Exactly, I feel Dre was a well-utilized "Lancer" to Duke's archetypal "Leader", and we saw Dre get geared up by Dre and strike out when We are Robin broke up in the series; he definitely was just as destined for the hero life as Duke. It's shame we're less likely to see Dre and Dax than Riko and Izzy (largely due to DC favoring tired tropes like love triangles) because I feel they have a lot of potential in their own right away from Duke and Batman, possibly into the wider hero society. In a perfect world, I think a good pivot would've been if we had Gnomon try recruiting Riko and Dre, maybe even have Gnomon's motivations and intentions make moral sense, and present the chance for complex character development from all parties. I mean, how cool would it be to see Gnomon nurturing Riko & Dre into full on pro-level heroes/anti-heroes similar to what Bruce did for Duke. I think all the Robin gang have potential and it would definitely strengthen Duke's cast and character mythology for DC to lean into that. it would further ingrain We are Robin (and the elements of it that made it compelling) into Duke's character as the Signal, which at this phase lacks the same depth. hell, my headcanon is eventually one Duke reaches his Future State revolutionary stage, they reform their gang under his banner; like a nod to the Immortal Men, changing the world with his own pseudo "House".
would, could ,should, allat, I'm just happy we see something for Duke. with Robin King Tony Patrick proved to me that not only does he follow what Duke's developments are but that he also knows how to build on things. So i'm very excited to see how he builds on his Batman & the Signal but also the roll Duke's just had (Tales from the Dark Multiverse, Robin King, & Future State). I reeeeeeally hope he moves Duke toward his Future State incarnation with some Gnomon developments on top of that, that would be perfect for me. can't wait for July!