The worlds of North American comic books and Japanese manga have met quite a few times in the past. The Avengers have fought Attack on Titan’s titans, My Hero Academia’s All Might has fought with Marvel’s Merc With a Mouth, and several members of the Justice League have received their own manga series. While not official, many comic book artists are more than willing to create crossovers between Marvel and DC’s finest and the anime legends that have helped the medium grow exponentially in years past. Now, one DC artist has brought together the Man of Steel and the version of Goku who started it all with an amazing Dragon Ball/Superman crossover for the ages.
Dan Mora has become a juggernaut for DC Comics these days, creating energetic and bold new takes on classic superheroes with comics including Superman, Batman/Superman: World’s Finest, Absolute Power, Detective Comics, Shazam, and more. Like many other comic book artists in the West, Mora clearly has a love for anime, having shared takes on one of shonen’s biggest entries in the past. While this new art doesn’t feature Goku and Clark Kent trading blows, it puts the young Saiyan side-by-side with the Last Son of Krypton for a crossover that pops off the page.
The argument of who would win in a fight between Clark Kent and Goku is one that has been a part of internet culture for decades. While we’ve never seen the two officially come to blows, it has to be one of the most desired crossovers when it comes to slapping together the two mediums. When it comes to Superman taking on the full-blooded Saiyan in his younger years, we have to imagine that the Man of Steel would take home the victory, especially since Son Goku couldn’t blow up any planets before he hit his ultimate stride.
Last year, Warner Bros started to dive further into the anime universe with projects of its own. The Suicide Squad Isekai was created as a collaboration between DC and Wit Studio, taking the popular super villain team and throwing them into an anime world they had never experienced before. Earlier this year, Batman Ninja Vs. The Yakuza League once again took us into a wild new anime universe focusing on the Dark Knight. As of the writing of this article, no new projects for the Suicide Squad or Batman has been announced in the anime medium, though Warner Bros has stated in the past that they are aiming for more investments in the anime world.
Last year, Warner Bros Discovery President of Asia-Pacific, James Gibbons, touched on the major anime investment, “There is Japanese anime that comes from original IP. But there’s also anime that comes from elsewhere and we’ve looked at our DC universe and said, ‘Can we take these characters and reinvent them in world of world of anime,’ which is not straightforward because you have to do it the right way. You have to work with the right studios to make it happen and to build your fan base.”
Want to see how comics and anime continue to meet in the future? Follow along with Team Anime on ComicBook.com for the latest updates on Dragon Ball and hit me up directly @EVComedy to talk all things comics and anime.
Superman and Goku team-up in this perfect Dragon Ball/DC fusion. Read More