Follow TV Tropes

Following

Webcomic / Mighty Marvel Holiday Special

Go To

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d34bbb09_3e80_4148_9224_138fbe712beb.jpeg
Mighty Marvel Holiday Special is a set of Infinity Comics webcomics from Marvel Comics, themed and timed to accompany major holidays and celebrations.

The webcomics are positioned as one-offs under the Mighty Marvel Holiday Special banner, rather than a single consecutively numbered series, and each one has a different cast and creative team. As of July 2022, the following stories have been published:

  • Mighty Marvel Holiday Special - Halloween with the Rhino (October 29, 2021). The Rhino's trying to go straight, but he's also easily confused. So when some kids dress as Spider-Man for Halloween, there are... misunderstandings. Written by Ryan North and illustrated by Tom Reilly, with color art by Chris O'Halloran.
  • Mighty Marvel Holiday Special - Happy Holidays, Mister Howlett (December 16, 2021). The X-Men are celebrating Christmas but, despite Jubilee's best efforts, Wolverine really isn't interested. Written by Ryan North and illustrated by Nathan Stockman, with color art by Chris O'Halloran.
  • Mighty Marvel Holiday Special: Iceman's New Year's Resolutions (December 31, 2021). The New Year's Eve countdown is interrupted by a demonic manifestation - and Iceman's attempt to banish it triggers some reflection on his own past and future. Written and illustrated by Luciano Vecchio.
  • Mighty Marvel Holiday Special - Year of the Wong (February 01, 2022). Chinese New Year celebrations are disrupted by the arrival of one of Dormammu's magical beasts - and Doctor Strange is out of town, so Wong's going to have to handle it alone. Written by Amy Chu and illustrated by E.J. Su, with color art by Antonio Fabela.
  • Mighty Marvel Holiday Special - Ghost Ridin' to Love (February 14, 2022). Written by Jason Loo and illustrated by Alba Glez, Walden Wong and Le Beau Underwood, with color art by Carlos Lopez. It's Valentine's Day and Robbie's little brother Gabe has a date, so Robbie's acting as their chauffeur. Along the way, he finds some things that need the Ghost Rider's attention - just as long as he can find time to do that without ruining Gabe's night.

As with Marvel's other Infinity Comic webcomics, it's a single-column vertically scrolling comic that's designed to be readable on a phone screen, rather than using a traditional comic book approach to panels and pages.

As an Infinity Comic series, the comics are (at least initially) only available via the Marvel Unlimited app.


The Mighty Marvel Holiday Special stories contain examples of the following tropes:

  • An Ice Person: The ice demon Ikthalon, embodiment of stasis and stagnation, is the Big Bad for Iceman's New Year's Resolutions.
  • Big Bad: Some of the stories have No Antagonist, but others set up a more traditional superhero conflict, complete with a clear-cut villain.
    • The demon Ikthalon is the opponent for Iceman's New Year's Resolutions
    • For Year of the Wong it's the Nian, a magical beast in the service of Dormammu.
    • Long-running Marvel villain Arcade is behind most of the villainy in Ghost Ridin' to Love
  • The Cameo: In Year of the Wong, Shang-Chi arrives at the end - just in time for the food and celebration.
    Wong: Shang-Chi! You could have come earlier, you know... A little help fighting a demon from another dimension would've been nice...
  • Combat Tentacles: All we see of Denanoku, Doctor Strange's magical sparring partner in Year of the Wong, is a clump of tentacles coming through a portal to deliver a Curb-Stomp Battle to the Nian.
  • Curb-Stomp Battle: Towards the end of Year of the Wong, Doctor Strange finally returns from his magical training session and his sparring partner, the tentacled Eldritch Abomination Denanoku, immediately grabs the Nian and pulls it through a dimensional portal, ending the threat.
  • Defiant Stone Throw: In Year of the Wong, the Chinatown crowd intervene to face down the Nian after it knocks Wong off his feet, starting with an elderly Asian lady who throws an empty drink can at its head.
    Nian: I don't... understand? Why aren't you afraid?
  • Good Angel, Bad Angel: In Halloween with the Rhino, the Rhino has Imaginary Miss Judy sitting on his right shoulder, appealing to his better nature. The demonic Bad Imaginary Miss Judy sits on his left shoulder, though, and she has other ideas. As they're both versions of his therapist, they also have clipboards.
  • Holiday Episode: The overall theme of the series. Each comic accompanies a holiday or celebration.
  • Infinite Canvas: As with Marvel's other Infinity Comics, it’s presented in the vertical scrolling variant. Each issue is a single long page, with one column of panels.
  • Mythology Gag: Halloween with the Rhino opens with a Public Service Announcement from Iron Man, presented in exactly the same style as the famous Captain America version from the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
  • No Antagonist: Happy Holidays, Mister Howlett looks at how Long-Lived mutant Wolverine views Christmas, contrasting it with the celebrations of the other X-Men. There's no fighting and no antagonist.
  • Noodle Incident: The Public Service Announcement in Halloween with the Rhino, in which Iron Man advises kids not to dress us as supervillains for Halloween, is one result of an unseen misunderstanding.
    "BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE AVENGERS VS. A SCHOOLYARD FULL OF COSTUMED CHILDREN SETTLEMENT FUND."
  • Number of the Beast: In Iceman's New Year's Resolutions the new year countdown screen gets stuck in a loop, with 6-6-6 repeating, as the demonic Ikthalon manifests.
  • Public Service Announcement: Halloween with the Rhino opens with a PSA from Iron Man, presented in the same style as the Captain America PSA from the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
  • The Reveal: In Happy Holidays, Mister Howlett, Wolverine insists that he doesn't celebrate Christmas and doesn't want to be part of the X-Men's celebrations, despite Jubilee's best efforts. After he leaves the others, it's revealed that he meets up with Mystique to mark the occasion most years, and has done for a very long time. This year, both of them go to help out at a soup kitchen.
  • Soundtrack Dissonance: It's Valentine's Day in Ghost Ridin' to Love, and the radio in the Ghost Rider's haunted Dodge Charger is playing Puppy Love as the burning skeleton in his burning car chases down some crooks.
  • Underestimating Badassery: In Iceman's New Year's Resolutions, ice demon Ikthalon thinks he has nothing to fear from Iceman, as the body he's manifested is made of ice and cold just makes him stronger. He doesn't realise that Bobby can also reshape and control existing ice, though. After they initially trade blows, Bobby simply absorbs Ikthalon's entire ice body, effectively banishing him.

Top