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Batman - Santa Claus: Silent Knight (2023) #4
It’s a Christmas Night The search for a stolen child leads to Santa versus Krampus in the final, climactic battle for the soul of Christmas! The Justice League are stretched thin battling the mightiest monsters of the ages when the true menace is revealed!
27 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 26, 2023
7 people are currently reading
7 people want to read
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Jeff Parker
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
December 28, 2023
An interesting conclusion to the series!
It raised a lot of interesting things in the first three and seemed kinda dark and deadly but it all mellowed out in this last issue to give us a happy ending.
I think I missed something somewhere but otherwise this was a decent diversion and a branch out from the traditional Christmas story.
All in all, a fun story for the season.
It raised a lot of interesting things in the first three and seemed kinda dark and deadly but it all mellowed out in this last issue to give us a happy ending.
I think I missed something somewhere but otherwise this was a decent diversion and a branch out from the traditional Christmas story.
All in all, a fun story for the season.
January 4, 2024
2024 - Year of The Bat (366 Days of Batman)
Day 4: Kind of lost it a little with the ending. But it was only a four issue series and a bit rushed. A nice Christmas present from DC, though. And a great start to my Year of The Bat!
Day 4: Kind of lost it a little with the ending. But it was only a four issue series and a bit rushed. A nice Christmas present from DC, though. And a great start to my Year of The Bat!
January 3, 2024
Clark's hurt look at not being told Santa is real before was hilarious.
January 1, 2025
As part of the DC official discord book club I read this issue and answered these questions.
1. As the story reaches its conclusion, do you think the events of this issue offer a sense of closure or resolution for both Batman and Santa Claus? How does their final interaction influence their relationship, and what does it imply about the future of Gotham?
I fully believe this brings a sense of closure for both Batman and Santa Claus. Overall they of course saved the day and brought Krampus back to the spirit of Christmas like he used to be. But on another level they show an understanding between each other about what they do. Near the end of the book when asked why Santa goes and delivers gifts, each hero had a different answer that applied to their own lives but each answer was true on a certain level. For Batman he expressed that Santa continues “because he’s driven.” For the future of Gotham it applies that Batman will keep going, he is just as driven as Santa and will always fight to be a protector.
2. Given the overall tone of the story and the holiday setting, how does the final resolution leave you feeling emotionally? Does it offer hope, a sense of defeat, or something else entirely?
Entirely hopeful, I was filled with the holiday cheer. There were so many things that had me tearing up from happiness. Seeing the big 3 relate to Santa and his mission on some level. Santa expresses that Damian never got what he asked for Christmas because he didn’t have a real childhood and then immediately gets invited to join Santa on his ride. And especially the final moments seeing a ton of heroes all gathered together for a holiday meal in a place outside of time so they don’t have to worry about any threats. All of that was so special and left me feeling quite hopeful.
3. This story blends the dark, gritty tone of Batman with the whimsical and hopeful elements of Christmas. How do you think the shift between these two tones works in the final issue? Does it feel like a natural conclusion, or does it create a contrast that you feel adds complexity to the story?
I believe the dark tones of Batman and the hopeful elements of Christmas blend together naturally in this final issue, to create a natural conclusion. It feels as though the darker elements, while present, do not fully rear their head and allow the lighter elements to take the spotlight. So when we do jump from stories about lost spirits from the phantom zone taking over krampus to try and kill Damian, and seeing Clark’s heart stopped…at the same time we get elements of krampus breaking through the possession to fulfil his original purpose when Damian starts acting through the motions of his story, and we get to see Diana and the others triumphantly show up to pull everyone from an avalanche to an already recovering Clark. The lighter elements take that natural priority but leaves you just enough room to worry about the darker stuff before you are eventually left with a heart full of hope.
4. After reading the final issue, what do you think is the central theme of Batman - Santa Claus: Silent Knight? Is it about redemption, the possibility of peace, or something else entirely? How does this issue solidify or challenge that theme?
I fully believe the central theme of this series is redemption. This entire series is about Santa’s redemption more than anything as everything kicks off from the pressure cooker building up and waiting to bust that Santa setup decades prior. He knew that capturing the monsters was only a temporary solution, and through this series and the help of the heroes he was able to right his wrongs for a more permanent solution and redeem himself. Batman even says at the end “he’s one of the greatest hunter-fighters in history…yet everyone links him with their happy memories!” Santa fully redeemed himself and his memories in everyone and even helped to redeem others lives through himself, this is especially on display with Santa’s interaction with Damian when he is able to give Damian a piece of childhood he never had. Of course Santa was not the only one who redeemed themselves, as we see Krampus break through the possession to join Santa once again for their Christmas purpose.
