I was trained by The Batman, and Black Lightning, and Katana. So I have a message for The Magistrate, and those who support them... We are not afraid of you. Gotham is not your city. Everything you do will fail. My name is Duke Thomas. I'm the Signal. And you can't stop me. 
- — Duke Thomas src
Duke Thomas was a member of the Batman Family, until the establishment of the Magistrate and the apparent death of the original Batman. Duke is part of The Resistance and smuggles protesters out of the city to "the outside", under the protection of Katana.
History
At some point in time, Gotham City mayor Christopher Nakano employed the Magistrate, a private security force, who helped him free the city from his masked heroes and villains. Gotham City became a police state under the rule of the Magistrate, who would hunt anyone wearing a mask with deadly enforcement including the original Batman, Bruce Wayne, and his Bat-Bamily. Some time after the killing of Bruce, Duke's identity as the Signal was made public and he began to carve out a role as the face of the resistance. Duke regularly smuggles protestors and refugees out of Gotham, making him a wanted man by the Magistrate.
In a plot to capture Duke, the Magistrate planted a cybernetic soldier in with a group of protesters wanted for attending one of his rallies. Duke extracted the protestors, as well as the plant, out of Gotham to The Outside controlled by Katana. Black Lightning, now a cursed being of living lightning, catches wind of The Magistrate's plan and reaches out to Katana to save Duke. Together, the Outsiders foil the plot and defeat Kaliber, who had been working for the Magistrate as an enforcer.
In the aftermatch, Duke vows to lift the curse on Jefferson and Katana gifts him the Soultaker II, anchoring Jefferson's electrical form to the sword.
Powers and Abilities
Powers
Metahuman Physiology: Duke possesses the same powers as his present-day counterpart.
- Cosmic Awareness: Duke was able to recognize changes to his timeline.[1]
Abilities
- Acrobatics
- Driving
- Hand-to-Hand Combat (Advanced)
- Leadership: Duke is equally at home leading protests and rallies, and giving inspirational speeches, as he is at fighting in the streets.
- Magic[2]
- Stick Fighting
Other Characteristics
Paraphernalia
Transportation
- High-tech Muscle Car: a tricked out car for outrunning the Magistrate's forces. it's bullet resistant, has a high-tech visual display and can leap obstacles.
- Signal-Cycle One: an updated Signal-cycle that can be called to him on command.
Weapons
- Bat-chet Sticks
- Soultaker II: Received from Katana following the restoration of her original Soultaker, this sword contains the power of Jefferson Pierce.
Notes
- Duke Thomas was created by Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo, first appearing in Batman (Volume 2) #21. Duke Thomas' first appeared as part of the Future State Universe is in "Outsiders" by Brandon Thomas in The Next Batman #1
.
Related
- 15 Appearances of Duke Thomas (Future State)
- 2 Images featuring Duke Thomas (Future State)
- 1 Quotations by or about Duke Thomas (Future State)
- Character Gallery: Duke Thomas (Future State)
Footnotes
  This character is or was an incarnation of or an ally of Batman, and a member of the Batman Family. This template will automatically categorize articles that include it into the "Batman Family members" category. |
 This character is or was a member of one or more of the teams known as the Outsiders. This template will categorize articles that include it into the "Outsiders members" category. |