Dragon Ball Artist Revisits Gohan’s Long-Lost Friend in New Art

Dragon Ball Super’s movies have taken the world by storm, with feature-length films such as Battle of Gods, Resurrection of F, Broly, and most recently, Super Hero, not only giving anime fans some of the best battles of the sequel series but also taking place in the Shonen’s continuity. Such was not the case for most, if not all, of Dragon Ball Z’s films, which are not considered canon, but that hasn’t stopped the current manga artist, Toyotaro, from revisiting Gohan’s best friend, Icarus, in new art.

Icarus first appeared in the third film in the Dragon Ball Z franchise, Tree of Might, in which he met Gohan and became fast friends thanks to the destruction that was caused by the Goku-doppelganger known as Turles. The playful small dragon would often make appearances in future movies, as well as in the main series during the non-canon story arc that featured the return of Garlic Jr. In Dragon Ball Z, however, Icarus has been nowhere to be found, most likely meaning that his outside of continuity status doesn’t make for an ideal return at any point in the future of the series, though stranger things have certainly happened.

Dragon Ball I (The “I” Stands For Icarus)

Toyotaro shared the new art via the Official Dragon Ball Website, which not only brings back Gohan’s dragon, but imagines Icarus growing into his own and towering over the son of Goku following his long absence from the Shonen series:

At present, it doesn’t seem as though Icarus will have the option of making a comeback in Dragon Ball Super’s manga arc, as the printed story is currently focusing on Goten and Trunks as they attempt to follow in Gohan’s footsteps as the new superheroes on the block, Saiyaman X1 and Saiyaman X2. With the story taking place before the events of Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero, this also means that it’s incredibly unlikely that we’ll see the debut of Gohan’s Beast mode in the prequel tale. 

Which characters from the Dragon Ball Z movies would you love to see make a comeback in Dragon Ball Super in a similar vein as the Legendary Super Saiyan, Broly? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly on Twitter @EVComedy to talk all things comics, anime, and the world of the Z-Fighters.