Duke Thomas Fan Club Headquarters 2024: The Signal, Outsiders, We are Robin

[lemonpeace]

in the back of DC Power they had lil character profiles for each of the heroes featured. couple of lil errors on Duke's but they do propose an interesting idea about Duke's Signal armor



they claim that Duke's suit further enhances his metahuman abilities. I actually think that would be a cool concept and would give added purpose to Duke's suit being armored rather than the typical hero costume. it makes me think that maybe they should lean into that if they ever do a redesign, go with a tokusatsu inspired angle.

[Will Evans]

in the back of DC Power they had lil character profiles for each of the heroes featured. couple of lil errors on Duke's but they do propose an interesting idea about Duke's Signal armor



they claim that Duke's suit further enhances his metahuman abilities. I actually think that would be a cool concept and would give added purpose to Duke's suit being armored rather than the typical hero costume. it makes me think that maybe they should lean into that if they ever do a redesign, go with a tokusatsu inspired angle.

So Duke’s parents did die?
I thought they were still Jokerized somewhere but not dead?

[lemonpeace]

So Duke’s parents did die?
I thought they were still Jokerized somewhere but not dead?

that's one of the errors I was talking about. we don't have any confirmation on Doug (his step dad) but, as far as the in-story canon goes, his mother is definitely alive and well and un-jokerized

from "Signal & the Outsiders" in Urban Legends #19

other errors:

• they say he discovered him and his father have metahuman powers, the discovery was about him and his mother.
• his powers come from both his biological parents, not just from Gnomon. by the time he discovered who his father was he already knew about his powers and his mother being a metahuman.
• another more more semantic one is they claim his powers are "amplified by sunlight" but his powers are simply solar based, he manipulates sunlight, the sun doesn't necessarily amplify his abilities. it's like saying Mera's powers are "amplified" by water.
• building on that, they don't even really say what his powers do. they just say that they're amplified by sunlight. more of an omission than a "error" per say but I felt it was worth pointing out.

you gotta remember, a lot of times (at least nowadays) these lil profiles aren't done by like writers or people who are really in the know about what's going on with the characters. I'm fairly certain the deepest the research for these go is a quick Google search with little to no fact checking.

[lemonpeace]

another Duke Thomas piece by the same artist, @ScythGrizz, that did the starbolt commission for me

[Rac7d*]

that's one of the errors I was talking about. we don't have any confirmation on Doug (his step dad) but, as far as the in-story canon goes, his mother is definitely alive and well and un-jokerized

from "Signal & the Outsiders" in Urban Legends #19

other errors:

• they say he discovered him and his father have metahuman powers, the discovery was about him and his mother.
• his powers come from both his biological parents, not just from Gnomon. by the time he discovered who his father was he already knew about his powers and his mother being a metahuman.
• another more more semantic one is they claim his powers are "amplified by sunlight" but his powers are simply solar based, he manipulates sunlight, the sun doesn't necessarily amplify his abilities. it's like saying Mera's powers are "amplified" by water.
• building on that, they don't even really say what his powers do. they just say that they're amplified by sunlight. more of an omission than a "error" per say but I felt it was worth pointing out.

you gotta remember, a lot of times (at least nowadays) these lil profiles aren't done by like writers or people who are really in the know about what's going on with the characters. I'm fairly certain the deepest the research for these go is a quick Google search with little to no fact checking.

Duke is a good titan candidate
He’s wasted as batfam

[J. D. Guy]

another Duke Thomas piece by the same artist, @ScythGrizz, that did the starbolt commission for me

Kinda feels like an alt take on We Are Robin Duke.

[lemonpeace]

Kinda feels like an alt take on We Are Robin Duke.

personally speaking, I think that's why Sumit Kumar and/or Brandon Thomas decided to go with this direction for Duke's design in Future State. like, they wanted to take the Signal design and bring it closer to Duke's more iconic and recognizable look; being his We are Robin design. kinda like DC tried to do with Wally West when he returned in DC: Rebirth before they defaulted him back to his 90s costume. plus the FS design also simplifies Duke's Signal design, which probably makes him easier to draw. that's what makes that design so great in my opinion, especially how Scyth does it here, it feels like you can look at it and recognize him across his entire story from Zero Year to We are Robin to Batman & The Signal. it takes his fro like he had back in zero year but with the parts from when he started training with Batman, plus the jacket, the yellow eyes, and the light manipulation on display? it's great mix of all of the little aestetic choices that have been made with Duke over the years that SHOULD have made him unique and idiosyncratic. I'm glad Duke fans are incorporating his Future State look for their pieces. in a perfect world we'd see more people using that design and less people doing Duke redesigns or defaulting to his nameless era/training suit.

