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Two of the MCU’s Defenders once saved Christmas from Krampus himself, but they never would have been able to if it weren’t for a holiday miracle of their own.
For many parents, the holidays are spent battling the crowds while desperately trying to get their hands on the hottest toy of the season, though no one ever expects to be faced with literal demonic hordes in their quest for the perfect gift. At least, not outside the Marvel Universe, where there is at least some chance of just that happening. Thankfully, there are plenty of superpowered heroes ready to deal with whatever yuletide horror emerges, especially when it poses a threat to the families of some of the MCU’s greatest Defenders.
2016’s Power Man and Iron Fist: Sweet Christmas Annual (by David Walker, Scott Hepburn, Matt Milla, and VC’s Clayton Cowles) found the titular heroes spending the late hours of Christmas Eve shopping at NYC’s latest hotspot, Toyverse, run by the obviously villainous Gustav Silbe, creator of the Pokemon-esque Schnuckies. As the Iron Fist took Luke’s daughter Dani to peruse the shelves, Luke himself was dragged away by the sudden appearance of Jessica Drew in desperate need of help with her infant son Gerry.
As down to Earth as their excursion was, things took a dark turn once the clock struck midnight with the revelation that Gustav Silbe was none other than the fabled Krampus, and that his Schnuckies were his own personal army of pint-sized devils. Thankfully, Marvel’s street-level heroes were joined by Daimon Hellstrom in their fight against Krampus and his demonic forces, though they would still end up needing a holiday miracle to see them through the fight.
In the midst of the battle, all of the gathered heroes save for Hellstrom would find themselves on babysitter duty at some point to ensure that no harm came to either of the children. As it turned out it would be that very same dedication to their families that would save the day. Once Hellstrom had drawn Krampus back out into the open, the heroes launched an unrelenting yet fruitless assault.
It wasn’t until the arrival of Santa Claus himself that the heroes were able to put an end to the cloven-hoofed horror’s short-lived reign, adding another layer of unexpected weirdness to what was already a story no one had seen coming. The introduction of Santa to the battlefield gave the heroes another opportunity to save the day, and more specifically their own kids. In fact, once the dust had settled it was implied that Dani’s cries were what drew Kris Kringle into the conflict in the first place. Though the themes of family and parenthood weren’t nearly as overt in the issue as the holiday-themed horrors, they proved to be absolutely key to the story itself, even if that isn’t all that surprising considering the characters at hand.
Luke Cage, Danny Rand, and Jessica Drew have always had complicated personal lives, yet that hasn’t stopped them from being some of the most grounded characters in the Marvel Universe largely thanks to those same familial connections. Seeing these particular heroes face off against Krampus and a legion of Schnuckies might have been one of the more fantastical stories that any of them have appeared in, but it still found a semblance of relatability through the family drama at hand. If nothing else, it all served as a reminder that there is nothing these heroes won’t go through for those closest to them, even if it means saving the world from demonic toys.
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