Get Rebloged, Nerd/silly

Do you think when Duke was starting out as the Signal and got his bike Gothamites gave it a dumb nickname? Like how Batman has his batmobile, Duke has a signalcycle.

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I don't really like the debate about Duke Thomas on if he's the "normal one" or "just as crazy" as his siblings because it's based on a false dichotomy that limits Duke's characterization in a fandom that already doesn't really know where to place him. The long story short is that Duke is like his siblings which is to say he does whatever based off of his sense of morality and he often has no scale of normal human behavior.

I'm pretty sure that the idea of him as the normal one comes from Wayne Family Adventures. (Though if this predates it in fandom please let me know). WFA chooses to play into his newness to give insights into the dynamics of Wayne manor and the larger batfamily.

I don't necessarily think this is a bad choice. I'm pretty giving to adaptations because it's hard to summarize 80+ years of comics into an easily digestible form. However, it was clearly written by a team who didn't have much insight on what to do with Duke outside of that, so his newness and uncertainty become his characterization and by extension him being the "regular one" in the family. The fandom that hasn't engaged with Duke outside of WFA run with that.

Which leads to jokes, skits, and fics where Duke is not only misrepresented but underrepresented. In a family filled with weird people with distinct dynamics what's the new, normal guy to do but sometimes stand in a corner and throw in a responsible one liner.

As a response people get frustrated with Duke's lack of inclusion in fics, skits, and jokes, so they bring up all the things that prove he's just as wild as his siblings (such as getting shot and thinking it's cool or jumping out of a cop car though my personal favorite is when he breaks into the iceberg lounge). However, without context this still isn't Duke. He doesn't just do insane things for the response he has a very clear characterization.

Duke is a child genius who has a huge problem with authority, primarily motivated by helping his community (though in the time between his parents disappearance and goign to live with Bruce he is a bit of an adrenaline junkie as a coping mechanism).

So, if we revisit some of the actions listed above:

Duke gets shot and thinks it's cool: This is Duke in his peak adrenaline junkie time, when he's riding the high of We Are Robin and all the potential negative consequences of superherodom haven't settled in yet. (This is also the period of time when he's getting into fights and is a bit of a playboy).

Duke jumps out of a cop car: This is Duke with his problem of authority (particularly cops) especially when they are trying to stop him from doing what he thinks is right. In this case, stopping him from We Are Robin duties. (This is also why he sneaks out of his foster homes looking for his parents).

Breaking into the iceberg lounge: This is peak Duke. It's him using his genius intellect to crack open a case and because he refuses to ignore it when he can help chasing the lead himself. It's also a little bit his adrenaline junkie sense as he's absolutely more reckless when there's a lot of external pressures.

TLDR: Duke is not the normal one. He's also not just a series of his wildest actions. He's a 16 year old, who wants to help the world and his own way of going about that, wether that's within or outside of our conception of normal behavior.

Duke Thomas Headcanons!!! pt 1/??

Stole this idea from @lordbasilsnek because I had no idea what to post on here at first, so go check them out cuz their headcanons are pretty cool too.

He is banned from the Batkids yearly hide and seek game due to his powers. He and Cass (Who was banned simply because she was too good) decide to be commentators. Duke does most of the talking.

After his parents were jokerfied, Duke learned how to braid his own hair. Once he moved in with Bruce he got the chance to grow out his hair. It throws half the batkids off when the morning after their patrol instead of the afro he's had for the past 7 months he has cornrows with beads in colors he and Cass picked out the day before.

Almost monthly Duke and Jason argue which side of gotham has the best pizza. Jason's is some shitty crime alley pizza place that gave him a free slice every now and again. Duke's is near his parents apartment. It's black owned. Its the greasiest shit you will ever put near your mouth. His mom hated how unhealthy it was. He and his old friends would eat there every Saturday afternoon anyways. These arguments are one hair away from getting physical because both of them are too fucking stubborn to admit they can both be right.

ai does not belong in creative spaces. period.

DC STANDS FOR DUKE & CASS COMICS

My most random Duke headcannon is that he would have a pet rabbit.

The rabbits name is Bat-Bun and they go paroling together sometimes.

Duke teaches Bat-Bun all the cute trick like playing soccer and giving high fives.

Damian often goes over to Duke's to play with Bat-Bun, even if Duke isn't there. He often comes home from patrol to Damian and his mum sitting together and talking while feeding Bat-Bun sweet potato.

Duke threaten to steal Damain's mum in retaliation.

Damian threatens to steal his rabbit if he tries.

They both settle for playing soccer with Bat-Bun together.

THE most underrated duke fit ever

being keeping a hold of this post for a while and finally got to post it 🙏

+close ups

Call me too woke or something

But some of yall forget Duke is just a kid low-key like thats a teenager sure DONT infantilize him

But at the end of the day he’s just a teen after all he doesn’t get the same rep as everyone and i think it ties into the “black kids mature faster than everyone else” conversation and thats a whole nother thing on its own

But like Like im TIRED of Duke being seen as mature and shit when he’s JUST A KID!! Let him goof off with everyone else

Let him be a silly teenager!!

wails in duke thomas fan