Summary

While superhero movies take place throughout the calendar class , there are also numerous gravid superhero movies that take place during Christmas . BothDCandMarvelfilms concenter upon superheroes who have real - world challenges , trial , and joys in their personal lifetime . As with countless masses around the Earth , the holiday season provides a warm reprieve for superheroes after the ups and downs of the forego yr .

Superhero motion-picture show that take berth during the vacation season often capitalize on the themes of sept and self - find common in the near Christmas motion picture . While many are heart - warming tale , others also admit their portion of ritual killing and ruefulness , especially when guide place in more long - term franchise , likethe MCU timelineor Arrowverse . Here arethe 10 best superhero movies and TV shows set during the Christmas time of year .

Despite an unfavourable reputation in Hollywood , there are several incredible moment in comic playscript movies that prove the musical genre is indeed pure cinema .

Iron Man Captain America and Hulk

10Iron Man 3 Is The MCU’s First Christmas Movie

Tony Stark Overcomes His Demons During The Holidays

Cast

One year after the first assembly of the Avengers , Iron Man 3follows Tony Stark ( Robert Downey Jr. ) as he attempt to put a stop consonant to the mysterious terrorist known only as the Mandarin ( Ben Kingsley ) . Robert Downey Jr. ’s spiffy public presentation as Tony Stark is as endearing as ever as Tony battles a novel challenge of deal with posttraumatic stress disorder from nearly sacrifice his life sentence to save the existence inThe Avengers . With the backdrop of Christmas as its seasonal mount , Iron Man 3admittedly introduces the Mandarin in a factious means that the MCU quickly retconned , but it ’s still a fun bam of Marvel holiday time of year fun .

Over 17 class and 35 moving picture , the Marvel Cinematic Universe motion picture have redefined blockbuster movie house . But how do all the films stack up ?

9Shazam! Is The DCEU’s First Christmas Movie

It Focuses On The Important Christmas Theme Of Family

The DCEU ’s new hero , Billy Batson ( Asher Angel ) , gets zapped into maturity in David Sandberg’sShazam ! , in which the newly superpowered Billy must stop Dr. Sivana ( Mark Strong ) from acquiring his powers . The Christmas setting ofShazam!highlights the warmth and heart of Billy ’s floor , with the orphan teenager urgently prove to locate his mother and bump a young family in his surrogate home . With prominent superhero action and an engaging twofold functioning by Angel and Zachary Levi as Billy in Shazam form , Shazam!is a DC vacation gem .

8Batman Returns Is A Dark Christmas Tale

It’s A Very Un-Merry Christmas With The Penguin

It ’s a dark and dingy Christmas in Gotham City in Tim Burton’sBatman Returns , with Michael Keaton ’s Dark Knight battlingDanny DeVito ’s vindictive Penguinalong with a new vigilance man known as Catwoman ( Michelle Pfeiffer).Batman Returnsis pure Tim Burton - style gothic storytelling , focusing much more on the Penguin ’s taradiddle of thorniness at his rejection at infancy and his ultimate downfall , with Batman and Catwoman ’s romanticism blooming behind it . Batman Returnsis far from a holly jolly Christmas tale , but Tim Burton ’s one - of - a - kind auteurist aesthesia nevertheless make it a DC Christmas story worthy of the Caped Crusader .

7Hawkeye Is A Holiday Season Romp

Clint Barton Becomes A Christmas Mentor

Still reeling from the radioactive dust of Avengers : Endgame , Clint Barton ( Jeremy Renner ) is draw back into an urgent foreign mission as the ghosts of his past threaten to destabilise his peaceable category life sentence . Thrust into a new moral force with untried upstart Kate Bishop ( Hailee Steinfeld ) , the original Avenger must escape a hit , uncover the secret of Kingpin ’s income tax return , and get home in time for Christmas .

The Avengers ’s skilled archer at long last headlines a solo story in the Disney+ seriesHawkeye , which follow Clint Barton ( Jeremy Renner ) as he takes on a young apprentice in his devoted fan Kate Bishop ( Hailee Steinfeld ) . Renner ’s cool personal appeal pair well with the youthful exuberance Steinfeld fetch to her performance as Kate Bishop , with the show ’s Christmas meter frame also adding plentitude of flare and holiday time of year cheer to their respective stories . Hawkeyealso brings not one but two MCU alumni into the story as Clint and Kate ’s adversaries , namelyVincent D’Onofrio ’s close - superhumanly firm Kingpinand Florence Pugh ’s Yelena Belova , set up up their several MCU futures further .

Jeremy Renner Hawkeye Appearances

Tom Holland as Peter Parker looking surprised in Spider-Man: Homecoming and Ben Kingsley as Trevor Slattery/The Mandarin in Iron Man 3

Release yr

motion picture or Disney+ series

Thor

Arrowverse shows

2011

Movie

The Avengers

Billy Batson has fun with his lightning powers in Shazam!

