Beloved comic artist Alex Ross, perhaps known most for his illustration work on Marvels (1994) and Kingdom Come (1996), recently gave an interview where he explained how nearly every adaptation of the X-Men gets the character of Wolverine completely wrong.James Logan Howlett, more popularly known as Wolverine, made his first full appearance in The Incredible Hulk #181 (1974). After being picked to the X-Men in the 1975 soft reboot Giant-Size X-Men #1, he quickly became one of the most popular characters in all of Marvel history. Over the past few decades there have been many Wolverine is meant to be 5' 3", not the tall, drink of water he is most often shown as in media. In fact, Logan's shorter height has always been a key part of the vicious man's tough exterior, clearly making up for some sense of height-related insecurity, so to make Wolverine a tall or even average height truly does take away some key parts of his personality and history. Specifically, Ross postulates that because of how beloved the character is by fans and creators, Logan is rarely drawn or cast as a man of 5' 3", even though that is how the character is meant to look, representing his animalistic nature and connection the very real, ferocious but small animal the wolverine.
Wolverine Was Always Meant To Be Danny DeVito
Hilariously, Ross goes one step further, saying that if someone were to be accurately cast as Wolverine in a live action film, they should look closer to the talented actor Danny DeVito (who has a height of 4' 10") as opposed to Hugh Jackman (who has a height of 6' 3"). Danny DeVito is an absolutely iconic actor, known for playing the Penguin in Batman Return (1992), Matilda's father in Matilda (1996), and more recently the disturbingly hilarious Frank Reynolds in the long-running It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Imagining "short king" DeVito playing Wolverine in live action is a truly fun mental exercise. Wolverine's height in the comics is known for being consistently inconsistent across different artist's interpretations, although in the Krakoan Age it seems like some artists are beginning to reemphasize the fact that Wolverine is meant to be short, hairy, and not particularly attractive.
While some fans think that the height of an actor should not weigh into their casting as Wolverine, that fact that Logan is shorter than most of his male contemporary heroic peers, and many of the female ones as well, really is a major part of the development of the character in comics. The Marvel Cinematic Universe would be wise to cast a shorter actor in the role of Logan after Hugh Jackman eventually retires from playing the role. If future X-Men adaptations want to be faithful to their source they should heed Alex Ross' words and make sure to return Wolverine to the "short king" status he was always meant to embody.
Source: Alex Ross
