I'm just saying, there's plenty of stuff to work with when it comes to giving Duke a series of his own.
Get settled, guys. This is gonna be a rant and a half.
Gnomen is something they could explore, like that's his bio dad, DC always (wrongfully) makes a big deal about blood, so Duke being related to an immortal villain could definitely be a recurring theme/arc.
Duke and Elaine's relationship and how he's changed so much from the little kid she knew, how he idealises and admires her, but there's a distance created by the years missed no matter how much they clearly love each other.
Speaking of parents, where on earth is Doug? Since there's so much ambiguity there DC could do a lot with it. Doug is missing? Have Duke searching for him, and while he is show Duke using some of lessons Doug taught him during that arc while he tries to find out where his dad is and what happened to him. We could also dive into Duke's obsession with it, because when it comes to his parents there's very little Duke won't do.
I remember someone saying that the way Elaine was brought back felt empty and not fleshed out enough (agreed) they also said that it would be interesting to have the recovery be a false alarm to give Duke some extra angst. This could be interesting as Duke would have had Elaine back only to lose her again and imagine what he'd go through with that. I'm not completely set on this as I'd love to see Duke and Elaine's dynamic but I'd also love her return to have been more thought out and better earned story wise.
And how about in All-Star when Elaine was still jokerized and spewing hateful things? Yes, that wasn't really her, and yes, logically Duke knows that, but I can imagine him having flashbacks to it, maybe when they argue (as parents and kids do sometimes) I just think that could be interesting to explore too.
Duke and the WAR kids working together. Even as Signal, he goes back to his We Are Robin roots and we get to see them working together as a proper team in the Hatch. This would also solve the issue of Duke literally having no backup during the day.
Duke and Izzy being a regular duo. Like they're implied to be in that comic I refuse to mention because it did all the other WAR kids dirty. Whether they're plationic or romantic they are such a power pair and it's already been shown they work well in the field together too. Also, it would be awesome to have an arc where they have to face down Izzy's brother. Dig up that past trauma shown in WAR a little more, see how both Duke and Izzy's characters develop.
Imagine a Duke and Dre team up where Duke is helping Dre take down his mob family. While Dre and Duke do have a certain amount of trust and respect for each other, I do think their past animosity would make for some great conflict. Plus I'd love to see their dynamic develop more and this would be a great way to to it while exploring Dre's character along with making Duke have to grapple with his tendency to judge so quickly and stick to said judgements.
Daxton being in the wrong place, wrong time when an incident with a gun happens. Due to him being the son of Joe Chill, no one believes he didn't do it. Except Duke. Having Duke have to figure out what happened, maybe even go against Bruce to do it. Imagine the conflict. Especially as Duke isn't Bruce's kid so he won't surrender to his 'authority' the way the others sometimes do. It could escalate to a conflict between WAR and the Bats, or even in having a few of the Bats side with Duke over Bruce.
Five words: Duke, Riko, and the Batgirls. Okay, I lied, I have more to say. Riko has the strongest connection with Barbara’s Batgirl (which I feel a little meh about but anyway) but as Babs is Oracle as far as I'm concerned, we'd see more of her meeting Steph and Cass through Duke. It would be cool to see how Riko reacts to having Batgirl be a person in her life rather than a figment of her imagination. Would they overlap?
Duke having to figure out what he wants to study/work as in the future. He's smart, brave, community driven and unafraid to speak out so there's a lot he could do, but he's also a teenager who's been through hell so he might struggle with actually being settled enough to think that far ahead.
Duke having both light and darkness as powers, Elaine teaching him more about the light but not knowing what to do with the dark. Just imagine the themes, the panels, the metaphors that could be used for this.
When Doug eventually comes back, I would love to see a comic addressing how while Duke isn't his by blood, he's his son no matter what. Even if they both know that, it would be good for them to have a moment to just get the words out there.
Duke and Cass doing literally anything. They could be eating burgers for a whole comic and it would still be great. But it would be cool to see them go on actual adventures, getting into trouble, causing chaos and seeing their relationship develop more. Also seeing not only how they mesh but how they clash, because they have very different views and experiences on certain things, it would be interesting to see how they work through that.
Duke and Shiva adventure. That's it. That's the comic. Just Duke bonding with his Auntie Shiva while they both do crazy shit (I'm talking 80s Shiva stuff)
Duke and Jefferson working together outside the Outsiders. I just think it would be interesting to see some one on one bonding with them, for Jefferson to take on something of a mentor role (as much as Duke will allow)
Duke, Tam, Jace and Luke. I like to imagine that if we can magically cure Elaine, we can do the same for Tam. I just find it hilarious to imagine Duke getting dragged into Fox family drama (because holy moly the Fox's have stuff) especially as Duke would not vibe with Lucius' whole bourgeois vibe, there would be a disconnect between them. And I think he'd feel similar about Luke, having access to peace and privilege but not using it in any meaningful way (not Batwing, I mean the whole rich boy thing) Tam having to find her sense of self again and maybe bonding with not only Duke, but Elaine through that journey. Jace being dragged kicking and screaming into a big brother-esque role in Duke's life and seething because he actually cares about the little menace now. Duke and Luke clashing, but through it, learning the other's perspective and maybe new ways of viewing themselves and one another.
