'Dragon Ball' Fan Art Turns Vegeta into 'Black Panther's Killmonger
The worlds of Marvel Superheroes and anime have been colliding lately, thanks to the breakout [...]
The worlds of Marvel Superheroes and anime have been colliding lately, thanks to the breakout success of Black Panther. That game-changing film got fans of both genres hype, when it was pointed out that villain Erik Killmonger was dressed in some Vegeta-style armor. The conversation progressed when Dragon Ball Super fans started producing Killmonger / Vegeta hybrid art, which made Killmonger actor (and professed anime fan) Michael B. Jordan look like a Super Saiyan badass! Well, one good turn deserves another, so today we an image that offers the reverse:
I can't unsee Vegeta's armor design whenever I see Killmonger's anymore guys 😂 @michaelb4jordan #allhailkingkillmonger #vegeta #Killmonger pic.twitter.com/Fsisntnl5B
— VEGETApsycho (@VEGETApsycho) March 3, 2018
Yes, in addition to the "Killmonger as Vegeta" trend sweeping through social media, we now have the "Vegeta as Killmonger" trend to go along with it! As you can see above, this imagery is EVERYTHING if you fall into the esteemed camp of being both an anime and Marvel fan.
The artwork isn't just good on its own (and it's definitely that): the real joy is in the details. The mix of Vegeta's Saiyan battle armor and Killmonger's armor is perfectly balanced; the ring signifying Saiyan royalty on the necklace around Vegeta's neck is a great Black Panther callback, one only topped by the Saiyan ape form "mask" Vegeta is holding - a reference to the tribal relic Killmonger stole from a museum, during his introductory scene in Black Panther.
In an interesting turn of events, Black Panther's breakout success has also brought the connection between the hip-hop and anime cultures to the forefront with it. Dragon Ball is a particularly relevant series, referenced in so many rap songs, not to mention other aspects of the culture, from slang to sneakers and other clothing apparel. If some artist wants to do an entire line of Marvel/Dragon Ball hybrid portraits like this one, that would be A-OK to.
Anime and/or Marvel fans, what do you think of the pic? Let us know in the comments!
Marvel's Black Panther is now in theaters.
Dragon Ball Super airs on Crunchyroll Saturday evenings at 7:15 p.m. CST. Adult Swimairs the English dub during its Toonami block Saturday evenings at 9:30 p.m, and is now available to stream on FunimationNOW and Amazon Video.