“’Twas the Fight Before Christmas,” written by Gerry Duggan, features the best image of the entire issue, when the Human Torch kicks off the Four’s holiday party by lighting up a flaming Menorah in the sky for Ben Grimm. The story itself is a little jokey and the stakes are relatively low when a group of anonymous crooks reprogram a Doombot to steal the season’s hottest toy from underneath trees. However, fans will always enjoy seeing the Fantastic Four battling Doctor Doom, even if it is a phony. Plus, they technically save Christmas, so bonus points for that.
“Festival of Fights,” written by Daniel Kibblesmith, is even more jokey, but fans should appreciate the concept. Way back when Kitty Pryde was an X-Men rookie, she wanted to find an opportunity to buy her new teammates Hannukah presents, but every night they had to jet off to save the world. Again, it is nice to see inclusion for Hannukah, especially given the horrifying explosion in antisemitic violence this year. So, the good holiday vibes continue.
Arguably, Gene Luen Yang’s “Resolutions” delves the deepest into the challenges the holidays offer its heroes. In fact, the Miles Morales Spiderman is getting a little discouraged on New Year’s Eve, but the Peter Parker Spiderman has his back. In fact, this seems like the only constituent story that might be referred to in later storylines.
Regardless, they are all fun and they amply fulfill the holiday theme. Also, there is nothing political or objectionably about any of the stories, so it would make a nice stocking stuffer for young superhero fans. Recommended for casual Marvel consumers, Holidays to Astonish is now on-sale wherever weekly-release comics are sold.
