Everytown, USA

Everytown is probably the most quintessential Quality Comics location after Blackhawk Island. It’s the closest thing Quality Comics had to a “superhero city” like Gotham or Metropolis, and it was watched over by none less than Uncle Sam.

Debuting in Uncle Sam Quarterly 1, Everytown was the hometown of Uncle Sam and was prominently featured in one of the best Uncle Sam stories, one that inspired the phenomenal Alex Ross Uncle Sam miniseries. In it, a gang of 5th columnists known as the Steel Helmets work with fake news (some things never change, right?) to frame Uncle Sam as a villain. The population of Everytown turns on Sam, and their lack of faith in him robs him of his superstrength and then forces him to fade away and go to a Limbo-esque environment where beings people no longer believe in reside. In my Eternal Universe project, this is a section of the wider Mists of Eternity, you know, that place Kid Eternity summons his historical and legendary figures from.

Yeah, the Mists of Eternity are going to be a SOM deck one day.

The Steel Helmets capitalize on Sam’s absence by taking over Washington, but Uncle Sam’s kid sidekick Buddy convinces enough folks to believe in Sam to bring him back from the Mists of Eternity and he mops up the Steel Helmets. Moral of the story: even the most perfect Rockwellian community can be turned into rabid lunatics ready to tear the head off of the greatest American hero thanks to fake news, but by the same token, the truth will always come to light, in the end.

After Uncle Sam Quarterly 1, Everytown was only sporadically featured in the magazine and Uncle Sam’s other magazine National Comics. Uncle Sam was very much an “over there” type of superhero and spent most of his time fighting the Axis abroad.

For the Eternal Universe, I made Everytown the idyllic residence of Quality’s various non-superhero, non-crime fighter characters, especially if they shared a magazine with Sam. From National Comics, I granted Everytown citizenship to Dan “Kid” Dixon, a boxer character (boxer comics were a big genre back in the day, with Joe Palooka being the reigning champ of the genre), Lassie, a “misbehaving brat with a good heart” character in the vein of Dennis the Menace, and the Kid Patrol, Quality’s take on the “kid gang” concept that was pioneered by Our Gang and best known to comic fans through Jack Kirby’s Newsboy Legion. Citizens from Uncle Sam Quarterly include Sven Golly, a well-meaning but bumbling janitor who reminds me a little of Yani, janitor, and the hillbillies from Shootin’ Creek (golden age comics had a strange fascination with hillbillies that predates the Beverly Hillbillies by decades).

The “American Kids” are not from an Uncle Sam book. Rather, they’re from Candy, one of Quality’s Archie-clone books (they also had Gabby and Jonesy). Featured in the card art are the titular Candy O’Connor, her sometimes boyfriend and various random teenagers.

Sentinels of the Multiverse Deck

The idea here is to present an environment deck that is very hero-sided. Most of the cards directly help the heroes, and the Steel Helmets are very straightforward threats that mostly run interference for all the help the good guys are getting, and if you want it even easier, you can replace the Steel Helmets and run the “Thriving Everytown” variant.

If you’re having trouble beating a villain, stop trying to take them Downtown, take them Everytown where heroes are always welcomed–until someone lies in the press about them. Even the most unviable, non-synergystic teams can stand a good chance at winning with the civilians of Everytown backing them.

Civilians (6)

Policemen (1)

8 HP

All Civilians are Heroes.

Player Heroes may redirect damage dealt to Policemen to themselves.

Player Heroes may redirect damage deal to themselves to Policemen.

At the end of the turn, Policemen deals 1 projectile damage to all villain targets.

They don’t have the experience the cops in Kearns City have, but they have the guts.

–Police Chief Sally O’Neil

Firemen (1)

4 HP

All Civilians are Heroes.

Heroes may redirect damage dealt to this card to themselves.

At the end of the turn, Firemen heals all hero targets 1 or Firemen destroys 1 ongoing or equipment.

How can we help?

Workmen (1)

4 HP

All Civilians are Heroes.

Heroes may redirect damage dealt to this card to themselves.

At the end of the turn, all Heroes draw a card or all heroes move 1 equipment or device from the trash to their hand.

