DC’s Absolute Universe has reinvented the wheel with its experimental take on the comics’ iconic <a href="https://comicvibe.com/amazing-man-comics-5-and-everetts-search-for-a-superhero-at-auction/” title=”Amazing-Man Comics #5 and Everett's Search for a Superhero, at Auction”>superheroes like Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman. The comics are filled with iconic imagery, but the artists have now paid the ultimate tribute to the popular anime movie, Akira. The latest cover for Absolute Wonder Woman pays homage to the poster for the 1988 sci-fi action movie.
Artist Javier Fernández, who previously reimagined Katsuhiro Otomo’s Akira poster for Batman and Superman, now applies that poster composition to Diana of the Absolute Universe. The tribute arrives while Hollywood still has no live-action version of the story.
Absolute Wonder Woman Joins Other DC Heroes in Akira Homage
Hollywood has paid plenty of tribute to Akira over the years. The Akira-slide is one of the most recreated shots in movie history, and everyone from the Wachowskis ’ The Matrix to Jordan Peele’s Nope has cited the anime movie as an influence. The latest homage from Western media to Akira comes from DC’s Absolute universe.
Javier Fernández’s cover for Absolute Wonder Woman #1 sees the Amazonian carry a long blade towards her flying steed, and the angle is from the top, like in the Akira poster. There are Japanese inscriptions on the title similar to the anime movie as well. The cover is scheduled to ship around November 15, 2026, and completes the Absolute Trinity’s Akira-style redesign.
Original Akira Opening Night Movie Poster (1988)
The movie Akira is considered one of the masterpieces of Japanese animation. During a time in which sci-fi was rapidly rising in popularity, Akira used early CGI to enhance the cel animated sequences. https://t.co/Tik9K5YC6K
— Japanese Gallery Anime (@JGCelga) August 3, 2023
Fernández started the trend in 2024. His Absolute Batman #1 variant replaced the anime’s signature red motorcycle with Batman’s own bike and laid red Japanese characters spelling out Batman over the title. The Superman edition followed. It was a FOMO Books exclusive limited to 800 copies and was billed as a direct follow-up to the Batman cover.
DC’s Absolute universe has continued the anime-influenced tradition. Clay Mann’s Death Note-inspired cover made it to the page on Absolute Batman #14. The aesthetic fits perfectly with that of the Absolute universe as it reimagines a DC world with Darkseid energy, where everything is a hellscape and hope is very little.
Greatest Anime Still Has No Adaptation Despite Multiple Homages
The 1988 film, directed by Otomo from his own manga, follows a biker named Tetsuo who develops dangerous psychic powers. It has since been recognized as one of the best animated and science fiction films of all time. For a movie that has been referenced so many times by Hollywood, it is a miracle that they have not gotten their hands on an official Akira live-action adaptation yet. But it is not for lack of trying.
Several attempts have been made to adapt the popular movie in live-action. First, Sony bought the rights to the manga to adapt it and failed. Warner Bros. bought the rights in 2002 and held them till 2025. Several attempts were made in this regard, with the most high-profile project being helmed by Taika Waititi. However, in 2025, the rights reverted to Kodansha
Before Waititi became the latest filmmaker to attempt the impossible, Warner Bros. hired Blade director Stephen Norrington to helm the project. After years languishing in development hell and Norrington’s The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen making him a pariah of sorts, the film was shelved. However, that was not the last attempt.
Legendary Pictures got involved to co-finance the adaptation, and Leonardo DiCaprio joined in as a co-producer. However, this led to another few years of development hell as several directors came and went. At one point, the budget was reportedly at $90 million, and WB ultimately decided to close down the project until Waititi joined in 2017.
A live-action adaptation of Akira is still unmade, and the legendary anime movie will probably just remain recreated by auteur filmmakers in their own original movies.
Are you excited for Absolute Wonder Woman? Comment below.
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Edited by:Apratim Chakraborty
