Dragon Ball Super: Was The Bardock Flashback Needed?

By Nick Valdez

Dragon Ball Super has officially brought Bardock into the fold with a special chapter in the Granolah the Survivor arc, but now that it's over there's a major question as to why it was even necessary to take such a lengthy detour. The Granolah the Survivor arc has reached an interesting crossroads as Goku is now the only one left standing against Gas' overwhelming power, and as he continues to fight against the Heeter he's been struggling to figure out how to actually win. There seemed to be set up for some sort of clue as to how to do so since Bardock once had defeated Gas before.  

Previous chapters of the series have revealed that Bardock somehow managed to defeat Gas in their fight in the past despite the huge difference in power, and it had seemed like when the flashback started it would provide a way for Goku to use that knowledge to defeat Gas in the present. But with the fight in the flashback ending with the newest chapter, there's no extra clue that Goku can actually use in the fight coming against the Heeter. So why did we even need to spend so much time looking back on Bardock? 

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(Photo: Shueisha)

Chapter 83 of Dragon Ball Super revealed the full look at Bardock's fight with Gas, and it's soon revealed that he had ultimately defeated Gas through sheer will. Unlocking a pseudo version of the Super Saiyan transformation, Bardock had pushed through and was ultimately able to deliver the final blow when Gas was overtaken by unlocking his innate potential. The only problem here is that in the present, Elec's wish to make Gas the strongest had negated the negative impact of that transformation and thus Gas can now use his full slate of power and abilities. 

This means that Bardock's win against Gas won't provide anything Goku actually doesn't know at the moment. All the fight told him was that his father won by just pushing forward in his fight, and that's something Goku already knows. Unless it's the key to somehow helping him understand a new kind of Ultra Instinct? Then again, that's such a roundabout way of doing things that makes Bardock's inclusion in the arc ultimately nothing more than fanservice and adding elements to the past that weren't completely necessary in retrospect. 

But what do you think? How did you feel about Bardock's return to Dragon Ball Super? Why do you think we got to see such an extended flashback in the latest chapters of the series? Let us know all of your thoughts about it in the comments! You can even reach out to me directly about all things animated and other cool stuff @Valdezology on Twitter!

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