This has been less than ten years since Duke Thomas made his debut in the DC Universe. Created by writer Scott Snyder and artist Greg Capullo during their already classic run on Batman, Duke first appeared in Batman (vol. 2) #21, as an unnamed character, then he made his real entry in Batman (vol. 2) #30 as Duke Thomas.
Raised in the Gotham Narrows by his mother Elaine, a social worker, and Doug Thomas, a humble construction worker, Duke had an ordinary childhood. He was then unaware of who his biological father was (a villain named Gnomon) and that he was a metahuman and had powers.
Anyways, no one in Gotham can claim to have an ordinary life too long. Like so many Gothamites, Duke’s life was changed by the Joker during the events of Endgame with the disappearance of his parents. He was placed into the foster system and soon after, became the leader of a youth movement inspired by Robin.
Duke’s parents were later found, but permanently jokerized. Following this discovery, Bruce officially took Duke under his wings to make him his latest ward and partner-in-crime-fighting. He officially became The Signal in Batman and The Signal #1 (March 2018). He also joined the Outsiders, under Black Lightning’s supervision. You can’t miss him in the streets of Gotham with his yellow armor!
Duke Thomas Reading Order
Duke Thomas New 52
Duke is introduced in Batman #21, part of the Zero Year event, though his first appearance is nothing more than a cameo. A few issues later, he met Batman, a more defining event for the character. In all cases, Duke Thomas didn’t make a big entrance into the DC Universe, and his first issues can be considered optional. Soon enough, his life is changed forever by the Joker in the Endgame story arc and he joined afterwards the Robin movement.
- Batman: Zero Year (optional)
Collects Batman #21-27 and Batman #29-33. Previously reprinted in:- Batman, Vol. 4: Zero Year – Secret City (Collects Batman #21-24)
- Batman, Vol, 5: Zero Year – Dark City (Collects Batman #25-27, #29-33)
- Batman, Vol. 7: Endgame
Collects Batman #35-40. Duke appears in #35, #37-39. - Batman and Robin: Future Ends (optional)
Collected in Futures End: Five Years Later Omnibus. Part of Futures End, a possible future. - We are Robin Vol. 1: The Vigilante Business
Collects We Are Robin #1-6
- Robin War
Collects Robin War #1-2, Robin: Son of Batman #7, Grayson #15, Detective Comics #47, We Are Robin #7, Gotham Academy #13, Red Hood / Arsenal #7 & Teen Titans #15. - We are Robin Vol. 2: Jokers
Collects We Are Robin #8-12 - Batman, Vol. 8: Superheavy, Pt. 1
Collects Batman #41-46 & DC Sneak Peek: Batman #1. Those events take place concurrently with the Robin War. - Batman, Vol. 9: Bloom
Collects Batman #47-50 & a story from Detective Comics #27. Those events take place concurrently with the Robin War.
The Signal! Duke Thomas in the Rebirth era
We enter the Rebirth era, marking a new relaunch for DC without any significant changes for Duke Thomas. His story continues where it was left off and he obtains his first starring role in the All-Star Batman series where he became a . This series introduced some big changes for the character which will soon take the mantle of “The Signal”. Duke will also expand his experience, from partnering with Batman to becoming a member of the new Outsiders team, led by Black Lightning.
- Batman Vol. 1: I Am Gotham (mostly optional)
Collects Batman: Rebirth #1 and Batman #1-6. - All-Star Batman Vol. 1: My Own Worst Enemy
Collects All-Star Batman #1-5. - Batman: Night of the Monster Men (optional)
Collects Batman #7-8, Nightwing #5-6 and Detective Comics #941-942. - Batman Vol. 3: I Am Bane (optional)
Collects Batman #16-20, #23-24, and stories from Batman Annual #1. - All-Star Batman Vol. 2: Ends of the Earth
Collects All-Star Batman #6-9. - Detective Comics #952 (optional)
Collected in Batman: Detective Comics Vol. 3: League of Shadows - Batman #33 (optional)
Collected in Batman Vol. 5: Rules of Engagement - Dark Days: The Road to Metal
Collects Dark Days: The Forge #1 and Dark Days: The Casting #1, as well as classic DC stories that built the foundations of Metal, including Final Crisis #6-7, Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne #1, Batman #38-39, Nightwing #17 and more.
- Batman & the Signal
Collects Batman and The Signal #1-3 as well as “The Cursed Wheel” from All-Star Batman #1-4 and #6-9. First appearance as the Signal. - Batman: Detective Comics Vol. 8: On the Outside
Collects Detective Comics #982-987. Written by Bryan Hill, this story sets up the new Batman and the Outsiders series. - Batman: Gotham Nights #8 (Digital)
Duke is the lead for the story “Lifelines”. It was printed in Batman Giant Vol .2 #2. - Batman and the Outsiders Vol. 1: Lesser Gods
Collects Batman and the Outsiders #1-7. - Batman and the Outsiders Vol. 2: A League of Their Own
Collects Batman & the Outsiders #8-12. - Batman and the Outsiders Vol. 3: The Demon’s Fire
Collects Batman and the Outsiders #13-17. - Dark Nights: Death Metal Robin King #1
Collected in Dark Nights: Death Metal: The Multiverse Who Laughs. Present in the Backup story “The Quiet Ones”.
The two following stories are from Elseworld/Alternate Future. First, Duke is starring in a Tales from the Dark Multiverse story, exploring an alternate timeline where the DCU as you know it has been dragged down into the darkness. Also, Duke is present in Future State: The Next Batman, in the B-Story dedicated to the Outsiders.
- Tales from the Dark Multiverse: Dark Nights Metal
Collected in Tales from the Dark Multiverse II. Based on Dark Nights: Metal. - Future State: The Next Batman #1 & 3
Collected in Future State: The Next Batman.
Infinite Frontier/Dawn of DC
This is the ongoing era, following the reconstruction of the infinite multiverse, though it doesn’t change anything for Duke. The character can be found in the anthology titled Urban Legends with the Outsiders in stories taking up threads from Future State.
- Batman Secret Files: The Signal
- Batman: Urban Legends #8-9
collected in Batman: Urban Legends Vol. 2 - Batman: Urban Legends #18-19
The story continues…