In the original BioShock, the only thing you saw of the game's protagonist were his forearms bearing some tattoos and a little bit of knitwear, which made him a mysterious, enigmatic entity. In BioShock Infinite however, it looks like Pinkerton agent Booker DeWitt actually has a face. A face with rather chiselled, Sunday matinee movie star features and a bit of stubble.

Charged with rescuing Elizabeth from the crumbling sky-bound city of Columbia, it makes sense that DeWitt would look like the typical dashing hero type, as he must defend her from the ever-present threat of Songbird, who appears to be casting his light on the duo in this cover art for the latest digital issue of games mag, EGM.

Created by Irrational Games' internal art team, the image shows Booker shielding Elizabeth from the spotlight in a brilliant direct homage to the cover of Uncanny X-Men #141, which has an ageing Wolverine putting himself in front of Kitty Pryde in the 'Days of Future Past' storyline. Irrational's Ken Levine confirmed that the image was indeed a homage to Uncanny X-Men #141 on Twitter, when people cottoned on to the similarities.

Check out the images below to compare them. BioShock Infinite will be launching in 2012. Check out our hands-on preview for more.

[Via Games Radar]