[the illustrious mr. kenway]

another Duke Thomas piece by the same artist, @ScythGrizz, that did the starbolt commission for me

It's a good street level look for Duke.

[lemonpeace]

Duke is a good titan candidate
He’s wasted as batfam

While I have been resistant to Duke ending up on the Titans before, I'm coming around to the idea now that DC took the Outsiders brand and given it over to Luke and Kate. assuming this run doesn't get ignored once it concludes and we just return to Black Lightning, Katana, and Duke. If DC is sticking to the idea of the Titans succeeding the Justice League then maybe they could start expanding their roster. Iunno if DC is willing to put Duke in the main Titans team with Nightwing, Starfire, Cyborg, etc. but I wouldn't mind that. or they could revive the Team Titans as like a spin-off group from the main Titans and put Duke over their with other characters that represent that new next generation of heroes trying to break into the pro-hero/Justice League level like Nightwing and his friends set out to do when they formed the Titans.

[the illustrious mr. kenway]

While I have been resistant to Duke ending up on the Titans before, I'm coming around to the idea now that DC took the Outsiders brand and given it over to Luke and Kate. assuming this run doesn't get ignored once it concludes and we just return to Black Lightning, Katana, and Duke. If DC is sticking to the idea of the Titans succeeding the Justice League then maybe they could start expanding their roster. Iunno if DC is willing to put Duke in the main Titans team with Nightwing, Starfire, Cyborg, etc. but I wouldn't mind that. or they could revive the Team Titans as like a spin-off group from the main Titans and put Duke over their with other characters that represent that new next generation of heroes trying to break into the pro-hero/Justice League level like Nightwing and his friends set out to do when they formed the Titans.

Duke leading a Titans West style spinoff would be cool.

[lemonpeace]

Duke leading a Titans West style spinoff would be cool.

who would you put on his Titans spin off team? what would the team be called?

[the illustrious mr. kenway]

who would you put on his Titans spin off team? what would the team be called?

Probably Titans West or North depending on where it's set.

I'd add Dre from We are robin, Summer Hadid, Rags and Bratgirl from TT Academy, Mal, Karen and Lagoon Boy.

It's a bit packed but I wanted a good mix of characters. I wanted to avoid the usual Titan players and give some obscure characters a chance to shine.

[Hellscream]

Just dropping some info.. Duke Thomas/Signal shows up in the Batman Brave in the Bold story called the Nameless. The story is not focused on him but on the criminal. The Black History month special just reminds me no one really have a clue, what to do with the character. Thats why there are so many variants and the most recent story Duke is not using his power and in his old Signal suit. But the story could be before the Batamn and the Signal mini.

[lemonpeace]

Just dropping some info.. Duke Thomas/Signal shows up in the Batman Brave in the Bold story called the Nameless. The story is not focused on him but on the criminal. The Black History month special just reminds me no one really have a clue, what to do with the character. Thats why there are so many variants and the most recent story Duke is not using his power and in his old Signal suit. But the story could be before the Batamn and the Signal mini.

I was just about to come and talk about that; you beat me to the punch lol. yeah, the Brave in the Bold story was nice, definitely was more about the nameless villain than Duke but it was a pretty good addition to Duke's canon nonetheless. he was portrayed well enough, his charactization was consistent with titles like Batman & The Signal, which at this point is the bare minimum for him these days. I would like if him using his powers was the minimum but we take what we get.

I liked the DC Power story too but, admittedly, I do feel it was an odd choice for Brandon Thomas to go the Duke is Batman in the Future route. it would've felt more fulfilling if he met with like his Future State self or something like that. I think maybe they tried but DC vetoed it or maybe they just thought Future Batman would be a more "inspirational".

[Rac7d*]

who would you put on his Titans spin off team? what would the team be called?

He’s just 18 right
It could be a teen titans. Avery Ho, Powerhouse, Stitch, Cheshire Cat and Static.
I feel like I need a token white male. But yeah Duke could lead this team.