#DCU Holiday Bash

[chernobog13]

Santa Claus versus Darkseid.

From Present Tense by Ty Templeton in DCU Holiday Bash #2 (January, 1998).

[scintillyyy]

dcu holiday bash iii

i mean. i enjoy the fact that this comic makes it pretty clear that tim spending christmas alone is pretty abnormal for him given his sulking that he has to spend a christmas alone but i do think it's pretty funny that he's like "i usually don't roof crawl on christmas eve >:(" when two christmases before this (we can't forget the christmas in between these where he got to go on a vacation with his dad). he literally earned robin on the night before christmas by going out to save batman.

batman #456

like. sure son. you never do this. you never spend christmas out patrolling. yup. i believe you 100%.

[starsapphire]

dcu holiday bash #3

[belladonna-nyx]

Due to Christmas coming near, I would like to share a few fun facts of the DC Universe.

• Clark, despite being an adult, still believes in Santa Clause (Justice League ep 'Comfort and Joy).

• Bruce canonically trained under Santa (Batman - Santa Claus: Silent Knight).

• Santa, every year without fail, bypasses Apokolips' defences to deliver Darkseid coal. (DCU Holiday Bash Vol 1 #2).

• During a YJ98 comic, the team managed to hit Santa with a flaming meteor causing them to save Christmas by delivering all the presents (Young Justice Vol 1 #40).

• John Constantine located the skeleton of the holy Nikolaus and arranged to have the remains shipped back to England for use in an occult ritual (Hellblazer Vol 1 #247).

• The Easter Bunny hired an intergalactic bounty hunter to assassinate Santa (The Lobo Paramilitary Christmas Special).

• Santa is a powerful wizard (New Year's Evil Vol 2 #1).

That is all and Merry Christmas to you all. Do what you wish with this information.

[isfjmel-phleg]

Tim has figured in a number of stories set at Christmas, perhaps most notably when his mother is buried on Christmas Eve, but there's one short story in particular that spotlights him and celebrating Christmas, "Alone for the Holidays" from DCU Holiday Bash #3.

It's very short and not particularly plot-heavy--in fact, it reads something like a fic.

Story time!

It's Christmas Eve, and Tim is spending the anniversary of his mother's funeral desparately trying to distract himself. He claims that he's not usually out patroling on this day--and that's probably true, but this isn't the first time we've seen him do this (in Robin 1993 #3, in which he declares, "All I want for Christmas is a major crime"). But instead of crime, all he's finding are glimpses of happy families celebrating together.

As if that's not painful enough, he decides to go and creep on Stephanie too. She only knows him as Robin at this point, so he can't join her and her mom. This is only a reminder of what he's lost, and he's feeling pretty miserable as he returns to his empty house. Even the housekeeper is away.

And it's not like Tim's dad is trying to abandon him. He and Dana (Tim's stepmother) just have had the bad luck to get snowed in at the airport on their way back from wherever. But this triggers a lot of abandonment issues for Tim, who then berates himself for whining and tries to distract himself with the internet. It's both a relief and a worry for him to get an email from Oracle requesting his urgent help.

Of course, it's a ruse. Barbara is throwing "a Christmas party for loners," and Dick, Alfred, and Harold* are there too. (But not Bruce. Make of that what you will.) Tim is very touched and reminded that he has another family who don't want him to be alone.

Not a groundbreaking story, and fairly predictable, but with all the drama that Tim has to go through the rest of the year, it's refreshing to see him get some downtime to enjoy the company of his other family and feel loved by them (not to mention doing so in a guilt-free way--his two lives aren't having to compete with each other in this moment).

___

*you don't know about Harold Allnut? the genius mechanical engineer who lived in the Batcave and created gadgetry and sometimes costumes for Batman and his team in the 90s? no one talks about Harold. he deserves some respect and an updated portrayal (particularly in regard to his disabilities) in current comics.

[from-mints-comic-collection]

DCU Holiday Bash III (1998)

[zahri-melitor]

The Many Post-Crisis Christmases of Tim Drake

Yes, everyone gets a few Holiday issues over the years, but Tim’s got his own special levels of trauma associated with the holiday.

A round up of every time Tim appears in comics about Christmas, sorted by year:

1990: Identity Crisis - Batman #455-457 aka Janet Drake’s funeral. Janet is buried on Christmas Eve. Jack’s still in a coma. Tim is living with Bruce at this point. Tim spends a lot of this storyline having nightmares and worrying by Jason’s memorial case. At the very end, Bruce and Alfred give Tim his personal Robin costume and Tim goes out officially as Robin for the first time.

1996: Holiday Bash I – “Just Another Night” it’s just a small mention here, but given future events it’s worth noting. Tim leaves a Christmas card for Alfred, and Jack takes Tim to the Caribbean for the holidays. Very in line with Tim’s behaviour during this period, where he’s noted for giving Babs thank you notes.

