Dragon Ball Super‘s “Future Trunks Saga” storyline relied heavily on the use of time travel, and multiple timelines across multiple realities, and if it wasn’t confusing enough to follow the storyline as it unfolded, the “Future Trunks Saga” managed to end in a way that somehow makes understanding the Dragon Ball timelines even more confusing than ever.
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Explaining the connection between Goku Black and Zamasu is a confusing feat in and of itself, as it requires a time loop that would make most fans of Terminator or Back to the Future have to break out the whiteboard.
Basically, Timeline #1 is the timeline in the series that has no time traveler interference (from the likes of Cell and Future Trunks returning to the past) is one where Goku and Zamasu never have their pivotal first fight; Beerus never destroys Zamasu with Hakai; and the evil Kai eventually kills his master Gowasu, and uses the Super Dragon Balls to steal Goku’s body and become Goku Black. Goku Black then went to Timeline #2, the Future Trunks timeline, and wreaks havoc there, joining with the Zamasu of that timeline, who trained as a Kai much longer because Goku is dead in Timeline #2 and never interrupted Zamasu’s life with his presence. When the two Zamasus become the Infinite Zamasu, all of Timeline #2 is erased by Grand Zeno – but Whis has a plan to fix that tragedy, and it’s a pretty mind-bending one:
Whis’ Restoration Plan
After Grand Zeno erases Timeline #2, Future Trunks and Future Mai are essentially marooned with no timeline of their own to call home, and all of the people they fought for destroyed by Zamasu. It’s a bitter victory for Future Trunks and Mai, until Whis reveals a possible fix: using time travel to prevent Grand Zeno’s erasure, by preventing Zamasu’s rise in the first place.
Whis’ proposes to take Future Trunks and Future Mai back to a time before Zamasu ravaged their timeline and killed their friends. Whis details that to preserve Timeline #2, he will inform that version of Beerus of Zamasu’s threat, before Zamasu kills the supreme kai and Beerus of that timeline. Whis also reveals that he has a much stronger version of the Evil Containment Wave, which will keep Zamasu sealed away, in order to avoid another time loop paradox that gave rise to Goku Black.
In the end, Future Trunks and Future Mai are returned to a version of Timeline #2 in which there are now two versions of themselves: the pair with Whis who saw their Timeline erased, and the pair who never had to travel back to the Z-Fighters’ timeline to recruit Goku and Vegeta to beat Black.
If that’s not confusing enough, read on below for a breakdown of Dragon Ball’s current lineup of Timelines:
Timeline #1: Main Timeline
This is the main timeline that the events of Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball GT, and Dragon Ball Super take place in – a timeline that has been altered by the Future Trunks and Cell traveling to the past and influencing Goku and Co.
Timeline #2: Future Trunks Timeline
This is the future that Future Trunks hails from, and is often labeled the “darkest” timeline in the series. In this timeline, Goku died from a heart disease, and Dr. Gero’s androids (No. 17 and 18) wrought havoc on the world, destroying the Dragon Balls when they killed Piccolo. Trunks trains under Gohan (the last surviving Z-Fighter) until Gohan is also killed. Future Trunks is sent back in time several times by his mom, Bulma, in order to help the Z-Fighters kill The Androids and then Cell.
Nearly a decade after Cell’s destruction, Goku Black comes to Timeline #2 and kills the Supreme Kai and Beerus, as well as Gowasu. Black recruits and older version of himself from Timeline #2, and the two try to destroy every mortal in the Timeline. Trunks eventually cuts down both Zamasus, but this Timeline is ultimately erased from existence by Grand Zeno. It is now an endless void.
Timeline #3: Cell
This timeline was split off from Timeline #2, as one pivotal event was changed: Trunks was able to destroy the Androids, but unable to stop Cell as well. Cell kills Future Trunks and travels back to main timeline to battle Goku and the Z-Fighters, thereby setting off the events of Dragon Ball Z‘s “Cell Saga” arc.
Timeline #4: The Unseen
This timeline hasn’t been seen in the series, but it’s essentially created when Trunks takes the blueprints for the Androids back to the Z-Fighters, helping them defeat them. Since Cell of Timeline #3 never invades Timeline #4, the Z-Fighters go on without ever suffering the death of Goku in the Cell Saga, or having No. 17 and 18 eventually become allies. It’s unknown how events like the Majin Buu Saga and Dragon Ball Super play out in this timeline.
Timeline #5: Unknown
This timeline is the one that is home to a version of Future Trunks. That Trunks came from Timeline #5 to Timeline #3, in order to kill Future Freeza and Future King Cold, before returning to Timeline #5. Nothing else is known about that Timeline.
Timeline #6: Goku Black
This timeline is the result of the paradox Beerus creates. Timeline 1’s time travel events leads to Beerus erasing Zamasu from existence before he can become Goku Black – but since Beerus only knew to do that because he first met Goku Black (who wears the powerful Time Ring) it creates a paradox loop of a second splinter timeline, in which Beerus never kills Zamasu, and Goku Black is born. This timeline is the version of the “Main” timeline of the series that has never been altered by time travelers.
Timeline #7: Second Future Trunks
This is the timeline that Whis creates when he goes back in time to stop Zamasu from destroying Future Trunks and Future Mai’s world. In this timeline, there are two Future Trunks and Future Mai’s that exist: the two from the world Whis saves, and the two who lived through the terror of Zamasu’s reign.
Crossover Lines
While Dragon Ball canon is pretty clear about how these timelines all fit together, the non-canon installments have also played with them, which has led to some exciting new things.
- Timeline 1 is where the events of Dragon Ball GT and the “Dragon Ball Xeno” alternate universe versions of the characters exist.
- Timeline 4 could one day reveal alternate versions of the “Majin Buu Saga” and Dragon Ball Super saga in which Goku never died, and the Z-Fighters got radical power-ups by training with him.
- Timeline 7 is where the Dragon Ball Heroes “Prison Planet” story arc will be set. It will inspire the accompanying anime series about the Prison Planet, which will be a sequel to Dragon Ball Super, and a crossover with the Dragon Ball Xeno alternate continuity. As such the anime series will be a huge experiment for the franchise.
Does Dragon Ball need to prune down its convoluted timelines? Have you been able to keep this all straight? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!
