Spoiler warning for Batman: Urban Legends #18
Batman has trained a lot of young heroes over the years, and now his sidekicks can never escape some of his greatest weaknesses. This is especially true of the Signal, one of Batman's latest protégés, who lately has been overworking himself and refusing to ask for help. Anyone who's familiar with Batman's working style will recognize this unhealthy pattern and know that Duke Thomas is the next person to fall prey to Batman's weaknesses.
Like many of Batman's young trainees, Duke Thomas's story is a tragic one. Though adventurous in spirit and eager to defend Gotham, Duke comes with a lot of emotional baggage. His parents were poisoned by Joker toxin during an attack on the city, and there is yet to be a cure for them. Meanwhile, during the Dark Nights: Metal event, Duke discovers he is, in fact, a metahuman with light abilities, a trait he apparently inherited from his mother. While the mystery of his parents is ongoing, Duke trains under Batman and the senior members of the Outsiders, including Black Lightning and Katana.
Duke has a lot to balance between trying to save his parents (especially his mother, who has apparently been missing), being a committed member of the Outsiders, and being a full-time student on top of all that. In Batman: Urban Legends #18, Duke's exhaustion takes the spotlight in a story by Brandon Thomas, Alberto Jimenez Alburquerque, John Kalisz, and Steve Wands. Black Lightning in particular grows concerned for Duke, who can barely find the time to sleep. Black Lightning approaches Batman for help, saying that they need to "show [Duke] that it's okay to accept that help." When Batman starts to say that Duke hasn't asked for help, Jefferson replies: "And he never will. Just like you wouldn't. But that doesn't mean he doesn't need it."
Batman is clearly a great mentor—one needs only look at the likes of Nightwing to know that—but training with him also comes with its downfalls. The young heroes that look up to him as an influence, like Duke Thomas as the Signal, also pick up on his faults, even if they do at first to appear like independence. In this story from Urban Legends, Duke falls victim to overwork and isolation, even if he is working on the great cause of finding his mother. But Batman himself knows these things to be weaknesses, despite them being his own; by the end of the story, Batman takes it upon himself to team-up with Duke and the Outsiders in order to search for Duke's mother and ease his heavy burden.
Batman has had innumerable sidekicks after 80-plus years of vigilantism, and almost all of them have started mimicking some of his greatest weaknesses—especially the inability to ask for help. Duke Thomas has always prided himself on his independence, but now that independence is backfiring on him as he overworks himself and refuses to ask his mentor for help. But the Signal is Batman's protégé, and that means Batman will always have his back, even when the trouble is Batman's very own weakness.
Check out Batman: Urban Legends #18, available now from DC Comics!