Patriot (comics) - Patriot (Eli Bradley)

Patriot (Eli Bradley)

The second Marvel Universe character to use the name Patriot debuted in Young Avengers #1 (April 2005): Eli Bradley, grandson of Isaiah Bradley, the black Captain America. Isaiah had received his powers (in the limited series Truth: Red, White & Black) as part of an early Super Soldier Serum experiment tested on African-American men in an attempt reproduce the formula lost after being used to turn Steve Rogers into Captain America. Eli's mother was conceived before Isaiah's involvement with the experiment, however, so Eli could not have inherited his grandfather's powers genetically.

When Iron Lad began his search for the next generation of Avengers, he came to the Bradley household in search of Isaiah's son Josiah (Josiah X of The Crew). However, Josiah had been missing for several months, and Iron Lad met Eli instead. Eli claimed to have gained superpowers through an emergency blood transfusion from his grandfather, but this was untrue. He later gained his powers artificially with Mutant Growth Hormone (MGH), an illegal street drug that causes brief periods of superhuman abilities. MGH has been demonstrated to promote irascibility in individuals. Writer Allan Heinberg has stated that Bradley's drug usage is based on his own history, stating

Patriot became a founding member of the Young Avengers. The public believed his costume resembled that of Captain America's 1940s sidekick, Bucky, but he revealed that his costume is a redesign of his grandfather's. He has an adversarial relationship with teammate Hawkeye (Kate Bishop), who nonetheless gave him Captain America's original, star-spangled, triangular shield.

When the truth about Eli's lack of superpowers was revealed, Eli quit the team. He returned after Hulkling was kidnapped by the Super-Skrull, and the other Young Avengers convinced him he was the only one of them capable of leading the team, even without his powers. Patriot was later gravely wounded by a Kree warrior when he jumped in front of a blast meant for Captain America, and received a blood transfusion from his grandfather, Isaiah, which granted him the abilities afforded by the Super Soldier serum.

Eli joined Captain America's Secret Avengers during the "Civil War" storyline. Patriot led his team to assist the Runaways after they were attacked by the government. The Young Avengers and the Runaways worked together when two of their members were captured, and the Runaways decided to stay out of the mix in the war. Patriot managed to keep most of his team together, but Stature decided to join Iron Man's side.

Eli later seeks out the Winter Soldier (whom he had earlier met during the Civil War) to discuss the meaning of being a patriot at a time when he disagrees with registration and much of the way America is being run, and the two have a heartfelt chat about America as an idea and about the original Patriot, Jeffrey Mace.

During the "Secret Invasion" storyline, Eli and the other Young Avengers were the first team to respond to the Skrull invasion of Manhattan. Despite their valiant efforts, and the aid of the Initiative cadets, they are all beaten. However, they are saved by the timely arrival of Nick Fury and the Secret Warriors and help Earth's heroes defeat the Skrull invaders.

During the "Dark Reign" storyline, Eli was outraged when Norman Osborn formed his "official" team of Avengers and even more so when he announced a new team of Young Avengers. Eli's Young Avengers confront the latter and demand that they either join the first team of Young Avengers, or find another name for themselves.

Eli appears alongside the other Young Avengers in Avengers: Children's Crusade. He quits the group during the aftermath, feeling guilty for preventing the Scarlet Witch from undoing the near extinction of mutantkind she had caused.