Duke Thomas: We are Robin, The Signal, Final Knight Appreciation 2021

[Westbats]

I didn't initially interpret it that way, but the popular fan takeaway seems to be along those lines. I've seen a couple people saying they see Duke as the Final Knight being the new POV for Tales from the Dark Multiverse, either following him fighting all the Dark Multiverse monsters and dopplegangers or by narrating it and actively recruiting people like Tempus was supposed to.

That would be really cool, in that case I wonder if he'd come across divergences in his own history pre-Metal? But then again Tales of the Dark Multiverse is all about the DC Universe.

I was thinking about Tales of the Dark Multiverse: Dark Nights Metal and I'm wondering if an Endgame plan for Last Knight-Duke is for him to pierce through the veil between the Multiverses and come face-to-face with Earth Prime-Duke?

[lemonpeace]

That would be really cool, in that case I wonder if he'd come across divergences in his own history pre-Metal? But then again Tales of the Dark Multiverse is all about the DC Universe.

I was thinking about Tales of the Dark Multiverse: Dark Nights Metal and I'm wondering if an Endgame plan for Last Knight-Duke is for him to pierce through the veil between the Multiverses and come face-to-face with Earth Prime-Duke?

I considered that too. It would be interesting to see what Duke was able to learn in those two years between Metal and Tales from the Dark Multiverse. he probably could teach Duke a few things, hopefully inspire a new look; maybe even gift him the Parall-axe or that Kryptonian Dragon bone sword he had. I like to believe Final Knight!Duke was able to piece together what happened between Gnomon and Elaine while he was reality hoping, so him meeting Prime Duke could be our Duke's incentive to seek out Gnomon.

[Westbats]

I considered that too. It would be interesting to see what Duke was able to learn in those two years between Metal and Tales from the Dark Multiverse. he probably could teach Duke a few things, hopefully inspire a new look; maybe even gift him the Parall-axe or that Kryptonian Dragon bone sword he had. I like to believe Final Knight!Duke was able to piece together what happened between Gnomon and Elaine while he was reality hoping, so him meeting Prime Duke could be our Duke's incentive to seek out Gnomon.

That would be an amazing Call to Action for Prime Earth-Duke. If Final Knight-Duke stuck around on Earth Prime for a bit, would he go to his parents (or Bruce) in order to get some kind of closure? Also, I realized that Final Knight-Duke's Light-Sight ability (is there a proper name for it?) works very similarly to the Batman Who Laugh's Dark Multiverse Sight. Maybe it can evolve during his travels through the Dark Multiverse so that he can observe the potential for hope in the people and allies he comes across.

[lemonpeace]

That would be an amazing Call to Action for Prime Earth-Duke. If Final Knight-Duke stuck around on Earth Prime for a bit, would he go to his parents (or Bruce) in order to get some kind of closure? Also, I realized that Final Knight-Duke's Light-Sight ability (is there a proper name for it?) works very similarly to the Batman Who Laugh's Dark Multiverse Sight. Maybe it can evolve during his travels through the Dark Multiverse so that he can observe the potential for hope in the people and allies he comes across.

well Duke's sight (Photokinetic Vision and Ghost Vision appear to be the common terms) are photokinetic in nature, and DC emotions are intrinsically tied to a light, so I wouldn't be surprised if Final Night!Duke or our Duke developed that kind of ability with his powers.

I would like to believe Final Knight!Duke would want to see his mom above all else because she has always been his driving motivation and inspiration. also his powers have clearly progressed and Gnomon has shown that his family can share their sight and have some degree of telepathy, so I would like to believe that version of Duke has some way of communing with his mother through their powers.

[lemonpeace]

Me:


I hope this gets DC on the Duke train this year! Tony Patrick, Jackson Lanzing, and Brandon Thomas all seem really enthusiastic about him and that's really resonating with fans.

[lemonpeace]

also, character sketches for Duke as the Last Monitor and the Final Knight from Karl Mostert




wish he had posted the Yellow Batman look sketches too but these are still amazing, and the clearest we see Duke's Last Monitor suit. I looks like he still has the Kryptonian Dragon Sword, and it's smaller now. perfect size for our main continuity Duke, just saying..

[Westbats]

well Duke's sight (Photokinetic Vision and Ghost Vision appear to be the common terms) are photokinetic in nature, and DC emotions are intrinsically tied to a light, so I wouldn't be surprised if Final Night!Duke or our Duke developed that kind of ability with his powers.

I would like to believe Final Knight!Duke would want to see his mom above all else because she has always been his driving motivation and inspiration. also his powers have clearly progressed and Gnomon has shown that his family can share their sight and have some degree of telepathy, so I would like to believe that version of Duke has some way of communing with his mother through their powers.

Sweet, I'll make a note to refer to it as Photokinetic or Ghost Vision in future posts, thank you Lemonpeace . I was listening to a review of Tales of the Dark Multiverse: Metal and I was reminded that the Parall-Axe is in tune with the emotional spectrum. Combined with Duke's Photokinetic Vision, it could be very beautiful to look at (in terms of artwork). I hope Jackson Lanzing, Collin Kelly, Karl Mostert and Scott Snyder continue to work together on more Tales of the Dark Multiverse stories.

That's a good point, he'd probably come and see his Mom. It'd be interesting to see how Final Knight!Duke reacts to Gnomon, I was under the belief that Batman and The Signal happened after Metal. I wonder if Gnomon would be able to sense Final Knight!Duke, and that would be what spurs him to resurface, have Signal and the Final Knight versus Gnomon.

