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This happens in New Talent Showcase 2017. He's just such a little shit 😭 (affectionate) The one time Jason tries to be emotionally competent and Duke's just like "nah, lemme roast you some more." But honestly that's pretty much a staple of their dynamic and I think it works really well for them. Gives Duke a chance to be even more of a menace and Jason a chance not to be so "woe is me, let me talk about Bruce and Joker for the 900th time."

Okay so this is one of my favourite panels from We Are Robin. Or any comic ever. Not only because it's hilarious, but also because you see Duke getting ready to be polite right up until the officer calls him "boy." There's a whole history on why white men shouldn't call Black men that and that's conveyed really well in Duke's switch up here. And he's so funny about it too, this is malicious compliance at it's finest right here in the second panel. Then the way every word is practically drenched in sarcasm in the last panel has me crying 😭

It's a small moment that goes down in Batman and the Signal. I find this particularly funny because most batkids (minus Cass in that page in Batgirl 2000 with the laundry) are usually polite to Alfred. This isn't to say Duke is rude, just that here I love how he basically says "I don't give a toss about your flavourless sandwiches, I'm here to yell at your son." Also look at his angry lil march in this panel. Adorable 🥰

As I've said many times, Robin War is awful but there are moments if you're willing to suffer through literally everything else. This is one of them. Damian's going full teen angst and brooding boy mode. Then Duke just cuts that right off. "Kid, I don't think you know you" Duke's just not having it here and I love it. Also how it's clear he views Damian as a kid first and foremost, which I think a lot of the Batfamily can forget to do at times.

This is in Dark Nights: Death Metal Robin King, where they're fighting an evil version of Bruce. This made me laugh for a couple of reasons. One, Duke just sounds so fed up here, like he'd rather be curled up watching some anime than dealing with this drama. Also how where you'd expect there to be a sad, angsty train of thought, Duke is more exasperated here than anything else. He isn't going "Bruce no 🥺" he's going "Bruce fuck off 🙄" and I think that's beautiful *chefs kiss*

Batman: Rebirth. Bruce is trying to have his cool, risky heroic moment as he dramatically dives into the water and Duke's first instinct is to make fun of him. This is what I love about him, his ability to verbally smack these grade A brooders on the back of the head. I think Bruce secretly loves it too. It's actually hilarious to me how Duke roasts Bruce for at least 30% of their time around one another and Bruce is all "you're a gift to this city." He adores that lil menace.

This is in Dark Nights: Death Metal Robin King. His life is literally in peril here and all he can think is "wow this guy is UGLY" 😭 Duke's priorities never cease to amaze at times. I just love his inner monologue.

Robin War. The way Duke won that stare off and immediately started acting like a big bro to Damian here is both hilarious and cute. This also shows how forgiving Duke can be in the right circumstances. Because Damian had been an utter pain right up until the end. He's been rude, disrespectful and demeaned the WAR kids at every chance he got. But Duke sees a kid here first and foremost and he's willing to give that kid a second chance, no strings attached. Also the fact Damian actively seeked Duke out here, it shows that in some way, he's curious about Duke, likely respects him and wants to get to know him better.

New Talent Showcase 2017. The way this subverts the "crowbar trauma" or the "seeing your tormenter" moments by having Duke essentially go "no thanks" and attack with no hesitation is awesome. Not only that, but it shows that Duke is brave, because he could have frozen at seeing the face of the man who destroyed his family, instead he runs in to help Jason, because even if Duke roasts the hell out of him, he'll still show up when it matters. Which is what makes him a good hero and why he'd probably work great on any team he ends up in in the future.

I think this moment is also made more meaningful by the fact Duke had joked about Jason’s death right before this happened, but when he sees Jason on the ground being tormented by his killer, he immediately locks in. Look at those panels, Duke is across the room, on the floor when he spots Jason and Joker, then within seconds he's over there stabbing Joker in the chest and saying "nah" to that nonsense.

Anyway, those are some of my favourite Duke moments so far 💛

turns out i like absolute superman the most so far