Uncle Sam is a

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a fictional character who typically possesses ''superpowers'' or abilities beyond those of ordinary people, is frequently costumed concealing their identity, and fits the role of the hero, typically using their ...

appearing in American comic books published by

DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...

. Based on the

national personification A national personification is an anthropomorphic personification of a state or the people(s) it inhabits. It may appear in political cartoons and propaganda. In the first personifications in the Western World, warrior deities or figures symboliz ...

of the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Uncle Sam Uncle Sam (with the same initials as ''United States'') is a common national personification of the United States, depicting the federal government of the United States, federal government or the country as a whole. Since the early 19th centu ...

, the character first appeared in '' National Comics'' #1 (July 1940) and was created by Will Eisner.

Publication history

Quality Comics

Uncle Sam first appeared in '' National Comics'' #1 (July 1940), which was published by

Quality Comics Quality Comics was an American comic book publishing Publishing is the activities of making information, literature, music, software, and other content, physical or digital, available to the public for sale or free of charge. Traditionally, ...

during the

Golden Age of Comic Books The Golden Age of Comic Books describes an era in the history of American comic books from 1938 to 1956. During this time, modern comic books were first published and rapidly increased in popularity. The superhero archetype was created and ma ...

. He is depicted as a mystical being who was originally the spirit of a slain patriotic soldier from the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

and appears whenever his country needs him. The character was used for a few years from 1940 to 1944, briefly receiving a solo series, ''Uncle Sam Quarterly''. During this time, he had a

sidekick A sidekick is a close companion or colleague who is, or is generally regarded as, subordinate to those whom they accompany. Origins The first recorded use of the term dates from 1896. It is believed to have originated in pickpocket slang of ...

named Buddy Smith. According to ''Jess Nevins' Encyclopedia of Golden Age Superheroes'', "he fights a variety of

Axis An axis (: axes) may refer to: Mathematics *A specific line (often a directed line) that plays an important role in some contexts. In particular: ** Coordinate axis of a coordinate system *** ''x''-axis, ''y''-axis, ''z''-axis, common names ...

agents, human and superhuman, from the Black Legion to the shrink-ray-wielding Professor Nakajima. Uncle Sam also fights the mad scientist Dr. Dirge, the King Killer, and the insanity-causing Mad Poet".

DC Comics

Following DC Comics' acquisition of Quality Comics, Uncle Sam is reimagined as the leader of the Freedom Fighters on Earth-X, where the

Nazis Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

won

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. In '' The Spectre'', Uncle Sam is reimagined as a spirit created by the

Founding Fathers The Founding Fathers of the United States, often simply referred to as the Founding Fathers or the Founders, were a group of late-18th-century American revolutionary leaders who united the Thirteen Colonies, oversaw the War of Independence ...

who is bound to a talisman and assumes a physical form by possessing others. In ''

Infinite Crisis "Infinite Crisis" is a 2005–2006 comic book storyline published by DC Comics, consisting of an eponymous, seven-issue comic book limited series written by Geoff Johns and illustrated by Phil Jimenez, George Pérez, Ivan Reis, and Jerry Ordway, ...

'', Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters are ambushed by the

Secret Society of Super Villains Secret Society of Super Villains (SSoSV) is a DC Comics title that debuted in May–June 1976. The series presented a group of DC's supervillains, mostly foes of the Justice League, Justice League of America. The series was cancelled with issue #1 ...

where he is seemingly killed by

Sinestro Thaal Sinestro () (or simply Sinestro) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, particularly those featuring Green Lantern. Created by John Broome and Gil Kane, Sinestro is a former Green Lantern Corps member w ...

. He is later resurrected and makes subsequent appearances in ''

Final Crisis "Final Crisis" is a crossover storyline that appeared in comic books published by DC Comics in 2008, primarily the seven-issue miniseries of the same name written by Grant Morrison. Originally DC announced the project as being illustrated solely ...

'', '' Blackest Night'', and ''

The New 52 The New 52 was the 2011 revamp and relaunch by DC Comics of its entire Line (comics), line of ongoing monthly superhero American comic books, comic books. Following the conclusion of the "Flashpoint (comics), Flashpoint" Fictional crossover, cros ...

'' continuity reboot.

Powers and abilities

Uncle Sam has demonstrated various powers, including super strength, invulnerability, the ability to alter his size, enhanced speed, and some degree of

clairvoyance Clairvoyance (; ) is the claimed ability to acquire information that would be considered impossible to get through scientifically proven sensations, thus classified as extrasensory perception, or "sixth sense". Any person who is claimed to h ...

