MARVEL HOLIDAY SPECIAL #1994

This issue contains six stories. "Catastrophe on 34th St." - While Beast and Iceman work out in the Danger room, they bemoan the lack of Christmas spirit they feel. The session is interrupted by a news report of a creature abducting street corner santas in New York City, and the two head to town. Beast and Iceman engage the fiery monster, who complains of a ruined Christmas. The two X-Men subdue the creature, then recognize him as Metoxo the Lava Man, whom they encountered during their early years as X-Men. Many Decembers before, Metoxo, who dwelt miles below the surface, rampaged through the city because a vital steam shaft had been plugged by a human construction project. Beast and Iceman had calmed him down, explaining the deed was not malicious, just humans getting by. They also explained the concept of Christmas. Now, Metoxo is frustrated by his children's disillusionment with the holiday. As a solution, Beast and Iceman visit Metoxo's family, playing Santa and an elf, and bring presents and joy to them, rediscovering their own Christmas spirit in the process. "A Midnight Clear" - On Christmas Eve, Captain America tracks three slavers trafficking in children to a run-down cabin in the snowy woods. Cap's goal is to rescue the young boy they hold hostage. As he nears the cabin, he realizes with shock it is the very same cabin in which his grandfather lived. As the slavers prepare to ambush Cap, he recalls the lessons about freedom taught to him by his grandfather, as well as the underground tunnel, once used by escaped slaves, that runs beneath the hovel. Cap sneaks in through the tunnel, quickly overwhelming two of the crooks, while the third aims his gun at the hero's back. The boy warns Cap, who takes out the gunman with his shield. "Losin' the Blues" - At Rockefeller Canter, Ben Grimm meets a young Jewish girl who tells him she's disillusioned with the Christmas season. He tries to demonstrate the cheer of the holiday in words and deeds, but they tend to backfire: Ben stops a thief who tried to steal a Salvation army kettle, but is chided by police for destroying city property; he stops a jewelry store robbery only to have the owner complain that Ben broke his front window; and outside, a gang of boys steal the girls coat. But she finally sees a spark of good will when a homeless man gives her his coat. Gratefully, Ben gives the man his coat and offers to buy his new friends hot cocoa. "The Eternal Game" - The Silver Surfer encounters a ship about to crash, and rescues its sole passenger, an alien woman named Shakti. She tells him she's fleeing a group of mysterious beings that she fears mean her harm. The things soon find her, and, despite the Surfer's powers, are able to surround her. Suddenly, she becomes calm as Eternity appears. He explains to the Surfer that Shakti is one of many "self-children" he sends out into the cosmos to experience life as he, Eternity, cannot. Then he rejoins with his 'offspring' to gain new understanding. The Surfer soars away, wondering if eternity can feel loneliness. "Star of the Show" - The tree lighting ceremony at Rockefeller Center doesn't go as planned: the star atop the tree remains unlit. Spider-Man swings up to the star, gives it a tap, and all is well. "The Night Before X-Mas" - The classic poem is retold with an X-Men theme.

No reviews yet. Be the first.