sober's cave

[ashoss]

batfamily fans… in front of you is a post about someone other than dick, jason, tim or damian. your challenge is to make it through the post without bringing them up. they have nothing to do with this post. the trap will go off if you fail. good luck

[3lizab3t]

[goldfishinaplasticbag]

the girl who had too much to give. based on tweet below

[ashoss]

her baby bird

[casscainmainly]

Ranking All Duke Thomas Adaptations!!!

This was so hard but I tried my best :)))

[casscainmainly]

Duke Thomas and 'Craziness'

Just up front this post is not about the 'Duke is normal/crazy' debate. One of the things that debate obscures is how Duke himself grapples with the word 'crazy', and his evolving perspectives on mental health and mental illness. This post will be exploring Duke's story through the lens of 'craziness'. This is inspired by @inamindfarfaraway's fic Different Wavelengths, which is an excellent look into Duke and mental health that everyone should read!! Warning for ableism and saneism (including from Duke himself) below. Also I'm by no means an expert on mental health or illness, so feel free to correct me on any of this!

Get Smart Or Die

Duke's first appearances in Zero Year set the stage for the themes of mental stability and survival. Duke asks Bruce for crossword help:

Batman (2011) #30

He asks for a word for "unfractured," starting a theme that continues throughout Duke's story: wholeness versus fragmentation, or mental 'stability' versus mental illness. The rule in Zero Year, as Duke tells Bruce, is "get smart... or die." Mental capacity is a survival tactic for Duke, one he fully buys into (he's doing the crosswords to stand up to Riddler). Then we get the first appearance of the word 'crazy':

'Craziness' is a term imposed on him by others, by people "all say[ing]" he's crazy. But he refutes this by saying "you're only crazy if it doesn't work, right?" Duke ties together mental health and utility - someone is only crazy if they fail. In this opening appearance we see that Duke highly values mental ability and intelligence, tied to his belief in agency - honing his mind is something he can do in the face of overwhelming circumstances. Yet this belief in mental ability, in 'unfracturedness', also leads to him to associate craziness with failure.

Personal Responsibility

One of Duke's most deep-rooted traits is his sense of personal responsibility, elaborated wonderfully by @dukethomas here. The thing about personal responsibility, though, is that it assumes people are fully in control of their actions. Duke's beliefs in personal responsibility and agency (which as explored earlier is tied to Duke's valuation of mental ability) do not really account for health conditions that affect a person's choice-making. Bruce's amnesia in Superheavy, then, causes a huge problem for Duke:

Batman (2011) #47

There are other factors in Duke's responses here, including feeling betrayed and abandoned by Bruce; he blames Bruce for not being Batman because Batman promised to help. Yet Duke's language is telling: he calls Bruce out for not "look[ing] at what's right in front of your face," construing Bruce's amnesia as a personal choice rather than an injury/mental health condition. He goes on to call it "denial" and "selfishness". Bruce's amnesia is not merely a failure to do something, but a personal failing, a flaw.

Furthermore, Duke views Batman/pre-amnesiac Bruce as the 'real' person, and amnesiac Bruce as a facade. Mental wholeness is the 'real' identity that the amnesia masks - Batman is "the best in the world," and amnesiac Bruce is just a fractured part of that whole. His amnesia, and by extension mental conditions that affect a person's personality or actions, are flaws that prevent one from being authentic to a 'real self' (linking to another of Duke's values, truth).

Elaine and Doug

But Duke's ideas of mental illness start to change when confronted with his parents. In We Are Robin #1, Duke briefly considers what might've happened to Elaine:

For Duke, perception is paramount, both what you are seen as and what you can see. Duke wonders whether Elaine's Jokerisation means "things got so dark she couldn't even see who she was anymore". Elaine not being able to 'see' who she was links mental illness to issues of identity once again, but instead of the language Duke uses with Bruce - "denial" and "selfishness" - Duke thinks of "things" getting "dark". He's beginning to rethink his conceptions of agency and personal responsibility. What is really interesting about this moment, though, is that while Duke acknowledges that Elaine might still be Jokerised, he does not consider trying psychiatric hospitals to find them. He still resists the idea of finding his parents there, not fully able to accept them as Jokerised; he thinks that "not find[ing] them" might be better than finding them "crazy".

We Are Robin #7

Choosing Sanity

'Craziness' figures significantly in Duke's conception of vigilantism too, and thus his conception of himself. In the lead-up to him quitting Robin in Robin War, he ponders his craziness:

We Are Robin #6

This is in the Bermejo-written issue btw, because while a lot of Robin War was written to justify WAR not being good enough, I genuinely think this part is in character for Duke. With his parents' potential craziness looming in his head and his own experience being called 'crazy' in Zero Year, it makes sense that he fears his own craziness. Becoming Robin is linked to that craziness (Riko, the one who most overtly champions Robinhood, is seen by Duke and the others as 'crazy' too). Through the course of this issue, Duke first thinks he must be going crazy, then thinks "it's pretty safe to say I am very sane," then thinks "either I need to find a new line of work, or start losing my mind..."

