‘Dragon Ball Super’ Teases Connection Between Vegeta and New Villain Moro

Dragon Ball Super‘s current manga arc has Goku and Vegeta revisiting Dragon Ball Z‘s “Namek Saga” in a big way. The two Saiyan warriors have been forced to return to New Namek, in order to face the powerful new villain Planet-Eater Moro, who has come to New Namek in order to make some kind of nefarious wish with the Namekian Dragon Balls.

The first showdown between the Saiyans and Moro on New Namek is a pretty action-packed event. Vegeta steps up to battle first (naturally), going at Moro head-on. The ancient sorcerer reveals some serious fight skills for a being that’s been in prison for 10,000,000 years, including a buff full form and teases of some dark magic powers that rival the gods.

In the midst of all this action, however, there is another, smaller, reveal that could prove to have some big implications later on in this “Galactic Patrol Prisoner” story arc: it seems there’s a connection between Moro and Vegeta that the Saiyan Prince is unaware of!

That connection is found in Moro’s accomplice, “Raspberry,” who broke the evil sorcerer out of the Galactic Patrol prison in the first place. The ne’er-do-well’s backstory is that he is a Freeza Force deserter, who ended up in the galactic prison. Having served in the Freeza Force, this thug heard tell of Freeza’s campaign on Namek, and the prize the Evil Emperor sought: the Dragon Balls.

Of course, there just one problem: After Goku’s milestone first Super Saiyan transformation and battle against Freeza on Namek, the planet was destroyed, with the surviving Nameks and their Dragon Balls being relocated to a secret planet called “New Namek.” No one knows how to located the hidden world, but Raspberry realizes that the baddest dude in the prison, Moro, has the power to find New Namek, and so the two strike up a partnership.

The connection to Vegeta is teased when Moro and his accomplice find Goku and Vegeta waiting for them on New Namek. Moro steps off the ship to face the Saiyans, but his accomplice has yet to reveal himself. However, Raspberry does spot Vegeta, and instantly recognizes the Saiyan Prince by sight – in a seemingly personal way (as opposed to knowing him by reputation). The accomplice is dumbfounded that Vegeta is on New Namek – and even more bewildered when he gets an up close look at Vegeta’s new Galactic Patrol armor, during the fight with Moro.

Whatever the connection between Vegeta and Raspberry, it clearly comes from the darker days of Vegeta’s life, when he was the unwitting servant of the tyrant that destroyed his kingdom (Freeza), and roamed the galaxy wreaking death and havoc on those that crossed his path. It’s an ironic circling, as in this same chapter Vegeta goes out of his way to save a Namekian that Moro tries to kill, in a stated attempt to redeem all of th wrong he did to the Namekians in Freeza’s name.

Dragon Ball Super: Broly is out now. Dragon Ball Super currently airs its English dub on Adult Swim during the Toonami block Saturday evenings at 9:30 p.m. It is also available to stream on Funimation and Amazon Video. The Japanese language release is available to stream on FunimationNOW, VRV, and Crunchyroll.

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