WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Freedom Fighters #12 by Robert Venditti, Eddy Barrows, Eber Ferreira, Adriano Lucas, and Andworld Design, om sale now.
Over the years, the DC Universe has seen lots of different versions of Superman. From the Soviet Superman of Red Son to the totalitarian Superman of Injustice: Gods Among Us and the endless variations on the classic Man of Stee, none of DC's Supermen is quite as scary as Overman, the evil Nazi Superman of Earth-X, the world where the Allies lost World War II.
As if the idea of a Nazi Superman wasn't terrifying enough, the Freedom Fighters, the heroes of Earth-X, have been going up against an even scarier version of the Overman, Cyborg Overman. In the same way that Hank Henshaw became the evil Cyborg Superman in the DC Universe, Heinrich H. Henshaw was transformed into Earth-X's most unstoppable villain.
However, Uncle Sam finally defeated the villain in Freedom Fighters #12, when the patriotic hero gave Cyborg Overman a Wolfenstein-esque stomping.
Even though Uncle Sam might be Earth-X's most famous hero, he hasn't been around for a while. In a world where the Nazis have wiped out most metahumans, the Human Bomb, Doll Girl, Phantom Lady and Black Condor teamed up to fight Hitler's heirs as the Freedom Fighters. Although they're initially only inspired by Uncle Sam's spirit, the hero eventually returns to rejoin the fight in a fascist-controlled America he no longer recognizes.
Much like Uncle Sam, the original Overman is also an absent figure with an oversized presence on Earth-X. After he destroyed Metropolis, the alien fled the world in shame. To make up for his absence, Nazi leaders like the abhorrent Adolf Hitler III turned Henshaw into his hi-tech replacement. Unlike the original Overman, this Cyborg Overman is a programmable machine, which makes him incredibly dangerous. Since he first appeared in Freedom Fighters, the Cyborg Overman was a force to be reckoned with, who easily matches up with the super team and even strikes fear into Uncle Sam himself.
Despite all that, Cyborg Overman's strength still isn't enough to stop a fully powered Uncle Sam. In Freedom Fighters #12, the two go toe to toe in one of the most one-sided fights in recent memory. Uncle Sam absolutely dominates Cybory Overman in the fight, and the fascist robot can't even lay a finger on Sam without injuring himself. After Sam gave Cyborg Overman the beatdown of a lifetime, he stands over his vanquished foe, the greatest weapon of the new Nazi regime, and crushes his metal skull with the heel of his star-spangled boot.
That moment offers a patriotic catharsis that the entire series has been building too, and it's repeated with the violent ends of Earth-X's other villains.
Elsewhere in the issue, the Human Bomb explodes to destroy a Nazi fortress and send Hitler III scurrying off to Argentina. As the young tyrant rests in his eerie castle and casually talking to the severed head of the original Hitler about his cruel experiments, his reign of terror comes to a definitive end when Black Condor uses his elastic powers to attack the young Hitler while he's in bed.
While Earth-X is still one of the darkest worlds in the regular DC Multiverse, moments like these add a glimmer of hope to the darkest timelines imaginable.