Superman and Goku, two of pop culture’s most adored superheroes, come together to honor the late Dragon Ball creator, Akira Toriyama. On March 1, 2024, the world lost one of the pioneering figures in the manga and anime industry. Many people are still in shock over the loss of such a genuine master of their craft.

ScreenTime on X noted a heartfelt alternative cover by Ricardo Lopez for Josie Campbell and Pablo M. Collar’s My Adventures with Superman #4. It pays homage to Akira Toriyama by copying the cover art for Toriyama’s last Dragon Ball volume.

Goku taking stance before fight Beerus in Dragon Ball Super
Goku as seen in Dragon Ball Super (Credits: Toei Animation)

These and other tributes demonstrate how, even as the industry grieves for Toriyama, they do so through producing heartfelt tributes that help the artist and his work to live forever. Despite his death, Akira Toriyama continues to live among us through these tributes.

My Adventures With Superhuman Pays Homage To Akira Toriyama

Dragon Ball
Dragon Ball: Goku Super Saiyan Mode (Credits: Toei Animation)

The comic book industry, as well as pop culture in general, have been greatly influenced by the Dragon Ball franchise. Akira Toriyama‘s writing has been mentioned in passing or directly inspired by a number of titles.

Characters like Static use moves like the Kamehameha, while Image Comics shows like Do a Powerbomb base their tournament-style plots on Dragon Ball. And that was all before the demise of Toriyama. Subsequently, well-known artists like Jim Lee and Ricardo Lopez have shown their respect.

X user, @AniNewsAndFacts posted on June 18, 2024, that My Adventures With Superhuman will release an alternate cover inspired by the final volume of Dragon Ball as a tribute to Akira Toriyama.

Akira Toriyama’s media, including Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, and other works, had a huge global impact. It only seems right that the industry he contributed so much to would return the favor by paying tribute to him with works such as the artwork above.

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Since anime had a strong effect on the My Adventures with Superman television series, Lopez’s artwork seamlessly blends the two media. It’s particularly ideal when one considers how Akira Toriyama’s portrayal of Superman shaped Goku into the person he is today.

The Influence of Superman On Akira Toriyama

Dragon Ball Z
Dragon Ball Z (Credits: Toei Animation)

Goku from Dragon Ball and Superman in DC have often been compared by anime fans, especially due to the feats they both have achieved in their respective media. Despite the fact that Superhuman’s origin is well known by now, it is still important to analyze his past.

Superman and Goku share a common origin for a reason. The reason for this is that Akira Toriyama, who created Goku’s origin story—which centers on an alien that crashes on Earth and ends up saving humanity—was greatly influenced by Superman.

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A wonderful example of a complete circle event is a piece of Superman media that pays respect to a previous Toriyama cover portraying Goku. While all art has the power to influence other artists, the Superman artwork was influenced decades after Akira Toriyama was influenced by Superman.

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