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The holiday season begins with a smash as Batman embarks on a new adventure and teams up with everyone’s favorite gift-giver, Santa Claus. It was just a year ago that the Justice League teamed up with Santa Claus to stop the evil Krampus. Now a new threat emerges and only the Dark Knight’s old mentor can help out now.

In a preview for Batman/Santa Claus: Silent Knight Returns #1 by Jeff Parker and Lucas Ketner, Robin shows up on Zatanna’s window, looking for help. He reveals that hours earlier, the Justice League responded to an emergency in Egypt where a living suit of armor began to mummify innocent people.

Green Lantern John Stewart traps the armor and Superman begins to interrogate the entity dwelling within it. Unfortunately, the armor breaks through Green Lantern’s construct and hits Superman with a sword. Nubia attempts to combat the monster, only for it to summon a terrifying vision to stop her.

The Justice League Got a Powerful, Godlike Enemy for Christmas

Only Santa Can Help Stop This Mystical Threat

The DC Universe is filled with hundreds of strange and powerful magic users. But the one that was even a surprise to heroes like Superman was the existence of the one and only Santa Claus. As seen in the first Batman/Santa Claus: Silent Knight, the holidays were interrupted when the world was invaded by a swarm of monsters known as the Draug, serving at the orders of the demonic Krampus. Aiding the investigation was Santa, who doesn’t just exist in the DCU, but actually trained Batman when he traveled the world before becoming a superhero.

The Justice League and Santa worked together to stop Krampus, who was actually under the influence of evil spirits. Though things looked dark, the heroes all came together to purge the evil from Krampus and restore order to the season. Even Damian, who seemed largely dismissive of the holidays, finally embraced the spirit and helped Santa and Krampus bring Christmas to a close and delivered toys alongside them. Though Santa more than held his own alongside the Justice League, that was his only canonical adventure with the team.

The Justice League Needs Santa to Stop This Strange New Enemy

Holiday Mythology is Santa Claus’ Specialty

As the adventure with the Krampus revealed, there’s a lot in the DC Universe that even someone as experienced as Batman doesn’t know about the world. And for all the power magic users like Zatanna have at their disposal, sometimes it’s not enough with foes rooted in holiday lore. Thankfully, the Justice League all know that Santa isn’t just real, he’s a real ass-kicker and is more than ready to help his allies in their time of need. This new threat is powerful, but as long as Batman’s old pal Santa is around, things will turn out alright.

Batman/Santa Claus: Silent Knight Returns #1 is available on November 27th from DC Comics.

Batman

One of DC’s most iconic heroes, Batman is the vigilante superhero persona of billionaire Bruce Wayne. Forged by tragedy with the death of his parents, Bruce dedicated his life to becoming the world’s leading martial artist, detective, and tactician. Recruiting an entire family of allies and sidekicks, Bruce wages war on evil as the dark knight of his hometown, Gotham City.

“}]] The Dark Knight and Kris Kringle together again.  Read More