How Dragon Ball Z Inspired This Epic Justice League Moment

By Jesse Schedeen

We may not be due for a Dragon Ball/Justice League crossover anytime soon, but there is a neat Easter egg in the latest issue of Justice League. One of the most important moments in Justice League #25 was directly inspired by an iconic scene from the Dragon Ball Z manga.

As spotted by ComicBook.com, artist Jorge Jimenez took to Twitter to reveal his inspiration for the scene where a captive Superman bursts free from the Legion of Doom’s trap, buoyed by the memories of his father and son. Jimenez revealed he was paying tribute to creator Akira Toriyama’s depiction of the climactic final battle between Gohan and Cell, where Goku aided his son from the afterlife.

Given Jimenez’s talent for rendering powerful, dynamic action scenes, it’s no surprise to learn Dragon Ball was a major influence on his art style.

For comparison, here’s a look at the final version of Jimenez’s page in Justice League #25:

Art by Jorge Jimenez. (Image Credit: DC Comics)

And here’s how that iconic Gohan moment was recreated in last year’s Dragon Ball FighterZ game:

Does this homage have you craving a true Justice League/Dragon Ball crossover? Let us know in the comment below.

This homage isn’t the only big Dragon Ball news this week. E3 2019 brought us our first glimpse of Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot, an action-RPG centered around Goku and set during the classic Dragon Ball Z era. Check out the first Kakarot trailer here, see some hands-on gameplay here and then see what the game needs to do to win us over.

Jesse is a mild-mannered writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter, or Kicksplode on MyIGN.