5 great superhero Christmas movies and TV episodes to get you feeling festive

3. “Christmas With The Joker”

Series: Batman: The Animated Series

One of our very first run-ins with the iconic show saw the Caped Crusader and his trusty partner team up to take down the Clown Prince of Crime when he hijacked a special broadcast of It’s A Wonderful Life and threatened to kill Commissioner Gordon, Summer Gleeson and Harvey Bullock.

Convinced that criminals wouldn’t take the night off, Batman found himself unable to rest on Christmas Eve. Though he would quickly learn that, in spite of his uncertainty, Gotham did possess a lot of good will, he was eventually proven right by the Joker’s return.

From the festive lighting that ran the whole way throughout Joker’s broadcast to the series overarching old-fashioned aesthetic, “Christmas With The Joker” is a classic visual presentation that proves itself as light-hearted festive fun that the whole family can enjoy.

2. Shazam!

The most recent offering to appear on this list, big-budget film Shazam! was released earlier this year and became something of an unexpected phenomenon, receiving overwhelmingly positive reviews from fans and critics for its whimsical tone and overall enjoyability.

Centering on a young kid blessed with the powers of a mythical god, the film was set during the holidays and was able to play with a lot of the elements made famous by some of our favorite festive flicks. Its unapologetic superhero silliness blended very well with the holidays’ knack for bringing families together – and that made it a heartwarming tale of heroism.

Without the Christmastime setting, Shazam! is good old superhero fun that the family can enjoy, but with it, it’s an unexpectedly lovable entry in Hollywood’s ever-growing collection of Christmas movies – a modern one that possesses all the charm of the classics.

This one makes you laugh and warms your heart – and, at the end of the day, isn’t that exactly what we want from our Christmas movies?