1. As the story reaches its conclusion, do you think the events of this issue offer a sense of closure or resolution for both Batman and Santa Claus? How does their final interaction influence their relationship, and what does it imply about the future of Gotham?
I fully believe this brings a sense of closure for both Batman and Santa Claus. Overall they of course saved the day and brought Krampus back to the spirit of Christmas like he used to be. But on another level they show an understanding between each other about what they do. Near the end of the book when asked why Santa goes and delivers gifts, each hero had a different answer that applied to their own lives but each answer was true on a certain level. For Batman he expressed that Santa continues “because he’s driven.” For the future of Gotham it applies that Batman will keep going, he is just as driven as Santa and will always fight to be a protector.
2. Given the overall tone of the story and the holiday setting, how does the final resolution leave you feeling emotionally? Does it offer hope, a sense of defeat, or something else entirely?
Entirely hopeful, I was filled with the holiday cheer. There were so many things that had me tearing up from happiness. Seeing the big 3 relate to Santa and his mission on some level. Santa expresses that Damian never got what he asked for Christmas because he didn’t have a real childhood and then immediately gets invited to join Santa on his ride. And especially the final moments seeing a ton of heroes all gathered together for a holiday meal in a place outside of time so they don’t have to worry about any threats. All of that was so special and left me feeling quite hopeful.
3. This story blends the dark, gritty tone of Batman with the whimsical and hopeful elements of Christmas. How do you think the shift between these two tones works in the final issue? Does it feel like a natural conclusion, or does it create a contrast that you feel adds complexity to the story?
I believe the dark tones of Batman and the hopeful elements of Christmas blend together naturally in this final issue, to create a natural conclusion. It feels as though the darker elements, while present, do not fully rear their head and allow the lighter elements to take the spotlight. So when we do jump from stories about lost spirits from the phantom zone taking over krampus to try and kill Damian, and seeing Clark’s heart stopped…at the same time we get elements of krampus breaking through the possession to fulfil his original purpose when Damian starts acting through the motions of his story, and we get to see Diana and the others triumphantly show up to pull everyone from an avalanche to an already recovering Clark. The lighter elements take that natural priority but leaves you just enough room to worry about the darker stuff before you are eventually left with a heart full of hope.
4. After reading the final issue, what do you think is the central theme of Batman - Santa Claus: Silent Knight? Is it about redemption, the possibility of peace, or something else entirely? How does this issue solidify or challenge that theme?
I fully believe the central theme of this series is redemption. This entire series is about Santa’s redemption more than anything as everything kicks off from the pressure cooker building up and waiting to bust that Santa setup decades prior. He knew that capturing the monsters was only a temporary solution, and through this series and the help of the heroes he was able to right his wrongs for a more permanent solution and redeem himself. Batman even says at the end “he’s one of the greatest hunter-fighters in history…yet everyone links him with their happy memories!” Santa fully redeemed himself and his memories in everyone and even helped to redeem others lives through himself, this is especially on display with Santa’s interaction with Damian when he is able to give Damian a piece of childhood he never had. Of course Santa was not the only one who redeemed themselves, as we see Krampus break through the possession to join Santa once again for their Christmas purpose.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 11, 2024
Christmas might be over now, but there's still time to talk about the final issue of Batman / Santa Claus: Silent Knight. This weekly festive mini-series was a genuine delight to read, and was, in my opinion, better than most of the one-shot anthologies that DC puts out around the holiday season.
This issue picks up where the last one left off, with Superman possessed by an evil entity that was controlling Krampus, and being forced to fight the assembled heroes. Meanwhile, Damian is being held captive by Krampus, who's struggling between his natural desire to just frighten him and let him go, and the evil voice in his head telling him to kill the boy wonder.
This is perhaps the most action packed of the four issues that manages to strike a nice balance between the festive characters and the DC heroes who've come along to help. Most of the characters get a moment to shine and do something, and it feels like those that were picked to come and join in this adventure were picked for a reason (other than the Bat Family just tagging along). It's been a genuine delight to see people like Jaimie Reyes and Miss Martian in the book.
And that kind of fun is the general feeling when reading this issue. Damian is trapped with Krampus, and knows that he needs to stall for time and to play along with the scenario that Krampus is expecting, so starts crying and pretending to be scared, calling for his dad. It's ridiculous to see, and it's really funny in the moment, but it still fits Damian as a character because he's acting tactically. It's like the moment when Superman first enters the book, looking angry with glowing red eyes, but he's just upset that Bruce never told him that he knew Santa was real. It's silly, but it fits.