Craziness and vigilantism become intertwined, and Duke's choice to be Robin becomes a choice to be crazy. At the end of Robin War, he rejects both - he clings to the idea that he's "sane". Of course there were other major factors, but it's significant that 'craziness' figures in the most important lead-up issue to Duke's quitting. And it's only after this choice to side with sanity, quite literally one issue after, that Duke realises he must search for his parents in psychiatric hospitals.

Rejecting Sanity

We Are Robin #9 // #12

In the wake of quitting Robin and finding his parents, Duke has this thought: "Now look at us. Splintered[...] Failure." Calling back to Zero Year, Duke can no longer hold onto his old notions of "unfractured" mental stability and success. Now he is "splintered," experienced in "failure". He is closer to his conception of 'craziness' than ever before.

The boundary between 'sane' and 'insane' begins to blur for Duke. Even the ending monologue in this issue, about the choice between being a Batman or Joker, shows how the binaries start to fissure: "sometimes you're neither. Sometimes you're a Robin." Duke is starting to understand that 'normal' and 'crazy' aren't necessarily opposites, and that he cannot label himself completely 'sane'. The choice to be Robin cannot be "rationalized" anymore.

Which leads into All-Star Batman, the first arc of which is more or less explicitly about mental illness (to varying degrees of execution). Bruce comes into play again - he tells Duke about being sent to a home for troubled youth, led by the Arkham family (with clear allusions to Arkham Asylum). This story calls attention to Bruce's mental health struggles beyond and before his amnesia, something Duke was unaware of during Superheavy. So once again the binary between 'mentally whole' vs. 'mentally ill' is being deconstructed for Duke, as well as the saneist ideas of 'mental health = hero' and 'mental illness = villain'.

All-Star Batman #1

In the beginning of Cursed Wheel, Duke calls Batman "crazy". It's not pejorative but it's definitely not with a full understanding of what it means to call someone 'crazy', showing Duke's still developing understanding of mental health. It is, however, a change from Superheavy's Duke, who didn't even acknowledge Bruce's mental illness.

All-Star Batman #4

As the main story progresses, Duke no longer thinks of just curing his parents: "the ugliness, it's there, too. Maybe it's part of what makes them heroic, pushing through". He still associates Jokerisation with 'ugliness', but for the first time he's grappling with his parents as they are now, not as they used to be. It's a huge departure from his thoughts in We Are Robin, where he seemed unable to even imagine his parents as 'crazy'.

The back-up makes this even more explicit. Bruce says the Joker is pure evil, and Duke refutes it. I won't say too much because I'm not an expert on this, but the Joker has long been a symbol of 'crazy and evil' with many ableist portrayals. Duke's line about the Joker being not just evil reads in this context as a pushback against ableist notions that the Joker's horrible actions are only due to his 'craziness'.

Duke then links this to his parents. As I argued here the reference to 'pure black' suggests Duke is also refuting black = evil (which Bruce says in Cursed Wheel part 1), a link that has anti-Black implications. This dialogue draws parallels between saneism and anti-Blackness, both perceiving certain bodies as non-normative and threatening. Where Duke was aware of anti-Blackness and was navigating it from an early age, he was not as aware of ableism, and only now is drawing the connections between both forms of oppression.

Powers

The end of Cursed Wheel sees Elaine 'push through' the Jokerisation to save Duke, triggering his powers.

Batman & The Signal #1

Undoubtedly being a meta is a metaphor for racism (see DC Power Company: Recharged), but what's interesting is that Duke isn't bothered by the powers itself, but by not understanding them. "I'm a walking detective case." What Duke hates is not knowing something about himself. This to me connects to the theme of mental illness, Duke grappling with something he cannot solve like a case.

Batman & The Signal #3

This panel directly connects Duke's confusion around Gnomon and his powers with Doug and Elaine's Jokerisation. "Some mysteries may never be solved by you alone" - although this still implies he wants to solves the mysteries/find the cure, there is much less urgency than Duke had before. He is able to somewhat come to terms with never solving these mysteries, with taking the bodily and mental changes as they come, for himself and his parents.

(This is reiterated in Batman & The Outsiders (2019), where Duke grapples with his fear and even calls himself "broken" to Cass in #4. I'm not going into it because imo it's a rehash of this stuff and I don't think it was handled particularly well, though it could be a whole post in itself. I think the fact that Duke accepts his new shadow powers very easily though shows his growth!)

Conclusion

Though it's not handled perfectly, I think Duke's story intriguingly handles his evolving perspectives on mental health and saneism. For sure DC's ableism prevents this story from fully coalescing, since even at its highest moments there are ableist tropes and language being used. But mental health is forever a key part of Duke's story (seen as recently as Batman: Urban Legends #8-9 as far as I recall), and I would love future comics to develop on Duke's growing consciousness of these issues and how they tie to his vigilante philosophy, his race, and his relationship to his parents!

