Dragon Ball Super: Could Merus Become a Major Villain?

Dragon Ball Super's latest manga arc, "Galactic Patrol Prisoner" has introduced some pivotal new elements into the series. While the arc's villain (an ancient sorcerer named Moro who consumes life energy) has been a novel addition to Dragon Ball lore, the latest issue of the manga managed to reveal new insights about Dragon Balls race of angels. As many fan theories had surmised, Goku and Vegeta's new ally (Galactic Patrol elite agent, Merus) is actually a member of the angelic race. Merus had been dispatched into Universe 7 by Grand Priest to study the nature of good and evil on the mortal plane, and has now been called back to the angel realm, having veered too close to violating his oath by training Goku to master Ultra Instinct.

However, even though Dragon Ball Super has now seemingly taken Merus off of the game board, the character's introduction seems too significant to be a simple one-off. Given everything we've learned about Merus so far, there is now one big question looming over the character: Will Merus return as friend/teacher/ally to Goku and Co., or could he be one of Dragon Ball Super's biggest villain threats?

The question is not without merit: Dragon Ball Super has already posited that the laws of the divine beings aren't as rigid and unbending as they seem to be. After all, one of Dragon Ball Super's biggest storylines has no doubt been the Future Trunks Saga, which saw the Kai known as Zamasu turn evil and disrupt several timelines to secure his own immortality, and attempt to remake reality according to his whims. While Zamasu and his Goku Black counterpart ended up in an undeniably evil place, Zamasu's twisted logic was based on a premise he saw as all-too-noble: a universe made better by removing the stain of mortal existence from an otherwise pristine universe.

What's important to remember about Zamasu's situation is that it represents the sort of slight tweak of mentality that can make divine observer feel compelled to act in defense of the universe he/she guards. In the case of Merus, that potential is definitely there, as the angel/lawman has already shown that staying neutral and on the sidlines is not something that Merus does naturally. The angel-in-training clearly enjoyed dispensing justice as part of the Galactic Patrol, and even intervened in the battle against Moro in order save Goku and Vegeta. Merus was willing to reveal the secrets of Ultra Instinct to Goku in a way that not even Whis has - and until Whis intervened to save Merus, it looked like the angel was going to break his code by unlocking his full angel powers to spar against Goku.

Now granted, so far everything Merus has done has been for the noble good of defeating Moro and protecting the universe from his Galactic Patrol Prisoner gang. But looking back at Zamasu once again, it must be remembered that when impartial observers become motivated to act, it can go horribly wrong. At the moment we have no idea what the outcome of the Galactic Patrol Prisoner arc will be, or whether the massive loss of life in Moro's rampage can be set right. Now that he's seen just how malevolent one being's evil actions can be - plus his experience with being an agent of justice - it would be understandable if Merus couldn't fully go back to obeying the Angel Laws. The same could be said if Moro (or some other forthcoming threat) were to strike a blow against the divine order of Kais, angels, and Grand Zeno. That's an event many Dragon Ball Super fans have been predicting for years will happen - and one that the Dragon Ball Heroes promo anime is currently exploring. I

Bottom line: if Merus were to become frustrated with the divine laws and their ineffectiveness in face of evildoing, then the would-be angel could end up becoming far less angelic, in order to do something about it.

The Japanese-language and English dub releases of Dragon Ball Super are now complete and available to stream with FunimationNOW and Crunchyroll. Viz Media is releasing new chapters of the manga at a monthly rate that can be read entirely for free through the Shonen Jump digital library, and Dragon Ball Super's big movie, Dragon Ball Super: Broly, is now available on Blu-ray and DVD. Fans in Japan are also able to enjoy fresh non-canon adventures from the franchise with new episodes of Super Dragon Ball Heroes' promotional anime series.