At the Ballet

The NBC cartoon Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends teamed-up the wall-crawler with Iceman and Firestar (sometimes hyphenated as Fire-Star). The crimefighting trio also appeared in a handful of comic books based on the animated series. Although Iceman (Bobby Drake) had blond hair on the cartoon, comic books based on the show consistently colored his hair brown, the same color his hair typically appeared in Marvel Comics.

One of those comic books starring the Spider-Friends was an advertising supplement to the Dallas Times Herald. In that issue, the heroes had tickets to see the Nutcracker featuring the Dallas Ballet. The performance was almost ruined by the villain Daddy Longlegs (Ramsey Kole), an aspiring ballet dancer once ridiculed for being too short. Out of desperation, he broke into into the laboratory of Giant-Man (Bill Foster) and drank a secret formula to increase his height. The serum tragically enlarged him to 15 feet tall, with disproportionately long limbs. After stopping the towering criminal, the three heroes enjoyed the Christmas-themed ballet.

Spider-Man, Fire-Star and Iceman at The Dallas Ballet Nutcracker. 1983. Jim Salicrup (writer), Jim Mooney (pencils), John Tartag (inks), L.P. Gregory (letters), Stan Goldberg (colors), John Romita (art director), Sol Brodsky (production supervisor). Daddy Longlegs was a relatively new villain at the time, having first appeared in Spider-Woman #47 (Dec. 1982).

Holiday Grab-Bag

Promoted as a holiday grab-back, Marvel Treasury Edition #13 (1976) reprinted several superhero adventures, while integrating some new material with a Christmas theme.

The reprinted stories included the tumultuous first meeting of the Hulk and Silver Surfer from Tales to Astonish #93. Other reprinted stories showcased Spider-Man, Thing, Daredevil, and the Avengers.

The new material included a vignette with Dr. Strange, Clea, Nighthawk, and Valkyrie wishing Hulk a merry Christmas. The Defenders even gave Hulk a pair of mittens, a present he didn't need on a practical level but recognized as a sign of friendship just the same.

The Son of--?!

An issue of What The--?! included a satire about a ban on hellish terminology at Marvel. As a result, Son of Satan became Son of Santa, with a Christmas wreath appearing on his chest in place of his signature pentagram (#8).

As the comedic story progressed, the hero changed again—this time becoming Son of Stan, with a costume combining elements of several other characters created by Stan Lee.

What The--?! Vol. 1. No. 8. July 1990. "The Son of Satan/Censored." Kurt Busiek (diabolical script), James W. Fry III (fiendish pencils), Brad K. Joyce (malevolent inks), Chris Eliopoulos (demonic letters), Kris Renkewitz (infernal colors), Terry Kavanagh (most heinous edits), Tom DeFalco (exorcist in chief).

Sweet Christmas!

One of the most memorable catch-phrases in comics was Power Man's exclamation "Sweet Christmas" (or "Christmas" for short). Here are instances when he used the expression among the Defenders.

Fighting Thunderball of the Wrecking Crew in Defenders #18.

Power Man: (Thinking) Christmas! That freakin' ball of his is like a blasted boomerang--

Riding on Daimon Hellstrom's chariot through a teleportation portal (#24).

Power Man: Christmas! The horses! Th-they're bein' swallowed up--by a freakin' hole in the air!!

Returning through the portal (#25).

Hellstrom: You and I and my demon chariot have re-entered the physical plane--and Valkyrie is nowhere in sight.

Power Man: (Spotting Dr. Strange and Nighthawk) Right on--but wait'll you turn around an' see who is! Christmas!

After a spell backfired and electrically shocked Dr. Strange (#38).

Power Man: Sweet Christmas. man--you tryin' t'outdo Ben Franklin or what?!

On saving the "world gone sane" in Defenders Annual #1.

Power Man: Christmas! I ain't even sure what we're trying to save!

The above image appeared with Marvel Comics subscription ads in 1980.