What should be next for Duke Thomas?

[the illustrious mr. kenway]

Duke being Robin would feel like a demotion. I rather keep him as Signal or give him a different call-sign.

I don't mind touching base on the We Are Robin kids but I rather see it like a high class reunion. They all moved on and went their seperate ways so I'd try to capture that than keep them stagnant.

[Aahz]

Duke being Robin would feel like a demotion.

Would also be odd if the new Robin would be like 3-5 year older than the current one.

And sharing the title with Damian (or maybe even with Tim and Damian) would also not really help Duke.

[marvelprince]

I know the show was ass but the game too?

The game is fine now, but it launched poorly so it still has a negative stigma attached to it.

[the illustrious mr. kenway]

Would also be odd if the new Robin would be like 3-5 year older than the current one.

And sharing the title with Damian (or maybe even with Tim and Damian) would also not really help Duke.

It might've worked if Damian stayed dead but that ship has sailed.

[Rac7d*]

It might've worked if Damian stayed dead but that ship has sailed.

Duke is older then Tim, hes grown man, in college, apartment, taking care of himself
he's fine,

Actually he would be great for a new young justice

[NOCTPHOENIX]

Duke is younger than Tim.

Duke never needed Robin to be honest.

[the illustrious mr. kenway]

Duke is older then Tim, hes grown man, in college, apartment, taking care of himself
he's fine,

Actually he would be great for a new young justice

I'm talking back when Damian died. That was even before Duke was apart of We Are Robin.

[Rac7d*]

I'm talking back when Damian died. That was even before Duke was apart of We Are Robin.

oh back when he was barely a character.

[Emperorjones]

Of the options given, I like the idea of Duke moving to a new city. I think "The Hill" miniseries for Red Hood could've been a good place to put Duke instead. I also wouldn't mind seeing him in Outsiders again. Duke being part of the Black Lightning Family is an interesting idea, and I would be cool with that too.

[skyvolt2000]

Gotham knights is poison right now

To who???

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).

It's hard to do that when you got folks LOOKING for a reason to not support when it's not Batman or Peter Parker in badly done books like they are now.

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

Meanwhile Peter Parker, Miles, Spider Punk, Silk, Jessica Drew, Miguel, Gwen, Venom, Carnage and the rest seem to find ways to NOT get in the way of each other.

It's seems at DC where that is an issue if it's not Robins, It's Lanterns or Flashes.

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

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

If you are going to try that maybe it's time to look beyond the actual problem-the comic book store that wants to gatekeep.

Is it that hard to try an OGN? Like the Beast Boy and Raven line?
That is at least a good 3 OGN series. Get a YA writer NOT named Lamar Giles (Jason Reynolds is probably not available) and go from there.

You would solve a few issues...

A black lead OGN to challenge Miles Morales.

Automatic sales to schools like the Beast Boy & Raven series. I know Jackson has one but for some odd reason that is the ONE OGN we can't seem to order for some reason. Nubia's didn't have that issue.

That breakdown HITS on everything falls under a YA book. And there is nothing saying you can't include Batman or Nightwing or whoever else you want. Let all the major Duke stuff happen in the OGN. Let the comics have a footnote to reference something if needed.

I would say do 3 books as most lines tend to do that. That should cover a year.

If you wanted a floppy-you can condense a book to certain parts and have a 48 page one shot.

[the illustrious mr. kenway]

oh back when he was barely a character.

Yeah. Robin isn't the end goal but a steeping stone. So putting Duke as Robin after being Signal would be a downgrade.

[lemonpeace]

Duke being Robin would feel like a demotion. I rather keep him as Signal or give him a different call-sign.

I don't mind touching base on the We Are Robin kids but I rather see it like a high class reunion. They all moved on and went their seperate ways so I'd try to capture that than keep them stagnant.

Duke is younger than Tim.

Duke never needed Robin to be honest.

I only added that option because (believe it or not) i still see people saying Duke should be "an official Robin" to this day. I threw in the We are Robin bit in there because imo I think that's the only way I can see Duke being Robin in way that makes sense with the current DC universe. how I imagine that route would go is, Duke would take everything he's learned as The Signal and use it to revive the Robin gang and would lead it as just himself.

personally, Duke doing anything with the Robin mantle is my second least desired direction for him behind him retiring/dying. I said it before (and it's an unpopular opinion) but We are Robin is already one of the most compelling developments on the Robin legacy since Dick Grayson. I feel like Duke's graduation out of that movement, his time as Batman's protege, him becoming the Signal and joining the Outsiders, is all indicative that he's outgrown the need for taking that Robin mantle. plus we already have Tim and Damian fighting over/sharing that mantle, Duke just recently stopped being trashed by those fandoms for encroaching on their terf. i'd say just let them have that and keep Duke clear of all that mess.

[lemonpeace]

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).

I think this could be a compelling direction, and I think having Duke and Tim work together would go a long way toward rehabbing both characters (especially with Tim as a new ID). my biggest concern though is Duke would HAVE to be the lead character of that ensemble to offset the fact that it's already far more likely that creative teams will push him to the sidelines in favor of the older more established characters on the team [see: Hill's run on Outsiders].

[Aahz]

my biggest concern though is Duke would HAVE to be the lead character of that ensemble

Wouldn't make much sense in universe since everybody else on that line up is far more experienced than Duke.

Same goes btw. for him becoming the leader of the Outsiders, unless you come up with roaster of completely new characters for that team.

[Godlike13]

Putting Duke in a book with Tim, the Batgirls, Oracle, ect. And then have him be the lead, ya I’m not sure there would be a faster way to get Bat family readers to turn on him lol.