History Main / EyepatchAfterTimeskip

* In ''Literature/NightWatchDiscworld'', hard-bitten copper Sam Vimes is sent thirty years into the past of [[Literature/{{Discworld}} Ankh-Morpork]] and ends up fighting for his life alongside his thirty-years-younger self. He recieves a vicious scarring cut to his face and ends up wearing an eyepatch; this stays with him when he returns to his correct time.

* In ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4'', subverted, with both the Solid Snake, and Raiden, which takes places 5 years (2014 Metal Gear Timeline) after the events of ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2SonsOfLiberty''. Snake receives an Eyepatch device developed/stolen by Otacon and Sunny called the Solid Eye early in the game, but it's actually a multipurpose Eyepiece that acts as Monocular with variable zoom, and also works as a Enhanced Night Vision Goggle (ENVG), as well as Augmented Reality (AR) functions all built into it, and apparently, also has been designed to act as a corrective lens for Far-sightedness. Raiden, sports two of these Solid Eyes for both of his eyes, and works also with his visor face plate combo. Their eyes however are fine making them more [[EyepatchOfPower Eyepatches of Power]].... which is more than can be said for the rest of the rest of [[CloneDegeneration their]] [[CyberneticsEatYourSoul bodies]]. [[CrapsackWorld Or the rest of the world for that matter]]

* Dimitri from ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses'' gains an eyepatch after 5 years in all routes apart from Edelgard's route, in which he is able to ascend to the throne of Fhirdiad instead of becoming a fugitive. In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemWarriorsThreeHopes'', Dimitri becomes king after defeating his uncle, and his post-timeskip appearance does not include the eyepatch.

** Not a time skip, but in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS7E4Inferno Inferno]]", Brigade-Leader Lethbridge-Stewart, the AlternativeUniverse version of TheBrigadier, has an eypatch (and no moustache).

* In the epilogue of ''Manga/{{Hellsing}}'', Integra is wearing an eyepatch over the eye she injured while fighting the Major.
* [[spoiler:Asuka]] gained one for ''[[Anime/RebuildOfEvangelion Evangelion 3.0]]'', [[spoiler:which takes place 14 years after ''2.0'']]. Mildly played with, in that we ''probably'' saw her lose the eye in ''2.0'', but before the TimeSkip she was shown with [[BandagedFace a whole load of bandages over that side of her face]] instead of the EyepatchOfPower she sports afterwards. ([[Administrivia/TropesAreFlexible Close enough.]]) [[spoiler: Then again, one scene hints [[GlowingEyes she still has the eye.]]]]

* A variation is used in ''Manga/OnePiece''. After the timeskip, Zoro is in fact missing an eye, but so far hasn't been seen to use an eyepatch. How he lost his eye has yet to be explained. Interestingly enough, ''One Piece'' (a series about pirates) has managed to run 700+ chapters without a ''single'' character wearing an eyepatch. WordOfGod is that this is being saved for a character who will appear near the end of the series. Whether this will be a new character or an existing character (ie. Zoro) who just has yet to start wearing an eyepatch is unknown.

* In the manga version of ''Anime/BloodC'', Fumito shoots Saya in her left eye as he escapes the town. One year after, Saya arrives in Tokyo with her eye covered with a bandage. However when she's in Watanuki's shop, she removes it revealing that her eye is fully healed thanks to her regenerative abilities as [[OurVampiresAreDifferent an Elder Bairns]].
* ''Manga/MoriartyThePatriot'' plays with this: William reappears after the three-year TimeSkip with an eyepatch he'd never been seen before wearing, but a glimpse of a potentially nasty eye injury was shown before his re-appearance from Sherlock's narration.

[[folder:Comic Strips]]
* ''ComicStrip/PhoebeAndHerUnicorn'': While not commented on, [[https://www.gocomics.com/phoebe-and-her-unicorn/2023/04/17 future Marigold]] wears an eyepatch upon meeting her past self to take her to the time museum.
[[/folder]]

* ComicBook/NickFury gained his EyepatchOfPower during the two-decade time skip that turned him from a Howling Commando into an Agent of SHIELD.
* [[Comicbook/CaptainAmerica Colonel America]] of Comicbook/{{The Defenders}} in ''{{Comicbook/Age Of Ultron}}''.

