Nightwing Carries Even Weirder Things Than Batman’s Utility Belt

Warning:  Spoilers for Teen Titans Academy #5 ahead!

While Batman may be more famous for his utility belt. Nightwing may carry weirder things than even the Caped Crusader himself. While both Batman and Nightwing carry a variety of gadgets, a few panels from Teen Titans Academy #5, written by Tim Sheridan and illustrated by Steve Lieber, show that when it comes to weird items they pack with them, the student may have overtaken the master.

In the issue, Nightwing finds himself on the tail of his charges – Bratgirl, Chupacabra, and Megabat. Chupacabra – who at this point is only called Diego – has been “adopted” by a mad scientist who is going to experiment on him with a super-soldier serum. This isn’t a standard super-soldier serum, though – this one transforms those injected with it into horrifying bat-like creatures.

When Nightwing finally catches up to Diego – who has, unfortunately, already been injected with this bat super-soldier serum – he has quite the variety of odd tools at his disposal to deal with the situation. All of these tools – as strange as they may seem – end up being extremely useful. First, he pulls a dog whistle out and uses it to distract a bat-monster from attacking his allies. Next up: a compact mirror. While no explanation is given for the presence of this item, it certainly is unusual that he has it. The Bat Pack finds it stashed in the pack on his motorcycle. Finally, Diego – now going by Chupacabra – is seen carrying around a space blanket that Nightwing refers to as his, which means it came from the pack on his motorcycle.

Utility belts have always been a bit of a deus ex machina in comics. A common trope in comics – and even parodies – is that Batman always has a Bat-whatever handy. All heroes seem to carry exactly the right items at the right time. The items shown that Nightwing carries with him – although super weird – can easily be rationalized. A space blanket is the perfect tool if he has rescued someone who’s experiencing any sort of shock. A dog whistle is a great tool if Nightwing is chasing down a bad guy that has guard dogs. Granted, the compact mirror may be the strangest, but it is an inexpensive and easily replaceable way to look around corners in covert situations.

Some items in utility belts can be truly weird and extremely situational and, while these items certainly seem odd for Nightwing to apparently always have on his person, they indicate that Nightwing is, above all else, a planner. He knows the issues he commonly runs into (corners, dogs, people in various states of shock) and is ready to take on those issues with only the tools he carries in his utility belt and motorcycle bag.

About The Author

Lauren Hitzhusen
(54 Articles Published)

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Screen Rant comics editor Lauren Hitzhusen read her first comic at age 16 and took her high school senior photos in the graphics novel section of Borders (yes, seriously). It was truly love at first panel. A graduate of NYU’s Masters of Publishing Science program, she knew comics was the industry for her. She is a former assistant comics editor and has worked a variety of publishers in a freelance capacity. She has a passion for all-ages comics, and frequents conventions in search of the next good story (and old issues of Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen).

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