[stephexmachina]

"i don't count duke as a robin" well neither does tom king & i'm sure he'd appreciate you dying on his exclusionary hill 😒

[ashoss]

dc pleassseeeeee i misss themmmmmmmmm

[casscainmainly]

All-Star Batman #7 BRUCE SAYING TO DUKE "LET'S GO HOME." BRUCE JUST AUTOMATICALLY ASSUMING THE MANOR IS DUKE'S HOME.

And Bruce says this right after Daryl tells Duke he'll never belong, but Bruce doesn't know that because Duke doesn't tell him!! So Bruce says "let's go home" and Duke responds "everyone found a place with you but what if I can't". Which Bruce might take to mean Duke doesn't see the manor as his home. Which means Bruce has just made the biggest mistake of his life because he's been so careful throughout this period of time, so vigilant about not letting on how much he wants Duke to stay in his life, how much he really wants Duke to be his son. He knows Duke doesn't want that, he respects that Duke doesn't want that. But it slips out anyway: "let's go home." And Duke essentially says "but it might never be my home" and all Bruce can reply with is "that won't happen". And then for the rest of All-Star Batman they are never in the same panel together again. And then in Batman & The Signal, 7 Duke appearances after the end of ASB, Duke moves out of the manor.

[casscainmainly]

Batman (2011) #44 the issue you are...

[himejoshiangels]

Duke Thomas fic rec list

I've scowered every tag relating to him, combed thru the 'duke centric tag' at least 8 times, this is what ive come back with, at least my personal faves

necessary reminders - duke pov, outsider pov, and some social media following duke as he gets used to his day job as a vigilante. flows really well, has a good balance of sad and happy, and gets dukes character rlly well

that which you cannot bear - THIS FIC WILL BREAK YYOU duke is kidnapped and its only down from there!! this is like, one of the first duke fics I read and it's still labeled as such in my mind. its well based, sooo cohesive plot wise, and stays completely in character w all its characters, especially duke, while exploring such an interesting facet of him > his tendency to self-isolate, insistence on being independent, and his stubbornness. sooo much good angst just incredible stuff while also staying hopeful and grounded. ALSO duke is an intelligent badass throughout the fic which is an important detail 2 me

signal, n. a divine act - same author as the last one, absolutely insane concepts are explored and its just so well written srsly it's like poetry. digs into some of dukes ideologies so well. if u like holy imagery??? kind of but not rlly?? ig you'll love this

this whole series is just so fucking incredible but something about my bodies made of crushed little stars I don't fucking know it messed w my brain chemistry, I've recced it b 4 bcs it made me cry but read the whole series, it's all duke centric and just so good. Saki writes bruce and duke in a way that fizzes u up w emotion and focuses on such unique facets of dukes character/dynamics and sleep well my little sunshine is soo cute and fun and soft >when earth finds the stars - bonus presignal duke and jason fic, balances being incredibly fun with a realistic zoom in on duke before we are robin. he's quippy and witty and always at the edge of his rope

not mutually exclusive - tired of bruce being kinda shoved into the role of dukes capital F father when that's not quite what their dynamic is? Then this is the fic for you!! Just good duke and Bruce interactions overall, it's sad and hilarious with just incredible dialogue and peak Bruce and Duke interactions

signals and symptoms - a classic sickfic and like one of my fave bruce bonding fic ever ever EVERRR!! really introspective abt dukes character and just so well done

even exchanges - some of u are gonna hate me for reccing an incomplete fic and esp one that doesn't look like it's gonna be finished anytime soon but even exchanges is so formative to my duke characterizationalong with portraying such a fascinating dynamic w him and his new family. it delves into his messy and angsty experiences pre-becoming the signal and is overall written like several subsequent punches to the stomach. promise ur gonna bitch and moan about this fic as much as I do

scientific method - extremely cute fic, watch Duke bond w the bats and slowly get more comfortable with them over time as they all tru to figure out what the fuck this guys powers are. Really fun dynamic wise, the dialogue is crafty and captures the familiarity between the characters. Really realistic about day to day vigilante life and how genius the bats truly are. really slice of life fluffy shit w some bonus sciencey stuff

turn my voice human torch remind people what I’m fantastic for - truly a classic, Duke invites cass to slam poetry night. short n sweet I LOVE BUMBLEBATS RAHHHHHH

tradition - pure duke n bruce ice cream fluff

meal prep - real sad angst one shot ft. alfred

occupational health and safety violations - duke pov reverse robins but it's way out of order

write about flowers (at a time like this) - duke and dick fic where they meet pre we are robin. yes I just found this one yesterday yes I'm absolutely obsessed. it characterizes him so well and understands his thought process and motives and UGHH just tune in yall

sidequest: the viper pit - WE ARE ROBIN DND JUMANJI

signals of fear and hope - duke centric reverse robins, caters TTOME specifically it's so fire

and now here are fics that arent duke centric but he's in it and in character/well written and now forced into the back of the room aka some of my general faves that feature duke

gotham aviary - the batman fic where he just adopts a bunch of em truly adorable like the cutest thing you'll read

I walk the streets at night (with monsters in my mind) - dragon fic, absolutely goated 10/10

fight, flight - cass centric but duke plays a big role, they mean everything to me