Highlights
- Goku Black remains one of the best villains in Dragon Ball, but his impact could have been deeper if he took over Future Gohan’s body.
- Future Gohan’s emotional connection to Trunks and the Z-Fighters would have added a more personal vendetta against Gohan Black.
- Gohan’s latent potential and his rage against Zamasu could have made Gohan Black an even more powerful adversary in the series.
In the eyes of many fans of the series, Goku Black is one of the best villains in all of Dragon Ball. His plan of total mortal eradication was made far superior when looked at in conjunction with his ruthless attitude and incredible design, as it took everyone’s favorite, pure-hearted Saiyan and completely changed him into a callous and unfeeling monster. Goku Black and Zamasu’s time in the series remains one of the highlights of Dragon Ball Super.
However, as great as this villain was, his whole character could have been made far more emotionally impactful if Zamasu had somehow taken over Future Gohan’s body instead of Goku’s. By doing this, not only would he remain as villainous and brutal, but his existence would have a far deeper emotional connection to both the heroes of the past and the future.
How It Could Have Happened
Although Future Gohan meets his end at the hands of Androids 17 and 18 of his timeline, he could still have been the body to host the version of Zamasu that turned into Goku Black. This is because, through the help of the Time Ring, Zamasu was able to live on despite his destruction at the hands of Beerus, which is how he eventually made a wish to take over the body of the strongest mortal.
This new level will make me the ultimate sword for justice, and when your sword is mighty enough, you don’t need a shield!
However, Zamasu could have instead wished to take over the body with the capacity to become the strongest in the shortest time. Through these means, he could have taken over Gohan’s body, since it is well-documented how incredible his latent potential truly is. This was seen most recently in Chapter 103 of the manga, where his Beast form went toe-to-toe with Ultra Instinct. Gohan’s potential allows him to gain extraordinary power without having the need to train for it, which is how Beast Gohan even managed to hurt Ultra Instinct in their sparring match.
Emotional Significance To The Future
Perhaps the greatest effect Zamasu’s takeover of Future Gohan’s body would have would be on Trunks. In the desolate world that the Androids had destroyed, all the Z-Fighters perished except for Gohan and Bulma, with the infant Trunks. Due to this, Trunks grew up with the ever-present threat of the Androids around every corner, and it was up to Gohan to train him and teach him everything he knew.
Trunks came to view Gohan as an older brother and a mentor figure in his life, as they spent all their time together, whether it was training or just living day to day. However, tragedy struck when Androids 17 and 18 eventually cornered Gohan and killed him, and upon finding his body, Trunk’s rage awakens the fabled Super Saiyan transformation within him. In one of the saddest scenes in the series, Trunks comes upon his best friend’s body, saying that he meant everything to him.
So, the emotional impact of having Gohan be the very villain seeking to kill Trunks would be far more potent, as the real version of the character did everything in his power to protect the young Saiyan. This would also have Trunks holding a much more personal vendetta against the villain, as he would feel that the memory of the most important person in his life was being tainted by a soulless monster, so his desire to defeat him would be even greater.
Moreover, having Gohan Black kill Bulma would also sting quite badly, as this was the son of her best friend and the only person, other than her son, that she had left in her life after the Androids destroyed everything. Many believe that the Super Saiyan Rage form that Trunks achieved at the end of the Goku Black arc was a little out of place, but it would have been perfect if it was used against Gohan Black!
Emotional Significance To The Past
Becoming Gohan Black would also have a great amount of impact on the rest of the Z-Fighters in the past. The biggest, and most obvious, would be on Goku. After hearing the sacrifices his son made and how he died as a hero in his timeline, seeing someone masquerading and committing unspeakable acts of evil as Gohan would be enough to send Goku over the wall.
Goku is generally a calm-minded and good-natured individual, but he could never stand someone hurting his loved ones. Despite many fans of the series joking that Goku is a bad father, his love for Gohan is very apparent, so seeing someone making a mockery of everything that his son stood for would evoke a far purer emotion of rage within him than seeing Goku Black.
I ain’t no hero of justice, or anything else like that. But anyone who tries to hurt my friends… is gonna pay!
Otherwise, Gohan Black would serve almost the same role as Goku Black did for the rest of the Z-Fighters. However, if this were ever to happen, Gohan would likely have a more important role in the fight against his evil counterpart, as he too would hate to see his reputation and character besmirched at the hands of Zamasu. The final fight against this version of Merged Zamasu may just have been different as well.
This is because Gohan is known for being a character whose strength is defined by his incredible latent potential. Because of this, he can achieve forms that match, or even surpass, the strength of Goku and Vegeta’s strongest transformations while only doing a fraction of the training. By taking this into account along with the hatred and rage that mortals invoke within Zamasu, there exists a possibility for the new version of Merged Zamasu to be even more powerful than before.
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