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1[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/DC_Comics_Presents_487.gif]]
2[[caption-width-right:300: Yes, Superman, there IS a Santa Claus!]]
3
4''DC Comics Presents'' was a Creator/DCComics comic book starring ComicBook/{{Superman}} and a series of guest stars in [[CrossOver team-up stories]] during MediaNotes/{{the Bronze Age of Comic Books}}, surviving the mass cancellation of titles known as the "DC Implosion". The series lasted for 97 issues, a respectable run by modern standards, from 1978 to 1986. It was canceled during DC's first [[RetCon mass relaunch]] (after the ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths) but the ''ComicBook/ActionComics'' series then became the new Superman team-up book for a while.
5
6Notable events from the series:
7* The ultimate Superman[=/=]ComicBook/TheFlash race (to the very End of Time) in issues #1-2.
8* The introduction of ComicBook/AmbushBug, first as a recurring villain and then as a guest star himself.
9* ''ComicBook/WarWorld'': The introduction of major Superman foe Mongul (a ComicBook/{{Thanos}} CaptainErsatz, even co-created by Thanos' creator.)
10* Two team-ups with ComicBook/SwampThing, one of them -''ComicBook/TheJungleLine''- written by Creator/AlanMoore.
11* [[Franchise/MastersOfTheUniverse He-Man]], with the introduction of the Prince Adam identity.
12* The introduction of [[Literature/MiracleMonday Superwoman]] (as her own character and not an identity for ComicBook/LoisLane.)
13* Two team-up stories with... Clark Kent?
14* Similarly, a team-up with the original ComicBook/{{Superboy}} (i.e. [[TimeTravel himself!]])
15* A team-up with SantaClaus (AllJustADream... OrWasItADream)
16* The formal introduction of the ComicBook/GlobalGuardians (from the ''WesternAnimation/{{Superfriends}}'' comic) into [[Franchise/TheDCU the DC Universe]].
17* The introduction of Superboy-Prime (not yet an [[ComicBook/InfiniteCrisis insane menace]]) as a tie-in for ''ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths''.
18* A team-up with ComicBook/{{OMAC}} (also via TimeTravel), his last appearance before the COIE reboot.
19* The very last Pre-Crisis Superman story -and an epilogue to ''ComicBook/ThePhantomZone'' mini-series-, in the final issue of the series. (''ComicBook/WhateverHappenedToTheManOfTomorrow'', published afterward, was later declared to be set in a parallel universe.)
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21The ''New ComicBook/TeenTitans'' also launched in this series, but in an insert story where Superman was not involved.
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23As part of their [[ComicBook/New52 2011 relaunch]], the series was brought back, this time under the name ''DC Universe Presents''. It was an anthology series, with each arc featuring a different DC character(s).
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25----
26!!Tropes in DC Comics Presents include:
27* AlwaysSomeoneBetter: In issue #47 "ComicBook/FromEterniaWithDeath!", a ''Franchise/MastersOfTheUniverse'' crossover, it is shown that Superman is stronger than He-Man. Superman may be weak to magic, but if he can dodge magical attacks, then he can easily defeat even the likes of Skeletor.
28* CapturedOnPurpose: In issue #5, Superman and Aquaman find someone has instigated war between Poseidonis and Tritonis. Needing to speak with the ruling council of Tritonis, they initially start fighting the guards before realizing it'd be easier to surrender and be led there as prisoners. (As it turns out, Ocean Master had usurped the Tritonians and was leading both sides into war.)
29* DependingOnTheWriter: Most of the original series' stories were OK, but some had Superman acting way OutOfCharacter, like during his fight with ComicBook/MartianManhunter.
30** Lampshaded in ComicBook/TheSpectre issue (#29)- the Spectre calls Superman on his unusually brash behavior in the previous few issues.
31** The series had no regular writer or artist, resulting in the style of each issue varying wildly. YMMV on whether that was a good or bad thing.
32* FullyAbsorbedFinale: The crossover with the Prince Gavyn ComicBook/{{Starman}} was basically a wrap-up for his canceled series (in the anthology series ''Adventure Comics'') -- and it featured Mongul too. In fact, given it was drawn by Creator/JimStarlin, it could be considered an homage to Starlin's work on Marvel Comics' ComicBook/{{Captain Marvel|MarvelComics}}.)
33* GrowingUpSucks: In the issue that featured [[ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths Harbinger, Lady Quark, and Pariah,]] Harbinger laments having grown up on board the Monitor's satellite without having the chance to experience life as an Earth woman.
34* TheJoyOfX: The "Whatever Happened To …" backups.
35* PlanetaryCoreManipulation: In #24, a villain named Mr. Genarian attempts to cure his heart condition by using a pacemaker-style device to link his heartbeat to the rhythm of the Earth's core. However, this backfires when instead of regulating his heartbeat, it gives the planet a series of 'heart attacks', causing global earthquakes. It is down to Superman and Deadman to save the day.
36* PlotTailoredToTheParty: Given how powerful Superman is, some stories had to get creative to justify the other heroes' participation or ability to fend for themselves against the Man of Steel.
37* PoorlyDisguisedPilot: Issues #47 "ComicBook/FromEterniaWithDeath" and #51 ""ComicBook/FateIsTheKiller"" introduced the world of Eternia from the ''Franchise/MastersOfTheUniverse'', before the first ''Masters of the Universe'' comic a few months later, followed by the premiere of the ''WesternAnimation/HeManAndTheMastersOfTheUniverse1983'' original cartoon.
38* StandAloneEpisode: The original series did not have much continuity between issues. Of course, comics were different back then, and the StoryArc and {{Decompressed Comic}}s were much rarer. There were exceptions, though, such as a three-issue story that introduced Mongul and Warworld (co-starring ComicBook/MartianManhunter, ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}, and ComicBook/TheSpectre); a two-part story involving Superman's SecretKeeper Pete Ross, the ComicBook/LegionOfSuperHeroes, and... Superboy? (the original one, back when he was Clark's past self in the future); a two-parter where Mxyzptlk and Mr. Mind teamed up to torment Superman and [[ComicBook/{{Shazam}} Captain Marvel]]; and the OriginStory of Superboy-Prime and how he gained his powers and met Superman.
39* TeamUpSeries: Superman teams up with guest stars.
40* YouCantFightFate: A variation, in the ComicBook/{{Kamandi}} issue. Kamandi, having traveled back to Superman's era, begs him to prevent the cataclysm that produced his future dystopia. But of course, Superman has ''been'' to the future repeatedly (in his time with the Legion of Super-Heroes), and recognizes that Kamandi's world is a divergent timeline and there's nothing Superman can do in his own present to affect it.

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