Warning: Spoilers for My Adventures with Superman #4Supermanhas faced an extensive rogues gallery of foes from across the DC Universe in his time as a hero, but the latest one might be the most unusual yet. Believe it or not, it’s pulled right from a popular TV show! Superman’s new enemy echoes a monster from the BBC’sDoctor Who, and it’s everything I never knew I needed.
InMy Adventures with Superman#4 by Josie Campbell and Pablo M. Collar, Superman’s friends and family have taken in an Amazo robot and are keeping him hidden in a secret government facility. While in hiding, Martha and Jonathan Kent decorate for Christmas, which includes setting up a Christmas tree they found in storage. However, Lois notices that something is fishy about the tree.
This mutated Christmas tree that tries to attack the Kents reminds me of a similar enemy from one ofDoctor Who’s Christmas specials, in a surprising crossover that puts a smile on my face as a longtime Whovian.
Superman MeetsDoctor Whowith This Fun Reference to a Holiday-Themed Foe
The Doctor Faced Superman’s Monster, Years Earlier
The clip above is fromDoctor Who’s 2005 Christmas special, “The Christmas Invasion”. In this episode, a mysterious Christmas tree appears in the home ofcompanion Rose Tylerand attacks her family. This moment shares a hilarious resemblance to the scene inMy Adventures with Superman, asboth Rose and Lois piece together that the Christmas tree is no ordinary treeand have to stop it as it attacks. The main difference is that the tree in theDoctor Whospecial is remote-controlled, while the tree Lois and Jimmy face off against is a mutant. Still, the similarities are impossible to ignore.
The first two issues ofDoctor Who’s latest comic series,Doctor Who: The Fifteenth Doctor, are available now from Titan Books, and the third issue (by Dan Watters and Kelsey Ramsay) is set to release on September 25th, 2024.
This clever nodisn’t the first time a Superman foe has resembled aDoctor Whomonsterin recent memory. InAbsolute Power#2 by Mark Waid and Dan Mora, after being captured by Amanda Waller and the Brainiac Queen,Superman’s son undergoes a cybernetic transformationthat bears a striking resemblance to the Cybermen. While in his cyborg form, Jon is unresponsive to his father’s attempts to reach him, much like howCybermen have their emotions stripped awaywhen they’re converted. They may seem like an unlikely pair, butDoctor Whoand its creatures are a perfect fit for Superman.
Doctor Whoand Superman Go Together Surprisingly Well
Superman Should Borrow More from the Doctor’s Sci-fi World
As a fan of both Superman andDoctor Who, this “crossover” is unexpected but appreciated. Superman isn’t the only DC superhero who has encounteredfoes inspired by iconicDoctor Whomonsters, but Superman andDoctor Whoare a match made in heaven that I’d never considered before.Doctor Whohas plenty of unique villainsthat future Superman stories can draw inspiration from, and it would be a treat to see any of them fight the Man of Steel.Supermancomics could always use more wacky sci-fi concepts like Christmas tree mutants, and no series pulls off wacky sci-fi better thanDoctor Who.
Superman
The icon who launched the entire world of superheroes, the last son of Krypton escaped his dying world to crash land on Earth and be raised as Clark Kent. The world knows him better as Superman, the Man of Steel, the leader of the Justice League, and the most well-known hero in the DC Comics Universe. Blessed with the powers of a demigod, Kal-El of Krypton fights enemies both small and cosmic in his endless pursuit of truth, justice, and a better tomorrow.
Doctor Who
Cast
Doctor Who: Released on July 06, 2025, this series follows the Doctor and their companion as they journey across time and space, encountering a range of extraordinary friends and adversaries, expanding the universe of the long-running British science fiction series.
