Ben 10 Variant Cover Has a Surprising Reference to Akira

The variant cover should be considered one of the most valuable inventions in the history of the comic book industry. Not only does it allow artists to introduce an alternate visual interpretation of beloved characters, but it also gives the opportunity to cleverly pay homage to another work of art.

For instance, the most recent issue of the new Ben 10 comic book series has been made available with a series of striking variant covers. One of these images calls to mind one of the most essential films to come out of the Japanese animation style known as anime, namely Akira.

Ben 10 #3 Variant Cover Channels Akira

With the release of Ben 10 #3, Dynamite Entertainment has put out a trio of blind bag exclusive variant covers, which means readers will initially not know for sure which design they will be receiving at the moment of purchase. However, some lucky anime fans may score a cover that recreates the poster art for Akira.

The unmistakable one-sheet for Katsuhiro Otomo's 1988 classic, about a teen biker given powerful telekinetic abilities as the result of a secret experiment in dystopian Tokyo, depicts the hero, Shotaro Kaneda, approaching his motorcycle, which matches the red shade of his jumpsuit. The Ben 10 #3 variant replaces Kaneda with Ben Tennyson and the bike with his grandfather Max's RV, known as the Rustbucket.

The variant cover comes courtesy of Irish artist Cormac Hughes, who is also known for illustrating Lightning Strike Comics' run of The Phantom from 2017, but has also designed variant covers for Ben 10 before. Serving as the image's colorist is Ren Spiller, who is no stranger to Dynamite Entertainment, having also worked on its Thundercats series.

The issue's official cover is designed by the series' main artist, Robert Carey, who has also lent his talents to more maturely bizarre stories, such as IDW Publishing's terrifying horror movie prequel comic, Event Horizon: Dark Descent. The image shows a fan-favorite character called Diamondhead, with the face of the deadly alien bounty hunter Kraab reflected in his crystal skin.

More Iconic Movies Are Referenced In Ben 10 #3 Variant Covers

Cormac Hughes and Ren Spiller apparently did not just have Akira on the brain when they designed the blind bag variant covers for Ben 10 #3. They designed two other pieces that pay tribute to a pair of other cinematic favorites.

For instance, one variant is yet another recreation of an iconic movie poster, being that of Steven Spielberg's 1975 blockbuster, Jaws. Instead of a female beachgoer unaware that an unusually large shark is lurking right underneath her beneath the surface of water, Cannonbolt, one of Ben's more physically imposing extraterrestrial alter egos, appears in the aquatic predator's place.

There is also a cover that sees young Ben resting his foot on the Rustbucket while looking anxiously at the glowing Omnitrix on his wrist. This is a clear homage to the legendary poster artist Drew Stuzan's design for 1985's Back to the Future, which shows Michael J. Fox's Marty McFly resting his foot on Doc Brown's DeLorean.

The classic time travel story bears a few minor similarities to the plot of Ben 10, seeing as how it also involves a young man's life-changing encounter with an otherworldly device, in this case the Omnitrix, which allows him to take on the appearance and abilities of various species of extraterrestrial. The instant hit series, noted for outselling Absolute Batman in its first week, is adapted from the popular mid-2000s Cartoon Network TV show of the same name, which was co-created by the comic's author, Joe Casey.

Ben 10 #3 is now available where comic books are sold.