Wolverine is an iconic character with a similarly iconic visual style. His yellow and black costume, his badass biker aesthetic, and his adamantium claws combine to give us an instantly recognizable character. But one part of his design that can often be overlooked is his hairstyle. The widow’s peak combined with two hair spikes at the side of his head makes for a striking visual. How did he get such an iconic hairdo, and why? How has it changed in different contexts, especially the Hugh Jackman portrayal in the Fox X-Men movies? In this article, we’ll be looking at Wolverine’s Hair in the comics compared to the Movies.
Wolverine’s Comic Hair Origins
Wolverine originally debuted in Incredible Hulk #180 in 1974, and it would take until X-Men #98 in 1976 for comic readers to see Logan without his mask. There are several possible influences for this hairstyle. Some other comic characters with a similar hairstyle existed previously, like the Legion of Superheros Timber Wolf.
Those characters would have also been influenced by classic depictions of werewolves in monster movies, which would occasionally have widow peaks. Frankenstein and Dracula are prime examples, the hairstyle giving them a slight animalistic edge.
Artists vary the look, but in general, the goal is to portray a part of Wolverine’s more animalistic side in his design. Whether long or short, the spikes accentuate the angular nature of the widow’s peak, giving him what sometimes almost appear to be devil or animal horns.
Wolverine’s Hair in the Movies
In the Fox Movies, they tried to go for a style similar to this one, but unfortunately, what looks reasonable in comics can looks goofy and exaggerated in real life. The movies, in general, tried to downplay the more goofy aesthetic elements of the X-Men, ditching much of the original design for their costumes and aesthetics.
It’s a lot more understated, and they tend to emphasize the little horn bits on the side of his hair rather than the widow’s peak. In some films in the universe, they even give up on the style entirely. Wolverine is an immediately iconic character, so it is odd that they were never able to fully recreate his look for the movies.
However, those movies were trying to create a gritty and more realistic story, and so they probably felt the full homage to the comic’s hairstyle would be too impractical or silly. That explains the difference between Wolverine’s Hair in the comics vs the movies.
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