By Cat Wyatt
Batman and the Signal is a new series in the Batman universe, using characters and plots started in All-Star Batman and We Are Robin. Duke Thomas (AKA Signal) has decided to do something different from all of the other Bat heroes – he’s going to take on the crime that’s happening during the day. He’ll be the only one to do it. Adding to his differences is the fact that he’s a metahuman, and one that hasn’t really figured out his powers yet. It should make for an interesting ride, to say the least.
Okay, so the first page is a bit of a doozy. It’s not often you see this many Bat heroes in one tiny (and very crowded) panel, so I feel like it’s worth noting. In it we see Duke addressing Batwoman, Nightwing, Batwing, Red Robin, Robin, Red Hood, BatGirl, and Orphan (I also feel like Batman is probably somewhere there as well, but he isn’t actually shown, so I can’t prove it). Whew, that is not a list I’d want to rattle off more than once.
It appears that most of the Bat team isn’t convinced of Duke and whether or not he should be part of their team (even though Batman trusts him, which feels like it should be enough). It also feels like Duke isn’t convinced about himself either…but in a way he has more of a reason to be concerned. He can see light and patterns, and has reason to believe he’ll be lucky if Signal makes it a week. Which considering he takes up the mantle anyway makes him a pretty ballsy kid, but that’s not really the point.
The point is that Signal is one of the first Bat heroes we’ve seen actively working during the day (by choice, all the time). Now one could argue there’s a bit of a cause and effect thing going on here; is there more meta crime happening in the day because Signal is active during the day (or because the night vigilantes are making it dangerous to work during those times?) or is Signal out in the day because the villains are now working in daylight? It may seem like semantics, but based on some of the evidences/theories posed later; it actually may be an important bit of information to clarify.
I mentioned that Duke is a meta human, and that he doesn’t have a full handle on his powers. Which is a shame really, since they seem like they’d be really useful during a fight. Basically Duke can see images left by light, and sometimes he can even see the images in the light before they’ve happened. Even a few seconds warning in a fight could be the difference between winning and losing. I wonder, with practice could he expand that even further? The introductory statement from him gave me the impression that he can (sometimes) see even further than that, but it wasn’t clear enough for me to be certain of this.
Regardless, he clearly needs to work on it, as Null (another meta) seems to give him a bigger challenge than anticipated. Even though Signal does end up winning the fight (with minor collateral damage – sorry bus), the civilians around don’t seem to appreciate his effort much. In fact, they seem to be of the impression that his presence is what caused the fight, as opposed to Nule being the cause. An interesting, if possibly biased, opinion. It looks like once again public opinion is turning against that of the vigilante, or at least they’re unwilling to accept another new one (perhaps because he works in the day, and people like to consider themselves safe in the daylight?).
Apparently Signal wasn’t the only one who’s realizing that there are more metahumans appearing – Alex (previously a detective on Gordan’s team, but she’s moved to the day shift to track this problem) is also looking for a pattern in what’s happening. She’s aware of the fact that Solarium has basically become the teenager version of Arkham Asylum, which is actually pretty terrifying when you stop to think about it. It’ll be interesting to see what digs up.
Okay, so I know I shouldn’t be surprised that Duke hangs out with two ex-Batman trainees, but still holy cow. There are so many cameos in this series it isn’t even funny. Anyway, they’re also working on the whole metahuman thing, but they’re mostly doing it to help Duke out. Still, I’m not sure how far he would have gotten on his own, so they’re pretty damn useful to this plot, as far as I’m concerned.
As far as spin-off series go, this one is off to a decent start. I think the follow through will heavily decide the quality here. They’ve got a good structure (not to mention plenty of characters to have cross overs with) and a solid main character, as well as a supporting cast (tech best friends, the detective, etc). So it has all the workings of a classic Batman series. I think the main thing that’s up in the air is the villains – if they can make the metahuman plot work then we’ll be off to the races. After all, my favorite part in any Batman series has always been the antagonists (they always make or break the series, for me), and I imagine that’ll be the case here.
The artwork was pretty incredible. I love Signal’s design – the change from the more dark and brooding colors to black and bright yellow has always stood out for me. Plus it’s so sleek looking. Additionally I really enjoyed the design of the few other metahumans we’ve been shown, especially the cyborg girl who hasn’t been formally introduced (heck, she might not even be a meta and I’m just assuming).
Score: 3/5
Batman and the Signal #1
DC Comics