Duke Thomas

From Multiversal Omnipedia
Jump to: navigation, search
The Signal in Batman and the Signal v1 #1.

Duke Thomas is a male comic superhero who features in DC Comics.

Contents

Biography

Origin

Part of the Robin movement in We Are Robin v1 #1.

Duke Thomas a male human who was born in the modern age with him being the son of Elaine Thomas and Doug Thomas.

According to one account, his mother was a Metahuman and met a person by the name of Gnomon who offered her a great secret. During their time together, it was said that Elaine became pregnant with Gnomon's child and rejected him where she fled to Gotham City. Once there, she hid herself and the child in the city where she met Doug Thomas who came to accept the new born Duke Thomas as his own child. (Batman and the Signal v1 #3) After his birth, the child was taken to the couple's home which was an apartment at Tracy Towers. (All-Star Batman v1 #2)

As a young boy, he said that he had looked up to his older cousin Jay. (Batman and the Signal v1 #1) Jay was known to had enlisted in the military where he was in Special Forces and served at Qurac. (Batman and the Signal v1 #3)

Whilst Gotham was in shambles, Duke was trying to survive by attempting to catch fish that were swimming in the flooded subway systems. After catching one, he was targeted by a gang and attempted to run away where he was nearly caught. However, he was saved by the Batman who knocked the gang members unconscious with the Dark Knight returning the fish to Thomas. The boy warned him that the man that brought the city to its knees believed the vigilante to be dead to which Batman replied by saying that his foe would not see him coming. (Batman v2 #21)

The Thomas family found the unconscious Bruce Wayne and took him to their residence in Bell Tower where they cared for him. As the Zero Year occurred, Duke helped look after Wayne as the family remained trapped in their apartment block. The Riddler then made a challenge to the city that if they could answer his riddle then he would abandon his control of Gotham. Duke then tried to find an answer to the riddle but always failed to beat them. (Batman v2 #30)

Trapped in the foster care system, Duke came to end up in a number fights that threatened to send him to juvenile detention. Leslie Thompkins was involved in his case where she attempted to find him a foster family. However, Duke continued his efforts in finding his missing parents and continued his search in secret even after being placed with a new family. (We Are Robin! v1 #1)

The Signal

Duke Thomas as Lark in All-Star Batman v1 #3.

Thomas was later called to Wayne Manor where Bruce Wayne met him at the Batcave and wanted to enlist his aid but not as Robin but in a new role. (Batman: Rebirth v1 #1) He was put through a training regime by Batman called the Cursed Wheel that as set to bring about his true potential. (All-Star Batman v1 #1)

Batman was later on a mission related to the mysteries surrounding Nth Metal leading to Duke being tasked with guarding the Batcave. This led to a confrontation with the Green Lantern, Hal Jordan, who had been sent by The Guardians of the Universe to investigate sinister cosmic omens pointing to that location. Duke joined the investigation and together they found a secret level of Batcave. In the hidden level were various clues that Batman had collected and stored over the years related to Nth Metal, as well as a prison holding the Joker. (Dark Days: The Forge v1 #1) The Joker taunts the heroes into freeing him using the secrets he has learned from the cave. He reveals the origins of metahumans, and that Batman recruited Duke because Duke and his mother are metahumans who are connected to a "Dark Crisis". In the chaos of their fight, The Joker destroyed Batman's machines before escaping the two heroes and vanishing from the cave entirely. Batman arrives and confirms there is some truth to what the Joker said. Duke's powers begin to manifest, and using a Green Lantern ring and the power of the Shazam's dagger, the trio unknowingly set off the chain of events leading to the invasion of Barbatos and the Dark Multiverse. (Dark Days: The Casting v1 #1)

In the aftermath, he began to operate as a hero during the day time where he took the name of the Signal and attempted to learn about his innate powers. By this point, his older cousin Jay who was ex-military and now worked in security had served as his legal guardian whilst Duke's parents were ill. Batman had tasked Duke with finding out the source of the mysterious rise in the number of Metahumans in Gotham City. Duke's first solo mission as The Signal was to investigate the sudden spike in dead metahuman bodies being discovered all throughout The Narrows. This led Signal into conflict with The Null, a metahuman from the Arkham Juvenile Detention Center that was referred to as 'Juvie Arkham'. After defeating Null, Signal decided to investigate further into Juvie Arkham, which had once been the old Gotham solarium before being reworked to house metahuman delinquents. Duke used his Ghost Vision to infiltrate Juvie Arkham and walked straight into an ambush. (Batman and the Signal v1 #1) Luckily, Detective Aisi arrived just in time to help Signal make a narrow escape. Later, The Signal met up with Detective Aisi to compare notes. Using his photokinetic sight to examine a tissue sample from one of the dead metahumans, Signal discovered trace amounts of Nth metal embedded in the skin of the sample. The metal and the sample appeared to be react Duke but also to something in the air. That is when Signal noticed a strange solar pattern radiating from the Gotham Proper housing project. Signal theorized someone must be using Gotham Proper to direct supercharged solar energy toward different sections of the city like a sundial, creating unstable metahumans across The Narrows. Duke returns to the Batcave to bring his new theory to Bruce when the bat-computer is hijacked by someone calling himself Gnomon. He shows them a live broadcasts of The Narrows overrun with innumerable metahumans, all chanting Duke's name, as they wreak havoc across the city. Gnomon reveals that he is the one creating the metahumans. Gnomon claimed to have created the metahumans for Duke as a gift, asking Duke to join him. Duke and Bruce head out as Batman & The Signal to stop the villain. (Batman and the Signal v1 #2)

