Malcolm Duncan

Malcolm "Mal" Duncan is the Team's mission control. He is a former classmate of Superboy and Miss Martian at Happy Harbor High School. He's romantically involved with Karen Beecher, a.k.a., Bumblebee.

Personality
In high school Mal has a dominant demeanor and appearance, and facing him down was generally considered unwise.

Physical appearance
Mal is a rather tall and muscular African-American male with short black hair and brown eyes. He normally wears form-fitting shirts. He had a penchant for wearing Superman t-shirts in high school, but reportedly changed his wardrobe when he turned eighteen.

2010
Mal called out the new student, Conner Kent, when he was harassing Marvin White.

During the Team's "alien invasion" training scenario, Mal, along with the rest of the students and faculty hid below the school's underground bunker and watched the Team's speech about how they would win and build from what they've lost, after the Justice League had been killed.



Mal went to the school's Halloween party dressed as "Superman, done right", with a black leather jacket and shades.

When all adults had gone missing, Mal came to the high school gym to watch the younger children.

2011-2015
Mal became the Team's mission controller, and continued his relationship with Karen Beecher.

2015
Mal welcomed Zatanna and Rocket back to the Cave, and commented on their new status as Justice Leaguers.

Beta Squad's reported to Mal about the disappearance of Superboy, Superman and Devastation. Mal immediately conferenced the call with the Watchtower and Alpha Squad.

Mal received a report from Bumblebee that Metropolis was under attack, but it broke down. Mal tried reestablishing the link, but it was impossible.

2016
When Bumblebee arrived back from a mission, Mal wanted to tell her all about his plans for their date that evening. He was disappointed she didn't have time, as she needed to work with Doctor Palmer.

The Team sent out three squads to apprehend Kroloteans that had hidden all over the globe: one to Philadelphia, one to Vlatavastok, and one to New Orleans. Mal monitored them from the Cave, and though Alpha and Beta Squads could not capture their targets, Gamma Squad hit the base in New Orleans. at their request, Mal sent back-up, but it didn't arrive until the base was destroyed.

Mal witnessed the activation of the Zeta-Shield with Jaime and Superboy. Superboy asked him where Nightwing was, and Mal replied he was out on personal business. Mal objected when Superboy appropriated Jaime for his own personal business, but could not press the issue.

Mal arrived at the Cave by bike, and was met by a boy he never met before, but seemed to know his name: Impulse.

After Impulse had stopped Neutron's rampage, he claimed he was ready to go back to his own time. Mal watched as Impulse got back in the time machine, but it didn't work.

Mal talked with Nightwing and Superboy about Speedy and Impulse. Mal believed that they would end up being their responsibility, but Nightwing assured that they are taken care of. Mal still believed that they would wind up to their responsibility, and Superboy agreed. When Artemis returned to the team, Mal welcomed her back.

Mal listened to Nightwing's briefing of the mission, to defend the Earth-Mars communication satellite. He wondered why Nightwing was joining the mission, which he answered that he wanted some action.

In the Cave, Mal hugged Karen to comfort her after they heard about Artemis's death. Superboy told him that they would find La'gaan and Aqualad. Mal wondered where Nightwing was, Superboy answered that he went to tell Wally, which worried Mal and Karen.

In the Cave, Mal and Superboy discussed Artemis's death, Aquaman's search for Lagoon Boy, and whether the Team and League were any closer to uncovering the identity of the Light's new Partner.

Mal had ridden out to Ivy Town in the hopes of a date with Karen. She was surprised to see him, and liked the prospect of a date, but had a few more hours of lab work ahead of her. He offered to keep her company. Karen knew he'd be bored.

After waiting for her to finish, Mal indeed grew bored. Just as he had made plans, doctor Palmer arrived. After showing him the test results, Karen predicted they would have to work two or three hours more, and that was too much for Mal. He silently left the lab and rode back to Happy Harbor.

Just as he drove through the town center, Mount Justice exploded. He watched in horror, and quickly contacted the Watchtower for assistance. He then headed to the wreckage to look for survivors. He detected Sphere's presence in the water, and found Nightwing, Superboy and Wolf lying on top of her as she was sinking. He hauled Nightwing up, and woke Superboy. Together, they made it to shore.



Background in other media

 * Mal Duncan was one of the first black DC superheroes and a former member of the Teen Titans and Doom Patrol. He has gone by various names, including Guardian, Herald, Hornblower and Vox. He is married to Bumblebee. Like Bumblebee, Mal was a technical genius who created a horn that would allow him to open dimensional portals.
 * Young Justice marks Mal Duncan's second animated appearance. He previously appeared as a minor supporting character during the last few episodes of the Teen Titans animated series, where he used the identity of Herald, and was voiced by Khary Payton.