# I'm looking for examples of unusually short action heroes. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 29, 2010, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-examples-of-unusually-short-action-heroes/565720 "2010-12-29T17:34:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2010, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-examples-of-unusually-short-action-heroes/565720/1 "2010-12-29T17:34:20Z")
You’d think the title said it all, but being neurotic I must make a few qualifications: 1. I’ve already though of comic book Wolverine, movie Willow, and Piers Anthony’s Stile, thanks. 2. Cinematic characters who are portrayed by short _actors_, but whose shortness is obscured by camera tricks and what not, are not what I am looking for. 3. I have also already thought of Hobbits. 4. Y’all know I always forget what number four is. 5. Literary, stage, television, and cinema are all welcome. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2010, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-examples-of-unusually-short-action-heroes/565720/2 "2010-12-29T17:37:53Z")
[Shrinking Violet](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shrinking_Violet_(comics)) Al Pratt, the Golden Age [Atom](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atom_(Al_Pratt)) ---
**Author:** ![Baal\_Houtham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baal_houtham/32/13604_2.png) [@Baal\_Houtham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baal_Houtham)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2010, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-examples-of-unusually-short-action-heroes/565720/3 "2010-12-29T17:41:07Z")
> **[Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gray_Mouser)** > > Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser are two sword-and-sorcery heroes appearing in stories written by American author Fritz Leiber. They are the protagonists of what are probably Leiber's best-known stories. One of his motives in writing them was to have a couple of fantasy heroes closer to true human nature than the likes of Howard's Conan the Barbarian or Burroughs's Tarzan. > Fafhrd is a very tall (nearly 7 feet (2.1 m)) and strong northern barbarian, skilled at both swordsmanship and singing. The Mous... Semi-famous science fiction author Fritz Lieber wrote a sword & sorcery series featuring Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser. I don’t remember the Mouser’s height, but probably around 5’. The stories are well written, well regarded. The pair often did jobs for Ningauble of the Seven Eyes. ---
**Author:** ![Dioptre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/278dde/32.png) [@Dioptre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dioptre)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2010, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-examples-of-unusually-short-action-heroes/565720/4 "2010-12-29T17:41:11Z")
Marty, in Back-to-the-Future, is played by the short Michael J Fox, and not scaled up to look tall. There are a few scenes where his short size compared to the antagonists is very evident. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2010, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-examples-of-unusually-short-action-heroes/565720/5 "2010-12-29T17:41:20Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > [Shrinking Violet](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shrinking_Violet_(comics)) I’d not count her or any other shrinking hero. I am seeking characters whose normal size is much smaller than their species, not ones who magically slap around the laws of physics. > [@](#): > > Al Pratt, the Golden Age [Atom](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atom_(Al_Pratt)) Now he’s what I mean, as is McFly. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2010, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-examples-of-unusually-short-action-heroes/565720/6 "2010-12-29T17:41:45Z")
Miles Vorkosigan. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2010, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-examples-of-unusually-short-action-heroes/565720/7 "2010-12-29T17:42:29Z")
You didn’t mention fantasy dwarves, e.g., the ones in LOTR. Not sure if they fall in the same category as hobbits. Also there are the gelflings in **The Dark Crystal** , who have some pretty cool action sequences. There’s Joe Pesci’s psycho [Nicky Santoro](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0112641/) in Casino. And surely number four was David? ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2010, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-examples-of-unusually-short-action-heroes/565720/8 "2010-12-29T17:43:02Z")
Tom Thumb from the Squadron Supreme. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2010, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-examples-of-unusually-short-action-heroes/565720/9 "2010-12-29T17:43:52Z")
[Miles Vorkosigan](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miles_Vorkosigan) and his clone-brother Mark. Antonina, wife of Belisarius in the alternate history [Belisarius series](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belisarius_series). Especially the part where she slaughters a bunch of thugs with a cleaver. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2010, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-examples-of-unusually-short-action-heroes/565720/10 "2010-12-29T17:52:35Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > You didn’t mention fantasy dwarves, e.g., the ones in LOTR. Not sure if they fall in the same category as hobbits. I would not use hobbits for this purpose, because both tales told about them are from their point of view. Frodo & Sam don’t think of themselves of short; they think of themselves moving in a world of giants. ---
