Let’s take a look at how the Duke Thomas version of Robin came to be. Over the years, many Boy and Girl Wonders have taken on the mantle of Batman’s faithful sidekick Robin. Dick Grayson - the original and arguably most iconic Robin - was first introduced back in the 1940s in DC’s Detective Comics series. Since then, several heroes have adopted the iconic sidekick’s persona including (but by no means limited to) Jason Todd, Carrie Kelley, and Damian Wayne.
Duke Thomas is something of an anomaly among those versions of Robin in that he was never really an official Robin, although he did take up the title alongside a few other teenage vigilantes in the We Are… Robin series. He eventually came into his own as a member of the Bat-Family distinct from Robin and emerged as more of an ally to Batman than a sidekick. But first, some background on Duke’s history with Batman is needed to understand his journey from Robin-esque vigilante to superhero in his own right.
A young Duke Thomas first appeared during Zero Year when he and his parents rescued an injured Batman during the Riddler’s reign of terror over Gotham. Even at his young age, Duke showed initiative and intelligence as he tried to come up with a riddle that would stump the Riddler and save the city. Years later as a teen, Duke would reunite with Batman during the “Endgame” arc when his parents were kidnapped by the Joker and lost their minds to the villain’s venom.
That lead to Duke becoming a ward of the state which, in turn, led to him taking on the identity of Robin after meeting with the teenage vigilantes that made up the We Are Robin movement formed to protect Gotham in Batman’s absence. Alongside his fellow Robins, Duke battled villains including an army of Talons and the Court of Owls but it soon transpired Batman had bigger plans for him beyond just the Robin mantle.
After Duke rigorously trained alongside Batman, the Caped Crusader revealed he planned on doing things a little differently with his latest protégé and – in Batman: Rebirth – presented him with a rather stylish yellow and black suit that looked very different from the usual Robin getup. A short while later, Duke was given his own superhero identity – The Signal – and was revealed by the Joker to be a metahuman with powers including photokinetic vision. While Duke was a sort-of Robin for a spell, becoming the Boy Wonder was never his true destiny – rather Robin was a means to an end in Duke Thomas’ journey to becoming The Signal.