DC Comics Universe & Batman & The Signal #1 Spoilers & Review: Dark Nights Metal Begets Whole New Daytime Gotham City Mythology!

Spoilers, Top Story

DC Comics Universe and Batman and The Signal #1 Spoilers follow.

Dark Nights Metal Gives Duke Thomas The Sunlight Spotlight! Plus it grows the Gotham City mythology significantly.

Batman and the Signal #1 opens with Duke Thomas explaining why there is a role for him amongst all of Batman’s several allies and sidekicks.

(1) Establish unique role for Duke Thomas. Check.

Then we get right into mid-action with Duke Thomas in a fight with a new villain named Null.

We then get to see how Duke Thomas “signal” powers work.

(2) Establish unique power set for Duke Thomas. Check.

It seems that while Duke Thomas beat is the daytime, he’s not particularly welcomed.

(3) Establish how Gotham City citizens view a new daytime vigilante. Check.

We then move to a telephone call in a new bit of architecture in Gotham City.

(4) Establish new Gotham City locales. Check.

We then meet disabled detective Alex Aisi who Commissioner Jim Gordon wants to work on the “dial” drug file; that’s what Null was ranting about when he was battling Duke Thomas at the beginning of the book.

(5) Establish potential daytime cop ally for our hero. Check.

Gordon is going to his her on the nightshift.

We then move to Duke Thomas’ abode. His vigilante work is supported by his girlfriend Iz and their friend Riko; it is signalled that they were allies of his during the We Are Robin series.

(6) Establish hero’s core supporting cast. Check.

We then learn that he is living with his older Cousin who is his guardian. Plus, the page concludes with the value derived from the work of Iz and Riko; they figured out Null’s powers were amplified when he was in close proximity to Duke Thomas.

(7) Continue to delver into mystery of Duke Thomas’s new powers. Check.

Then the Batman summons Duke Thomas where he presents him with his new base of operations: The Hatch.

(8) Establish a base for hero and his allies / supporting cast. Check.

Batman indicates he doesn’t know more about Duke Thomas’ powers after being asked. He also tells Duke he’ll need a nom de guerre as a hero; he hasn’t had one yet. Batman does NOT think it should be Lark; that’s a nod to the rampant online speculation is name would be the Lark.

We then pivot to a Arkham’s juvenile center. That’s where the road for the “Dial” leads to for Detective Aisi and Duke Thomas, the Signal. Aisi is turned away as she has no warrant; she wanted to get a water sample for testing.

(9) Continue to establish new Gotham City locales. Check.

Duke Thomas is not encumbered by warrants. He finds a way into the juvenile detention center, but…

…is attacked by Null and two other new metahumans that are dialed-up.

(10) Now that core new Gotham City mythology has been introduced, end on an intriguing cliffhanger. Check.

So…

This was a really great issue for a novel three issue mini-series. Amazing art by Cully Hamner who I have been a fan of for years. This books looks breathtaking from Hamner’s pencils and inks to the vibrant colors of Laura Martin and artsy lettering of Deron Bennett. The story and script were also pretty solid by establishing a whole lot of mew Gotham City mythology in this debut issue, but also advancing the core threat to our hero and Gotham City for this mini-series. Tony Patrick and Scott Snyder weaved a very entertaining yarn with Batman and the Signal #1. 9 out of 10.

John is a long-time pop culture fan, comics historian, and blogger. He is currently the Editor-in-Chief at Comics Nexus. Prior to being EIC he has produced several column series including DEMYTHIFY, NEAR MINT MEMORIES and the ONE FAN'S TRIALS at the Nexus plus a stint at Bleeding Cool producing the COMICS REALISM column. As BabosScribe, John is active on his twitter account, his facebook page, his instagram feed and welcomes any and all feedback. Bring it on!