One thing I did not consider when reading the book was the possible ramifications of Final Knight!Duke taking Tempus Fuginaut's position in the Dark Multiverse. After our discussion, I remembered that Tempus has shown up on Earth Prime in Sideways. So technically Final Knight!Duke could come through on Earth Prime via one of Sideway's riffs.

[J. D. Guy]

also, character sketches for Duke as the Last Monitor and the Final Knight from Karl Mostert




wish he had posted the Yellow Batman look sketches too but these are still amazing, and the clearest we see Duke's Last Monitor suit. I looks like he still has the Kryptonian Dragon Sword, and it's smaller now. perfect size for our main continuity Duke, just saying..

Woah, @ those Gnomon parallels!

[DragonPiece]

I hope this gets DC on the Duke train this year! Tony Patrick, Jackson Lanzing, and Brandon Thomas all seem really enthusiastic about him and that really resonating with fans.

Wonder if he means more of duke in that role or just more of the character in general..

[lemonpeace]

Wonder if he means more of duke in that role or just more of the character in general..

he's repeated that "hunting monsters" bit a couple times, I think he's referencing doing more of the Final Knight. although, given his excitement about the character (it seems like he's at least aware of the years of commitment of Duke's burgeoning fandom) that he would probably love to work with Signal in continuity as well. I definitely see him crossing over or incorporating the Final Knight into Duke's ongoing development in-canon.

if he did, my pipedream would be if he brought it all full circle and cement that Duke's destiny on Earth 0, like his Earth -0 counterpart, is to be the Final Knight at the end of it all too. not like in a predetermined chosen one type thing, more like a sneak peek into his endgame; like history before it happens. he's meant to discover is immortal lineage and then, once his time has come, using that as a way to transcend his role as Duke Thomas or the Signal or whoever he was before, to become the same kind of God-hunting Batman on the verge of Multiversal rebirth; as he is below. my Immortal Batman prophecy would be complete!

[Korath]

I feel like 2020 ended really strong for Duke... I hope it'll continue in 2021 !

[lemonpeace]

I feel like 2020 ended really strong for Duke... I hope it'll continue in 2021 !

I definitely think it will, he has so much momentum going into this month/year. Outsiders (begrudgingly), his cameos in Death Metal, his Robin King story, his recent Tales from the Dark Multiverse, he's showing up in Future State: Outsiders this month, and part 2 to FS: Outsiders is gonna be Duke centric apparently. DC would be dumb not to at least give him a solo back-up or a solo storyline in Urban Legends.

[lemonpeace]

Sweet, I'll make a note to refer to it as Photokinetic or Ghost Vision in future posts, thank you Lemonpeace . I was listening to a review of Tales of the Dark Multiverse: Metal and I was reminded that the Parall-Axe is in tune with the emotional spectrum. Combined with Duke's Photokinetic Vision, it could be very beautiful to look at (in terms of artwork). I hope Jackson Lanzing, Collin Kelly, Karl Mostert and Scott Snyder continue to work together on more Tales of the Dark Multiverse stories.

That's a good point, he'd probably come and see his Mom. It'd be interesting to see how Final Knight!Duke reacts to Gnomon, I was under the belief that Batman and The Signal happened after Metal. I wonder if Gnomon would be able to sense Final Knight!Duke, and that would be what spurs him to resurface, have Signal and the Final Knight versus Gnomon.

One thing I did not consider when reading the book was the possible ramifications of Final Knight!Duke taking Tempus Fuginaut's position in the Dark Multiverse. After our discussion, I remembered that Tempus has shown up on Earth Prime in Sideways. So technically Final Knight!Duke could come through on Earth Prime via one of Sideway's riffs.

you actually raise some interesting points. Batman and The Signal was probably meant to take place after METAL, looking back there are small things that could indicate that it took place between Dark Days and the actual Metal event. In, I believe it was, the one-shot for Batman The Merciless, we see Duke as Signal with Batman (it's the art from B&TS #1's cover) on the screens of the military. couple that with the fact that in Dark Days he's still in his nameless era suit but his Final Batman design shows he has his Signal suit under the Monitor armor, I believe it would indicate that the sequence of events were: Dark Days > Batman and The Signal > METAL. in which case, even prior to Earth-jumping Final Knight!Duke knew of Gnomon if he wasn't already able to figure that out from his counterparts on other Earths.

as for Sideways, I forgot that his rifts are directly connected to the Dark Multiverse! that would be the easiest avenue to get Final Knight!Duke to Earth 0, especially since Derek probably doesn't live too far Gotham since he got his powers while on a trip to Gotham. could it be? the Dark Matter team up I've always dreamed?

[Tzigone]

I like speculating on future careers for teen characters who have never expressed any career interest (and really, a lot of people have no idea what they want to do at that age). It was Duke's turn today. I recently reskimmed We Are Robin and read the bit on when he was a kid and wanted to be a paleontologist because he liked the idea of digging up things and putting together puzzles. And I understand elsewhere he was said to have a skill for writing. First I thought investigative reporter, but we already have so many of those. So how about True Crime writer? And he actually solves some of the cases he investigates.

But that may be completely invalidated by later comics. Apologies if that's the case.

[J. D. Guy]

I like speculating on future careers for teen characters who have never expressed any career interest (and really, a lot of people have no idea what they want to do at that age). It was Duke's turn today. I recently reskimmed We Are Robin and read the bit on when he was a kid and wanted to be a paleontologist because he liked the idea of digging up things and putting together puzzles. And I understand elsewhere he was said to have a skill for writing. First I thought investigative reporter, but we already have so many of those. So how about True Crime writer? And he actually solves some of the cases he investigates.

But that may be completely invalidated by later comics. Apologies if that's the case.

There this, and then there's also the implication that he could/would follow in his mother's footsteps by become a social worker in some form.