2012

Avengers : Age of Ultron

2015

A split image of V from V for Vendetta, Mysterio from Spider-Man: Far From Home, and Catwoman from Batman Returns

Captain America : Civil War

2016

Avengers : Endgame

Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr) looks at his MCU suits of armor in an Iron man 2 promo image

2019

What If … ?

2021

Headshot Of Robert Downey Jr. In The 10th Annual Breakthrough Prize Ceremony

Disney+ series

Hawkeye

2022

Headshot Of Gwyneth Paltrow In The Paris Fashion Week Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2024

The MCU may be the most successful movie franchise of all time , but its popularity has not prevent several divisive moments over the years .

6The Guardians Of The Galaxy Holiday Special Is Pure Christmas Fun

Kevin Bacon Is Along For The Ride

James Gunn’sGuardians of the Galaxytrilogy gets a fun holiday - themed interlude between volumes two and three in Disney+‘sGuardians Holiday Special , in which the titular Guardians claver Earth to meet Kevin Bacon . Arguably the funny chapter of theGuardiansfranchise , The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Specialhas great fun with Bacon ’s ego - efface public presentation as himself and the Guardians entirely misconstruing what Peter Quill ( Chris Pratt ) means in referring to Bacon as his " hero" . The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Specialis a curt escapade for the Guardians at just 42 hour , but still a very fun one for some Yuletide galactic action and laughs .

5Smallville Tells Two Christmas Stories In Season 5’s Lexmas

Clark Kent & Lex Luthor Have Two Parallel Christmas Stories

Smallville ’s storey of Superman ’s origin tell two parallel Christmas stories in the season 5 installment " Lexmas " , with Clark Kent ( Tom Welling ) using his power to deliver gifts to the poor on Christmas Eve , and having a surprise rooftop meeting with the real Santa Claus . Meanwhile , Michael Rosenbaum ’s Lex Luthor falls into a comatoseness after a gunshot wound , and his visual sense of a biography of felicity leads him to spread out the doorway to villainy that has been in front of him for the whole show . Smallville ’s unconditioned good luck charm makes " Lexmas " a vacation time of year delight , even if Clark ’s Christmas is much merry than Lex ’s ends up being .

4Once Upon A Deadpool Turns Deadpool 2 Into A Christmas Movie

Wade Wilson Pays Tribute To The Framing Story Of The Princess Bride

It ’s undeniably fitting to have Wade Wilson ( Ryan Reynolds ) re - redact his own 2018 sequelDeadpool 2into a holiday season themedOnce Upon A Deadpool . The patch is basically the same asDeadpool 2 , with Wade Wilson on a military mission to deliver the young mutant Firefist ( Julian Dennison ) , butOnce Upon A Deadpoolsets up a screaming framing twist involving Wade kidnapping the adult Fred Savage to uproariously recreate Savage ’s role inThe Princess Bride . A PG-13 Deadpool picture show might seem like a downgrade , butOnce Upon A Deadpoolhas heap of sport with Wade ’s meta humor of bleeping F - bomb and editing around gore for a holiday time of year narration .

There are a total of three different version ofDeadpool 2 , including the theatrical variant , the extended cut released on home medium , andOnce Upon A Deadpool .

3Arrow Homages Charles Dickens In Season 2’s Three Ghosts

Oliver Queen Faces Ghosts From His Past

capably titled in extension to Charles Dickens’sA Christmas Carol , Arrow ’s time of year 2 episode " Three Ghosts " follows the show ’s blend of present tense and flashback storytelling as Oliver Queen ( Stephen Amell ) add up to be a wise man to Roy Harper ( Colton Haynes ) . Additionally , Oliver learns that his old foe from Lian Yu Slade Wilson a.k.a . Deathstroke ( Manu Bennett ) is still awake . " Three Ghosts " retrofit Dickens ’s story of the three Ghosts of Christmas into eye - pelt along tale of DC ’s Emerald Archer battling old enemies and making young friend . Even better , Grant Gustin ’s guest show as Barry Allen makes " Three Ghosts " a significant instalment inArrow ’s history , with the episode ’s final here and now serving as a backdoor cowcatcher forThe Flash .

While the Arrowverse seemed to be farm implausibly fast at one point , many of its show were scratch before reach a satisfying conclusion .

2The Flash Shows One Possible Future In Season Three’s The Present

The Arrowverse Homages Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol Again

The Flash ’s time of year 3 installment " The Present"makes a pun of both vacation season gift - gift and the Scarlet Speedster ’s time - locomotion power when Barry Allen ( Grant Gustin ) is cast into the future and sees that his enemy Savitar will off his lady friend Iris West ( Candice Patton ) unless he averts this sorry future . " The Present"has all the superintendent - speeding actionThe Flashpromises wind in a tarradiddle of Barry Allen ’s metaphorical meeting with the Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come . " The Present " also include another Christmas treat with Wally West ( Keiynan Lonsdale ) being gifted his own speedster getup and becoming Kid Flash .

