Dragon Ball’s Gohan Black is The Perfect Villain For Future Trunks

Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero is one of the most highly anticipated entries in the shonen franchise’s long video game run. While the Bandai Namco fighter will allow players to face one another in the shoes of their favorite anime characters, the game also creates “What If” scenarios that remake the Dragon Ball timeline. One of these timelines has garnered plenty of attention thanks to introducing “Gohan Black”, a wild new take on the son of Goku. While Gohan Black hasn’t been confirmed for any anime series, the villain would be the perfect villain for Future Trunks, the character who last appeared during Dragon Ball Super’s “Goku Black Arc”.

To start, let’s do a rundown of who Gohan Black is. In an alternate timeline, Gohan is able to call upon his full power during the events of “Resurrection of F”, taking down the newly resurrected villain. In continuing his training alongside his mentor Piccolo, Gohan is able to surpass Goku and Vegeta and become the strongest hero of the bunch. Thanks to this, the rogue Kaioshin Zamasu sees his strength and decides to overtake Gohan’s body rather than that of his father. In this new timeline, Gohan Black is front and center and makes for the perfect foil for the future son of the prince of all Saiyans.

Gohan Black x Future Trunks

Future Gohan has always been a fan-favorite character in the Dragon Ball series, despite the fact that he was relegated to the one special, Dragon Ball Z: The History of Trunks. For many anime fans, this is their favorite iteration of the character as he gives his all to fight against Androids 17 and 18, including his arm and his life. The emotional turmoil that would befall Future Trunks in facing an evil iteration of his former mentor would be some excellent storytelling, as shown in Sparking Zero.

While Future Trunks went back into the past initially to save Goku’s life, he never quite had a close connection to the star of the series. His fight against Goku Black, while brutal, did lack emotional impact on the same level as a villainous Gohan might supply. The best way we can see this is thanks to Super Dragon Ball Heroes as this very scenario was presented. The side series might not hit the same heights as its official counterpart but it struck serious gold when it came to its “Warrior In Black”.

The Previous Gohan Black

If you weren’t aware, Dragon Ball Sparking Zero wasn’t the first time anime fans witnessed the arrival of a “Goku Black”. Introduced as a member of the time-traveling group of villains known as the “Warriors In Black”, this version of Gohan wasn’t possessed by Zamasu but still was forced into a nefarious position. In this Gohan’s life, the Androids had killed the Bulma and Trunks of his universe and set him on a path that would have him do anything to bring them back.

In the final storyline of Super Dragon Ball Heroes’ anime adaptation, the fight between Gohan Black and the Future Trunks of the Time Patrol is one of the best moments of the spin-off series. While the side story will normally breeze through events, this meeting elicited serious emotion from both characters along with viewers. With Future Trunks being absent from the shonen sequel series, introducing a Gohan Black and bringing him back to Dragon Ball Super, once the manga returns, would be a great creative decision.

Want to see what the future holds for Gohan Black and Future Trunks? Follow along with Team Anime on ComicBook.com for the latest updates on the shonen series and hit me up directly @EVComedy to talk all things comics and anime.