Gregori Arcane was a businessman living in the Balkan mountain region of Eastern Europe, where he raised his daughter Abigail as best he could. But he became the target of neighbors who considered him an unfit father. One day they took away his daughter, and Gregori wandered into a minefield leftover from World War II while searching for her. Gregori's mad scientist brother Anton Arcane gathered up the pieces of Gregori's body and sewed them back together. Through sorcery, Gregori was resurrected as the misshapen Patchwork Man. For years, Gregori was imprisoned in Anton's dungeons until he was inadvertently freed by the Swamp Thing, and sought out for his daughter, now an adult. Ultimately, Gregori sadly could not bear to allow Abigail to see his hideous form and remained in exile until he was reunited with his daughter and rendered into pieces caused by a severe storm.