Santa will soon be handing out presents across the globe in the DC Universe as Christmas slowly approaches and one hero who's made his nice list is Batman. The two iconic characters crossed paths in a recent image by Jim Lee celebrating 80 years of Batman. Santa's present for Batman is pretty dang sweet.
Santa has a longer history of appearing in DC Comics than most casual fans might think. Most famously, he appeared in DCU Holiday Bash #2, where he snuck onto the planet Apokolips to give Darkseid a lump of coal. In Superman's Christmas Adventure, Doctor Grouch and Mister Meany try to stop Santa before Superman saves Christmas. In JLA #60, Santa has heat vision and super strength in Plastic Man's bedtime story. Earlier in DC lore, Santa is murdered by Key in Justice League of America #10. But you can't keep a man like him down, and he's got one heck of a gift for the Dark Knight.
In the new Jim Lee image, Batman just misses Santa Claus, but still gets to enjoy the present he's left behind: a Tumbler Batmobile with a big red ribbon. While Batman has celebrated Christmas before, there are serious questions about whether or not he is Jewish or Christan in DC Comics Cannon. It seems he's a Christian with Jewish heritage. So, the gift is appropriate. Regardless, there are so many questions that need answering based on this image. First and foremost, did Santa have his elves build a tactical weaponized vehicle for Batman? Do the elves have the required skills to build something so advanced and dangerous? Is it up to code? Should Batman have Lucius Fox take a look at it before he decides to ride it? Does Santa have ulterior motives? Couldn't they have wrapped it better to not give away exactly what it is? It's a gift with more questions than answers.
It seems Santa just wanted to give Batman a gift for all the good he's done over the past year. Batman is a selfless hero who's brought in a collection of people into his bat-family. He's a good dude who absolutely deserves a big Christmas present from Santa. Giving him a Batmobile proves Santa truly gets what drives the bat. Now, does Santa know he's Bruce Wayne and if not, did he end up on the naughty or nice list? DC needs to clear that up. What do you get the (Bat)man who has everything?