Created by: Scott Snyder (writer) Greg Capullo (artist)
First Appearance: Batman Vol 2 #21 (August 2013).
Powers:
Duke is a metahuman with the ability to absorb, redistribute, and manipulate both light and shadow. Duke's powers come from the metagene, a genetic trait inherited from both of his biological parents; Elaine Thomas and the immortal Gnomon. his powers were initially strictly photokinetic in nature but, after experiencing the touch of Ishmael, Duke's powers "evolved" to include the ability to manipulate darkness as well as light.
Duke's most notable abilities are his precognition and his retrocognition, which he calls his "Ghost Vision". Duke's sight is atemporal, meaning he can see freely across time depending on how he manipulates the way he processes light. Duke can perceive the "ghosts" of where light has been in his vicinity, allowing him to see a few minutes into the past. he can also glimpse into the future by seeing the "ghosts" of where light will be before it gets there. Duke's precognitive abilities plus his training from Batman and all of his former Robins allow him to react to attacks faster than normally possible and even catch projectiles in midair.
Duke's photokinesis can be used to perform a variety of other visual and practical tasks. He can see the entirety of the known Electromagnetic spectrum and beyond, detect someone through walls, ceilings, smoke and most materials, he can focus his vision to see a target at a great distance or extremely small objects down to the subdermal level, and his powers can be used to achieve invisibility. 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. He can use shadows to travel and/or have others traverse distances and coordinate attacks. Duke can also manipulate the darkness he uses to augment his hand to hand combat.
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
The Next Batman (2021) #1 & #3 written by Brandon Thomas art by Sumit Kumar
Batman: Urban Legends (2021) #8 & #9 written by Brandon Thomas art by Cian Tormey
Batman: Urban Legends (2022) #18 & #19 written by Brandon Thomas art by Alberto Jimenez Alburquerque
[stay woke Mr. Thomas, stay woke...]
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