Batman’s utility belt contains lollipops and so many other secrets

For decades, people have been asking, “What does Batman keep in his belt?” The answer has always been Schrödinger’s need: whatever the story may or may not ask of him at that moment. Recently a story needed him to have lollipops.

Why? Because he’s joined a Justice League search party to find out if Superman’s prodigal son was kidnapped by a supervillain, or swallowed up by a time vortex, or invaded an underground mole civilization—a perfectly reasonable concern. But it turns out that Jon just flew out at night like he was told not to, traveled a bit too far, got lost and panicked.

Poor Jon.

What else is happening on the pages of our favorite comics? We’ll tell you. Welcome to Monday Funnies, Polygon’s weekly list of books our comics editor has enjoyed over the past week. It’s part society pages about the lives of superheroes, part recommended reading, and part look at this cool art. There may be some spoilers. There may not be enough context. But there will be great comics. (And if you missed the last issue, read this.)

Night Wing #89

Image: Tom Taylor, Bruno Redondo/DC Comics

There is a print run of four full pages in this issue of nightwing that everyone has a moment worth including in the synopsis, but the purpose of the whole throwback to the first time Batman and Superman’s eldest children met is to remind the reader that it is was what Dick was about being Robin. Helping Batman only scare people he meant to scare, not the people he meant to help.

New Mutants #24

Image: Vita Ayala, Danilo Beyruth/Marvel Comics

Fans of Grant Morrison’s X-Men run will be pleased to hear that instead of being a floating brain in a jar, No-Girl finally has her own body! Her new mutant name is Cerebella! This is adorable!

Supergirl: The Woman of Tomorrow #8

Image: Tom King, Bilquis Evely/DC Comics

With the last issue of Supergirl: The woman of tomorrow I can definitely say that this book hits front to back and applies sandman Atmosphere of a space adventure with Supergirl and a brave young space kid. Best thing Tom King has done since Mr Miracle and Bilquis Evely just drops mics on every damn side. The accumulated volume appears in July, so if you’re a person waiting to trade, put it on your darn calendar.

Crowded Vol 3

Image: Chri Sebela, Ro Stein, Ted Brandt / Image Comics

Another one of my favorites recently ended with the last issues of Overfilled moving straight to paperback after many Covid delays. I could do a full Dorothy Says Goodbye to Oz routine with all the things I love about this show: the action, the comedy, the biting satire, the “acting,” the color work, the mostly queer female cast in a story that isn’t really about queerness—but it would end with me saying, “But you, ‘every time Vita takes off her jacket and gives us the gun show’… I’m going to miss you.” most from all.”

Batman: The Knight #2

Image: Chip Zdarsky, Carmine Di Giandomenico / DC Comics

Batman: The Knight is a grand modern take on Bruce Wayne’s adolescence, a wide-open space that offers ever-increasing room for adventure and mystery. But I want to shout out that panel, with the silhouette of the fleeing Master Thief being thrown huge against the building where the reader can see it but not Bruce. Not too subtle, not too obvious – just wonderful stuff.

Suicide Squad: Blaze #1

Image: Simon Spurrier, Aaron Campbell/DC Comics

Writer Si Spurrier is great at what he does, so it’s no surprise that he and artist Aaron Campbell figured out how to make Suicide Squad feel fresher than the team has been for a long time: focus on some brand new ones Cannon fodder prisoners who just have superpowers, not the usual favorites like Harley or King Shark. Also, the villain – an idea I don’t want to spoil – is a great twist as well.