Confronting Gnomon on the roof, the man revealed that he was Duke's biological father who had lived for centuries and had created the Solar Arc to create a new generation of Metahumans that would serve his son as an army. (Batman and the Signal v1 #3)

The Signal later went to investigate the home of Batman fan Darin Griffith when he was ambushed by a masked perpetrator who detonated explosives at the residence. This led to Griffith's death and left Duke badly wounded but he was cared for by Alfred Pennyworth. Though his suit protected him, his injuries meant that he needed time to recover and heal at the Batcave. (Detective Comics v1 #983)

In Gotham, he worked with Orphan when they confronted an armed gunmen named Saint John where he resented to be trained by Black Lightning. (Batman and the Outsiders v3 #1)

He was among the members of the Bat Family who answered the call when Oracle came back online that was gathering them together to end the destruction caused to Gotham as the result of the Joker War. The Signal assembled behind Nightwing as he along with the others fought Punchline's gang of criminal clowns. Nightwing was able to defeat the Joker's right hand woman leading to her arrest and eventual trial. (Batman v3 #100)

Duke's daytime emissary status was later reinstated by Batman who made Thomas the sole member of the Bat-family that received to both potential and current threats between sunrise and sunset. He then responded to a disturbance at Robinson Park only to find the danger already handled by Riko Sheridan and Daxton Chill both of whom became vigilantes on their own. Riko was operating as Rook where she resented Duke for abandoning them and joining Batman leading to a fight with him. They came to steal his powers which Rook used to infiltrate the secret White Market that was a daytime operation used to sell weapons ad equipment to supervillains. After escaping from Alt, the Signal followed into the cloaked White Market but Rook was discovered leading to the villains attacking the intruders. Duke allowed Riko to escape and barely managed to flee from the villains himself though was badly injured. He awoke in the Hatch after his Metahuman abilities healed his injuries. Batman came to brief Duke about the White Market along with reports of the Religion of Crime having returned to Gotham. (Batman Secret Files: The Signal v1 #1)

Overview

Personality and attributes

On superhero identities, he initially thought of the Lark in his notes but it was later decided that he was going to be named the Signal. (Batman and the Signal v1 #1)

It was said that he had sought to be a new kind of hero for Gotham that was independent and separate from Batman. (Batman and the Signal v1 #1)

She was noted for being a social worker who helped the kids in the Narrows to get them back on track. (All-Star Batman v1 #2)

One account claimed that the mysterious figure known as Gnomon was his actual biological father. (Batman and the Signal v1 #3)

He was a fan of Luke Fox's MMA fights that Duke watched with his father which meant a lot to him when he was growing up. (Detective Comics v1 #952)

Initially, when operating as a hero, he looked to do so under the mantle of Robin. However, Duke believed Robin did not need a Batman in order to operate. Thomas believed that Robin was unlike Batman as they patrolled the streets whilst the Dark Knights was high on a building gargoyle. (Batman v2 #45) He told Batman that he had no desire to be a sidekick but trained under his wing to be a partner and fellow crime fighter. (All-Star Batman v1 #1)

Batman remarked that Duke represented Gotham's best who was a born and bred Metahuman inhabitant of the city with unparalleled detective skills who was trained for League level leadership. (Batman Secret Files: The Signal v1 #1)

Duke had said that the reason he chose yellow for his costume was because he operated during daylight. (Batman and the Outsiders v3 #17)

Izzy Ortiz and Riko Sheridan were later given clearance to use the Hatch where they were to help Duke when he operated as the Signal. (Batman Secret Files: The Signal v1 #1)

Powers and abilities

The potential for superpowers was said to had been given to him by the infinite blood from his biological father Gnomon. (Batman and the Signal v1 #3) This resulted in him being designated a Metahuman who was tied to the mysterious Multiversal metals tied to the cosmos. (Dark Days: The Casting v1 #1)

