Jeffrey Mace The first Patriot is
Jeffrey Mace. Created by writer Ray Gill and artist
Bill Everett, the character debuted in
The Human Torch # 4 (Spring 1941; numbered #3 on cover). Jeffrey Mace was a reporter who became a costumed adventurer after seeing
Steve Rogers / Captain America in action. He was later a member of the
World War II superhero team the
Liberty Legion. The Patriot himself later took on the mantle of Captain America.
Eli Bradley The second Patriot is
Eli Bradley. Created by writer
Allan Heinberg and artist
Jim Cheung, the character debuted in
Young Avengers #1 (April 2005). Eli Bradley is the grandson of
Isaiah Bradley, who gained powers similar to Captain America's as part of experimentation on African-American men in an attempt to reproduce the super-soldier serum that empowered Steve Rogers. Eli was conceived before Isaiah's involvement with the experiment and did not inherit his powers. When
Iron Lad begins searching for the next generation of
Avengers, he comes to the Bradley household in search of Isaiah's son,
Josiah. However, Josiah had been missing for several months, and Iron Lad encounters Eli instead. Eli claims to have gained superpowers through an emergency
blood transfusion from his grandfather, but this was untrue. He gained his powers artificially with Mutant Growth Hormone (MGH), an illegal street drug that briefly provides him superhuman abilities. Writer Allan Heinberg stated that Bradley's drug usage is based on his own history: Patriot becomes a founding member of the
Young Avengers. He has an adversarial relationship with teammate
Hawkeye, who nonetheless gave him Captain America's original star-spangled triangular
shield. When the truth about Eli's powers is revealed, Eli quits the Young Avengers. He returns after
Hulkling is kidnapped by the
Super-Skrull; the other Young Avengers convince him that he is the only one capable of leading the team, even without powers. Patriot is later gravely wounded by a
Kree warrior after taking a blast meant for Captain America. He receives a
blood transfusion from his grandfather, Isaiah, which granted him the abilities afforded by the Super-Soldier Serum. Eli joins Captain America's Secret Avengers during the 2006 - 2007 "
Civil War" storyline. Patriot leads 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 events of "Civil War", to discuss the nature of patriotism at a time when he disagrees with the Superhero Registration Act, and much of the way America is being governed. The two have a heartfelt conversation about America as an idea and about the original Patriot, Jeffrey Mace. During the 2008 "
Secret Invasion" storyline, Eli and the other Young Avengers are the first team to respond to the
Skrull invasion of
Manhattan. Despite their efforts and the aid of the
Initiative cadets, they are all defeated. 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 2008 - 2009 "
Dark Reign" storyline, Eli is outraged when
Norman Osborn forms his "official" team of Avengers and even more so when he announces
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. Near the end of the issue, Hawkeye (Kate Bishop) admits her love for Eli after he breaks his hand, to which he responds 'I may break my hand everyday', making their relationship clear after a few months of dating. Eli appears alongside the other Young Avengers in ''Avengers: Children's Crusade''. He ultimately leaves the group at the end of the story, feeling guilty for preventing the
Scarlet Witch from undoing the near-extinction of
mutantkind that she had previously caused in the 2005
"Decimation" storyline.
Young Avengers Throughout
Young Avengers Vol. 2, written by
Kieron Gillen, and launched in January 2013 as part of the
Marvel Now! rebranding line, the titular team is haunted by a new multiversal Patriot, who captures
Speed.
Prodigy believes that this Patriot is the transformed version of one of the Young Avengers from the future and traveled backwards in time to ensure that his future comes to pass. Guessing that Patriot may be himself, Prodigy kisses him, causing Patriot to vanish and Speed to reappear in his place.
Rayshaun Lucas The third Patriot is
Rayshaun Lucas. Created by writer
Nick Spencer and artist
Daniel Acuña, the character debuted in
Captain America: Sam Wilson #18 (January 2017). In March 2017, Marvel Comics announced a new superhero using the codename Patriot would be introduced in the 2017 "
Secret Empire" storyline. Rayshaun Lucas is a teen activist who idolizes
Sam Wilson. Lucas is living in Brooklyn with his mother when Wilson releases footage showing that
Rage has been wrongfully accused of burglary and savagely beaten by the
Americops. Following Rage's unjust conviction, Lucas paints his face to resemble Rage's mask and participates in riots in New York City. After Wilson resigns as Captain America, Lucas removes his facepaint and begins designing a costume that he calls the Patriot. After discovering Lucas's conceptual designs for the Patriot suit,
Black Widow gives the designs to an A.I. based on
Tony Stark, who in turn builds the suit. After trying to stop a group of bullies from taking an iPad from a little girl, Lucas gets beaten. Afterwards, the Tony Stark A.I. calls Lucas and gives him the suit that he made for him, explaining that Lucas gave him hope again and that the suit is a way to thank him for that. Lucas trains with an A.I. version of the Black Widow that the Tony Stark A.I. made and eventually confronts the bullies while he wears the suit and defeats them, giving the girl her iPad back.
Miles Morales and
Joaquin Torres tell Lucas that they heard about him and that they are looking forward to having him on their team. ==Powers and abilities==