* The CrisisCrossover ''ComicBook/InfiniteCrisis'' was followed by a TimeSkip called One Year Later. Afterwards, Alan Scott, the original ComicBook/GreenLantern, was sporting an eyepatch (''under'' his domino mask, for some reason). The series ''ComicBook/FiftyTwo'', which occured during the missing year and filled in a lot of the gaps, explained that Alan lost his eye (And the eye he has left is not even his own) in the massive teleportation disaster that swept up many of Earths heroes at the climax of the Crisis. Creator commentary in ''Fifty Two'' reveals that they also felt that the idea of wearing an eyepatch ''and'' a mask was ridiculous.
* In the comics continuation of ''WesternAnimation/{{Gargoyles}}'', Brooklyn comes back from his 40 year time dance with a wife, egg, kid, beast and an eyepatch. No official story on how that happened.

* Spike has acquired one for some reason in the short for Issue #4 of ''ComicBook/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicIDW'', even though both his eyes clearly work fine in the last panel. Perhaps he just felt [[RuleOfCool it looked cool]].
* ''ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogArchieComics'': When Sonic returned from his year away from Space a number of characters had changed since the time skip. Dr. Quack was the one sporting an eye-patch, having stepped on a land-mine in the field and retiring from duty.

* Hans in ''Fanfic/PerfectDiamondWorld'' has an eyepatch a decade after ''Frozen''. He lost his eye and now has a huge scar going from his eye to his scalp.

[[folder:Films -- Animation]]

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]

* ''Series/DoctorWho'' In "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS32E13TheWeddingOfRiverSong The Wedding of River Song]]" [[spoiler: Amy Pond]] and her army appear with them after time goes [[TimeyWimeyBall wibbly-wobbly]]. Subverted in that they all have two working eyes; the patches contain tech which allows them to "remember" the Silence.
* Beric Dondarrion of ''Series/GameOfThrones'' gains an eyepatch between his first appearance in season 1, when sent on a mission to arrest [[PsychoForHire Gregor]] [[GiantMook Clegane]], and his reappearance in season 3, as a battle-scared RebelLeader. He also [[TheOtherDarrin changes actors between appearances]] (from an extra to a substantive role).
* On ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'', the character Martok is introduced at the beginning of season 4; season 5 reveals him to actually be a shapeshifter impersonating Martok. When real Martok is found and rescued, he is missing an eye.
* In the original 1992-3 airings of ''Series/TheYoungIndianaJonesChronicles'', there were [[FramingDevice opening and closing bookends]] set in the present day (that is, the 1990s). These featured a wizened 93-year-old Franchise/IndianaJones (played by George Hall), who sported a patch over his right eye, and a pair of glasses over the eyepatch. He also had a long vertical facial scar trailing out from under the patch. No explanation was ever offered for how Indy had lost an eye. The "time skip" element comes into play because Creator/HarrisonFord's Indy of course still has both eyes in the film series, set in the 1930s. These contemporary bookends were later all cut out when [[ReCut George Lucas re-edited the show]] into ''The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones'' in the later part of the decade.
* ''Series/ZNation'': After the TimeSkip between Seasons 3 and 4, Addie is now wearing an eyepatch to cover a missing eye. How she lost it is never explained.

* In ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4'', subverted, with both the Solid Snake, and Raiden, which takes places 5 years (2014 Metal Gear Timeline) after the events of ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2SonsOfLiberty''. Snake receives an Eyepatch device developed/stolen by Otacon and Sunny called the Solid Eye early in the game, but it's actually a multipurpose Eyepiece that acts as Monocular with variable zoom, and also works as a Enhanced Night Vision Goggle (ENVG), as well as Augmented Reality (AR) functions all built into it, and apparently, also has been designed to act as a corrective lens for Far-sightedness. Raiden, sports two of these Solid Eyes for both of his eyes, and works also with his visor face plate combo. Their eyes however are fine making them more [[EyepatchOfPower Eyepatches of Power]].... which is more than can be said for the rest of the rest of [[CloneDegeneration their]] [[CyberneticsEatYourSoul bodies]]. [[CrapsackWorld Or the rest of the world for that matter]]
* Played a bit more straighter though in ''VideoGame/MetalGearRisingRevengeance''. Raiden is shown in the prologue of having gotten better after the events of the previous game and received a more human like cyborg body, but at the end of the prologue, has his left eye sliced out by Jetstream Sam's katana, and loses his left arm again. After a few week time skip, we're introduced to the game proper, and Raiden has received an upgraded cyborg body, featuring what appears to be a cloth strip eye patch over his left eye. Of course, it too also acts as an EyepatchOfPower as it's actually an "artificial compound eye unit" that's basically top of the line device that greatly enhances Raiden's vision... Raiden's PMC, Maverick Security, and the Cybernetics expert Wilhelm "Doktor" Voigt just didn't have time to turn it into an actual human style eye thus giving it the eye patch appearance.

