Welcome to the 2021 A to Z Challenge! My theme this year is DC Comics. And that’s mostly because of my undying affection for the comic book characters and stories that I grew up reading in the 80s, 90s, and early 2000s. So stay tuned all month to (maybe) learn a little something about 26 corners of the DC Multiverse.

For the letter U, I could only think of Uncle Sam.

I know… Uncle Sam is a popular image from 20th century United States war propaganda… How does that have anything to do with DC Comics?

Well, I’m glad you asked.

And I’m stalling… because I know very little about DC’s Uncle Sam. But I promise… he exists.

I’m going to cheat and look at Wikipedia… Excuse me for a moment.

Apparently Uncle Sam is another one of those acquired characters that DC Comics now has. Uncle Sam started out as a character published by Quality Comics, but became DC property during the 1950s.

Uncle Sam has super strength, invulnerability, speed, the ability to alter his size, and some clairvoyance. He is also the leader of a team known as the Freedom Fighters.

There have been times when Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters have been depicted on an alternate Earth in the multiverse where the Nazis won World War II and have evil versions of the Justice League on their side. So the Freedom Fighters go up against the Nazi versions of popular heroes. Because who doesn’t want to see Uncle Sam punching a fascist Superman in the face?

Sorry that’s not a lot to go on. Can’t say I’ve ever read through a comic book that featured Uncle Sam as a major player.

But that’s what I’ve got for Uncle Sam… Did you know DC had an Uncle Sam that was a super hero? What did I leave out? Because I’m sure I left out a lot… Let me know your thoughts down in the comments!