What should be next for Duke Thomas?

[lemonpeace]

this thread is directly inspired by the "Tim Drake where is his place in DC?" thread.

check that out here

I'm basically asking the same question for Duke Thomas; Where do you think Duke's place in the DCU should be? since his inception Duke has had a pretty tumultuous development and it feels like he's constantly being forgotten or sidelined when it comes to him being a part of the Batfamily. he had a good thing going being a regular member of the Outsiders until DC decided to make that team into a "stealth" Planetary reboot and left the status of the already established team up in the air. so what do yall think should be next for Duke Thomas?

[the illustrious mr. kenway]

I like the mystical angle Thomas explored in Urban Legends and Future State so I'd do more with that. Forming a new iteration of the JLD feels like a good next step.

[lemonpeace]

personally I would want DC to redesign his costume, establish Freeland, Georgia then move him over there along with and as a part of the Black Lightning mythos. Outsiders has effectively established him as a protégé of Black Lightning & Katana. so between that, his expanded powerset and his character's roots in the mythology of metahumans, he fits better as apart of Black Lightning's corner of the DC universe; which could use more established characters to raise his profile as well.

[lemonpeace]

I like the mystical angle Thomas explored in Urban Legends and Future State so I'd do more with that. Forming a new iteration of the JLD feels like a good next step.

you know what, if DC were to have him continue down the path of mysticism and sorcery like in Future State then him becoming a member of Shadowpact would be pretty interesting. but no matter what direction they take with him I would hope they do more with Gnomon. his history with Elaine is the last dangling plot thread Duke has left and I would like them to flesh that out so Duke can finally feel like he's 100% out of his "origin" phase.

[NOCTPHOENIX]

Hmmmm. I liked him on the Outsiders and think he fits well.

But I like the re-establishment of We Are Robin for him. His one shot was good in establishing the tension between him and some of his friends for 'selling out' and it'd be interesting to explore that angle.

[Aahz]

Not Sure.

The Batfamily is simply to big, and I don't really see him getting much more focus there unless they are willing to sideline one of the more popular characters. Or make him the main Robin.

The Outsiders have been around since the 80s so I don't really see him becoming an iconic member of that team, and Teams usually tend to go back to iconic lineups pretty fast these days. Appart from that I'm pretty sceptical if the Outsiders can even keep a book going.

When it come to the Black Lightning Family, I'm pretty sure that they can't sustain a book, so putting him there would basically be putting him in limbo.

[dietrich]

I want them to bring back We Are Robin.

The Bat family might be big but that concept is different from what the others are doing and we barely got them fleshed out.

[Rac7d*]

He needs to leave Gotham
He’s become a background character with no lines
He’s just there. It’s like they’re forced to include him, but It feels like the writers don’t care much for the characters outside of a few ensemble shots.

He is wasted.
When Tim and Steph still dated they would pair him off with Cass, but now that Steph and Cass are inseparable he’s left out. He doesn’t have as strong rapport with any Robin. Let him build some ties in the rest of the DCU before he gets lost.

Wally and Jackson have some sort of friendship get him in there.

[Godlike13]

This is a tough one, right now I think Duke and Luke are gonna get each others way and compete for the same opportunities.

[NOCTPHOENIX]

He needs to leave Gotham
He’s become a background character with no lines
He’s just there. It’s like they’re forced to include him, but It feels like the writers don’t care much for the characters outside of a few ensemble shots.

He is wasted.
When Tim and Steph still dated they would pair him off with Cass, but now that Steph and Cass are inseparable he’s left out. He doesn’t have as strong rapport with any Robin. Let him build some ties in the rest of the DCU before he gets lost.

Wally and Jackson have some sort of friendship get him in there.

Put Tim, Steph, Cass, and Duke in one team and call it Gotham Knights.

[km_sus]

I've always been shocked when people do those "most unnecessary bat-family member" polls and somehow Duke ends up first because, genuinely, I think Duke has the most potential out of ANY Gotham character at this point in time.

Let's break it down a bit... Duke is:
- the only Gotham hero that operates during the day
- the only Gotham hero with metahuman powers
- a college student balancing hero life with civilian life
- has a large supporting cast of both civilians and heroes
- the son of an evil immortal who wants to Luke/Vader him
- an ex-member of a gang of teenage vigilantes
- a staple member of a well known superhero team

I mean, I'm not crazy, that's a lot of unique selling points for just one character, right? Any half decent writer could knock it out of the park with all that potential. Honestly, a lot of the other floundering bat-family members would kill to have just one of these things (speaking of Tim Drake).

I guess I'll vote for other because I genuinely don't think needs any more retooling. Any new gimmick or status quo shake up would just harm Duke at this point. Pretty much the main problem with Duke is that DC is incredibly unwilling to do anything with him.

So, yeah, what to do with Duke next? Uh, anything at all, really.

[Rac7d*]

Put Tim, Steph, Cass, and Duke in one team and call it Gotham Knights.

Gotham knights is poison right now

[the illustrious mr. kenway]

you know what, if DC were to have him continue down the path of mysticism and sorcery like in Future State then him becoming a member of Shadowpact would be pretty interesting. but no matter what direction they take with him I would hope they do more with Gnomon. his history with Elaine is the last dangling plot thread Duke has left and I would like them to flesh that out so Duke can finally feel like he's 100% out of his "origin" phase.

Ironically his connection with Gnonom makes him a good fit for the new Outsiders run. It's a mystery he wants to solve and it could delve into the history of the DCU in a new way.

I'm fine with him moving to a new city tho but I'm not sure how it would affect sales.

[Factor]

I’d put him in a Gotham Knights team book where each member has a core role.

Signal - patrols the city and alerts the other Knights when threats get big enough
Tim Drake (as Radar) - their lead detective
Oracle - mission control, online intel gathering
Batgirls (Cassie and Steph) intel gatherers (through undercover or covert missions)
Batwing - tech expert
Azrael - supernatural expert

I’d also like to see Duke and Tim become closer friends, possibly as an unofficial duo (Radar and Signal).

[NOCTPHOENIX]

Gotham knights is poison right now

I know the show was ass but the game too?