Hello hello hello! I mentioned Duke Thomas two posts ago (Alfred Pennyworth Makes Me Sad; go read it if you haven't!) and this panel has been on my mind since then so here I am to talk about it!
So here's the panel! For a bit of context: Bruce Wayne lost all his memories and has no recollection and none of the skills of Batman. He's just a normal (albeit insanely buff) dude who's working at a school for Gotham's underprivileged youth with his girlfriend. This is Duke Thomas, a kid (teenager to be exact) who's been familiar with Bruce both as Batman, as pre-amnesia Bruce, and post-amnesia Bruce. He is... not taking the change well, to put it lightly. He did his own little mission to try and help Gotham, and ended up being helped by Bruce. After, he lashes out at Bruce for leaving his mantle as Batman and choosing to just be Bruce.
Now, to be fair: I don't think Duke knows that Bruce legitimately doesn't remember how to be Batman. Like... if you gave Bruce any of his old equipment he'd probably just stand there and be like "huh." But I think his outburst is really important to developing his character and showing who Duke is, and why his perspective is so necessary.
Duke grew up in the Narrows, which is the poorest and most dangerous neighborhood in Gotham, essentially the slums. There is a lot of gang activity and it gets hit particularly hard by any villain attacks because it's the lowest priority for cleanups. We're shown that its residents are primarily black and Hispanic, especially through the school Bruce works at, and in flashbacks to a case Bruce dealt with in the Narrows. It's reflective of many low-income areas in the United States (Paterson, the Bronx, etc.).
Remember: Bruce was a billionaire. Like... born rich, lived rich, "died" rich. Sure, Batman's been through a ton of hard stuff (the death of his parents, getting beaten up pretty much every night, dying, yada yada), but he's never experienced what it's like to really be poor. Not in the way the Narrows kids do, surrounded by violence and drugs. Batman's also a white man, so. He's privileged. He uses his privilege in a really good way (cough cough Jeff Bezos cough cough), but he's still privileged. Even as this new Bruce, he's still living a comfortable life (his gf's a socialite so she's got moneyyy).
Now, why would Duke be this angry? He's not the only person in Gotham who's suffering from the loss of Batman. Why is Duke the one to give this monologue calling Bruce out for running? Not any of Bruce's fifty-thousand kids (I do question why their reactions aren't shown here but anyway), not Alfred, not Gordon. Duke.
Because Duke doesn't get to run away. Duke doesn't get to leave his upbringing as a young black male growing up in Gotham's slums, doesn't get to leave the gang activity and the violence and losing his parents. No matter where Duke goes, he'll be followed by the reputation of the Narrows, and if it's anything like our world that reputation won't be positive. Duke's familiar with the way the world works in the Narrows. If you've watched The Hate U Give (highly recommend it if you haven't), it gives a great snapshot into these kinds of neighborhoods. Even if they try to leave to establish a better future for themselves and their children, a lack of education and resources often traps them in drug dealing and gang activity. They can't leave.
Also, disclaimer that I am not black or Hispanic, and I grew up in middle-class, so I can't speak from my own experience on this. Just on what I've seen and heard. So take everything I say with a grain of salt because I'm definitely not an expert.
Bruce has opportunities that Duke could never have. Bruce had the resources to make a difference in Gotham, and he was an inspiration for Duke and his peers in the Narrows to become more than what the world told them they had to be. And here Bruce is, throwing all that away for a chance to be happy. And yes, I think Bruce does deserve to be selfish, but again, Duke doesn't get that luxury. Duke's outburst is a cry of "it's not fair," and he's wholly justified in it.
It reminds me of the height of the Black Lives Matter movement during the summer of 2020. A lot of non-black activists were taking breaks because of emotional fatigue, and I remember seeing posts by African-Americans that said stuff along the lines of, "We don't get to take breaks. This is our life." It's a striking parallel, especially considering that these comics were published a good few years before the BLM movement.
So that's all I really have to say about this! A shorter post again, but I think I said what I wanted to say so I'm not gonna keep going. I hope you enjoyed this (over)analysis and I'll hopefully see y'alls next week!
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