DC Database
Don't have an account?
Register
Advertisement
Register
DC Database
DC Database
127,498
pages
in: Good Characters, Secret Identity, Americans,
and 41 more

Uncle Sam (Quality Universe)

Sign in to edit

Quote1 You will always guide your country. Come Sam! Come! We will be one as you guide America through the future. Quote2
— Uncle Sam src

In the Quality Universe, Uncle Sam is not just a figure of speech, and is much more than a metaphor for the United States; he literally is the physically-incarnated Spirit Of America, and when he puts his mind to it, there's nearly nothing he can't do. Historical figures such as Abraham Lincoln and George Washington would sometimes appear to Uncle Sam to encourage him or warn him about issues somewhere.

Details of Uncle Sam's origin have shifted between retellings, but they generally follow a largely uneducated American named Samuel who fought in the Revolutionary War around 1776 who was killed in battle. Whether or not this original Sam became the Spirit of America or joined with the Spirit of America is uncertain. Regardless, it seems that the Spirit of America joined with more than one American named Sam to give them the power to fight for freedom throughout the years.

In one version of his origin, near Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, an American patriot remembered only by his first name, Samuel, was shot dead by some Hessian soldiers. In his last moments, he saw and talked to the spirit of Uncle Sam, and was reassured that America would be free. Sam became Uncle Sam, or united with Uncle Sam, and invisibly provided guidance to the USA during its turbulent history.[1] Under the new guise, Uncle Sam would fight in several battles during the Revolutionary War and even fought his "cousin" John Bull himself before they shook hands as friends.[2]

He quickly became known throughout the young country. As Betsy Ross sewed a flag for the land, a young girl rushed to tell Uncle Sam, but she fell ill before she could find him. However, she would go on to become another patriotic hero, even though she and Uncle Sam may have never formally met.[3]

He was present in Europe during the Great War, and he was present in America during many labor strikes as well, whenever the civil rights of Americans were threatened.[1]Outside of battles and strikes, Uncle Sam was present for many innovations, such as the invention of the telephone, the lightbulb, and the first successful flight at Kittyhawk.

One day in 1940, Uncle Sam, gigantic and invisible, passed through a small Midwestern town, and listened in on a cracker-barrel meeting in the back of a general store. It was about the Black Legion, and the one voice standing up to them had a white beard and was also named Sam. That night, the Spirit appeared in Sam's home, and they had a conversation, similar to the one in 1777. Afterward, Sam trimmed his beard and changed his clothes, took on the persona of Uncle Sam himself.[1]

The Black Legion would later resurface again, only to be thwarted by Uncle Sam once more, this time with the help of his foster son, Buddy Smith.[4] After the formation of the antidemocracy organization the Purple Shirts, a speaker named Ezra Smith stood against them and was later killed, orphaning his grandson. Uncle Sam found him crying in the desert and took the boy on as an assistant. Sam and Buddy thwarted the Purple Shirts' plan to kidnap the president and overthrow the government.[5] Buddy was later referred to as Uncle Sam's "foster son."[6]

The Purple Shirt event was reported by the Star Record reporter Laney Pederson. After hearing about some of Sam's early adventures, she reacted with skepticism, publishing articles claiming the Spirit of America was an elaborate hoax. However, her tune changed after witnessing his heroics for herself.[7] Buddy would regularly produce articles for them, including Uncle Sam's origin as he told it.[6]

Wartime Adventures

Uncle Sam and Buddy fought foreign powers before World War II, but when America joined the war efforts, they turned their attention to fighting the Axis Powers. They faced off against several terrorist organizations such as the Black Guard[8] and the Blackshirts,[9] rescued American POWs, confronted draft dodgers like Chuck Thompson,[10] and even fought supervillain scientists from time to time like Cadaver[11] and Doctor Dirge.[12] Uncle Sam would sometimes team up with figureheads similar to him from other countries, such as The Vagabond[13] and John Bull,[14] but he also made several human friends, both soldiers and civilians.

One of the most formidable foes they faced was that of King Killer, a man-made super criminal with strength, speed, durability, and endurance on par with Uncle Sam. King Killer attempted to establish and re-establish his "Kingdom of Crime," eventually becoming recognized as the 49th State, Rex (Alaska and Hawaii were not yet states).