1Spider-Man: No Way Home Is A Multiverse Holiday Season Adventure

No Way Home Tells A Web-Slinging Version Of It’s A Wonderful Life

Tom Holland ’s Spider - Man go on his most personal adventure ever in the MCU ’s multiverse - irrupt Christmas movieSpider - human being : No Way Home , in which a botched spell to restitute Peter ’s surreptitious indistinguishability by Doctor Strange ( Benedict Cumberbatch ) rather pulls five villains from other worlds into the MCU.No Way Home ’s nostalgia packet is an exhilarating blast with villain of retiring Spider - Man movies like Willem Dafoe ’s Green Goblin and Alfred Molina ’s Doc Ock returning to the big - screen , but of grade , the movie ’s genuine silver bullet is the crowd - pleasing homecoming of Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield ’s Web - Slingers .

The brotherlike interpersonal chemistry of Holland , Maguire , and Garfield ’s Spider - Men ( dubbed Peters # 1 , # 2 , and # 3 ) alone makeNo Way Homean inviolable joy . No path Homealso brings a key influence of the Christmas classicIt ’s a Wonderful Lifeto its adaptation of theOne More Daycomic story , bringing a consolatory Yuletide warmth to one of the most tragic endings of any Spider - Man pic . With three live - action Peter Parkers , plenty of heavily - gain web - catapult activity , and a narrative of heroism beseem the Wall - Crawler , Spider - Man : No Way Homeis the perfectsuperhero moving-picture show that takes place during Christmas .

Headshot Of Don Cheadle In The 79th Venice Film Festival

Headshot Of Guy Pearce In The 77th annual Cannes

Headshot OF Zachary Levi

Headshot Of Mark Strong

Headshot Of Asher Angel

Headshot Of Jack Dylan Grazer

Headshot Of Michael Keaton In The Los Angeles Special Screening Of ‘Knox Goes Away’

Headshot of Danny DeVito

Headshot Of Michelle Pfeiffer In The 33rd Annual EMA Awards Gala

Headshot Of Christopher Walken In The ‘Dune:Part 2’ premiere

Clint and Kate in the MCU Hawkeye series

Headshot Of Zahn McClarnon

Still reeling from the fallout of Avengers: Endgame, Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner) is drawn back into an urgent mission as the ghosts of his past threaten to destabilize his peaceful family life. Thrust into a new dynamic with young upstart Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld), the original Avenger must escape a hit, uncover the secret of Kingpin’s return, and get home in time for Christmas.

Headshot Of Fra Fee

Headshot Of Brian D’Arcy James

Cast Placeholder Image

Headshot Of Sean Gunn In The Screamfest LA ‘Give Me An A’ Black Carpet

Headshot Of Michael Rooker In The The Walking Dead Live: The Finale Event

Headshot Of Pom Klementieff In The UK premiere of ‘Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning’ Part One

Headshot Of Dave Bautista In The Glass Onion A Knives Out Mystery’ Premiere, part of the London Film Festival

Lex and Lana smiling with Christmas lights in the background in an episode of Smallville.

Headshot Of Sam Jones III

Headshot Of Annette O’Toole

Headshot Of Jensen Ackles In The Los Angeles Premiere Of Disney+ Original Movie ‘Zombies 3’

Headshot Of Eric Johnson

Ryan Reynolds Once Upon a Deadpool

Headshot Of Josh Brolin In The ‘Dune:Part 2’ premiere

Headshot Of Jack Kesy In The Premiere Of TNT’s ‘Claws’

Headshot Of Zazie Beetz In The DreamWorks Animation’s Special Screening of ‘The Bad Guys’

Stephen Amell as Oliver Queen in Arrow episode "three Ghosts"

Headshot Of Stephen Amell In The  F*ck Cancer Gala

Headshot Of David Ramsey

Headshot Of Emily Bett Rickards In The 71st Annual Directors Guild Of America Awards

Headshot Of Katie Cassidy IN The 31st Annual Race To Erase MS Gala 2024

The Flash The Present Promo 1

Headshot Of Grant Gustin

Headshot Of Danielle Panabaker In The Hallmark Channel Summer TCA

Headshot Of Candice Patton

Headshot of Jesse L. Martin

Spider-Man swings through New York in his new suit in No Way Home

Headshot Of Zendaya In The Los Angeles Premiere Of Amazon MGM Studios' ‘Challengers’

Headshot Of Tom Holland In The 29th Annual Critics Choice Awards

Headshot Of Jamie Foxx In The European premiere of ‘Creed III’

DC Extended Universe

Marvel Cinematic Universe