1998: Holiday Bash III – “Alone for the Holidays” aka the single point in canon that supports Neglected Sad Boi Tim Drake. Tim is, as the title implies, alone for the holidays and moping about it. Jack and Dana are trapped in Chicago because the airport is closed due to snow (Why Jack and Dana are in Chicago is left to the reader). Babs and Dick call Tim over to the Clock Tower for a Loners Christmas Party. It will never not be funny to me that Alfred and Harold are at this Loners Party, but Bruce isn’t. Only a TRUE committed loner misses the family loners Christmas party.

1999: Endgame, No Man’s Land (LotDK #126, Batman #574, ‘Tec #741). If you are unfamiliar with this classic story, Joker kidnaps 36 babies on Christmas Eve in No Man’s Land and threatens to blow them all up. Tim gets called away from Christmas dinner with Jack (as a note, Tim’s outside NML at the dinner, then immediately dives inside for this. Never bother trying to make sense of how often Tim got in and out of Gotham during NML) and is helping track down the babies. It’s…traumatic for everyone involved.

2001: Young Justice #40. The Night Before Doomsday. This is the story where Santa dies and Young Justice find themselves having to deliver all the presents on his behalf.

2006: Slayride, ‘Tec #826. Tim is running away from a group of drug dealers and is offered a ride by a passing car. The car is driven by Joker. Tim gets tied up with Christmas lights and eventually distracts him via an argument with Joker about the Marx Brothers.

2008: “It’s a Wonderful Night” and “The Night Before Christmas”, DCU Holiday Special #1 2008. Two reminders that Tim has a hard time at Christmas in one!

“It’s a Wonderful Night” is a tear jerker where Dick goes looking for Tim to deliver a Christmas present. He finds him at a cinema watching a showing of It’s a Wonderful Life. Captain Boomerang Jnr is also there. Tim and Owen bond over their dead dads both liking the movie (which…given their dads killed each other, is a thing) and Dick gives Tim his old Robin costume. You WILL cry.

“The Night Before Christmas” is a Titans story, particularly notable as far as Tim goes in that Tim and Cassie talk about how the holidays remind Tim of the people he’s lost (and look, for perfectly good reasons, given the above).

[nursal1060writes]

Summary:

Clark decides to spend Halloween with the Batfamily after starting to date Bruce.

He learns what it means to celebrate Halloween in the Wayne household - which involves a LOT of pumpkins and costumes.

(For @wait-whos-batman 's Batman Holiday Bash 2024!)

[ao3feed-brucewayne]

A Very Batty Halloween

by nursal1060 Clark decides to spend Halloween with the Batfamily after starting to date Bruce. He learns what it means to celebrate Halloween in the Wayne household - which involves a LOT of pumpkins and costumes. Words: 1140, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English Series: Part 18 of Superbat Collection Fandoms: DCU, Batman - All Media Types, Superman - All Media Types Rating: General Audiences Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Categories: Gen, M/M Characters: Clark Kent, Bruce Wayne, Batfamily Members (DCU) Relationships: Clark Kent/Bruce Wayne, Batfamily Members & Bruce Wayne, Batfamily Members & Clark Kent Additional Tags: Batfam Halloween Bash, SuperBat, Batfamily (DCU), Batfamily Shenanigans (DCU), Batfamily Dynamics (DCU), Domestic Batfamily (DCU), No Capes!, Domestic Fluff, Halloween, Halloween Challenge, POV Clark Kent, Established Relationship, Pumpkins, Jack-o'-lanterns, Clark Kent Loves Bruce Wayne, Good Parent Bruce Wayne, Established Clark Kent/Bruce Wayne, Good Sibling Dick Grayson, Good Sibling Damian Wayne, Good Sibling Jason Todd, Good Sibling Tim Drake (DCU), Dick Grayson is a Ray of Sunshine, Damian Wayne is Bad at Feelings, Alfred Pennyworth is the Best, Alfred Pennyworth Ships It, Good Sibling Stephanie Brown, Good Sibling Duke Thomas, Good Sibling Cassandra Cain, Good Sibling Barbara Gordon, Kissing, Family Fluff, Family Bonding, Fluff and Humor, Romantic Fluff, Not Beta Read, Holidays via https://ift.tt/hSRF5WI

[infinityinc4ever]

New JSA IN THE 90s PODCAST episode now available with a Holiday Spotlight! Noah Tarnow and Ryan Daly join Shag to discuss two 1997 short stories:

- "I Left My Heart at the Justice Society Canteen” from DCU HOLIDAY BASH II, written by Howard Chaykin with art by Rick Burchett!

- “Spirit of the Season” with Wesley Dodds Sandman from VERTIGO WINTER’S EDGE #1, written by Matt Wagner & Steven Seagle with art by John K Snyder III!

https://fireandwaterpodcast.com/podcast/jsa90s-03a/

[legitimatesatanspawn]

I just saw someone (@fandom-lover-extra) mention that in the Young Justice 1998 comics, apparently the team killed Santa. Right around the same time I also learned that JLA issue 60 had Santa descend to Hell to fight Neron over giving all kids their gifts a day early as part of a scheme to steal their joy-energy like some kind of Sailor Moon villain.

