'Dragon Ball Super': What Is A Time Ring?

Dragon Ball Super English Dub is now into the first episodes of the "Future Trunks Saga" where we've met a new blue-haired version of Future Trunks, from a timeline where seemingly evil version of Goku (aka "Goku Black") has been exterminating humanity.

Future Trunks and his mother Future Bulma made a desperate bid to change this dark reality: send Trunks to the past to recruit his father Vegeta, Goku and the other Z-Fighters to stop Goku Black. Future Trunks assumed that when he made it to the past the threat against him was done for the moment - but Goku Black was able to track his energy to the past and warp there himself!

When Goku Black appeared in the present day timeline, Beerus and Whis immediately noticed that the villain was using a powerful artifact to travel to the past: a Time Ring. So what is this mysterious Time Ring Goku Black wears, and why is it important? Here's the deal:

Divine Artifact

As Beerus and Whis explain, Time Rings aren't just any old artifact: they belong to the Supreme Kai, and are used to help the divine beings observe events throughout time, or sense disruptions in the time stream (like Goku Black did to track Trunks).

The big clue here is that Goku Black must be more than he initially seems, if he came into possession of, and can use, such a powerful artifact. Either Black has risen to the power level of a divine being himself, or has some other method of using a Supreme Kai tool - and either scenario should be of worry to Goku and Co., who are already learning just how powerful their new foe truly is.

MAJOR DUB SPOILERS FOLLOW - Only Read If You Already Know!

Of course, fans who have followed the Dragon Ball Super sub series know exactly why Goku Black is able to use a Supreme Kai's Time Ring: because he is one!

As we previously discussed, Goku Black is actually Zamasu, a Supreme Kai apprentice who eventually killed his master, Gowasu, and stole his Time Ring and Potara Earrings. Using the Super Dragon Balls he switched bodies with Goku and killed the hero, taking on his form permanently as "Goku Black."

This means that the Z-Fighers are now up against a divine being who inhabits the body of the most powerful Saiyan warrior in the universe. And that challenge only gets that much worse when Zamasu uses that Time Ring to hatch an even more elaborate plan...

Dragon Ball Super Dub airs Saturday nights @ 10:30 ET on Toonami.