. He is also shown to be able to transport himself and others to a pocket dimension called The Heartland and travel between universes. Furthermore, Sam's abilities are dependent on the United States' patriotism.

Other versions

* In 1998, DC published under its adult imprint

Vertigo Vertigo is a condition in which a person has the sensation that they are moving, or that objects around them are moving, when they are not. Often it feels like a spinning or swaying movement. It may be associated with nausea, vomiting, perspira ...

a two-issue prestige format comic series, ''

''. It was written by Steve Darnall with painted artwork by

Alex Ross Nelson Alexander Ross (born January 22, 1970) is an American comic book creator, comic book writer and artist known primarily for his painted interiors, covers, and design work. He first became known with the 1994 miniseries ''Marvels'', on which ...

. Uncle Sam is depicted as a ragged old man who is tormented by visions of historical episodes and modern aspects of the United States at its worst. He is forced to battle a dark doppelganger of himself based on corruption, deceit, and oppression, with the identity of the United States at stake. * In an alternate DC timeline appearing in ''

Superman/Batman ''Superman/Batman'' is a monthly American comic book series published by DC Comics that features the publisher's two most popular superheroes: Superman and Batman. ''Superman/Batman'' premiered in August 2003, an update of the previous series, ' ...

'', Superman and

Batman Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...

have been raised by Cosmic King, Lightning Lord, and Saturn Queen, the three original members of the Legion of Super-Villains, and have turned the Earth into a totalitarian state. Uncle Sam becomes

Green Lantern Green Lantern is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. They fight evil with the aid of rings that grant them a variety of extraordinary powers, all of which come from imagination, fearlessness, ...

when

Wonder Woman Wonder Woman is a superheroine who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in ''All Star Comics'' Introducing Wonder Woman, #8, published October 21, 1941, with her first feature in ''Sensation Comic ...

gives him Abin Sur's ring, as

Hal Jordan Harold "Hal" Jordan, one of the characters known as Green Lantern, is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created in 1959 by writer John Broome (writer), John Broome and artist Gil Kane, and f ...

is dead in this reality. When Wonder Woman first encounters this Uncle Sam, he is visually similar to the Uncle Sam from Alex Ross' miniseries; once she uses her magic lasso to reveal the truth to him, he reverts to his classic persona and costume. * In the final issue of '' 52'', a new multiverse is revealed, originally consisting of 52 identical realities. Among the parallel realities shown is one designated Earth-10. As a result of

Mister Mind Mister Mind is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, primarily as an enemy of Captain Marvel (DC Comics), Captain Marvel. Created by Otto Binder and C. C. Beck for Fawcett Comics, the character made a cameo appea ...

"eating" aspects of this reality, it takes on visual aspects similar to the pre-Crisis Earth-X, including the Quality characters. Based on comments by

Grant Morrison Grant Morrison (born 31 January 1960) is a Scottish comic book writer, screenwriter, and producer. Their work is known for its nonlinear narratives, Humanism, humanist philosophy and counterculture, countercultural leanings. Morrison has writt ...

and the fact that a

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

version of Superman is depicted in the scene, this alternate universe is not the pre-Crisis Earth-X. * On Earth-11, a world of reversed genders, a female version of Sam named Columbia leads the Freedom Fighters. * ''New Super-Man'' features a character, ''Flying Dragon General'', as an analog of Uncle Sam.

In other media

* Uncle Sam appears in the '' Batman: The Brave and the Bold'' episode "Cry Freedom Fighters!", voiced by Peter Renaday. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information. * Uncle Sam appears as a character summon in '' Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure''. * Uncle Sam appears in ''

Justice League Unlimited ''Justice League Unlimited'' (''JLU'') is an American superhero animated series that was produced by Warner Bros. Animation with DC Comics in season 3 and aired on Cartoon Network. Featuring a wide array of superheroes from the DC Universe, and ...

'' #17.

References

External links

Uncle Sam Index

{{GoldenAge 1940 comics debuts 1944 comics endings Characters created by Will Eisner Comics characters introduced in 1940 DC Comics characters who can move at superhuman speeds DC Comics characters who can teleport DC Comics characters with superhuman durability or invulnerability DC Comics characters with superhuman strength DC Comics deities DC Comics immortals DC Comics male superheroes DC Comics military personnel DC Comics shapeshifters Fictional characters who can change size Fictional characters with dimensional travel abilities Fictional personifications Golden Age superheroes Quality Comics superheroes Uncle Sam United States-themed superheroes Vertigo Comics titles