I don’t have the slightest clue how your gear works, mister, but my boys can weld, screw, and rivet with the best of them. You need the holes in your thingamajig patched they’re patched.

Kid Patrol (1)

2 HP

All Civilians are Heroes.

Heroes may redirect damage dealt to this card to themselves.

At the end of the turn, increase damage dealt to villain targets by 1 until the start of the environment turn or reveal the top two cards of the villain deck, discarding one and placing the other on top.

Don’t underestimate them. Kids see more, hear more, and do more than you think. Why, Buddy here has outwitted the best the Axis could throw at him!

–Uncle Sam

American Kids (1)

6 HP

All Civilians are Heroes.

Heroes may redirect damage dealt to this card to themselves.

At the end of the turn, search the deck for a Civilian card, then put it into play and shuffle the deck, or 1 hero uses a power and plays a card.

“Hey, superheroes! All us kids got together and we think we have a plan to save the town but uh, have you seen my little brother and his friends by any chance?”

–Candy O’Connor

Sven Golly (1)

3 HP

All Civilians are Heroes.

Heroes may redirect damage dealt to this card to themselves.

At the end of the turn, one hero may draw a card or discard a card.

Sometimes, all it takes is a single good man in the right place to tip the scales.

–Uncle Sam

One-Shots (4)

We Believe in You! (1)

Heal all heroes X, where X is the number of Civilians in play.

Flip all defeated heroes and heal them X+1.

Until the start of the next environment turn, decrease damage dealt to heroes by 1 and increase damage dealt to villains by 1.

No hero ever fights alone.

Uncle Sam’s Town (1)

Draw until 2 Civilians are revealed. Put them into play, discarding all other revealed cards.

My uncle told me any town can be Everytown.

–Buddy

We’ll Help You! (1)

Deal X melee damage to all villain targets, where X equals the number of Civilians in play.

Hey! Get your hands off our superheroes!

American Spirit (1)

All heroes may draw a card, play a card, and use a power.

It’s my kind of town!

–Uncle Sam

Steel Helmets (5)

Steel Helmets (3)

10 HP

This card is a villain card.

Civilian cards have no text.

At the end of the turn, Steel Helmets deals 1 melee and 1 projectile damage to all non-Civilian Heroes, then Steel Helmets deals the Civilian with the lowest HP 2 melee damage.

My Uncle and I busted them up back in the 40’s, but their kind just has a way of always coming back.  Who they hate changes, but it’s the same hate as before, and the same violence.

–Buddy

Fake News (2)

Ongoing

This card is a villain card.

This card cannot be destroyed by environment cards.

Only one Civilian card has text each turn.

As Barnum once said, you can fool some of the people, some of the time, but you can’t fool all the people, all the time

–Uncle Sam

Thriving Everytown Alts (5)

For an Everytown that’s even easier on the heroes (hey, sometimes you need all the help you can get against some of the villain decks!) remove the Steel Helmets from the deck and put in these cards.

We Believe in You! (1)

Uncle Sam’s Town (1)

Kid Dixon (1)

6 HP

Civilian

All Civilians are Heroes.

Heroes may redirect damage dealt to this card to themselves.

At the end of the turn, deal the villain target with the highest HP 2 melee damage and one hero may use a power.

I’ve never been one to back down from a fight, even if the odds are against me. Hey hero! I’ll be the one, you be the two, okay?

Yokels From Shootin’ Creek (1)

4 HP

Civilian

All Civilians are Heroes.

Heroes may redirect damage dealt to this card to themselves.

At the end of the turn, deal the villain target with the most HP 1 projectile damage, the villain target with the lest HP 1 melee damage, and one hero draws a card.

If ya’ll need more help, Shootin’ Creek ain’t but a mile from Everytown!

Lassie (1)

2 HP

Civilian

All Civilians are Heroes.

Heroes may redirect damage dealt to this card to themselves.

When Lassie is played, draw until a Civilian is revealed and put the Civilian into play, discarding all other cards revealed this way.

It’s okay Mr. Hero, I know he’s too big for us to beat by ourselves, so I brought friends!