| “ | Sometimes you're wrong. Sometimes there is a place for you at the table. Some mysteries may never be solved by you alone. Sometimes you don't have to prove yourself repeatedly -- because you're confident about your purpose. And sometimes you just have to get to work for everything to work out. | „ |
| ~ The Signal. |
| “ | My career of choice has crazy hours, bad benefits, and doesn't pay. But it's the dream I never knew I always had. Mom, dad... I'm going into the vigilante business. I hope I live to tell you all about it. | „ |
| ~ The Signal. |
The Signal (real name Duke Thomas) is a fictional character and superhero from the DC comics, and is a supporting character in the Batman comics.
Originally a member of the "We Are Robin" movement, Thomas swore to protect Gotham City from criminals due to Batman's absence. When the Dark Knight returned, Thomas became his protégé and took on the title of "The Signal". He is an ally and partner of Batman, and is a member of the Batman Family and the Outsiders.
He was created by Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo, and first appeared in Batman (Volume 2) #21 in 2013 or March of 2014.
Biography
Early Life
Duke Thomas is the son of the supervillain Gnomon and the social worker Elaine, whom fled to Gotham City to escape from Gnomon and the wars between immortals. Elaine would go on to marry a construction named Doug Thomas, and the two raised Duke in Tracey Towers and didn't tell him of his biological father. Duke would attend West Robinson High School, and ran track and tried out for soccer, but was kicked off the team. When the Riddler turned off all power in Gotham, he challenged the citizens to ask him a riddle that he couldn't answer if they wanted power restored. Duke started to train himself by taking brain teasers to prepare to accept the Riddler's challenge, and later helped his parents save Bruce Wayne from Hurricane Rene.
Duke and his family would later be captured by the Joker, who wanted to recreate the deaths of Bruce Wayne's parents after the supervillain learned of Bruce's alter-ego. Batman managed to save Duke from the Joker and had Julia Pennyworth take care of him, but was unable to stop Elaine and Doug from succumbing to the Joker's mind-control gas. Batman then went off to fight Joker once again, and after the battle, disappeared.
Duke was then placed into the foster system after his parents weren't found, and the child became a delinquent and was often on the police record for investigating his parent's disappearance. There, he was watched over by Dr. Leslie Thompkins, who attempted to keep Duke out of trouble until he was adopted by a family. Duke would continue to search for his parents, and was saved by Robins when he was attacked by terrorist under Gotham City. Duke was then recruited into a group called "We Are Robin", a youth group created to protect Gotham from threats while Batman's whereabouts were unknown.
Becoming the Signal
While working at the Lucius Fox Center for Gotham Youth, Duke worked alongside an amnesiac Bruce Wayne, and continued on looking for his parents while unknowingly helping Bruce regain his memories. Duke managed to find his parents at a local psychiatric hospital, but found the two permanently under the Joker's mind-control gas. When Mr. Bloom started to terrorize Gotham, Duke confronted him but was by Bruce, who had returned as Batman. Afterward, Bruce offered to teach Duke to become his protégé, and the latter accepted under the condition that he wouldn't train him to be Robin. Batman agreed and revealed Duke a yellow costume, and Duke moved to Wayne manor while Batman brought Elaine and Doug to a facility to be treated.
Duke was taught everything Batman had learned over the years, and was put into the "Cursed Wheel" program. Duke was then sent on his first mission to follow a string of murders committed by Victor Zsasz, and was gravely injured during the assignment, but later helped Batman try to find a cure to fix Two-Face's condition. When Duke and Batman tried to discover how the Riddler was terrorizing Gotham while still in his cell, Duke learned that Mr. Bloom was aiding the criminal. Duke battled Mr. Bloom, who revealed that he was not entirely human, and Thomas defeated the villain with the assistance of his mother and his newly found powers. During the Dark Nights: Metal storyline, Duke was tasked by Batman to guard the Bat cave, and accidently released the Joker from his cell while helping Hal Jordan. The Joker revealed that he knew about the Nth Metal, and that Duke and his mother were metahumans before vanishing.
Duke learned that he was a metahuman, who was capable of taking in light from his eyes and also had super vision. After the Justice League saved the Earth once again, Batman and Black Lighting decided to reform the Outsiders initiative in order to prepare for upcoming threats. Duke was lured by Karma into a trap that left him in critical condition, which was planned by Karma to isolate Batman's allies from him. Duke later helped Batman, Black Lighting, Katana, and Cassandra Cain in stopping Karma, and the group formed the Outsiders II.
Gallery
.jpg "Batman (Infinite Frontier).jpg (724 KB)")
Trivia
- He is a childhood fan of MMA.
- He is also a fan of Quentin Tarantino films, and watched Luke Fox years before.
External Links
- The Signal on the DC Database Wiki
 Heroes
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Bat Family Supporting Characters Groups Theatrical Movies Direct-to-video Movies Television Batman (1966) The Adventures of Batman Super Friends The New Adventures of Batman Batman: The Animated Series/The New Batman Adventures The Batman (2004) Batman: The Brave and the Bold Beware the Batman Harley Quinn Batwheels Gotham Knights Batman: Caped Crusader Bat-Fam Video Games Batman: The Caped Crusader (1988) Batman: The Videogame (1990) Batman: Return of the Joker (1991) Batman Returns (1993) Batman: The Animated Series (1993) The Adventures of Batman & Robin (1994) Batman Forever (1996) Batman & Robin (1998) Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker (2000) Batman: Chaos in Gotham (2001) Batman: Gotham City Racer (2001) Batman: Vengeance (2001) Batman: Dark Tomorrow (2003) Batman: Toxic Chill Batman: Justice Unbalanced Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu (2003) Batman Begins (2005) Batman: The Brave and the Bold - The Videogame Batman (2013 Arcade game) Gotham Knights Also See | ||
 Members
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Arsenal | Atomic Knight | Batgirl | Batman | Batwing | Batwoman | Black Lightning | Captain Boomerang, Jr. | Captain Marvel, Jr. | Catwoman | Creeper | Dervish | Doctor Light | Eradicator | Faust | Francine Langstrom | Freight Train | Geo-Force | Grace Choi | Green Arrow | Halo | Huntress | Indigo | Jade | Katana | Looker | Martian Manhunter | Metamorpho | Nightwing | Owlman | ReMac | Shift | Signal | Starfire | Technocrat | Terra | Thunder | Windfall | Wylde | ||