How do you feel about Duke Thomas?

[DragonPiece]

The 2nd part of Dark Days is next month. After that, we'll have Metal which will be 6 issues.

I don't think Duke is apart of the actual metal event, I think his new book will be apart of the dark matter line though.

[the illustrious mr. kenway]

I like the character but he hasn't stood out to me yet.

[millernumber1]

I don't think Duke is apart of the actual metal event, I think his new book will be apart of the dark matter line though.

I'm a bit confused - which of the Metal spin-offs is Duke's book?

[AcesX1X]

excited for duke to get a book. but what will his superhero name be?

[Atlanta96]

After reading Dark Days the Casting, I feel like I've been too hard on Duke and my criticisms have been a bit exaggerated. Now that some time has passed and my anger has died down, he's not so bad. I'm willing to give him a chance and I look forward to his solo.

[darkseidpwns]

Who are you and what have you done with Atlanta 96?

[protege]

So duke's getting his own book, eh? Well, not sure how i feel about it at the moment. I was intrigued with duke as a robin, but since that isn't happening.... i haven't really been following the character, because batman is a hard title for me to get into. One thing i'll say, he needs a better codename than "lark", and a better color scheme than canary yellow for his costume.

[Assam]

After reading Dark Days the Casting, I feel like I've been too hard on Duke and my criticisms have been a bit exaggerated. Now that some time has passed and my anger has died down, he's not so bad. I'm willing to give him a chance and I look forward to his solo.

Glad to see you've finally come around to seeing Duke's obvious multiple distinct personality traits and the abundance of other things that make him unique. (For real though, when I saw you'd posted, I was half expecting you to make this joke.)

Also, is what DragonPiece said true? Duke is only a part of Dark Days, not Metal? Because if that's true, WOW did they drop the ball. We already know that Duke is gonna have some big stuff revolving around him in the next issue, but if this issue was their attempt to show off to everyone why they should buy a Duke solo, then it seems as if they think the only problem with the character was that he wasn't a chosen one yet, and not any of the many, many other problems.

[godisawesome]

Anyone else a wrestling fan here? Because I think a hilariously accurate comparison for Duke would be Roman Reigns; a character largely introduced in a fairly well recieved team, then "pushed to the stars", with the result being that while the character and his stories aren't bad, but seem vaguely derivative and some viewers see his "push" as interfering with other characters' push.

The comparison isn't perfect; comics have an advantage over WWE in terms of having a large enough "stage" to have multiple characters get the spotlight. I'd argue Duke's biggest problem is that he'd not been "booked" with any good opponents or tag team partners; I'd be up for seeing Duke interacting with the other Batkids to define why older fans should like him. Even a team up with Tim Drake would probably work out by letting their differences get highlighted and played with.

[Katana500]

I'd argue Duke's biggest problem is that he'd not been "booked" with any good opponents or tag team partners; I'd be up for seeing Duke interacting with the other Batkids to define why older fans should like him. Even a team up with Tim Drake would probably work out by letting their differences get highlighted and played with.

Duke could easily have a decent supporting cast - Gotham Girl, The WAR kids (especially Riko cause she was my favourite), Julie Madison plus can make use of Batman's entire supporting cast. That said I think pairing him up could be cool - especially with Tim as like you said you could overcome a large criticism that he is just a Tim Clone which I dont believe but some do.

[darkseidpwns]

You know the really sad thing about Duke is that I think he could have worked if Snyder really wanted it. All Scott had to do was step out of his comfort zone. For instance Snyder could have taken over the Batman Beyond franchise, that world suits all his strengths as a writer( gadgets, armor, edgy young Batman etc). Duke could easily have been Robin Beyond but Snyder chose to remain head honcho of the mainstream Batline. He could have easily given second life to the Beyond franchise.
Now he's going to hand over Duke to another new writer while he continues to write All Star, a DC wide event and retain influence over the Bat line. This insincerity was also evident with Calvin Rose and Harper Row and that's why I cant care about Duke. He's dead on arrival, if Snyder himself isn't willing to take a risk with him then why should fans?

[Atlanta96]

That's what happens when a writer cares more about their legacy than actually writing good stories. Lots of changes, shock moments, and new elements introduced. But it still comes off as less important or creative than other Batman stories because of the heartlessness of it all. Duke is one of the most insincere characters ever created. He's obviously meant to take off and become a big deal, but lacks everything he needs to actually become a big deal. This character will probably come to a very depressing end.

[AcesX1X]

you guys are talking about him like he is a lost cause. it's a little silly imo

[Atlanta96]

you guys are talking about him like he is a lost cause. it's a little silly imo

Not as silly as acting like he's destined for greatness.

[AcesX1X]

maybe he is maybe he isn't.