Dragon Ball Super sub is back on the air after a brief hiatus last week, and the upcoming episode 129 will see Goku’s Perfect Ultra Instinct state go up against the unstoppable might Jiren!
Goku and Jiren’s battle is already being touted as Dragon Ball’s greatest battle in the most recent promos – and that just might be true! The level of power on display in this fight is unlike any fans have seen, and the outcome of the battle will not only determine the ending of Dragon Ball Super, but the fate of the Z-fighters entire universe, as well.
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Fans have been buzzing and speculating for weeks now, and out of those discussions we’ve pulled the 7 ways that Goku and Jiren’s fight will end, in the penultimate episode 130:
Goku Wins
This is the easiest, most obvious, and (unfortunately), most likely scenario: Gokuย achieves Perfect Ultra Instinct (through whatever means) and finally bests Jiren in battle. After that, Gokuย gets to make the Super Dragon Ball wish, and probably doesn’t something benevolent like restore all the universes lost in the tournament, so he has a lot of great new opponents to spar with.ย
Jiren Wins
The most obviousย twistย to this final bout of the Tournament of Power would be seeing Goku’sย newest power-up still proving unable to match the might of Jirenย and battle, leading to the Saiyanย hero’s first true major loss. The interesting thing in this scenario would be the outcome determined by Jiren’sย Super Dragon Balls wish, and the fate of erasure facing Universe 7.ย
Draw
One unexpected way that Dragon Ball Super could go with this fight would be to declare no winner in the Tournament of Power. From the previews, it seems that Goku’s Ultra Instinct, even in its perfected form, won’t be enough to simply outclass Jiren. It’s going to be a fight in which Goku looks to suffer some pretty hard hits, even with the power to attack and dodge faster than the speed of thought. Again, while the gimmick of a draw might be a disappointing ending for the Tournament of Power, the impact on the next big storyline could potentially be massive, if it’s revealed that Universes 7 and 11 are allowed to survival for some ulterior motive…
New Threat Revealed
Closely related to fan theoriesย about a stalemate ending to the Tournament of Power, is the idea that Universe 7 and 11 could both remain in the picture for one very important reason: there’s a new threat on the horizon that will require the strength of both universes’ fighters.ย
This notion has already been seeded in this “Universal Survival Arc” storyline, with questions about the mysterious evil-doer that killed Jiren’sย family and friends, or the role and power of the Grand Priest. Whatever the case, Gokuย and Jiren’sย battle may end up being a testing ground to bring out new levels of power in the most powerful fighters in the universe – something the Zenosย may reveal that they needed, in order toย find champions to stop the greaterย threat looming on the horizon
Freeza FTW
Fans have been noticing one big red herring in the Tournament of Power’s final founds: Freezaย has been largely MIA – but he’s definitely not KIA. Barring some massive twist (like Freezaย making a noble sacrifice), it seems like the evil emperor could manage to emerge as the last man standing in the ring, if Gokuย and Jirenย ultimately eliminate one another. If heย wins it for Universe 7, then Freeza’s Super Dragon Ball wishย could be the major game-changer that endsย DBS, and sets up the circumstances of the next series.ย
Divine War
This long-standing fan theory has posited that the Tournament of Power may not have a clear ending at all – that in fact, the tournament could be interruptedย byย all-out war amongst the divine beings of the universe!ย
This theory goes back to speculation about the Grand Priest’s questionable presence at that tournament, or fan theory that connects Universe 11 God of Destructionย Belmodย to the evil-doer that killed Jiren’sย family. If Belmodย and/or The Grand Priest truly have some darker scheme in mind, then either Gokuย or Jiren’sย win could force them to show their hand, either to escape erasure (Belmod’sย Universe 11) or stopping a mortal from challenging their plans (Perfect Ultra Instinct Goku).ย
Cliffhanger
Yeah yeah, you probably don’t want to hear this one, after investing inย Dragon Ball Superย for so many years, but regardless, it could happen! We’ve already broken down all the waysย Dragon Ball Superย could leave us hanging on a cliffhangerย – and it’s still a very real possibility. The showrunnersย may not have come up with a suitableย answer to all of the series’ many dangling plot threads, and could simply buy time to come up with what’s next! So while we may see a stopping point to Gokuย and Jiren’sย fight, the full ramifications of the fight might not be revealed until the nextย Dragon Ballย series!
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Are you excited for Gokuย and Jiren’sย final fight? How do you think it will end? Let us know in the comments!
Dragon Ball Super airs on Crunchyroll Saturday evenings at 7:15 p.m. CST. Adult Swim airs the English dub during its Toonami block Saturday evenings at 9:30 p.m, and is now available to stream on FunimationNOW and Amazon Video.
