'Dragon Ball Super' Teases How Vegeta Unlocks Super Saiyan God

Dragon Ball Super is finally giving Vegeta a Super Saiyan God debut via the upcoming Dragon Ball Super: Broly movie. Fans have been liking the promo images of the film's designs for SSG Vegeta while simultaneously wondering and speculating why the storyline of the Broly movie requires Vegeta to transform into Super Saiyan God form alongside Goku -- until now.

Thanks to information found in some recent Dragon Ball Super: Broly candy/card merchandise, we have a better hint as to that answer:

4) Vegeta (Super Saiyan God)

"Using the ki of the gods gained from training with the Hakaishin and Whis, Vegeta achieves a superior evolution. He cloaks himself in a red aura to reach the realm of the gods in this miraculous transformation!! (cont.) pic.twitter.com/WEsCqG5VUZ

— Cipher (@Cipher_db) October 20, 2018

Anyway, this obliquely implies he got it through training rather than the ritual, but that bit could just have been taken from the Super anime without much thought. Remember this is just an insert in a chocolate pack, so anything that's not a big plot detail is suspect.

— Cipher (@Cipher_db) October 20, 2018

The translator @Cipher_db is clear to point out that we have to be careful about how we interpret the last bit about Vegeta's training with Whis. It would be easy to take it as indication that there's a major change to Super Saiyan God being made Dragon Ball Super: Broly, but that's not necessarily the truth.

First of all, Vegeta's SSG form and his ability to manifest it at will (instead of ritual) have been previously established in canon, via the Dragon Ball Super manga. During the manga's "Future Trunks Saga" arc, Vegeta briefly manifests SSG during the battle with Future Zamasu and Goku Black, in order to taunt the evil kais with Saiyan divine power to jump from Super Saiyan God to Super Saiyan Blue. That means a lot of fans already know the power of Super Saiyan God is achievable through training or power-up, and it's just yet another loose end form the anime continuity, which Dragon ball Super: Broly is being tasked with cleaning up.

Indeed, Dragon Ball Super: Broly seems to be reframing the power of Super Saiyan God as something important to the history and powers of the Saiyan race. We know that both Vegeta and Goku will manifest that form at some point before a major (final?) fight with Broly, who will tap into an "Ultimate Super Saiyan" power that is as uncontrollable as it is limitless. There are even quite a few fans who believe that Goku and Vegeta will tap into their SSG forms to unite into Super Saiyan God Gogeta in order to give fans an epic finale to the film.

How do you think Super Saiyan God will factor into the story of Dragon Ball Super: Broly? 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.