~~~~~
Created by: Scott Snyder (writer) Greg Capullo (artist)
First Appearance: Batman Vol 2 #21 (August 2013).
Powers: Duke is a metahuman with the photokinetic ability to manipulate, absorb, and redistribute both light and shadow. Duke primary concentrates light through the eyes, manipulating the way the light is processed for a variety of visual tasks.
Duke's most notable abilities are his precognition and his retrocognition. Duke's sight is atemporal, meaning he can see across time. By manipulating the way he processes light, Duke can perceive the "ghosts" of where light has been in his vicinity and see few minutes into the past. he can also glimpse into the future by seeing where light will be before it gets there. Duke's precognitive abilities, plus his training from Batman and all of his former Robins, give him an edge in combat, being able to react faster to attacks than normally possible and even catch projectiles in midair.
Duke's photokinetic vision can be used in a variety of practical ways. He can see beyond the known Electromagnetic spectrum, follow and detect someone through walls, ceilings, smoke and most materials, and focus his vision to see a target at a great distance or to see extremely small objects down to the subdermal level. my boi is stacked with the practical superpowers.
Duke's powers also allow him to absorb and redistribute darknesss. Duke can pull shadows to himself, revealing more light, or expel darkness from himself like a tide enveloping everything in darkness. Duke can also shape and move a shadow like a physical object, which he uses to augment his hand to hand combat.
Duke's metahuman abilities come from the metagene, a genetic variation caused by naturally occurring traces of Nth metal in the bloodstream. Duke inherited this genetic trait from both of his biological parents; Elaine Thomas and an immortal metahuman named Gnomon. After experiencing the touch of Ishmael, Duke's abilities "evolved" to include the ability to manipulate darkness as well as light.
Duke's unique metahuman physiology gives him an affinity for Nth metal, often becoming reactive in the presence of powerful forms of Nth and/or 8th metal. Particularly potent forms of Nth metal can amplify his visions, allowing longer more vivid visions into the past, across dimensions, and he can even hearing some audio.
Essential Reading
We are Robin (2015) #1-12 written by Lee Bermejo, art by Khary Randolph
- Robin War (2016) written by Various Writers, art by Various Artists
Dark Days: The Forge (2017) #1 &
The Casting (2017) #1 written by Scott Snyder and James Tynion IV art by Jim Lee, Andy Kubert, and John Romita Jr.
Batman and The Signal (2018) #1-3 story by Scott Snyder, written by Tony Patrick, art by Cully Hamner
- Immortal Men (2018) #1-6 written by James Tynion IV, art by Ryan Benjamin & Jim Lee
Batman & the Outsiders (2019) #1-17 written by Bryan Edward Hill, art by Dexter Soy & Veronica Gandini
Dark Nights: Death Metal - Robin King (2020) #1 [the back-up] written by Tony Patrick art by Danial Sampere
Tales from The Dark Multiverse: METAL (2020) #1 written by Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly art by Karl Mostert
[stay woke Mr. Thomas, stay woke...]
-----