Wolverine has had many names over his long life: James, Logan, Weapon X – but his alias Patch has more versatility than most, and now is immortalized in a terrific cosplay. Patch might be an absurd identity for Wolverine on the face of it, but it’s a demonstration of how well Logan fits in different books, with different tones and genres, and above all else it is a great look, as this cosplay exemplifies.
Cosplayer Batsturd (@batsturd) has created the perfect Patch cosplay. Wolverine’s Patch persona was introduced 1988’s Wolverine Vol 2 #1 – written by iconic X-franchise writer Chris Claremont – and in the following issue, it was established that Patch was a familiar face in the island nation of Madripoor’s Lowtown.
Logan’s Patch disguise was – as its name suggests – essentially just an eyepatch, though he often opted for a white suit to add to the look, in what would become the character’s defining style. During this first adventure, Logan operated as Patch because the X-Men had faked their deaths; it ultimately became an alias he returned to time and again.
Patch Was A Memorable New Identity For Logan
With the requisite eyepatch and hair slicked up to imitate Patch’s, Batsturd is the spitting image of Madripoor’s most mysterious hero, who of course, only happens to bear the slightest resemblance to the superheroic X-Man known as Logan. Batsturd wears the white suit from the hero’s fancier adventures, and tops of the look with a cigar, which Wolverine – as Patch, Logan, and more or less every version of himself – smoked constantly before then-Marvel Editor-in-Chief Joe Quasada instituted a ban on smok
ing in Marvel Comics in 2001. This Patch cosplay wonderfully pays tribute to Wolverine’s most memorable alternate persona.
One of the best things about Logan’s Patch disguise is that it’s essentially Superman’s identity as Clark Kent taken extremely literally. The common joke about Superman is that his only disguise as Clark Kent is literally a pair of glasses, and while numerous comics have proven that he does more than that, Patch is the idea played completely straight. Why are Patch and Wolverine clearly different people? Well Patch wears an eyepatch (it’s in the name). Unlike Superman, Logan doesn’t really act any differently as Patch than he does as Wolverine, so it’s a very funny small miracle that so many characters just don’t recognize him.
Patch Displays Wolverine’s Versatility As A Character
Logan’s stories as Patch highlight just how adaptable Wolverine is as a character. As Patch, Logan is less a superhero and more a character from a pulp story. He still faces his share of supervillains, but he’s also fighting gangsters and modern pirates. He’s action hero and noir detective in one, drawn into seedy underworlds where everyone’s out to get him. Wolverine’s versatility is one of the reasons he’s remained consistently popular for so long; he can just as easily slot into a neo-Western as he does an espionage thriller featuring Weapon X as he does a straightforward superhero romp with the X-Men.