**Author:** ![Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maggie_the_Ocelot)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2010, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-examples-of-unusually-short-action-heroes/565720/11 "2010-12-29T17:55:25Z")
Puck from Alpha Flight. ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2010, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-examples-of-unusually-short-action-heroes/565720/12 "2010-12-29T18:03:58Z")
> [@Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](#): > > Puck from Alpha Flight. At some point, there was a story that he was shorter because he absorbed a demon or something. I don’t know if the sotry stuck. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2010, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-examples-of-unusually-short-action-heroes/565720/13 "2010-12-29T18:14:36Z")
> [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](#): > > At some point, there was a story that he was shorter because he absorbed a demon or something. I don’t know if the sotry stuck. I remember that tale. It’s form the same period of retconning Northstar’s implicit homosexuality (and suffering from AIDS) as his being a fairy and being ill because he was allergic to, _Earth_. :rolleyes: In fact, screw the :rolleyes:. That deserves a :mad: or twelve. Anyway, during the Byrne run, in the first Puck solo story, Puck specifically identifies himself as a little person and names the specific disorder, referring to a lack of growth in all the long bones. I’d go with that explanation; it makes him more interesting. Also the Byrne run has many cheesecake pictures of Heather Hudson, which was a good thing. This was back before all superheroines or female romantic interests had to have breast implants. ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2010, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-examples-of-unusually-short-action-heroes/565720/14 "2010-12-29T18:29:49Z")
Besides Miles Vorkosigan (and you can’t beat Miles, really), I’d recommend George Chesbro’s[Mongo the Magnificent](http://www.amazon.com/Shadow-Broken-Man-Mongo-Mystery/dp/0671226967/ref=sr_1_10?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1293647167&sr=1-10). It’s a series of mysteries starring Dr. Robert Fredrickson, AKA Mongo the Magnificent (he performed in the circus and has a doctorate in History). StG ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2010, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-examples-of-unusually-short-action-heroes/565720/15 "2010-12-29T18:36:15Z")
Jeremy X and Anton Zilwiki of the Honorverse _may_ count, depending on how short you are defining “unusually short” as. They are both consistently described as relatively short men (respectively, short and slender, and short and built like a fantasy dwarf); but they aren’t _really_ short like Vorkosigan, say. Just shorter enough than average to be remarked upon. More short like Wolverine. ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2010, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-examples-of-unusually-short-action-heroes/565720/16 "2010-12-29T18:36:24Z")
I was seriously about to suggest the movie Willow. Yes, I know you posted it in your OP, but my mind went immediately to Buffy’s Willow and I thought “huh…she doesn’t seem THAT short. Oh well, moving on” Hey, what about Reepicheep? ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2010, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-examples-of-unusually-short-action-heroes/565720/17 "2010-12-29T18:39:47Z")
Ender Wiggin, at least in Ender’s Game. And his sidekick whose name I forget. ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2010, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-examples-of-unusually-short-action-heroes/565720/18 "2010-12-29T19:52:33Z")
> [@Tom\_Scud](#): > > Ender Wiggin, at least in Ender’s Game. And his sidekick whose name I forget. Bean ---
**Author:** ![Beadalin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@Beadalin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beadalin)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2010, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-examples-of-unusually-short-action-heroes/565720/19 "2010-12-29T19:55:47Z")
A fun blast from the past that’s only barely on topic: [Teeny Little Super Guy](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLWNgt-x4Gk) (Classic Sesame Street) ---
**Author:** ![Mtgman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5a626/32.png) [@Mtgman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mtgman)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2010, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-examples-of-unusually-short-action-heroes/565720/20 "2010-12-29T20:02:56Z")
If children count, then Billy Batson, also known as Captain Marvel. From the live action tv show “[The Wizard](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090547/)”(like MacGyver but with midgets) there was Simon McKay. He was always pretty cool. Enjoy, Steven [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-examples-of-unusually-short-action-heroes/565720.md?page=2)