Invasion of the Secret Santas! - Recap

A bowling alley is holding a Christmas tournament with a large cash prize. The villainous Sportsmaster and his two sports-themed henchmen arrive to take the money. Sportsmaster declares that bowling isn’t a real sport, but he plans to compete and win the prize rather than steal it. He places his competitors in giant transparent bowling pins and prepares to roll a lethal strike with an exploding bowling ball. Batman arrives to deflect the ball with a Batarang, and Sportsmaster points out that he’s outnumbered. Blue Beetle is assisting the Caped Crusader and makes his entrance, but is distracted when his suit starts telepathically talking to him. Batman tells his partner to take on the two henchmen while he fights the Sportsmaster. Blue Beetle’s suit provides him with a pair of arm cannons but he points out that he doesn’t want to blow the bowling alley up. It obliges by growing extra muscles and Blue Beetle scores a strike of his own. Meanwhile, the overmatched Sportsmaster decides to retreat but Batman throws a bowling pin and trips him up, picking up the spare. After the villains are taken care of, Blue Beetle invites Batman to his house for Christmas dinner. Batman turns down the invitation, saying that crime doesn’t take a holiday… and neither does he.



In a small university town, snow’s on the ground and everyone is preparing for Christmas. At the university, Professor John Ulthoom is giving a lecture on archaeology and its value in studying mankind. He hears a truck out of control outside and excuses himself, then removes his outer clothing to reveal himself as the android superhero, Red Tornado. He pulls two children out of the path of the careening truck and delivers them to their father. They thank Red Tornado and talk about the Christmas spirit. Red Tornado, an artificial intelligence, doesn’t understand because of his robotic nature. He goes to his comfortable middle-class home and reads up on Christmas decorations, and decorates his house. A lot. He tries Christmas caroling in his human disguise next, but can’t carry a note.

Red Tornado watches an old Christmas movie and a parent on-screen prepares to explain to his child about the spirit of Christmas. However, the broadcast is interrupted by a news broadcast that invaders from Neptune are attacking the town and demanding that the citizens turn Santa Claus over to them. Batman is already on the scene and Red Tornado flies to help him. Batman recognizes the aliens and has Red Tornado check his memory banks: the invaders are characters from an old science-fiction movie. Working together, the heroes destroy the saucers and discover that they are actually giant toys. Batman finds a toy logo and recognizes it as belonging to the evil Fun Haus.



Fun Haus makes his entrance and says that he’s there to steal Christmas and he’s only just begun. He tosses them a bomb disguised as a toy doll and makes his escape. Red Tornado propels the bomb up into the sky where it explodes without harming anyone. He asks Batman about the Christmas spirit but a disgruntled Batman says the holiday is overrated. Red Tornado attempts to capture the Christmas spirit by giving Batman a present: a “World’s Great Detective” mug. Batman apologizes for not buying a gift but Red Tornado insists that it’s the giving that counts, not the receiving. As they talk, Batman remembers back to his childhood as Bruce Wayne when he celebrated Christmas with his parents and Alfred… and used his deductive powers to figure out what they got him.



As the townsfolk clean up in the aftermath of the fake invasion, the two kids that Red Tornado rescued earlier see Santa on a reindeer sled and ask him for presents. However, “Santa’s” face doesn’t move and they sense something is wrong. Batman and Red Tornado spot another Santa running down the street. They try to stop him but he smashes them aside. Batman throws an electric Batarang and shorts out the robot Santa. However, an army of robot Santas attack them and the town. On the sled, the robot Santa attacks the two kids and the reindeer panic and run. Batman spots them and goes in pursuit. He cuts the reins on one of the reindeer, leaps onto it, and rides after the sled. He destroys the robot Santa but the reindeer sled goes off a nearby cliff. Red Tornado, having disposed of the other robot Santas, uses his wind powers to lift the sled to safety.



As the heroes return to the town, they discover a crying child. His father assures them that the boy isn’t upset about the evil Santas, but because he can’t get a hard-to-find action figure. Batman remembers his father giving Bruce a toy soldier that belonged to Bruce’s grandfather. Bruce, angry that he didn’t get the swashbuckler action figure he asked for, smashed the toy and ran away as Alfred picked up the pieces.



Fun Haus sends the heroes a broadcast: he’s hidden a bomb somewhere in the town. They search the town but can’t find the bomb, and Red Tornado concludes that it’s a distraction. He sees a movie marquee with a Happy Holidays sign and hopes they both get what they want for Christmas. Batman remembers how his parents took him to <I>The Mark of Zorro</I> to make up for not getting the swashbuckling action figure. As they were returning home afterward, a gunman killed both of them. Batman warns Red Tornado to be careful what you wish for. Picking up one of the action figures, he discovers that it has the Fun Haus logo on it and realizes the villain’s real plan: not to destroy Christmas but to distribute his special action figures throughout the town.



In houses throughout the town, children open their presents only to have the action figures come to life and steal everything they can. They take their loot to a truck where Fun Haus is waiting. The heroes arrive, destroying the first wave of action figures, but Fun Haus commands all of the others to assemble into one giant action figure battle robot, with himself in the control center. He tries to smash the townsfolk and the heroes get them out of the way. Fun Haus opens fire on the town’s water tower with the battle robot’s eye beams, destroying it. He goes on a rampage and Red Tornado intervenes, focusing all of his wind power on the battle robot. The battle robot slowly advances and Red Tornado activates all of his wind blasters at full strength. Batman warns that the stress is splitting apart Red Tornado’s artificial body. The battle robot is blasted apart and Fun Haus is sent flying. Red Tornado stops his assault, but his body cracks open and he is blasted apart.



The police take Fun Haus away while STAR Labs technicians collect Red Tornado’s pieces. As an artificial life form, he can be reassembled. His head has already been attached to his torso. Batman wishes him a Merry Christmas as Red Tornado admits he’s finally found the spirit of Christmas.

Batman summons the Batmobile by remote control and discovers a present for him on the seat: his grandfather’s toy soldier, painstakingly reassembled by Alfred. Batman thanks him and then drives off to battle evil.

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