Behold!

Special Christmas Edition

DC Comics Presents #67, March, 1984

Cover: José Luis García-López

“Twas the Fright Before Christmas!”

Writer: Len Wein, Co-Plotter: E. Nelson Bridwell, Penciler: Curt Swan

Inker: Murphy Anderson, Colorist: Gene D’Angelo, Letterer: Ben Oda

Editor: Julius Schwartz, Executive Editor: Dick Giordano

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From DC Wikia:

The Toyman plans to make heists and destroy Superman on Christmas Eve with the help of gimmicked toys, but Santa Claus lends the Man of Steel a hand against his old enemy, and gets a hand in return in delivering toys to Metropolis children.

More details:

Timmy Dickens sneaks into his parents’ closet to look at “Santa’s” presents. A dart gun hypnotizes Timmy into robbing a store-front Santa, until he is rescued by Superman. Superman takes Timmy to his Fortress to discover the identity of the maker of the toy. While flying Timmy home, another toy (a boat) knocks out Superman, leaving Timmy alone in the frozen north until he is rescued by …. Elves?

We discover the toy maker is … the Toyman! He infused the toys with white dwarf star material to create a gravity beam to knock Superman out! (this same material powers the Atom – does Ray Palmer know what kind of stuff he has his hands on?)

Superman wakes up in the workshop of … Santa Claus! As Superman is still weak and his powers fluctuating due to the gravity beam, Santa volunteers to help capture the Toyman and find his lethal pop guns throughout the country.

Santa and Superman go to Toyman’s factory (through the chimney of course). Superman, in his weakened state, has a hard time fighting off the toys sicced on him, so Santa and his elves unleash their toys to help.

Santa and Superman defeat the Toyman and find the list of all the deadly toys distributed through the country. All through Christmas Eve night the two icons swap bad toys for good.

On their way home, another of Timmy’s toys knocks out Superman, who wakes back in the arctic with Timmy. Was this adventure all a dream? Superman thinks so, until he finds a Kryptonian toy in the pocket of his cape and a Merry Christmas message from … Kris Kringle!

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Len Wein apparently was DC’s Christmas go-to-guy. He also wrote the Christmas story for Justice League of America #110 ten years before!

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About the author: Michael Curry is the author of the Brave & Bold: From Silent Knight to Dark Knight, The Day John F Kennedy Met the Beatles and the award-winning Abby’s Road, the Long and Winding Road to Adoption and How Facebook, Aquaman and Theodore Roosevelt Helped.  Check his website for more releases! Thanks for reading!