James Gunn's Superman Turns The DC Comics Hero Into An Anime Icon (And It Rules)

James Gunn's "Superman" is finally here, and it's the movie fans of the Man of Tomorrow have been waiting for. The film is unapologetically earnest and intentionally corny in a way no live-action comic book movie has been in the last decade or so. Gunn has crafted the perfect antithesis to the last 12 years of Superman-as-villain stories like "The Boys" and "Brightburn" (funny since Gunn produced that last one), and stories where Superman is a Jesus-like martyr who can never be embraced by humanity.

Gunn makes the smart choice of avoiding Superman's origin story and yet another extended prologue on Krypton. Instead, the movie takes a similar approach to The CW's "Superman & Lois" and catches up to Clark Kent (David Corenswet) three years into his career as Superman. It is a simple choice that lets the movie explore a world where everyone already has an opinion of the Man of Steel, and he already has established relationships with Lois, with the other folks at the Daily Planet, and with Luthor.

What Superman doesn't have a relationship with is, well, Krypton. This version of Kal-El does not have an AI replica of his father to talk to and ask for advice; he hasn't even encountered General Zod yet. All Kal-El has is a partial message his parents sent with his pod as a baby, where they say they love him and choose Earth because it would give him an opportunity to... conquer the planet in the name of Krypton, enslave its people, and spread his Kryptonian seed through a secret harem.

Turning Krypton into a planet of despots and colonizers has become relatively common in recent years, like in "Superman & Lois" and "My Adventures With Superman," so it isn't exactly a novel idea. Still, having Superman be tasked with conquering Earth only to become its greatest hero is a page straight out of a story that was heavily inspired by Superman: the most legendary anime of all time — "Dragon Ball." That's right, James Gunn has turned Superman into Son Goku.

You see, one of the greatest retcons in modern fiction happened in "Dragon Ball," specifically in the time jump transition from the original anime to "Dragon Ball Z." It was then that Akira Toriyama decided that Goku was no longer just an analog for Sun Wukong aka The Monkey King from "Journey to the West" (with Goku literally having a tail, and transforming into a giant ape under a full moon).

Instead, Toriyama very clearly took inspiration from the Superman comics he was a fan of — as in, he had already written a Superman parody character called Suppaman aka Kuraaku Kena (pronounced Clark Kent) in "Dr. Slump," who also appeared in "Dragon Ball." We learn that Goku is actually an alien called Kakarot who was sent to Earth as a baby, shortly before his planet was destroyed. Not only that, but Goku was specifically sent to Earth in order to conquer it for the great Saiyan Empire. Goku ended up becoming a good boy after hitting his head by accident and forgetting all his memories. Though he'd grab inspiration from a myriad of sources, including "Alien" and "Star Wars," it is clear Toriyama was influenced by "Superman" during the Saiyan Saga, which brings in Vegeta as a sort of General Zod to Goku's Kal-El.

It was after this saga that "Dragon Ball" grew exponentially in scope and scale, with Goku having to battle alien beings and literal gods in order to raise the stakes, much like Superman battling all sorts of super-powerful threats.

Just like Superman influenced "Dragon Ball" and changed it forever, things are coming full circle with Toriyama's legendary manga now influencing Superman media. The animated series "My Adventures With Superman" virtually turned Supergirl into Vegeta (but with the look of Android 18) by having her arrive on Earth as a villain before becoming good, and an ally of Superman. Now, James Gunn's "Superman" is doubling down on this idea.

The Kryptonians-as-Saiyans reveal is not the only "Dragon Ball Z" reference in James Gunn's "Superman." Literally, the very first shot of Superman in the movie is him crash-landing in the Arctic after being defeated in battle, doing the Yamcha death pose from "Dragon Ball Z."

Having Superman and "Dragon Ball" influence each other across the last 40 years is a joy to see as an anime and comic book fan, and it simply makes each franchise better. The best anime and manga creators take influences from more than just other anime and manga, but from a variety of stories, and the same applies to filmmakers. Goku became a more interesting character after we learned of the other Saiyans — and after he gained a rival in Vegeta. Similarly, when Superman started exploring the idea that Kal-El was the exception rather than the rule, that it's his upbringing as Clark Kent that makes Superman special rather than every Kryptonian being perfect, he became a more complex and special character.

Now, the only logical step forward is to double down on the anime influences. Gunn seems very keen on capturing the feel of comic books, but as we have seen in the last few years, American superheroes and anime/manga are getting closer than ever before. We had a literal isekai anime starring the Suicide Squad, and Batman has a very popular and successful Webtoon comic, so this isn't that far-fetched. Give Superman an anime-like rival in the next one, like Naruto and Sasuke or Goku and Vegeta. Maybe that's the path to doing General Zod in a fresh new way. The possibilities are endless!