The Comicon Advent Calendar: Day 3 – Santa Vs Doctor Doom

by Richard Bruton

Another entry now in our Comicon Advent Calendar, our little seasonal pressie to you – each day we’re giving you a little festive goodness to set you up for the day. An advent calendar without those pesky calories. Today, it’s Doctor Doom meeting Santa, courtesy of Scott Lobdell, John Byrne, and Daniel Vozzo, in ‘I’ll Be Doom For Christmas‘:

Oh yes, who would dare?

Well, I don’t think you need too many guesses.

Yep, in What The – ?! #10, I’ll Be Doom For Christmas gave us the meeting of two titanic giants, Doctor Doom and… SANTA.

This 1991 8-pager saw Doom taking over the mantle of Santa Claus and all of it in delightful rhyme. It’s sometimes easy to forget the times when John Bryne absolutely dominated Marvel, but things like this, although late (ish) in his prime Marvel career, do act as a fine reminder.

Now, remember how Old Saint Nick wasn’t doing too well? Well, into his shoes steps the most unlikely Santa you will ever see…

And those sarcastic reindeer are just the added bonus to it all.

So off Doom goes, doing the job he’s surely most unsuited to. But what do you know, he’s actually not too bad.

Well, not too bad until the heroes just won’t let him get on with his job this most special of nights. Then Doom’s had quite enough…

But then… just when you thought this was going to just descend into a superfolks’ fight… something sickly sentimental happens – although you can forgive them, it is Christmas after all…