Well, this is either the best or the absolute worst timing ever. As we (in the States) are hip-deep in one of the most negative and drawn-out political campaigns in the history of the Colonies, we are tasked to bring a bit of the old “Yankee Doodle Dandy” to perhaps inspire you with some of the more time-tested values of the US of A. You know, like beating the ever-loving snot out of anyone or anything from Nazis to aliens that might threaten the freedom and liberty of the colors that won’t bleed. I guess some things never change. But at the risk of moving into a politically-charged diatribe, I can say this and most certainly get a majority of agreement: it is about frikkin’ time we got a Freedom Fighter on our DCUC shelves. That’s right, the long-overdue leader of the Freedom Fighters and anthropomorphic manifestation of the qualities of the USA has arrived in the form of Uncle Sam.
As I am sure you know, there is a lot of “new” stuff going on with the DC Universe and their “nU” concept. I am not here to divide sides amongst the supporters and the detractors. However, I have not been impressed by much (if anything) of what has been done with this new universe thus far. I am a big fan of many Gold, Silver, and Bronze Age characters and many of those guys have been dramatically altered or vanquished from the spectrum all together. Needless to say, I miss those characters and the roles they have played for decades. But at the risk of sounding too much like a fuddy duddy, I will just say that I am quite glad that the Club Infinite Earths is giving me a chance to collect those classic characters, even if they don’t have much of a presence right now (don’t worry, these new approaches generally run their course within a couple of years). Case in point is Uncle Sam, and the rest of the Freedom Fighters for that matter. I have always been a great fan of that team and the likes of The Ray, Phantom Lady, and the Human Bomb, so kicking off another time-tested team is huge plus, and I hope to see the team play out in the subscription over the next couple of years.
The team had to start somewhere, though, and Uncle Sam, being the leader and the embodiment of the concept of the team, was the obvious place to begin. Originally a Quality Comics character that debuted in 1940, he made his way to the DC Universe when the Quality stable was acquired by DC in the 1950s. The (original) embodiment of the spirit of a Revolutionary War soldier, Sam has been flying the flag and fighting for freedom ever since and had integral roles in giant events like Crisis on Infinite Earths and 52.
The figure itself is a long time coming, not only for the importance of the character, but also because most of the parts to make him happen have been in place since all the way back in DCUC series 8. As you can see, he is made up primarily of parts borrowed from the Gentleman Ghost/Joker body but with all of the pieces (including his red, white and blue top hat) to make him the man who used to call up recruits to the American cause. Overall, he works really well as a figure, but let’s take a closer look.
He borrows his shoes, spats, pants, jacket, shirt, gloves, and tie from the previous figures and they work perfectly for him, so I cannot see why new pieces would have been needed for these parts. He is tall and lithe but ready to bash the skulls of those that would oppose freedom. The reds and blues used throughout are nice and bright as they should be. I really wish I could say the same for the whites, though, but they have fallen to that “gray-ish” color that seems to pop up across Mattel collector lines. I really have no idea why this choice is made so often, maybe bright white plastic is more expensive, but in the case of Sam, it seems to hurt a little more. I mean, we are talking about the red, WHITE, and blue here. It is not as grey as some of the other recent instances, but man, I was really hoping for that bright white. There is certainly white paint used on the figure (in his beard, etc.), but not having pure white in his costume is disappointing, especially since the Horsemen sculpt is so strong and captures the character so well.
Another nitpick I have with the figure is that, well, he does not have fists. I can see one gripper hand being used on him to help wave a 1:12 American flag, but how is he going to punch the faces of oppressors around the globe? Hmm… I bet there is a DCUC figure out there willing to donate one of his punchers to the cause of liberty and justice. Speaking of flags, it would have been really great if an American flag were included with this figure since he has the hands to hold one, but for the purposes of this photo shoot, the second-greatest American patriot in history, Hacksaw Jim Duggan, was glad to donate his.
What I really love about the figure, though, is the head sculpt. I find it to be one of the most spot-on perfect representations in the entire line. It has so much personality and makes him look rough and tumble, but still patriotic to the punch. This is Sam’s longer hair and beard visage, so it does not match his Golden Age look, but it should hold up well for any other purposes. Despite the lack of fists and the gray, I still really dig this figure and it feels great to finally get him in Classics. He really does represent everything the subscription is about to me, and I hope to see a lot of like characters to follow in the future.
But wait, there’s more! Yep, Sam did not take that ride from China (see the irony?) all by himself! Fellow Freedom Fighter Doll Man is included with this release as well. I love getting little mini figure pack-ins with figures and Doll Man was a perfect choice to include here. He is small, of course, but not nearly as small as the miniature Elasti-Girl figure that we featured earlier. He is a great representation of the character, and, for as small as he is, he actually has a lot of sculpted detail. The paint applications don’t really stand the scrutiny of large and high-resolution pictures, but in his actual size, they look really nice. He is a “slug” figure, so do not expect any articulation. This is another trend that I want to see continue in this line as we move along, a Shrinking Violet with a Dawnstar would be a release… Just sayin’.
Let Freedom ring, citizens! Uncle Sam is arriving just in time for you to argue about politics and all the things that make this time of the leap year so painful to endure. Despair not, though! Look to Uncle Sam to show you freedom and liberty and all of the good things that he stands for. Uncle Sam and Doll Man kick off the Freedom Fighters in fine style, but it wouldn’t be a First Look without me begging, so let’s see the Phantom Lady, Black Condor, Ray, and Human Bomb join the throng as well. Not getting them in Classics would be, well, unpatriotic!
*Thanks for reading and thanks to the Matty Collector crew for sending along Uncle Sam for a First Look. We have more DC and a couple of other things to bring you very soon!
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