Uncle Sam and Buddy lived in Everytown, USA, but their adventures almost always took them to different states, cities, and countries. They even protected a military arsenal in Mammoth City, the base of operations for the superhero Plastic Man.[15] While he rarely appeared physically with other heroes and citizens, he did once visit the Kid Patrol and inspired them to sell stamps for the army.[16]

In addition to fighting the Axis Powers directly, Uncle Sam would also help civilians with personal problems and negotiate tactical positions for the Allies, such as when he, Buddy, and stage magicians Roberto the Great and Miss Nana convinced the Rajah of Kashwar to allow soldiers through a nearby mountain pass.[2]

As the war went on, Buddy grew and developed his own skillset to help Uncle Sam. He proved himself to be a rather ingenious inventor at times, and learned how to fly military aircrafts at his young age.

While no stories of Uncle Sam's adventures exist post-war, he vowed several times to continue being present for America and aiding the fight for freedom in the world.

Powers

Abilities

  • Aviation
  • Disguise: Uncle Sam is adept at impersonating various characters, and once disguised himself as Adolf Hitler.[19]
  • Fighting Mastery: Buddy claimed that Uncle Sam was a "champion at any kind of fighting."[20] Whether this meant he had the ability to flawlessly match peak performance in any form of fighting or that he had trained extensively to learn virtually every style of fighting is unknown.
    • Fencing: He fought and disarmed a would-be murderer in a foreign country during a duel.[20]
    • Boxing
  • Marksmanship: Uncle Sam showed his prowess in marksmanship several times from throwing mines from land to sink ships at sea, or rocks that ricochet to eliminate several enemies at once.
  • Multilingualism[21]
  • Tracking: Uncle Sam taught Buddy how to traverse forest terrain and track, skill he himself learned from Native Americans.[22]

Weaknesses

  • American Patriotism: Uncle Sam's powers are directly linked to the American people, their fighting spirit, and faith in their country and Uncle Sam. A lack of faith result in Uncle Sam becoming weaker and weaker to the point of powerlessness.[7]
  • Bondage: Uncle Sam regularly performs great feats of strength, but an inventor only known as "Doc" once created and bound Uncle Sam with with unbreakable string. Only after Buddy was in danger could Uncle Sam break it.[23]
  • Magic: When Uncle Sam was hit with a Mayan magic-infused poison, he was left in a severely weakened state.[14]


Transportation

  • Uncle Sam's airplane was a 2-engine bomber, with 1930s-style U.S. military markings, and a large white numeral "4" on the fuselage.[19] It was uniquely sized and shaped.
  • Uncle Sam's car was a 1920s-looking open-top jalopy that never seemed to run out of gas.
  • Bumble-Boat: A yellow submarine invented by Buddy, capable of travels over 120 mph at sea. It is equipped with torpedoes powerful enough to sink specialized battleships in one hit. They were later mass produced for the United States Navy with an insignia of Uncle Sam and Buddy's face.


  • He once expressed an odd dislike for elevators, as they "made [him] nervous."[6]
  • While he never officially teams up with heroes from other Quality Comics titles, several heroes reference him and his recruiting for the WWII Allies, such as Paul Bunyan[22] and 711.[24]

Related

External Links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 National Comics #5
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Uncle Sam Quarterly #7
  3. ↑ Feature Comics #42
  4. ↑ National Comics #14
  5. ↑ National Comics #11
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Uncle Sam Quarterly #2
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Uncle Sam Quarterly #1
  8. ↑ National Comics #17
  9. ↑ Uncle Sam Quarterly #8
  10. ↑ National Comics #27
  11. ↑ National Comics #23
  12. ↑ National Comics #29
  13. ↑ National Comics #37
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 Uncle Sam Quarterly #3
  15. ↑ National Comics #12
  16. ↑ National Comics #28
  17. ↑ National Comics #19
  18. ↑ National Comics #4
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 Uncle Sam Quarterly #4
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 National Comics #44
  21. ↑ National Comics #3
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 National Comics #8
  23. ↑ National Comics #22
  24. ↑ Police Comics #12


Community content is available under CC-BY-SA unless otherwise noted.
More Fandoms
Advertisement

Fan Feed

More DC Database