Dragon Ball Z Makes Clever Appearance in the Marvel Universe

Dragon Ball remains one of the most impressive anime titles to ever come out of Japan. Thanks to creator Akira Toriyama, characters like Son Goku have become icons the world round. Now, it turns out the Saiyan race has got its own bit in the Marvel Universe, and fans are real close to demanding a crossover... but they better hold their Dragon Balls.

As it turns out, Miles Morales is a big fan of Dragon Ball, and he made that known in a recent issue of Tony Stark: Iron Man.

Over on Reddit, a user shared the reference in question, and it comes courtesy of Spider-Man. After Iron Man powered up his suit to a new heights, Miles comments on the boost by saying, "Iron Man just went Super Saiyan?"

Turns out Miles Morales is a DBZ fan from r/dbz

So, there you have it. If the hero knows what Super Saiyan is, then that means Dragon Ball Z exists in some way within the Marvel Universe.

Oh, and that's not all! The comic went on to make a subtle reference to one of Vegeta's biggest memes. The Saiyan became infamous for noting how Goku's power levels during the Saiyan saga were over 9,000 and at times unreadable through a scouter. So when Ironheart tries to scan her predecessor's power levels, she comes back with a similar response.

"His power readings... They're off the scale."

Clearly, it looks like Tony Stark: Iron Man #11 wanted to make it clear that Dragon Ball Z is a thing in its world. And more importantly, it seems Tony Stark is channeling his inner Goku these days.

So, did you catch this little reference? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB to talk all things comics and anime!

Dragon Ball Super currently airs its English dub on Adult Swim during the Toonami programming block Saturday evenings. It is also available to stream on Funimation and Amazon Video. The Japanese language release of the series is complete, and available to stream on FunimationNOW and Crunchyroll. The manga has chapters that can currently be read for free thanks to Viz Media, and Dragon Ball Super: Broly is now available on Blu-ray and DVD.