Duke Thomas (character)

Duke Thomas is a DC Comics character created by Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo. He first appeared as a supporting figure for Batman in Batman (vol. 2) #21 in 2013, and later led a youth vigilante movement inspired by Robin in the 2015 series We Are... Robin. In 2016, he became Batman's official partner and a member of the Batman family. Duke later took on the role of Gotham's daylight protector, known as The Signal. He made his animated debut as Robin in the series Batwheels, voiced by AJ Hudson.

Duke first appeared unnamed as a child in Batman (vol. 2) #21 (March 2014), rescued by Batman. His first named appearance was in Batman (vol. 2) #30, which revealed that his parents had saved Bruce Wayne's life before that encounter. He reappeared in Batman: Endgame (October 2014), where the Joker kidnapped him and his parents to psychologically torment Batman. Duke then became a regular character in We Are... Robin, joining a teen vigilante group and training with former Robins during the Robin War storyline. He officially joined the Batman family in Batman: Rebirth #1 (2016) and later adopted the mantle of The Signal in the miniseries Batman and The Signal. He remains a staple in Batman comics and titles featuring the Outsiders.

In Batman: Zero Year, Duke first appears as an unnamed child fishing in derelict Gotham. Thugs try to take his food, but Batman intervenes. Duke tells Batman that the Riddler claims he is dead, and Batman replies that means the Riddler won't see him coming.

In Batman: Endgame, the Joker releases a deadly pathogen mimicking his laugh gas on a large scale. He kidnaps the Thomas family because of their connection to Bruce Wayne, setting up a reenactment of the Wayne murders using an infected Joe Chill. Batman saves Duke, but Duke is forced to leave his parents to an infected mob.

In We Are... Robin, Duke is in foster care, frustrated by the city's lack of care for Joker's victims and his missing parents. Alfred Pennyworth secretly supplies teens with Robin insignia and instructions via an app called "The Nest," forming the We Are Robin group. Alfred, disguised as a police interrogator, encourages Duke to fight for the city and offers help finding his parents if he stops a cult from detonating bombs. Duke becomes an unofficial Robin. He leads part of the group to defuse bombs in a train station. One member, Troy, stays behind to defuse a bomb and dies in the explosion. The group becomes suspicious of The Nest, but Alfred provides gear and encourages them to continue.

After Robin War, most Robins return to normal life. Duke searches for his parents and finds them permanently damaged by the Joker virus. John "Smiley" Bender Jr., a teen with Möbius syndrome forced into surgery that left him with a permanent smile, kills them after escaping juvie. Smiley, idolizing the Joker, starts a gang and terrorizes Gotham. Duke and his friends take him down, then renounce being Robins, deciding to rely on themselves.

In Robin War, after Troy's death, a Robin accidentally kills a robber and a police officer. The Robin laws make it illegal for teens to wear Robin colors, engineered by the Court of Owls. Duke hosts a meeting of remaining Robins, but Damian Wayne crashes it, challenging them to fight him. The GCPD sends "Batman" (Jim Gordon in a robotic suit), who is quickly struck down by Damian. Red Hood and Red Robin stop the fight and call Dick Grayson. One Robin, Travis, confesses to the accidental killings. Duke encourages him to turn himself in, but Travis is killed by a Talon to stir public unrest. The official Robins train the group.