* ''VideoGame/TheNightOfTheRabbit'' does this, after a fashion: [[spoiler: a character encountered by the protagonist turns out to actually just be a ''memory'' of the person before they underwent a FaceHeelTurn, meaning that the character is presented as their past self. The "real" version of the character, seen in TheStinger, has acquired an eyepatch between the time of that memory and the present.]]
* In the first case of ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneyDualDestinies'', which takes place a year after the previous game, we see that Apollo is covered in various bandages and has an eyepatch over one eye. We are initially led to believe that he obtained these injuries during the courtroom bombing that your client is being accused of, [[spoiler:but he still has the eyepatch in Case 4, which takes place even further in the past. It's ultimately revealed that his lie-detector vision was going crazy whenever Athena talked about the case (due to her attempting to hide her involvement with the space program), and he covered his eye in order to prevent himself from sensing her tells.]]
* In ''VideoGame/{{Bugsnax}}'', when you finally meet Eggabell in person (after having only seen her in videos), she's wearing an eyepatch. [[spoiler:This goes unnoticed and unexplained until she explains it to Lizbert. Turns out she only got pink eye.]]
* In ''VideoGame/SlapCity'', one of VideoGame/IttleDew's skins is an "old" version of her with grey hair, a few wrinkles, and an eyepatch.
* Dimitri from ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses'' gains an eyepatch after 5 years in all routes apart from Edelgard's route, in which he is able to ascend to the throne of Fhirdiad instead of becoming a fugitive. In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemWarriorsThreeHopes'', Dimitri becomes king after defeating his uncle, and his post-timeskip appearance does not include the eyepatch.

* ''Webcomic/LatchkeyKingdom'': Debbie Hives has taken to wearing an eyepatch between her appearances in ''Webcomic/SeventySeas'' and ''Latchkey Kingdom''. She wears it because she's ComicallyCrossEyed like the character she was parodying.
* ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'': Lampshaded. After an unexpected three months go by [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0502.html we return to find out the bard Elan is wearing a patch]]. However, after an annoyed Hinjo pulls it off, it's revealed that he's only wearing it to look mysterious.
* ''Webcomic/SchlockMercenary'': During a particularly convoluted bit of flashbacking-and-flashforwarding we meet up with part of the crew after a gap of weeks, to find trusty floating robot Ennesby wearing a patch bolted over one optical sensor. [[spoiler:It's easily fixed once they get their engineer back from the dead.]]

* ''{{Webcomic/Sarilho}}'': While the timeskip between chapters is pretty short, Nikita wears one as a direct consequence of his battle wounds in chapter four.
* ''Webcomic/{{SSDD}}'': The future version of Norman has a prosthetic eye and is missing his signature buck teeth. Historical footage of the early days of his revolution show him with an eyepatch.
* ''Webcomic/JoeLovesCrappyMovies'': Used as a RunningGag whenever a future version of Joe appears. Joe also did a series of bonus sketches showing possible ways he lost the eye (the most popular one being him having donated it to his wife).
* ''Webcomic/{{Yamara}}'': [[http://yamara.com/2006/07/20/dickory-dock/ One strip]] does double duty on eyepatch cliches; not only does the character's future self show up wearing one, she acquired it after going off to be a time pirate. (Well. Time privateer. Close enough.)
* ''Webcomic/MutantNinjaTurtlesGaiden'' follows its inspiration by having this happen to Raphael.

* ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'': This happens to [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20191220#.XzPrqzV7mUk the unnamed character]] who passes Agatha's message dingbot to Dr Francisca Monahan. She had both eyes at around the time Agatha was escaping from Martellus, and a patch over a scar at some point after it had become public knowledge that Agatha was not trapped in Mechanicsburg.

* In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/ReBoot'', Dot wakes up in a BadFuture where a teenage Enzo has a scar over his right eye, though it turns out it was AllADream. Later, little Enzo loses his right eye in a game of [[Franchise/MortalKombat Immortal Konflict]] and after a time skip an adult Enzo Matrix has an artificial right eye.
* In ''WesternAnimation/DannyPhantom'''s second movie, ''WesternAnimation/TheUltimateEnemy'', the future [[HarmlessVillain Box Ghost]] has an eyepatch and a HookHand primarily to show he's not as much of a pushover any more.
* An extra in the "A Sitch In Time" DVD shows the future WesternAnimation/KimPossible as Dr. Director's successor, sporting an eyepatch as Dr. Director does in the present. Maybe it's part of the uniform.
* The ''{{WesternAnimation/Gargoyles}}'' episode "Future Tense" has a variant: future!Broadway is blind.
* Parodied in ''WesternAnimation/FutureWorm'' by giving the titular worm's future counterpart, [[RepetitiveName Future-Future-Worm]], an eyepatch over his visor.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Ninjago}}'': The ice maze in the First Spinjitzu Master's tomb alters the ninja's reflections to show their future-selves. Kai resembles his father, Zane is wearing a different robe, Cole doesn't have a reflection, and Jay has an eyepatch. Cole and Jay's reflections get realized in the next arc, where Cole learns to turn invisible and Jay gets beat up by pirates.

* Even ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' utilizes this trope in the episode "It's About Time". Twilight Sparkle encounters a future version of herself sporting a skintight suit, a bandanna, an eyepatch, and a scar on her cheek. [[spoiler:These are actually a SpyCatsuit, a bandage, a therapeutic eyepatch, and a paper cut, respectively. The eyepatch in this case was from being [[BlindedByTheSun blinded by looking at the Sun through a telescope]]]].
** And then in the season five finale, a brief shot of an [[BadFuture alternate timeline]] shows us Rainbow Dash with an eye scar, torn ear, and metal wing. This is played dead serious, unlike the previous example: It's part of a WarIsHell montage.
* Moe Szyslak has an eyepatch in ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' episode "Lisa's Wedding" when Lisa gets her future foretold.

* In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/ReBoot'', Dot wakes up in a BadFuture where a teenage Enzo has a scar over his right eye, though it turns out it was AllADream. Later, little Enzo looses a his right eye in a game of [[Franchise/MortalKombat Immortal Konflict]] and after a time skip an adult Enzo Matrix has an artificial right eye.

[[folder:Literature]]
* In ''Literature/NightWatchDiscworld'', hard-bitten copper Sam Vimes is sent thirty years into the past of [[Literature/{{Discworld}} Ankh-Morpork]] and ends up fighting for his life alongside his thirty-years-younger self. He recieves a vicious scarring cut to his face and ends up wearing an eyepatch; this stays with him when he returns to his correct time.

* In ''Literature/NightWatch'', hard-bitten copper Sam Vimes is sent thirty years into the past of [[Literature/{{Discworld}} Ankh-Morpork]] and ends up fighting for his life alongside his thirty-years-younger self. He recieves a vicious scarring cut to his face and ends up wearing an eyepatch; this stays with him when he returns to his correct time.

* Even ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' utilizes this trope in the episode "It's About Time". Twilight Sparkle encounters a future version of herself sporting a skintight suit, a bandanna, an eyepatch, and a scar on her cheek ([[spoiler:actually a SpyCatsuit, a bandage, a therapeutic eyepatch, and a paper cut, respectively. The eyepatch in this case was from being [[BlindedByTheSun blinded by looking at the Sun through a telescope]]]]).

To qualify for this trope, the eyepatch has to be ''[[NoodleIncident unexplained]]'' when the reader/viewer first encounters it. Any explanation must come later. This is usually a sign that they TookALevelInBadass, and as such is a common accoutrement of a FutureBadass.

