‘Dragon Ball Super: Broly’ Trailer Echoes Famous Superman Scene

The new Dragon Ball Super: Broly trailer has fans buzzing like crazy, as it took the unusual approach of almost exclusively focusing on the origin of the three principal Saiyan characters: Goku, Vegeta and Broly. One big thing from the trailer that fans are now debating is how it reveals a new origin for Goku – one drawn from one of the most controversial stories around.

Well, Goku’s new origin story in Dragon Ball Super: Broly isn’t just a random or arbitrary tale; in fact, a lot of fans who have seen that trailer footage made one immediate connection: they basically gave Goku a Superman origin story.

If you didn’t watch the trailer or put together the pieces: Dragon Ball Super: Broly trailer 2 chronicles the history of Planet Vegeta – specifically its final days. Freeza, King Cold, and the Freeza Force arrive at Planet Vegeta and demand tribute from its king (Vegeta’s father), but when Freeza’s scientist/engineer/adviser Kikono foretells of the dangers of the Saiyan race’s pride and power-ups, Freeza uses his Death Ball attack to annihilate Planet Vegeta and its inhabitants. In this new origin, Goku’s father Bardock realizes that the Evil Emperor will their doom, so he and Goku’s mother Gine put their son Kakarot into a Saiyan space pod, and blast him off into space, where Bardock presumably knows his son will grow into a formidable warrior like his father.

Stepping back and looking at this new canon version of Goku’s backstory… Yep, it’s basically a Superman origin made to fit the frame of Dragon Ball. It’s not the first time the Goku and Superman comparison has been made: in fact, the Dragon Ball Super Dub series just featured a scene where Goku basically becomes Superman to thwart a band of marauding thieves he crosses while driving home!

It’s clear that Akira Toriyama is using Dragon Ball Super: Broly’s Goku origin retcon as a way of reframing the Saiyan hero’s mission and purpose: he thirsts for better fights and power-ups because that’s what his parents (especially his father) intended for him to do, in order to stop threats like Freeza. It therefore makes Goku and Freeza’s first battle on Namek, and reaching Super Saiyan for the first time, much more poignant and powerful realizations of a destiny that goes back to Goku’s childhood, and his ultimate defeat of Freeza a major vindication for Bardock and the Saiyan race that died on Planet Vegeta. Dragon Ball Z mentioned the connection between Freeza and the Siayan race’s (near) extinction – but Dragon Ball Super: Broly will be making it much more dramatic and emotional.

So how will fans react to Goku getting a Superman origin story? Already the schisms seem to be forming between those who see this as a violation of the established canon, and those happy for the doors these changes will open in Dragon Ball lore. How do you feel about it? Let us know in the comments!

Dragon Ball Super: Broly will hit Japanese theaters in December, and is expected to arrive in the U.S. around mid-January 2019. Dragon Ball Super is currently airing its English dub on Adult Swim during the Toonami programming block Saturday evenings at 9:30 p.m. ET. It is also available to stream on Funimation and Amazon Video. The Japanese language release of the series is complete and available to stream on Funimation, VRV and Crunchyroll.