While knowing that this is the same company that has Santa being fully capable of slipping past all of Darkseid's defenses every year to give him a lump of coal before sauntering back off Apokolips. (DCU Holiday Bash #2).

...

How the heck did the team manage to do what Actual Hell and Hell-on-the-Earthly-Plane couldn't manage? DCU HB2 and YJ'98 were apparently even released around the same time (ish) while JLA 60 was... nowhere near that, admittedly, but is a hilarious addition to the Santa Lore. I know that they probably don't (fully) cross-continuity but still.

[ao3feed-superbat]

A Very Batty Halloween

read it on AO3 at https://ift.tt/iVZqpJs by nursal1060 Clark decides to spend Halloween with the Batfamily after starting to date Bruce. He learns what it means to celebrate Halloween in the Wayne household - which involves a LOT of pumpkins and costumes. Words: 1140, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English Series: Part 18 of Superbat Collection, Part 95 of Bats In Love Fandoms: DCU, Batman - All Media Types, Superman - All Media Types Rating: General Audiences Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Categories: Gen, M/M Characters: Clark Kent, Bruce Wayne, Batfamily Members (DCU) Relationships: Clark Kent/Bruce Wayne, Batfamily Members & Bruce Wayne, Batfamily Members & Clark Kent Additional Tags: Batfam Halloween Bash, SuperBat, Batfamily (DCU), Batfamily Shenanigans (DCU), Batfamily Dynamics (DCU), Domestic Batfamily (DCU), No Capes!, Domestic Fluff, Halloween, Halloween Challenge, POV Clark Kent, Established Relationship, Pumpkins, Jack-o'-lanterns, Clark Kent Loves Bruce Wayne, Good Parent Bruce Wayne, Established Clark Kent/Bruce Wayne, Good Sibling Dick Grayson, Good Sibling Damian Wayne, Good Sibling Jason Todd, Good Sibling Tim Drake (DCU), Dick Grayson is a Ray of Sunshine, Damian Wayne is Bad at Feelings, Alfred Pennyworth is the Best, Alfred Pennyworth Ships It, Good Sibling Stephanie Brown, Good Sibling Duke Thomas, Good Sibling Cassandra Cain, Good Sibling Barbara Gordon, Kissing, Family Fluff, Family Bonding, Fluff and Humor, Romantic Fluff, Not Beta Read, Holidays read it on AO3 at https://ift.tt/iVZqpJs

[ao3feed-harleyquinn]

Deck Corporate Capitalism(shut up we holiday so well)

by StarryKitty013 “So who’s being Santa this year?” Words: 12775, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English Fandoms: DCU (Comics), Young Justice - All Media Types Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Categories: Gen Characters: Tim Drake, Cassie Sandsmark, Bart Allen, Anita Fite, Greta Hayes, Constantine - Character, Damian Wayne, Darkseid, Santa(mentioned), Cissie King-Jones, Jason Todd, Harley Quinn Relationships: Anita Fite & Slobo, Anita Fite & Greta Hayes, Bart Allen & Tim Drake, Jason Todd & Harley Quinn, Tim Drake & Damian Wayne, Cissie King-Jones & Cassie Sandsmark, Tim Drake & Kon-El | Conner Kent & Cassie Sandsmark Additional Tags: Timeskips, non-linear, Growing Up, lil bit of angst, Humor, Fluff, Crack, I tossed canon like a salad, Tim and Bart prob have ADHD, holiday fic, YJ killing Santa will never not be iconic, Slobo is here in spirit, Constantine snorting Santa bones also iconic, Tim likes making gadgets and I will die on this hill, minor mention of suicidal ideation/actions, Tim's Red Robin run, Apokolypse, Young Justice (1998-2003) Issue 40, DCU Holiday Bash Issue 2, Darkseid knows these children are fruity he doesn't care he just wants them out of his house, the logistics of being Santa, ifDC can have continuity errors so can I, Cissie retired era, shut up Tim and Cissie are besties, Cissie's horrible cookies, Bart Allen is a Ray of Sunshine, YJ is so supportive of eachother, no established ships but read as you please, Christmas Movies, YJ being menaces as per usual, Cassie should let Tim go mad scientist as a treat, she won't for the sake of humanity, Harley in her anti-hero era, Jason in his denial era via https://ift.tt/NEXnFz2

[aliteralchicken]

I also want a DCU holiday bash 98 reference

DCs having a Santa event and I’m begging for them to bring up when he got exploded in young justice 98

[out-of-context-batfam]

DCU Holiday Bash #3

[from-mints-comic-collection]

That's actually pretty cute tho

DCU Holiday Bash II (1997)