This is the kind of thing that works for Christmas, books that border on the absurd that you can't really get away with at any other time of the year. And this series has done that so well. Bringing Santa into the DC universe as an ancient god who's an amazing warrior that inspired the legend, and also worked with/possibly helped train Batman shouldn't work, but Jeff Parker manages to bring it all together, to the point where I'm hoping Santa stories like this become a semi-regular thing. Give us a new adventure every couple of years with different characters.
The art on the issue, by Stephen Segovia, and Danny Kim, with Alex Sinclair doing colours, looks great, and every creature and new character designed for the series is fantastic. I love the look that Santa has, and the Krampus is near enough to what it traditionally used for the character whilst still feeling unique in itself. The fight scenes are all dynamic and filled with a ton of energy, and it was great to see this team tackle some characters that I really love but that don't often get the spotlight.
Overall, this was a fun end to a really unexpectedly great series that proved to be the perfect way to lead into the holiday season.
This issue picks up where the last one left off, with Superman possessed by an evil entity that was controlling Krampus, and being forced to fight the assembled heroes. Meanwhile, Damian is being held captive by Krampus, who's struggling between his natural desire to just frighten him and let him go, and the evil voice in his head telling him to kill the boy wonder.
This is perhaps the most action packed of the four issues that manages to strike a nice balance between the festive characters and the DC heroes who've come along to help. Most of the characters get a moment to shine and do something, and it feels like those that were picked to come and join in this adventure were picked for a reason (other than the Bat Family just tagging along). It's been a genuine delight to see people like Jaimie Reyes and Miss Martian in the book.
And that kind of fun is the general feeling when reading this issue. Damian is trapped with Krampus, and knows that he needs to stall for time and to play along with the scenario that Krampus is expecting, so starts crying and pretending to be scared, calling for his dad. It's ridiculous to see, and it's really funny in the moment, but it still fits Damian as a character because he's acting tactically. It's like the moment when Superman first enters the book, looking angry with glowing red eyes, but he's just upset that Bruce never told him that he knew Santa was real. It's silly, but it fits.
This is the kind of thing that works for Christmas, books that border on the absurd that you can't really get away with at any other time of the year. And this series has done that so well. Bringing Santa into the DC universe as an ancient god who's an amazing warrior that inspired the legend, and also worked with/possibly helped train Batman shouldn't work, but Jeff Parker manages to bring it all together, to the point where I'm hoping Santa stories like this become a semi-regular thing. Give us a new adventure every couple of years with different characters.
The art on the issue, by Stephen Segovia, and Danny Kim, with Alex Sinclair doing colours, looks great, and every creature and new character designed for the series is fantastic. I love the look that Santa has, and the Krampus is near enough to what it traditionally used for the character whilst still feeling unique in itself. The fight scenes are all dynamic and filled with a ton of energy, and it was great to see this team tackle some characters that I really love but that don't often get the spotlight.
Overall, this was a fun end to a really unexpectedly great series that proved to be the perfect way to lead into the holiday season.
January 14, 2024
This was a neat little story that has a nice Christmas day ending. Overall, it had too much of the mythology and demons and monsters for my taste. I like the straightforward, single universe, somewhat grounded in reality type stories, and this was anything but. Obviously I shouldn't have expected anything of the sort from a Batman and Santa Claus team up, but this whole story was a bit ridiculous, even for that. Still, it's some good fun, and I think that's supposed to be the point of these types of comics at the end of the day.
May 25, 2024
This is for the whole series.
For the most part this is a great story well worth incorporating in any Christmas reading tradition. The book does stumble a bit in the end both narratively and art wise, the visual storytelling goes to shit when backup artists show up to finish the book.
For the most part this is a great story well worth incorporating in any Christmas reading tradition. The book does stumble a bit in the end both narratively and art wise, the visual storytelling goes to shit when backup artists show up to finish the book.
December 28, 2023
Great ending to a great series
December 30, 2023
This is fun.
I don't celebrate Christmas, I'm not a 'oh wow winter' person, but I got a kick out of this little run and I'd recommend it to just about anyone.
I don't celebrate Christmas, I'm not a 'oh wow winter' person, but I got a kick out of this little run and I'd recommend it to just about anyone.
January 3, 2024
Great conclusion! Merry Christmas!
January 7, 2024
Batman and the Justice League team up with... Santa Claus? This series was better than it had any right to be. Even the moments that should have been cringe came across as endearing. Well done.
January 9, 2024
Wholesome holiday cheer
This series was better than I expected! Excellent character interactions and a dynamic plotline made it worth the wait. A joy to read.
This series was better than I expected! Excellent character interactions and a dynamic plotline made it worth the wait. A joy to read.
January 18, 2024
Ostatni panel - cudowny!
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews