Marvel Comics Just Proved Superman’s Biggest Criticism Totally Wrong

One of the biggest criticisms of Superman is that his identity remains a secret despite just putting on a pair of glasses. Clark Kent is a big muscular guy, just like Superman. Surely someone must make the connection between the two when Clark’s glasses are off. But there’s a Marvel character who keeps a secret identity with an even more ridiculous accessory.

Wolverine is by far one of the busiest characters in the Marvel universe. He’s been a regular member of both the X-Men and the Avengers, as well as several other teams. But sometimes he needs to go off grid and into his own adventures. When Logan wants to take a break he heads to the notoriously dangerous island of Madripoor. Once there, he assumes the identity of a nightclub owner named Patch. Legendary Marvel Comics and Wolverine writer Larry Hama teamed up with artist Andrea Di Vito to revisit this time in Logan’s life that first appeared decades ago in the new limited series Wolverine: Patch.

The miniseries’ first issue is a perfect example of how Wolverine doesn’t really do much to assume the Patch moniker. He puts on a suit and an eye patch. That’s pretty much it. He still talks the same, has the same haircut, and still has the same physical appearance. He’s really short and hairy, not to mention the adamantium claws he uses. For a famous mutant who’s well known throughout the underworld, putting on an eye patch isn’t all that much, especially when considering the glasses that Clark Kent puts on to hide the fact that he’s Superman. Wolverine definitely has a much more distinguished look, so if people don’t recognize him as Patch then it certainly gets Clark Kent off the hook for people not recognizing him as Superman just by taking off his glasses.

Of course, fans have come up with alternate explanations to justify Clark Kent’s lazy disguise. There have been theories that Superman actually has the ability to project himself as an ordinary person, so when people are looking at Clark they aren’t really looking at the same person they see when they see Superman. There’s also the idea that Superman’s bright costume is the disguise that distracts people from actually looking at his generic face. But these are all excuses made to justify a character that was created at a time when not much thought was put into the superhero/secret identity conundrum.

Wolverine’s Patch is a relatively newer creation compared to the almost hundred-year-old Superman. Patch’s first appearance was in 1988. So if a modern Wolverine can disguise himself with a simple accessory in a criminal underworld that has surely heard of him, then it definitely proves Superman‘s crazy identity criticism wrong.

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