* ''ComicStrip/PhoebeAndHerUnicorn'': While not commented on, [[https://www.gocomics.com/phoebe-and-her-unicorn/2023/04/17 future Marigold wears an eyepatch upon meeting her past self to take her to the time museum.

[[caption-width-right:350:"Is there some sort of epic pony war in the distant future or something?"[[note]]Actually, she [[BlindedByTheSun just looked at the sun]] through a telescope without proper safety precautions. [[NextSundayAD She's also from next Tuesday.]][[/note]]]]

* Even ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' utilizes this trope in the episode "It's About Time". Twilight Sparkle encounters a future version of herself sporting a skintight suit, a bandanna, an eyepatch, and a scar on her cheek ([[spoiler:actually a SpyCatsuit, a bandage, a therapeutic eyepatch, and a paper cut, respectively. The eyepatch in this case was from being [[BlindedByTheSun blinded by looking at the sun through a telescope]]]]).

* Happens InUniverse for Saejima in ''VideoGame/Yakuza4'', wherein he encounters his old best friend, Majima, after having just spent twenty five years in prison with no information about the outside world, and is visibly shocked at Majima's appearance, which includes an eyepatch Saejima has no idea the reason for.

** Roy showed up with one in ''Anime/FullmetalAlchemistTheConquerorOfShamballa'', the movie finishing the series after a timeskip. He lost his eye in [[Anime/FullmetalAlchemist the series proper]] [[spoiler:fighting Pride in the final episode]].

* Averted when Blake returns for the final episode of ''Series/BlakesSeven''. He was originally supposed to have an eyepatch similar to his arch-enemy Travis from the first two seasons, but it was decided to downplay the trope and just give him a facial scar instead.

* Dimitri from ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses'' gains an eyepatch after 5 years in all routes apart from Edelgard's route.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Bugsnax}}'', when you finally meet Eggabell in person (after having only seen her in videos, she's wearing an eyepatch. [[spoiler:This goes unnoticed and unexplained until she explains it to Lizbert. Turns out she only got pink eye.]]

* [[spoiler:Asuka]] gained one for ''[[Anime/RebuildOfEvangelion Evangelion 3.0]]'', [[spoiler:which takes place 14 years after ''2.0'']]. Mildly played with, in that we ''probably'' saw her lose the eye in ''2.0'', but before the TimeSkip she was shown with [[BandageBabe a whole load of bandages over that side of her face]] instead of the EyepatchOfPower she sports afterwards. ([[Administrivia/TropesAreFlexible Close enough.]]) [[spoiler: Then again, one scene hints [[GlowingEyes she still has the eye.]]]]

** Since at least 1990, Mirage's ''ComicBook/{{Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles|Mirage}}'' comic regularly hinted at a unpleasant future for our heroes. Most of these stories would show Raphael missing his left eye. An explanation seemingly comes in Creator/ImageComics' Volume 3, where Raph gets disfigured and eventually wears a patch, but this would later be ruled CanonDiscontinuity. It would later be revealed in a 2010 ''Tales of the TMNT'' story that [[spoiler:Shadow cut Raph's eye out during battle]].

[[folder:Literature]]
* In ''Literature/NightWatch'', hard-bitten copper Sam Vimes is sent thirty years into the past of [[Literature/{{Discworld}} Ankh-Morpork]] and ends up fighting for his life alongside his thirty-years-younger self. He recieves a vicious scarring cut to his face and ends up wearing an eyepatch; this stays with him when he returns to his correct time.
[[/folder]]

[[caption-width-right:350:"Is there some sort of epic pony war in the distant future or something?"[[note]]Actually, she just looked at the sun through a telescope without proper safety precautions. [[NextSundayAD She's also from next Tuesday.]][[/note]]]]

* Even ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' utilizes this trope in the episode "It's About Time". Twilight Sparkle encounters a future version of herself sporting a skintight suit, a bandanna, an eyepatch, and a scar on her cheek ([[spoiler:actually a SpyCatsuit, a bandage, a therapeutic eyepatch, and a paper cut, respectively. The eyepatch in this case was from being blinded by looking at the sun through a telescope)]].