Harry Styles’ Marvel character is blowing up the Marvel comics universe

Eros, aka Starfox, is played by Harry Styles in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but in Marvel Comics he’s currently being played by writer Kieron Gillen and artist Valerio Schiti. In the final page of last week’s AXE: Judgment day #3, the team revealed that the alien superhero may be key to untangling the web of consequences the Avengers, X-Men, and Eternals have all gotten themselves into in Marvel Comics’ summer crossover.

This is the typical last page reveal for an event comic. Oh, that obscure character could be the one! To find out the next step, turn in next month! But here’s why I’m intrigued by it: The idea that Eros and Thanos (inspired by the Freudian concept of eros and thanatos) are truly counterparts in any way other than their shared parentage never really flew with me. Sure, Thanos’ presence in the Marvel Universe would be hard for any character to live up to, but Eros is practically a gag character. It has always seemed that “the power of love” is just less interesting and more difficult to conceptualize for comic book writers than “the power of death.”

But this isn’t any comic book writer’s idea of Eros. Kieron Gillen is the all-inclusive. MoreIn a story that is fast-paced, the Avengers, X-Men and Eternals have only 24 hours left to help humanity overcome the evils before a space god destroys it, they come up with creative ways to reinvent godlike mortals.

Is there anything else happening inside our favourite comics’ pages? We’ll tell you. Welcome to Monday Funnies, Polygon’s weekly list of the books that our comics editor enjoyed this past week. It’s part society pages of superhero lives, part reading recommendations, part “look at this cool art.” There may be some spoilers. You may not have enough context. There will still be some great comics. You can also read the previous edition if you haven’t seen it yet.

Image: Kieron Gillen, Valerio Schiti/Marvel Comics

Gillen & Schiti have created a book they call “The Book of Gillen”. AXE: Judgment dayIt’s something that I look forward to reading every issue. Each issue checks in with the lives of six regular human beings around the world and how they’re reacting to/affected by the cosmic crisis. It shouldn’t be boring or corny or seem weightless or forgettable. isn’t. These characters could all die randomly. Extremely highI’m sorry to see it happen, considering certain plot points.

Image by Gary Whitta and Darick Robertson/DC Comics

It is hard to remember who my Twitter followers are who posted something like: Batman: FortressYou’re really great! The same thing happened to me as I was reading the issue. The tone of it has been difficult to place, but writer Gary Whitta is settling into a kind of Silver Age Batman, one who’s just as moody and driven but cracks a dry joke here and there and doesn’t think it strange to be on a first-name basis with a space squirrel.

Image: Daniel Warren Johnson/Image Comics

Are you still reading Do a PowerbombBy Daniel Warren Johnson Why aren’t you all reading Do a Powerbomb? This is amazing! I’m not even in the wrestling fandom! I don’t even know what a moonsault Is!

Image: Gerry Duggan/Emilio Laiso/Marvel Comics

The challenge of translating infinite-scroll comics made for phones into printed comics is a perennial one for services like Webtoon, but an important one for readers who’d like to put their favorite series on a real shelf. Just wanted to thank the entire team. X-Men green; if I hadn’t known that the series ran first as an infinite-scroll story on Marvel Unlimited, I never would have guessed from this issue.

Image: Chip Zdarsky, Carmine Di Giandomenico/DC Comics

The last issue of Chip Zdarsky and Carmine Di Giandomenico’s Batman: The Knight A certain amount of bravery is a characteristic of Bruce Wayne. It would take a confident team to tell the ultimate story of Bruce Wayne growing up to become Batman. Only a more determined team could abandon nostalgia plays to populate the book with new characters. A few people are more confident than others. Continue reading confident team waits until issue 8 of a 10-issue series to reveal the comic’s final boss is someone very familiar indeed.

And that’s how you actually surprise a reader with the idea that Ra’s al Ghul will appear in a Batman story.

Image Credit: Faith Erin Hicks/First-Second

It came out a little while ago, but I finally got around to reading Faith Erin Hicks’ Go on and I don’t know if there exists an object more tailored to my affections: a comic book about kids who like horseback riding but aren’t truly brought together until they discover a shared interest in Star Trek.