The Dragon Ball franchise has emerged as one of the greatest shonen series ever, and much of the credit goes to the power system it has developed. Since the beginning, the series has been built on the idea of constantly surpassing previous limits, with new transformations becoming the norm as representations of a character’s untapped power. However, it has mostly reserved these developments for the main characters, especially the Saiyans, including Goku, Vegeta, and Gohan.
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As the series has progressed, it has made it clear that, beyond the Saiyans, there are many other great characters with the foundation for untapped power, yet they have never been explored. This is unfortunate, as many of these characters could have emerged as incredibly powerful fighters, and these three characters from the franchise are proof of that.
3) Dabura
Dabura emerged as the first villain of the Majin Buu Saga, immediately proving himself to be a major threat thanks to his demonic power. He was already a match for the Saiyans in their Super Saiyan 2 states, yet he was ultimately portrayed as Babidi’s lackey. However, the true untapped potential behind Dabura’s existence comes from the backstory revealed in Dragon Ball Daima. It revealed that the true source of the Supreme Demon Kings’ power originated from the Third Eye Artifact, which Dabura rejected and even deceived his father to prevent him from using.
Had Dabura claimed this power for himself, he could have become an even stronger character, truly living up to the title of Supreme Demon King and possibly even surpassing Gomah as seen in Daima. His backstory also revealed that Dabura was once a kind king, something the franchise should have explored by showcasing his potential after wielding the Third Eye Artifact as the Supreme Demon King.
2) Uub
Akira Toriyama’s original run of Dragon Ball came to an end with Uub being positioned as the hero who would take the torch from Goku and emerge as Earth’s next protector. This made perfect sense, as Goku and the Saiyans would not be there forever to defend the planet. With Uub being the reincarnation of Buu and already established as an exceptionally powerful character, he was the perfect setup for a new hero with immense untapped potential.
Fans should have been given the promised arc of Goku training Uub and preparing him to replace him as the series’ main hero. Instead, the franchise only left that idea in theory. Perhaps Dragon Ball Super could finally deliver on that promise by bringing Uub back, allowing him to realize his full potential, and giving him a solo arc with Goku as his mentor. In doing so, Dragon Ball Super could finally fulfill the direction Akira Toriyama originally intended.
1) Vegeta
Vegeta has never been out of the spotlight for long, as he has consistently been positioned as the character who lives up to Goku’s achievements by reaching the same heights after him. However, never once has Vegeta been portrayed as the one to achieve something greater than Goku throughout the franchise’s decades-long narrative. That is why the franchise owes the Saiyan Prince a solo arc that finally allows him to surpass expectations with a unique form that Goku could later follow.
Vegeta is arguably the character with the greatest untapped potential, as even Dragon Ball Daima showed him achieving Super Saiyan 3 through his own training rather than under special circumstances like Goku and Gotenks. Thus, for Vegeta fans, a dedicated solo arc featuring the Saiyan Prince attaining something no Saiyan has ever achieved before could be the greatest solo story the Dragon Ball franchise could deliver.
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