Batman - Santa Claus: Silent Knight Returns

by Jeff Parker, Lukas Ketner (Illustrator), Michele Bandini (Illustrator)

Winter has fallen, and with it, a strange curse has swept the Earth! A mysterious knight is draining the life force of people across the globe, which should be another day in the life of the Justice League—but when the team confronts the armored apparition, all but Robin become trapped in a mystical realm! Determined to save his father and friends, Damian Wayne races to the Mistress of Magic, Zatanna, and the pair tries to form a rescue plan as the League attempts to escape the mysterious land they’ve been imprisoned in. Little do they know, help is already on the way—and it’s coming down the chimney! Santa Claus is back in town, and it’ll take a Christmas miracle to save this holiday season. From the incredible talents of writer Jeff Parker (Batman ’66, Aquaman) and artists Lukas Ketner (Batman ’66, Count Crowley) and Michele Bandini (Batman – Santa Silent Knight), unwrap a centuries-spanning tale of mystic gatherings, haunted kingdoms, and one son’s quest to bring his father home for the holidays. But do so with caution—for the Silent Knight is planning a celebration of his own, and if he succeeds, an eternal silence will descend on the DC Universe!

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Dc Comics, Fantasy, Batman, Superheroes

128 pages, Paperback

Published December 16, 2025

About the author

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Reviews

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.7 stars

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful holiday cookie story of a tale. It's a big adventure, that spotlights both iconic and fan favorite characters and it's full of so many fun ideas and twists. The art is stellar, it's full of heart and some laugh out loud funny moments as well. I would love to read one of these stories every year.

[Beyondiego · Rating 3 out of 5]

Krampus war irgendwie der bessere Gegner. Santas Rückkehr wird dafür aber durch Ulah bereichert. Das Santa in der nordischen Mythologie verankert ist, ist eigentlich eine tolle Idee. Hat dadurch ein bisschen Kratos Vibes allerdings. Und wie episch ist bitte die Idee, das Santa die Wünsche der Kinder hört, die diese am Weihnachtsbaum flüstern. Ent like.

[Mohan Vemulapalli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Klaus is back in this rip roaring sequel and is even more of a badass than in the original "Silent Knight" story. The actual plot is a bit convoluted and draggy, but there is so much going on in this book that this is only a minor inconvenience. The real strength of this book , which presents a new Santa -JLA team up, is the portrayal of its many, many characters.

First, it should be noted that the big bad in this volume is bigger and badder than before and the stakes are even higher than previously.

The JLA team really pops in this book. Somewhat surprisingly, Batman and the other JLA heavy hitters take a backseat on this one. Instead we see Damien Wayne and Zatanna Zatara heading up a desperate rescue effort and looping Klaus into the mix. Along the way a number of other cool JLA characters get a chance to shine. This is particularly true for near A-listers Mera and Nubia, who often do not get enough airtime. Additionally, Mary Marvel, Robot Man and Metamorpho have some good action scenes and are critical in driving the plot's resolution.

Of particular note also, is the use of characters from DC's occult slate, which is a nice addition, especially in light of the fact that the book leans deeply into magical and occult topics. The primary focus is on better known characters, including Felix Faust, Gentleman Ghost and Jason Blood/ Etrigan. However, there are also a number of cameos and back ground shots that are well worth watching for.

Finally, it should be noted that although not much is done to develop Klaus' character, the book does present a much needed update and re-invention of his partner that goes well beyond the "Mrs. Claus" stereotype and even provides the character with her own name.

All in all this us a fun, if not overly deep, holiday read. Jingle on !

[Ross · Rating 4 out of 5]

Santa joins the 'All In' era...

This is the sequel to the previous year's reintroduction of superhero(?) Santa into the DCU. When Krampus released the imprisoned beasts in 'Batman - Santa Claus: Silent Knight ', one group fled the scene and kept from getting recaptured.

