Patch Was the Best Version of Wolverine, Fight Me

Wolverine‘s secret identity Patch is something of a joke to certain comic fans. Wolverine is one of Marvel’s most storied characters, so the thought of him using an eyepatch to hide his identity has felt dumb to a lot of fans. Secret identities haven’t been cool since the readers’ age ranges changed and Patch is one that seems ridiculous. It’s just Wolverine with an eyepatch; he still uses his claws, when he’s not in his white tux, he still wears the same kind of clothes he always did, he even hangs out with people like Spider-Woman Jessica Drew who call him Logan. Wolverine is the best there is at what he does, but apparently subtlety isn’t one of those things. However, I would say that this is the entirely wrong way to look at Patch. Patch is, in fact, awesome and always has been. Patch is the best version of the ol’Canucklehead.

Wolverine has a lot of demons, and he exorcises them by going to Madripoor, drinking, gambling, and fighting as many people as he possibly can. Madripoor is one of the best settings for a character like Wolverine ever: a hive of scum and villainy full of corrupt officials, powerful crimelords, a million drunken henchmen unmatched in the Marvel Universe. Madripoor was an amazing addition to the Wolverine mythos. His time as Patch is one of his best eras, and it’s time people stop making fun of Patch.

Patch Is the Most Wolverine Thing Ever

Wolverine had been coming to Madripoor for decades by the time it’s introduced in the comics. When he went there, he went by Patch, hanging around the Princess Bar, where he worked with Seraph (he also ended up working with Madame Hyrda herself, Viper.) Wolverine was always Patch when he went to Madripoor. I think one of the things that people forget about Wolverine back then is that he did have a secret identity. Wolverine’s costume has a full facemask, and while he’s kind of inconspicuous, you can’t prove who he is just from looking at him. You could have an idea, but there was no way to be sure. Looking at it from that perspective, Patch is actually a pretty good secret identity. The people of Madripoor had never known him as anything else, so him being Patch while he was there made sense. He’d dress up in his nice white tux, and take his vacation in Madripoor. Of course, for Wolverine, vacations meant doing the things he always he did, just with more drinking. All of the people calling Patch a bad secret identity don’t really know all that much about Wolverine and his history. Wolverine has always had a secret identity; in fact, looking at the fact that he was known as Patch in Madripoor, he’s had more than one.

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Where Patch really shines, though, are the stories. Wolverine took his trip to Madripoor during the days of the Outback era. The X-Men had saved the world on national TV from the Adversary in Dallas, and faked their death by using the Siege Perilous. They came out in the Australian Outback, and took over a Reaver base as their home. They did everything they could to make the world believe that the X-Men were dead — the Siege Perilous even made it so that they couldn’t be detected through electronic means. Wolverine’s trips to Madripoor as Patch was how he unwound, leaving behind his fighting togs, and getting to be as close to a civilian as he could possibly get. The Wolverine stories of this era, especially all of the Chris Claremont/John Buscema issues of Wolverine (Vol. 2) and anything set in Madripoor written by Larry Hama, are amazing. Claremont builds up the supporting cast of Madripoor — the Prince, General Coy, Tyger Tyger, Roughhouse, Bloodscream, Chief Tai, Lindsay McCabe, Jessica Drew — and establishes the tone. The Patch Wolverine stories are exciting action yarns set in outlaw territory, with Wolverine navigating the island’s complicated web of corruption and slicing away the worst parts of it. He even wears his super cool, super simple black costume that most Wolverine fans don’t even know exists. Claremont and Buscema are sensational together, giving the island a feel that’s all its own. This is Wolverine away from the all the supervillains and sci-fi insanity of the X-Men; it’s the character in his rawest, perfect form.

Patch Wolverine Stories Are Perfect for Fans Who Want the Steak and the Sizzle

Wolverine stories can get pretty crazy. Between the mental manipulations, the sci-fi, the superhero insanity, his overamped healing factor, and a million other tiny things, a lot of Wolverine stories can be a bit much. However, the Patch Wolverine stories are different. They’re more grounded — well, grounded in the way that a story about an immortal with unbreakable skeleton and claws on a corrupt island nation where he regularly takes on armies of heavily armed thugs can be, but you get the point — and they’re just plain fun. This is one of the best eras of Wolverine for a reason.

A problem with modern Wolverine is that nothing ever really feels dangerous anymore. He’s so skilled and his healing factor is so good that there’s really no stakes for any of his fights. He has so much back-up, it’s not funny. That wasn’t the case as Patch. These stories have a sense of danger to them, and it really helps them excel. Patch is the quintessential version of Wolverine, a back to basics version of the character that is always fun. Recent years have seen Patch return in the Wolverine: Patch miniseries by Hama (the best Wolverine writer ever) and Andrea Di Vito, and it was an awesome reminder of what Wolverine used to be. There was also Wolverine: Madripoor Knights, from Claremont and Edgar Salazar, but that was mostly just a Madripoor story. However, a lot of people did call him Patch, so I’ll count it. For the best Patch stories, get Wolverine (Vol. 2) #1-10, and you’ll understand. This is Wolverine at his best, and that’s all there is to it.

What do you think of Wolverine as Patch? Sound off in the comments below.