With none other than Harley Quinn as the narrator — of course, because she’s had a delightful year, puddin’! — DC Comics just dropped a very merry Holiday Special, and its first story features Superman on a harrowing quest to procure the the in-demand toy this holiday season for his son Jon, Jingle All the Way-style. Titled “The Last Minute,” the story is written by Tim Seeley with art by Ian Churchill, color by Alex Solazzo, and lettering by Carlos M. Mangual.
Instead of a Turbo-Man action doll, the most wanted holiday item is something called a “Monk-E-Monsters Interactive Entertainment System” — and both Jon and Damien want one. It’s some sort of gaming system involving Monkeys, Monsters, Monkey Monsters, and you play it with wireless pink controllers. It sounds pretty sweet, and Grodd definitely wants one.
Much like Mattress Salesman Howard Langston, workaholic Superman finds life riddled with pesky distractions like the icy Winter Wasp and the terrible Rainbow Monster; he may fly like a bird, but he’s far from early enough to get the proverbial worm as heroic shoppers get the goods before he can.
"The last one, just sitting there. I'm a hero. Now I know how Superman feels."
Even Damian Wayne finds his own system before Clark gets the chance:
You snooze, you lose four-eyes!
When all is said and done, Superman saves many people’s lives on Christmas but fails miserably as a father. Thankfully, Damian Wayne is there to save the day with the power of “strategic planning,” gifting his friend the very gaming system he snagged right under Superman’s Super-nose:
Someone please tell us where the Smith family Christmas sweaters can be procured.
All in all, this joyous tale offers everything we could want from DC’s favorite hero dads: competition among rivals, super-friendship, and best of all, a very merry happy ending.
The DC Rebirth Holiday Special is available now from retailers and features other stories as well, including “a Chanukah crisis for Huntress, a Flash family Christmas, Wonder Woman interrupting John Constantine’s hellblazing pagan party and more.”
