The Patchwork Man
68 years ago - Gregori Arcane is born to the Arcane family.
49 years ago - 19-year-old Gregori Arcane is engaged to his future wife Anise.
46 years ago - 22-year-old Gregori Arcane marries his wife Anise. She first meets his brother Anton Arcane.
41 years ago - 27-year-old Gregori Arcane's daughter Abigail Arcane is born. His brother Anton Arcane has his wife Anise condemned for witchcraft and burned at the stake. Gregori is sent to prison, and Anton gets custody of Abigail.
37 years ago - 31-year-old Gregori Arcane is released on parole, and is granted custody of his daughter Abigail Arcane.
22 years ago - 46-year-old Gregori Arcane discovers the experiments of his brother Anton Arcane, who engineers his supposed death in an explosion, and rebuilds him as the Patchwork Man. His sightings lead to an investigation by S.H.A.D.E. Agent Matthew Cable. His daughter Abigail Arcane stops Cable from destroying him. They discover his origin, and destroy Arcane's labs. He sacrifices himself to save them, falling to his death.
The Patchwork Man's StoryThe Patchwork Man is one of the monsters introduced in the pages of the original run of Swamp Thing, specifically in issue #3, where we first met Abigail Arcane, the niece of the mad scientist Anton Arcane from the previous issue. The story essentially serves as a retelling of Frankenstein's monster, but with the inclusion of a giant American swamp monster.
While in practice, the Patchwork Man is really just one more reimagining of a classic monster from a series full of them, he's also very important because he's the father of Abigail, the love interest of one of DC's most important heroes. He's a tragic figure, killed by his evil brother and twisted by his sinister mad science into a hulking brute who is then endlessly chased by local villagers until he ultimately sacrifices himself to save his daughter Abigail. Outside of a single standalone story in House of Secrets #140 in 1976, The Patchwork Man really only shows up again in a MUCH later issue of Swamp Thing, close to the end of Moore's run. , Now falling apart so much he looks even more hideous, lost in his memories of his life from before he was made into a monster as he endlessly plays with retched dolls he finds. It's a story more for Abigail, as she confronts the reality of her own life and all the tragedy that has befallen her. For our story, we are making a version of the original story that brought Abigail and Matthew Cable together, and the Patchwork Man is the catalyst for that meeting. |