Duke and Jason working a case together and Duke roasting the hell out of him at every turn. Also, it would be interesting to see them both face Joker for real together.
Duke and Dick multiple part adventure. It being established that Duke doesn't like/trust Dick due to what happened in Robin War, maybe them having an argument. Then, they get stranded together on a mission and have to get back while working together. For them to bicker, clash, argue, fight and still have to have each other's backs. For the parallels between them to be explored as well as the differences. I can't imagine Duke liking Dick easily but maybe they would part ways with respect and trust in one another's skills and a little less animosity.
Duke and Damian working together. I just want to see the brothers be brothers. It was the one good thing that came out of Robin War and it's barely been touched on since. Duke and Damain would be so great together and it would be fun for some of the past feelings about Robin/WAR crop up and cause some conflict as well as some bonding. I think both Duke and Damian could learn a lot from each other through their differences.
Duke and Tim's friendship - he called Tim his friend in Death Metal Robin and y'all can take that canon out of my cold dead hands those are my blorbos (along with Cass, Helena and Steph obv) - it would be fun to see them work together, it feels like Duke's low tolerance for bullshit would work for Tim to not be so early 2000s Tim era annoying, so we could see them working cases, bouncing ideas off each other, Duke casually roasting Tim because we all know he would, and getting to see their philosophies surrounding Robin and Batman both mesh and clash. With Tim believing Batman needs a Robin and Duke believing Robin doesn't need a Batman there's a lot to explore there, it would be great to see them have to work through that.
I feel like Duke must have a secret sibling or two from Gnomen's side. But that could be wishful thinking because I want so much family drama/trauma for him.
Duke dealing with Two Face, but without Bruce. Something about Duke knowing a thing or two about people being overtaken by a dark side due to things out of their control (his parents) and him seeing the battle between Harvey and Two Face and feeling some type of way about it.
Duke having single comic issues with him engaging with his community and helping them out; whether it's tracking down a missing person, fighting off a group of goons, rescuing people during a disaster or solving a case that the police clearly won't, I just think it would be great to see him building that personal relationship with Gotham the way the other Bats (minus Steph, maybe) could never do.
Duke and Steph vs the Riddler, come on, that would be so much fun. The banter and snark would be off the charts, plus Duke and Steph bonding time is sorely needed. Watching them solve the riddles, going at it from different angles, disagreeing and working through it, it would be awesome. This duo is a must.
Maybe a crossover of sorts; when Cass is AWOL during one of her own arcs in Batgirl 2024 and Barbara asking Duke to help her find her. It would be a fun way to actually have a solid dynamic develop between them while they search for someone they both love. Duke doesn't think much of cops and Babs is a cop's daughter, they're both crazy smart, stubborn and don't yield to Bruce the way his kids do. They also love Cass fiercely. There would be a lot to work with there. And seeing how Duke would do his own thing a lot of the time and how that would make Barbara "control issues" Gordon want to scream.
Is anyone else curious about how Duke would react to Harley Quinn? The woman who once loved the Joker and did a lot of messed up things with him. Would Duke be as eager to believe in redemption as Bruce or would he be a bit more wary? Or maybe he does believe she's better but can't help but feel a little resentful anyway.
Duke having to either work against Daniel(?) I forgot his name (the kid he used to babysit who joined a gang) or help Daniel(?) get out after he messes up in some way. Or both. It would just be good to see that comic thread paid off in the series.
This idea is all @wakandas fault, but Duke working with a Super is so much fun to me. Whether it's Val-Zod while Duke is third wheeling to him and Jace while on a mission, or Lor-Zod where they're bickering and sniping while slowly but surely becoming friends.
Duke's childhood backstory has enough gaps where we could give him a childhood friend who, for whatever reason, becomes an antagonist to Signal. Is this idea cliché? Yes. But don't tell me that wouldn't be interesting to see. It's a cliché for a reason, because it's fun. Imagine Duke having to grapple with the fact someone he once loved is now an enemy. Would Duke have to learn to switch off the part that feels bad in order to keep everyone else safe? How many times would he reach out only to get pushed away? What would WAR or the Bats say about it?
Of course, Duke and Bruce going on cases together. It would be great to see Duke's detective skills in action, seeing how he works with all the skills he's learned combined with his own perspective on how to utilise them. And seeing Duke and Bruce's relationship develop even more would be amazing, we've been underfed since Batman All-Star. I want Duke to relentlessly play Batman’s #### and watch Bruce slowly die inside while tolerating it because he ADORES that kid. Maybe explore how similar Duke's loss of his parents is to Bruce's, see how that connects them, but also how they differentiate.
It would be cool for Duke to have an arc where he loses his powers for whatever reason. Later on in the comic series so that he's gotten used to using them as an extension of himself then seeing how he deals with being cut off. I'd love to see how Elaine and Gnomen react to that on particular. If Duke feels lost or goes back to basics. How it impacts his work in the field and how he bounces back from it. I don't think it should be permanent but long enough to mean something and further develop his character. Maybe Cass, knowing what it's like to lose her 'superpower' could be a prominent feature in that storyline, it would be interesting to see how some elements of their arcs might be parallel.
