10 Best Christmas Stories In Spider-Man Comics

Many people love the holidays, but this time of year means a lot to superheroes too and in the Marvel comics, Peter Parker has celebrated Christmas on a number of occasions. Since he has “great power and great responsibility,” Peter doesn’t always get to have as tranquil a Christmas as the rest of the New Yorkers. Most of the time, he’s forced to deal with a threat first before he can settle down.

Over the years, there have been many great Spider-Man Christmas stories on the pages. Some of the tales take place on Christmas Eve while others are on the big day itself. But no matter the challenges Peter faces, there’s always the guarantee that he’ll do his best to wrap up superhero work quickly and enjoy the festivities with Aunt May or Mary Jane.

Doctor Octopus Tries To Catch Up With May

Doctor Octopus once dates Aunt May and the two make plans to get married. Unfortunately, they break up before that happens. Years later in Superior Spiderman #2, Ock shows up at May’s home on Christmas Day to catch up and possibly have a meal. Instead, Peter beats him up and sends him away.

Aunt May’s decision to date Doctor qualifies as one of the strangest relationships in Spider-Man comics. May is right to break up with him early as she could have easily been indoctrinated. Moreover, Doc’s decision to show up on Christmas Day is meant to highlight the fact that as much as villains think they have the best lives, they are in reality very lonely.

Stegron Makes Spider-Man Late For A Christmas Party

In Amazing Spider-Man #166, Peter has to attend a Christmas party organized by a friend but hero duties make him late for that. Stegron, one of the most obscure Spider-Man villains, is causing havoc, so he has to be stopped. Thankfully, Peter manages to take care of the situation.

The subplot shows just how hard life is for a superhero. There is never a day off, even on such a celebrated holiday. It also becomes clear that in as much as they have special abilities, heroes are just like normal people. They too need to celebrate the important days like the citizens they work so hard to protect.

Santa Robs The Neighbourhood

A man working as Santa Claus becomes disgruntled about poor pay in The Spectacular Spider-Man #112 so he makes plans to rob the neighborhood. To make his work easier, he tricks children into telling them their addresses and what’s inside their homes.

It’s a revivifying comic issue since Peter doesn’t get to fight his usual foes. Instead, he’s up against Santa, which proves to be a hard task because all the children believe Santa is good. If they see him trying to stop the man, they’ll think of him as the villain. The situation is made easier for him because he doesn’t have to punch up the thief; bad Santa decides to surrender and changes his ways.

Sandman Shows Up At The Worst Time

Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four become concerned in Marvel Team Up #1 when Sandman escapes from jail on Christmas Day. The heroes believe he’ll break the festive cheer but when they are about to stop him, he confesses that he’s only out so that he can see his mother, who is unaware he is a criminal.

As dangerous as Sandman is, Peter and company can’t help but show compassion and permit him to celebrate with his mom. But villains will always be villains. Once again, Sandman proves he can’t be trusted by escaping into the sewers once he has seen his mother, giving Peter and the Fantastic Four the strenuous task of finding him.

Flash Thompson Gets Brainwashed

In Spider-Man’s Tangled Web #21, Peter goes to the mall on Christmas Eve to buy presents for J. Jonah Jameson’s wife who is busy at Daily Bugle‘s Christmas party. There, Flash Thompson, who had dressed as Spider-Man to entertain kids, gets brainwashed and starts committing crimes.

It’s yet another holiday ruined for Peter. Everyone starts thinking he has turned bad so he has to clear his name. The storyline brilliantly pits Spider-Man against J. Jonah Jameson again because, as usual, the editor-in-chief rushes to paint the web-slinger in a bad light when he realizes what has happened at the mall. Friendships are also put to the test as Peter has to find a way to reason with Flash Thompson.

Peter Fights Vulture On Christmas Day

Donning his costume, Peter heads out in Peter Parker: Spider-Man #37 to warn children to stay indoors since it’s snowing heavily. Regrettably, they pelt him with snowballs, ruining his mood. And before he can even react, he runs into Vulture.

Vulture has always been an opportunistic villain and in this case, he is out robbing jewelry stores because everyone is at home, trying to stay away from the heavy snow. The duel between Peter and Vulture has plenty of depth to it, with the villain revealing that he is a big fan of Austin Powers movies. Peter eventually wins but goes home to find that the celebrations are already over.

Peter Changes A Woman’s Life

Peter is sad in Spider-Man Holiday Special (Vol 1.) He has no one to celebrate Christmas with because Aunt May died. But when he saves a woman who was about to jump from the Brooklyn Bridge, he bonds with her in more ways than he can imagine.

The storyline emphasizes the importance of family and brilliantly blends impending tragedy with holiday cheer. The woman named Jenny Sheridan plans to take her own life because she had no family hence Christmas means nothing to her. Peter, on the other hand, is lonely too and when he saves her, the two literally become family.

Peter And Mary Jane Get Evicted

In, Amazing Spider-Man #314, Peter and Mary Jane get evicted on Christmas Eve. Before he can figure out where to move to, Peter is forced to spring into action and stop a series of robberies.

It’s an intriguing angle because Peter gets to face the challenges of adulthood for once. For most of his life, he has been in his comfort zone, living under Aunt May’s roof. The comic issue further cements the fact that Peter and May are one of the best couples in Spider-Man comics by revealing that they have become husband and wife. It also becomes clear that Peter needs to socialize more, and maybe take up a day job because he finds himself with neither no friends to host him nor money to move to a new apartment. He is therefore forced to head back to May’s house.

A Friend From Another Universe Shows Up

In Amazing Spider-Man #420, Nate Grey, aka X-Man from Earth-295, shows up in New York on Christmas Eve. He bonds with both Mary Jane and Peter Parker, telling them stories of how he is the only surviving mutant on his Earth and how Charles Xavier was murdered.

The comic issue distinguishes itself by cutting down on the action and focusing on the friendship dynamic between Peter and Nate. Since he has psychic powers, Nate also keeps on reading Peter’s mind and using the findings to pull his leg, something that further solidifies their bond. It’s a sad moment when Nate finally has to go back to his world.

Peter Attempts To Save Aunt May

Shortly after Doctor Octopus hijacks Peter’s mind, a snowstorm hits New York. It’s the holidays too and despite the challenges he’s dealing with, Peter finds himself in a rush against time to save Aunt May. The events happen in Amazing Spider-Man #700.

Judging by the events, it’s obvious that no matter how much Peter’s mind gets tampered with, he can never lose his affection for May. She is the only person who has been with him for the whole of his life and for that reason, he will always be there for her. Rescuing her ends up being more difficult than he anticipated but he’s Spider-Man after all, so he manages it.

About The Author

Philip Etemesi
(1215 Articles Published)

Philip Etemesi is an author, journalist, screenwriter and film critic based in Nairobi. Kenya. As a child, he preferred watching movies like The Goodfellas instead of Home Alone. His girlfriend constantly has to pull him from the front of the TV but he just keeps returning. Stubborn dude! An animal lover, Philip also has a pet giraffe called Refu.

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