4. Make Japan A Central Character
Given all of the ninjas, kung-fu-style fight scenes, and traditional Eastern weaponry Frank Miller brought to the New York-based Daredevil, its certainly no surprise that the Wolverine series featured plenty of the same. Thanks to the scope of the other Japanese elements however, the story is one that couldve only taken place in Japan. When Mariko, the woman Wolverine loves, kicks off his downward spiral by rejecting him in the very first issue - even though she loves him and her husband abuses her - its specifically because her notions of honor are inextricably tied to Japanese tradition. In addition, Claremont and Miller inject some actual Japanese into the characters dialogue and incorporate one of the most popular pieces of Japanese historical fiction, Chushingura, and set it, naturally, on the stage of a traditional Japanese art form, kabuki. These kinds of elements help set the story apart from not just the X-Men, but other comics in general. If anything, The Wolverine film can arguably make better use of Japan than the comic does since there are times where Millers artwork is too minimalistic to fully capture some of the locations. For example, issue 3s private Zen garden scene could only be amplified in Mangolds film if he chose to use it; and the already cinematic chase through Tokyos nighttime skyline is just screaming out for a cinematic rendition that might better capture the awe-inducing display of the blaring neon, digital technology and advertising that blast from the citys rooftops. If Mangold uses it, watching characters dwarfed by a nighttime sky and gargantuan advertising images that could rival the iconic opening scenes of Blade Runners cityscape would make for an unforgettable cinematic image indeed.