Justice League members Mera, GL John Stewart, Batman, Superman, Queem Nubia, Thunderheart(??), and Robin are chasing the Silent Knight. Once a member of King Arthur's court, he's been influenced by the Fae realm and he's stealing the life force of anyone who gets in his path.

The heroes get captured and it's up to Robin to get word to Zatanna and other magic users. It's a good thing it's around Christmas time and Zatanna has her Christmas tree up and decorated
(2023's Batman - Santa Claus story showed us that Santa can listen in on his friends if they are near Christmas trees)

Santa to the rescue!
====
Bonus: Everybody wants to be a part of the new Justice League. Will Santa get an ID card?
Bonus Bonus: Say hello to a Mrs. Claus that kicks all kinds of butt...

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 3 out of 5]

I very much enjoyed the first Silent Knight story, and the second is a decent follow-up. It's perfect for the holidays without being twee, and has a compelling force behind it rather than just 'we gotta save Christmas!'

Its problems stem from trying to do too much, introducing new characters and ideas while forgetting that there are about a hundred DC characters also running around in the book. The artwork, which is by multiple artists like last year's series, isn't quite as strong either - the series was weekly, so maybe a little more lead time for everyone involved might have helped iron out some of the wrinkles.

If you liked the first one, as I did, you'll like this one too. Not a lump of coal, but not the big present that you save till last, either.

[Shaun Stanley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Batman - Santa Claus: Silent Knight Returns collects issues 1-5 of the DC Comics series written by Jeff Parker with art Lukas Ketner, Michele Bandini, and Bernard Chang.

As the Justice League fights a losing battle against a legendary knight from King Arthur’s court that has been corrupted by fae magic, Robin seeks out Zatanna’s assistance. The duo will be joined by one of Earth’s mightiest protectors - Santa Claus!

This was fun but not as good as last year’s first entry in my opinion. While the villain fits the name of the book, it felt a bit more forced for the Christmas connections and much more of a Justice League story than a Batman one. The art in the book is pretty great with a lot of fun battle scenes.

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first collection was cheery and funny and spooky, and at the end, Santa gives the Justice League a safe vacation as a gift, and I almost cried reading.
This year, a collection of heroes I barely know fought a haunted suit of armor and Santa steps in to help even though it has nothing to do with Christmas, and by the last issue, the panels seemed like they were crashing against each other instead of actually telling a coherent story. I welcome the sexy superhero version of Santa back, but this story was a mess.

[Michael Emond · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sadly a step down from the first Silent Knight. The art seems to be a bit of a step down but the bigger complaint is that this didn't feel as Christmasy as the first one. That one had the myth of Krampus and working in Santa seemed fresh and natural. This one doesn't seem to need Santa at all and if you removed him the story works exactly the same way. So that is a flaw - having a Santa story that doesn't tie into Christmas Or Santa.

But it was still a fun tale - just one I will instantly forget. The first Christmas tale by Parker was MUCH better.

[JM · Rating 3 out of 5]

It could that im weary but after awhile I just wanted to cruise thru it and for it to be over. I didn’t feel overly attached and felt like there was too much justification, lame attempts at humor and over explaining fantasy nonsense. But it’s all probmore a grumpy me problem and less on the writing

[Robert · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not really a Batman tale since the authors are more concerned with jamming a 101 cameos into the script, all of which get in the way of telling any coherent story.

[Daniel Butcher · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m a sucker for a Klaus story!

Super hero action with an ancient frosty warrior in tow. And love the surprise reveal.

[Will Cooper · Rating 4 out of 5]

A step up from the previous, probably 3.5 stars. Santa is back and helping our heroes defeat an ancient knight who is returned to drain people of their lifeforce. It's Christmas!

[Jason Rico · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars

[Colleen Downey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic art work but I did not like this as much as I did the first set with Santa and krampus .

[sarah marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

santa is real. and his evil best friend. why not?