Who is Duke Thomas? A Brief History of The Signal

Duke Thomas has been a player in the Batman universe for quite a while now but has mostly served a supporting role. Now with Dark Days behind us and Batman and the Signal ahead of us, it is clear he will be playing a much larger role in the future. So there has really never been a better time to dive into this character and learn more about him. If you’re interested in a more elaborate history, make sure to read our Duke Thomas Timeline.

Today we are looking into his relatively short history in the DC Universe and breaking down the major stories that readers can use to learn more about him.

Zero Year

Readers are given their first ever look at a young Duke Thomas during the “Zero Year” storyline. In this story, Duke is a young boy still living at home. However, he is already showing signs of intelligence and determination as he tries to think of a riddle to stump the Riddler himself.

The portions of “Zero Year” with Duke can be found in Batman Vol. 5: Zero Year- Dark City (Review).

Endgame

In the “Endgame” storyline Duke was held hostage by the Joker and forced to play a part in his plan to defeat Batman. The end result was that Batman saved Duke but was too late to save his parents. They were gassed with Joker toxin and driven crazy by the effects. Duke was left on his own without his parents or anyone else there to take care of him.

This story can be found collected in Batman Vol. 7: Endgame or Joker: Endgame.

We Are Robin

The We are Robin series starts right where the “Endgame” storyline left off. Duke is still missing his parents but now he is determined to find them. Along the way, he gets caught up in the “Robin” movement, an effort by local teens to use vigilantism to protect their city. He becomes heavily involved with the Robins and helps them go on missions. He gets so good at the job that he ends up playing a pivotal role in the “Robin War” crossover event (for more details see our Robin War Timeline).

After the “Robin War” the Robins are left disbanded and unable to go on any more missions. However, Duke is still busy trying to find his parents. He eventually finds them only to discover the horrific truth, they were exposed to so much Joker toxin that it is still effecting them. The doctors are not sure if the couple will ever recover.

Duke joins the Robins in We are Robin Vol. 1: The Vigilante Business (Review), participates in the “Robin War” in Robin War (Review), and finds his parents in We are Robin Vol. 2: Jokers.

 

 See our Duke Thomas Timeline/Reading Order right here

Post-Batman

After Batman “dies” while fighting the Joker, former Police Commissioner Gordon steps up to the role. The new Batman begins investigating a mysterious Mr. Bloom who is causing problems throughout the city. Alongside this, Duke launches his own investigation into the matter and tries to solve the mystery in a way that he believes Batman would. This leads to him playing a large role in the final confrontation with Bloom.

These events are chronicled in Batman Vol. 8: Superheavy and Batman Vol. 9: Bloom.

All-Star Batman

At the beginning of the Rebirth Batman series, Bruce Wayne officially offers Duke a position training under him. The offer is not for a position as Robin though, instead it will be “something new.”

Their training sessions are detailed throughout the backup issues of the first two All-Star Batman story arcs. Duke begins to slowly learn the skills he will need to use to fight crime, but also begins to learn more about himself and how he wants to personally approach crime fighting. He does not want to do things like Batman and even goes out to investigate in the middle of the day at one point.

All of this leads into the big reveal of the series, that Duke Thomas has a mysterious set of superpowers. In a confrontation against an old enemy, Duke unintentionally uses these powers to save his own life. Readers are given little information about what these powers are or where they came from.

Bruce offers Duke the position at the beginning of Batman Vol. 1: I am Gotham (Review). Duke’s story in All-Star Batman can be found in All-Star Batman Vol. 1: My Own Worst Enemy (Review) and All-Star Batman Vol. 2: Ends of the Earth.

Dark Days

Duke ends up as a major player in both Dark Days one-shots. In these comics we learn that his mother was a part of a secret organization called “The Immortal Men” and that this could be where Duke’s powers come from. We also see Duke use his powers again when they are activated by the presence of the mysterious Nth Metal. We still don’t know everything about his history but we are starting to learn a little more.

These two stories can be found in Dark Days: The Forge (Review) and Dark Days: The Casting (Review). These stories will soon be collected in Dark Days: The Road to Metal.

The Future

This November, Duke will be getting a solo series titled Batman and the Signal. The series has been slated as a three issue miniseries and will be written by Tony Patrick and Scott Snyder with art by Cully Hammer. It will explore Duke’s life under his new identity as the Signal, a member of the Bat-family who fights crime in the daylight.

 

Duke Thomas is certainly an interesting character and is guaranteed to play a larger role as DC Comics moves toward the future. Let us know your thoughts on Duke and what you think his role should be by connecting with us on Facebook and Twitter.

Also, make sure to let us know if you want to see us break down any other characters in the future. We already broke down Barbatos, the main villain from Dark Nights: Metal, here but will be adding more in the coming weeks.

If you’re interested in a more elaborate history, make sure to read our Duke Thomas Timeline.