‘Dragon Ball Super’ Reveals Broly’s Fur Origin

Dragon Ball Super: Broly gives its titular character a major retconned origin story, which results in a much different version than the one we knew from the Dragon Ball Z days. Ever since Dragon ball fans started getting their first looks at the new Dragon Ball Super version of Broly, there’s been one aspect of the new character design that had fans intrigued: a thick section of fur wrapped around Broly’s waist.

Some fan theory went so far as to speculate that Broly had some kind of mutated or evolved Saiyan tail – or that Broly would reveal some hybrid transformation of a humanoid and Great Ape. Well, now that Dragon Ball Super: Broly is out and crushing the box office, the mystery of the Broly’s fur fashion choice has been revealed – and it’s actually one of the more heart warming parts of Broly’s backstory!

As Broly reveals to his new friends, Freeza Force members Cheelai and Lemo, his fur is actually a pelt, taken from the ear of a creature named Ba, who lived on the Planet Vampa where Broly and his father Paragus were stranded for decades. Ba has the face and fur of a dog, set on the body of a giant snake; his kind were some of the dominant predators on Vampa, which was a club that the wild and savage Broly definitely belonged in. Ba was trying to devour Broly at first, but to Broly it was all just a fun game, which he used to first train himself in flight and defense. However, when Ba eventually befriended Broly like a pet, Paragus felt the emotional bond messed with his plan to make Broly into a cold, brutal, warrior. Paragus pulled out a ray gun and tried to shoot Ba, only managing to sever the creature’s ear. Ba, feeling betrayed, abandoned Broly and never returned. In order for Broly to help himself through that loss, and the loneliness he felt being isolated on Vampa for years on end, he took the fur from Ba’s amputated ear and fashioned himself a pelt, so that he could always feel close to his only friend.

This makes Broly’s fur more than a fashion statement: it’s a subtle but important clue, early on in the film, that the wild Saiyan is actually just a tragic figure, rather than the evil destroyer he was depicted as in the original Dragon Ball Z: Broly movie. If his backstory doesn’t give you feels, and make you love the big lug just a bit, you may be more heartless than Freeza.

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.

—–

Have you subscribed to ComicBook Nation, the official Podcast of ComicBook.com yet? Check it out by clicking here or listen below.

In this latest episode, we react to the major Batman movie news that just dropped; talk wrestling with a WWE Royal Rumble recap; and defend geek culture from celebrity political pundit Bill Maher, after he took shots at Stan Lee’s legacy!