Santa is canon in the Marvel and DC comic universes — here’s proof

Every December, the heroes and heroines of the superhero world are drawn into Unusual seasonal experience They use their kindness and the power of cheer as well as their super strength. Just a few pages later, jolly old Saint Nick appears and reminds everyone to think of some good ideas if they want to have a happy morning on December 25th.

you don’t want to know quite How many Christmas stories do I have in my comic collection – despite the sheer number, there’s still the argument that these stories don’t actually count. People are convinced, in their two-size-too-young minds, that any Superman, Batman, Spider-Man, or any Santa Claus team-up story is actually not canon. To these people, I just want to respond to one thing: Liar!

Santa Claus is a classic. I can attest to this.

Santa’s two major comic book careers actually began at DC, back in the 1940s Superman’s Christmas Adventures. This one-shot Superman: The Man of Steel and the Man with the White Beard face off against Dr. Grouch and Mr. Meaney, two old men who were apparently the personal inspirations for Ebenezer Scrooge. Christmas adventure — written by Superman co-creator Jerry Siegel with art by Jack Burnley — managed to create a framework that many subsequent stories would follow, even if they lacked Siegel’s Beautiful purple prose for a lucky reader.

“Christmas! A time of human joy and goodwill! It seems almost impossible that anyone would be so despicable as to ruin such a beloved event, but that’s what the gloomy killjoy Dr. Grouch intends to do. That’s only half of the first title.

Over the next 80 years, Santa Claus appeared in many different DC comics, including Sgt. rock and ghost. He teams up with Superman again DC Comics Presents (The story is titled “This Is the Fear Before Christmas!”). His 1985 self is given a cool and gritty ’80s makeover Ambush Bug Sock Stuffing (As shown in the picture). Perhaps most excitingly, he appeared in 1991’s Lobo’s Paramilitary Christmas SpecialThere, he personally fights off the eponymous protagonist, who is hired by the jealous Easter Bunny to assassinate Santa Claus (all under the seasonal generosity of Keith Giffen, Alan Grant and Simone Beasley, done without restraint).

Perhaps the comic that most clearly confirms Santa Claus’ canon status in the modern DCU is the 2001 JLA #60, “Merry Christmas, Justice League—— Die now! This book was DC’s largest superhero work at the time and fully met the “real” standards of the DCCU. Most of the issue consists of Plastic Man telling a story to a kid about the fictional team-up between Santa and the JLA, but the ending features the real Santa cackling at what he just saw. Laughing, the deal was finally struck: Santa Claus is definitely real.

This argument is even easier to make when it comes to the Marvel Universe. In the absence of a massive reboot of Marvel’s long history, every story Marvel publishes starring Kris Kringle is part of the Marvel canon. These include the 1991 Marvel Holiday Deals The X-Men discover that Santa Claus is one of the most powerful mutants on Earth – Jonathan Hickmanthe ball is in your court. and 2016 Superman vs. Iron Fist: Sweet Christmas #1, Santa Claus appears in flashbacks to stop the demon Krampus years before Luke Cage and Danny Rand did the same thing. even Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man Issue 112 is a one-off issue from 1985 where Santa Claus shows up to humiliate a thief in a Santa Claus costume and is part of the official history of the Marvel Universe.

Granted, the canonicity of some stories may be questionable. 1992 short film Marvel era #109 Captain America remembers saving Santa Claus from the Nazis during World War II, which may or may not be part of official Marvel history. Not because of Santa’s involvement, but because this is one of cartoonist Fred Hembeck’s generally discontinuous humor cartoons. (It’s still a good idea, though.) Regardless, Santa’s place in the Marvel canon is pretty solid, considering the available evidence.

In fact, he’s so entrenched in the Marvel Universe that he even appears in a non-Christmas comic. 1988 Sensational She-Hulk #8 answers the question of what Santa Claus does when he’s not delivering toys across the globe every year: It turns out he’s the world’s greatest detective named Nick St. Christopher—as he cheerfully explains, “Always know[s] who has been naughty… and OK…” (“I can’t wait look how they write this [The Official Handbook to the] Marvel Universe“At the end of the story, the fourth wall was broken, She-Hulk commented. )

Much to the chagrin of all you Grinch fans out there, the tradition of including Santa Claus in Marvel and DC comics is no longer a thing of the past. Issue 2018 dead Pool After Santa Claus delivered the mercenaries with his mouth, the story is not entirely different from DC’s Lobo The special event from a quarter-century ago—but this time it’s some disgruntled kids trying to put Santa’s jolly head on a plate—is the same as last year’s New Year’s Eve DC’s one-shot introduced Myra’s Ni’Klaus, a powerful wizard who is actually Santa Claus but goes by another name. It should be added that both are canonical looks.

As long as there are Marvel and DC Comics – let alone the holidays, although given the context, that should probably be taken for granted – it seems guaranteed that Santa Claus will continue to pop up occasionally in both universes to spread goodness things. For those of you who have questions about this, here’s a lump of coal with your name on it.