this evolution sticks, it'll be more light-based when Duke gets the hang of it.

[lemonpeace]

the more I sit with this latest issue of Outsiders the more conflicted I feel about it. on one hand, it's a great outing for Cass and it progressed the story quite a bit, but on the other hand, it's frustrating that Duke is being victimized YET AGAIN and I'm still not sure if I want this new darkness/shadow ability for Duke given I like him as a light-themed hero

[Restingvoice]

Do you think Duke should be adopted by Bruce, stay with Doug's relatives, or be an emancipated minor (seeing as he's about 17 pushing 18 anyway)?

also, if you could pick a birthday for him (no birth year required) which date would you pick and why?

I still need to catch up, but no matter where he goes, I want him to keep as many supporting casts for as long as possible, seeing what happened to Nightwing who kept losing supporting casts, because it's how you build a consistent world around him and how you make people, even the more casual reader, to remember. Doug, We Are Robins, his parents, even his personal villain are included, so whichever condition allows for all of them to be around.

Birthday's usually the first appearance, so the first Zero Year issue's publication date, though I'm already tempted to make it when he met Bruce, but if I start thinking that, then I'm gonna start considering his first appearance as The Signal, so I'm just gonna go with Zero Year's first issue.

[Raijin]

the more I sit with this latest issue of Outsiders the more conflicted I feel about it. on one hand, it's a great outing for Cass and it progressed the story quite a bit, but on the other hand, it's frustrating that Duke is being victimized YET AGAIN and I'm still not sure if I want this new darkness/shadow ability for Duke given I like him as a light-themed hero

I’m really starting to think Hill has no interest in Duke.

[Rac7d*]

Do you think Duke should be adopted by Bruce, stay with Doug's relatives, or be an emancipated minor (seeing as he's about 17 pushing 18 anyway)?

also, if you could pick a birthday for him (no birth year required) which date would you pick and why?

He is pushing 18, yet Tim has stayed 16 for 16 years?

[Agent Z]

Do you think Duke should be adopted by Bruce, stay with Doug's relatives, or be an emancipated minor (seeing as he's about 17 pushing 18 anyway)?

also, if you could pick a birthday for him (no birth year required) which date would you pick and why?

I'd rather he find his parents. Assuming they're still alive.

[Katana500]

I'd rather he find his parents. Assuming they're still alive.

I'm pretty sure he knows where his parents are. It's just they are in a catatonic state post joker attack with no hope of recovery.

[lemonpeace]

He is pushing 18, yet Tim has stayed 16 for 16 years?

I'm simply using logic based on how much time has passed in canon in relation to Duke since his last stated age, DC could just up and say he's still 16 just like they keep doing to Tim. He was 16 during We are Robin, we aren't sure how much time he was part of that movement for, then he was taken under Bruce's tutelage pre-Signal. He trained under Bruce for about a year (as he stated in Batman and the Signal) which would make him 17 when he became Signal, which happened early on or immediately after Metal but before No Justice because that was when Bruce approached Black Lightning about re-forming the Outsiders. Now, Outsiders take place during Year of the Villian which kicked off with a timeskip a couple of months during Justice League and plays out over the course of roughly one year according to DC (from what I read which could be wrong) so if he's not 18 already he's likely around that age and should be that age by the end of YotV.

Tim should be at least a year or two older than Duke so 19 or 20 at least but writers at DC insist he's only 16 (even though Damien aged like 2 years in the meantime, making Tim Benjamin Button)