We here at Multiversity get pretty excited about the holidays, and this year we’re sharing that excitement with the rest of you as we celebrate that wonder of wonders: THE HOLIDAY COMIC!
Each day for the next twenty-five days, and in no particular order, we’ll be featuring one yuletide yarn set to the tune of tidings of comfort and joy, and today we bust right out of the comic books we’ve gift-wrapped ourselves into and head for that safe place where Americans run for comfort – the television! And so, to quote Homer Simpson, let’s all bask in televisions warm, glowing, warming glow and tune into “Comfort and Joy,” the Christmas episode of the Justice League animated series.
If you need me, I’ll be on the couch after the jump.
Day #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9, #10, #11, #12, #13, #14, #15
Who Did It? This episode was written by Paul Dini, and directed by Butch Lukic.
What Is It About? While Batman is taking monitor duty on Christmas Eve, and Wonder Woman off doing whatever Amazons do on Christmas (watch Jingle All the Way? Play Board Games? Talk about how useless men are?), the other five members of the Justice League celebrate Christmas in their own touching, alien, bizarre, and violent ways.
In the least substantial of the three stories, love birds Green Lantern and Hawkgirl decide to show each other how they celebrate Christmas – for John Stewart, that is by having a snowball fight (probably one laden with lots and lots of guilt). When he invites Hawkgirl to partake, she decides to leave the wings and mask on, but switch her top to a sensible leather jacket.
For Hawkgirl, it means getting drunk and fighting, something I think more of us than would care to admit looks more like our Christmas celebrations than we are comfortable admitting.
Meanwhile, Flash is playing Santa for an orphanage, and he sets out to find a “DJ Rubber Ducky” for the kids there. After a trip around the city, he decides to go straight to the plant that makes them and gets the last one on Earth. Of course, as he is wont to do, the fucking Ultra-Humanite destroys it. However, the Christmas spirit engulfs him and he fixes and “improves” the toy to tell a Dickensian tale of Christmas for the orphans. Eventually, Flash hauls him to jail, where he has left him with an aluminum Christmas tree.
Meanwhile, over in Smallville, Martian Manhunter spends a Christmas with the Kents. Here we see Clark’s folks using lead wrapping paper so he can’t see through to his gifts and J’onn trying to understand what Christmas really means. Eventually, he sneaks out of the Kent house and walks around Smallville, soaking up the Christmas spirit as much as he can.
How Holiday Friendly Is It? Funny you mention that…
On the surface, this is a fine holiday special, celebrating the diversity of experience, spending time with family, forgiveness, and giving to the less fortunate. However, the Superman story has a few interesting twists that may mak you think twice about showing this to your little superfan:
1) Clark professes to still believing in Santa Claus, to which he parents have to back-peddle to save his feelings. The Kents practically say “hey kids, your parents are lying about Santa!” Of course, this also calls into question Clark’s general intelligence, but that is another topic.
2) J’onn, on his constitutional through Smallville, hears a little girl praying for Santa to be real and to eat the cookies she left him. So, J’onn goes down her chimney and eats the Oreos (nice touch, Dini) that she left out for Santa. Clue #2 to kids watching that this whole “Santa” thing is a sham.
3) The episode ends with a naked Martian Manhunter cradling the Kent family cat (Streaky?) and singing a Christmas tune. While a nice image of J’onn embracing the Christmas spirit, it is a creepy as shit image to leave you with. Enjoy!