After being taken under Batman's wing, he was put through the Cursed Wheel that was a condensed version of his training regimen that he obtained when he was abroad but was sharpened with it applying tenets taught to him by Alfred Pennyworth. Among these included tenets about the deepest aspects of human identity with every part of the Wheel designed for a different part of his psychology. (All-Star Batman v1 #1)

Phase two of his training involved team-building with the Outsiders which he succeeded in accomplishing. This led to phase three of the immersion program which was citywide response and ecosystem analysis. Duke was later provided a drive by Batman that contained all his insights, contingency plans and journals over the last few years that would help Thomas become his own superhero. (Batman Secret Files: The Signal v1 #1)

Another ability was to use light to create a living replay button of events that had passed. (Batman and the Signal v1 #1) This was a useful ability in combat as he could see the attacks of an enemy before they began their moves allowing Duke to avoid the assault and any resultant damage. (Batman and the Signal v1 #2)

The photokinetic vision could also show him things outside the spectrum range even into boundaries across dimensions if he touched objects with ties to the wider Multiverse. (The Unexpected v3 #4)

As a result of Ishmael's torture, Duke experienced a change in his abilities where he said he could no longer see the light but only darkness. (Batman and the Outsiders v3 #7) Thomas was shown to be capable of manipulating darkness where he said he controlled it like water where similar to a tide he could push it to spread around him or pull it into him. He claimed that the power did not hurt and in fact had felt natural to him. (Batman and the Outsiders v3 #8) During a field test, he used his powers to project darkness around his targets to leave them confused and easy to hit. (Batman and the Outsiders v3 #9) This allowed him to give crucial aid to his allies especially those that were accustomed to fighting in the dark. (Batman and the Outsiders v3 #10)

Initially, he could only operate one of his two abilities but this came to evolve where he could use light and shadows at the same time. It was also noted that he manifested a form of rapid healing ability. (Batman Secret Files: The Signal v1 #1)

He had an electrical grid running through his suit that could be discharged in his belt to shock people holding onto him. It also included a stealth mode allowing his armor to go invisible to avoid detection or pursuit. (Batman and the Signal v1 #2)

Batman had established a secret base for him underneath the Lucius Fox Center with this being known as the Hatch. (Batman and the Signal v1 #1)

Notes

  • Duke Thomas was created by Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo where he made his first appearance in Batman v2 #21 (August, 2013).
  • In an interview, artist Tony Patrick, "I was mesmerized because Duke Thomas, to me, represents a different aspect of Gotham. I was really fascinated by the nooks and crannies of some of those major DCU cities like Metropolis, Coast City, and, of course, Gotham City. Duke Thomas to me in this new role, being the daytime acolyte, is such a colossal opportunity to explore the ecosystem and other narratives that would present themselves. To be able to work with Scott and see the inner workings of a genius comic book writer’s mind, just to get his feedback was invaluable. Learning Scott’s process, the inner workings of the DCU, and pinpointing what your own creative process might be."

Alternate Versions

  • In Batman and Robin: Futures End v1 #1 (2014) Duke featured as Robin in the alternate future timeline known as Future's End where he operated as Batman's partner.
  • In Batman: White Knight v1 (2017), an alternate world was shown with Duke Thomas having a different history in this timeline. Duke was shown to be older and had served in the military where he was in Special Forces. He returned to Gotham City with him joining the G.C.P.D. where he reached the rank of lieutenant. Thomas resigned from service when he attempted to report corruption in the police only for him to be ignored. He then looked to consolidating the gangs to help them and prevent acts of violence with him operating at Backport. Jack Napier approached him and looked to acquiring his aid during his campaign to shut down Batman.
  • In Future State: The Next Batman v1 #1 (2021), an alternate version of Duke Thomas appeared in the possible timeline of Future State. In this future, it was shown that Gotham City fell under the control of the Magistrate with it being enforced by his Peacekeepers with vigilantism being declared a crime. Duke in this environment came to operate as a political figure in the underground where he looked to help the people of Gotham.

Appearances

  • Batman v2: (2013)
  • We Are Robin v1:
  • Grayson v1:
  • Dark Days: The Casting 1:
  • Batman: Rebirth v1:
  • All-Star Batman v1:
  • Batman and the Signal v1:
  • The Unexpected v3:
  • Detective Comics v1:
  • Batman and the Outsiders v3: (2019)
  • Batman v3: (2020)
  • Batman Secret Files: The Signal v1: (2021)

External Links

This article is a stub. You can help Multiversal Omnipedia by expanding it.

Personal tools
Namespaces
Variants
Actions
Navigation
Toolbox