Batman & Superman Become Saiyans In Official New DC x Dragon Ball Crossover

Published Aug 22, 2026, 3:30 PM EDT Nicolas Ayala is a Senior Writer for the Comics team at ScreenRant, with over five years of experience writing about Superhero media, action movies, and TV shows. Superman and Batman channel their Saiyan power as DC pays homage to Dragon Ball once again. One of the most common power-scaling discussions in pop culture might be whether Superman could defeat Goku in battle or vice versa. The similarities between them are undeniable, and their extraterrestrial origins make them equally able to surpass their own limits according to how tough their enemies are and how badly beaten they are. Besides, if they were ever to reach a stalemate, Superman could match Goku's Super Saiyan transformations with upgrades of his own, namely his Golden God form. Other similarities between DC Comics and Dragon Ball include the presence of green, extraterrestrial, super-strong telepathic heroes from a different planet who can shapeshift, an ultra-advanced artificial lifeform with an unhealthy self-improvement obsession that threatens whole planets, alien tyrants responsible for the destruction of the main hero's home planet, and the hero's precocious warrior son who struggles to leave his father's legacy. Most, if not all, of these ideas have developed completely separately from each other, but they prove how compatible Dragon Ball and DC Comics have always been. Although the DC Universe has yet to officially clash with Dragon Ball, there's no shortage of nods between both franchises, courtesy of artists and writers who admire both. Batman & Superman Pump Iron As Saiyans Batman / Superman: World's Finest #57 Variant Cover By Mario Foccillo Artist Mario "Fox" Foccillo draws inspiration from Dragon Ball's unmistakable art style for his Batman / Superman: World's Finest #57 variant cover, depicting Batman and Superman working out together, their huge muscles bulging like Goku, Vegeta, and Trunks in their Super Saiyan Grade 2 and Grade 3 forms. Batman bench-presses "Bat-Barbells" with the shape of his emblem, while Superman performs a cable chest fly, lifting an astounding two-hundred quintillion pounds with a smile on his face. Their outdoor gym is located on King Kai's famously small planet, which is somehow able to withstand the weight of Superman's equipment without cracking. The Dragon Ball-themed variant cover for Batman / Superman: World's Finest #57 is part of a growing collection of similar works by Mario Foccillo. Previous artworks include solo pieces featuring musclebound versions of Superman, Batman, and Nightwing charging up their ki like Super Saiyans, as well as a team-up between the Flash and Green Lantern, both displaying their yellow and green aura like Z Warriors. Foccillo has also illustrated Dragon Ball-inspired covers for other comics, including Battle Beast, Invincible, New Men, and Dungeon Crawler Carl. A DC x Dragon Ball Crossover Needs To Happen Soon Dragon Ball And The DC Universe Are Meant To Meet Each Other At Some Point An official comic crossover between DC Comics and Dragon Ball feels imminent given DC's long history of embracing the wildest inter-franchise mashups. Throughout the decades, DC has released event books like Batman / Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Superman vs. Muhammad Ali, and the recent Justice League vs. Godzilla vs. Kong. At DC, Mario Foccillo isn't alone in his love for Dragon Ball, as DC Comics star Dan Mora has also paid homage to Goku both in a cover illustration featuring Goku and Superman standing side by side and in the form of a Dragon Ball easter egg in Clark Kent's bedroom. Marvel Comics is continually pushing the limits of IP crossovers with recent releases like Predator vs. the Planet of the Apes, Alien vs Captain America, and the multi-chapter Godzilla Destroys the Marvel Universe, plus the historical Star Wars / Marvel: Hope Assembles limited series, which formally unites iconic Marvel heroes and villains with Original Trilogy characters to celebrate Star Wars' fiftieth anniversary. Lucasfilm had strictly isolated Star Wars from crossovers for five decades. So, if Disney and Marvel can break that half-century streak, it can be said that the idea of Dragon Ball following suit soon with a DC Comics crossover is now on the table. Which DC x Dragon Ball character crossovers would you like to see? Created By Bob Kane, Bill Finger First Appearance Detective Comics Alias Bruce Wayne Alliance Justice League, Outsiders, Batman Family Race Human Franchise D.C. Created By Joe Shuster, Jerry Siegel First Appearance Action Comics Alias Kal-El, Clark Kent, Jonathan Kent Alliance Justice League, Superman Family Race Kryptonian Franchise D.C.