Dragon Ball Super chapter 52 takes a pause from the galactic battle with evil sorcerer Moro, to start setting the game board for the final showdown. That setup mostly revolved around Goku and Vegeta, who have taken separate paths to unlocking new powers that will finally help them overcome Moro’s power to cancel out Super Saiyan energy. For Goku, that journey leads to training under a powerful new master – but for Vegeta, it means returning to a (somewhat) familiar spot: the Planet Yardrat, where Goku learned his Instant Transmission teleportation technique. Going back to Yardrat is enough of a Dragon Ball Z callback for fans to enjoy – so imagine the thrill when we get the reveal of a secret chapter of Dragon Ball Z history involving Yardrat and Freeza’s Ginyu Force!
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WARNING: Dragon Ball Super chapter 52 Spoilers Follow!
When arriving on Yardrat, Vegeta is greeted by several different races of the planet’s inhabitants. One of the gracious hosts aliens takes Vegeta to meet Elder Pybara, the leader who taught Goku the Instant Transmission process. Being the cynical bastard that he is, Vegeta immediately questions why the Yardratians are treating him with such kindness. That’s when we learn that Goku and the Ginyu Force are behind the reason that Yardrat now loves Saiyans. As Vegeta’s guide explains:
“The Ginyu Squad caused quite a stir on our planet before Goku defeated them. So we’re eternally grateful to you and Goku since you took care of that problem.”
Now, in the established canon of Dragon Ball Z, Goku use a Ginyu Squad space pod to escape the destruction of Namek after his final battle with Freeza. The pod was programmed with the coordinates for Planet Yardrat, and the established reasoning was that Yardrat was the Ginyu Forces’ next destination, until they were called to Namek by Freeza. However, this latest chapter of Dragon Ball Super seems to retcon that idea, suggesting that the Ginyu Force had already made their fearsome presence known on Yardrat, before Goku and Co. ultimately defeated them on Namek. The Yardratians clearly appreciate how that battle benefited them, and could be key into now helping the Saiyan heroes overcome a deadly threat of their own.
This isn’t the only instance where Dragon Ball Super’s latest story arc is retconning elements of Dragon Ball Z. Moro’s first henchman, Cranberry, was minor character revealed to have been resurrected after the Namek Saga; while new elements of the Buu saga have also been retconned to explains events surrounding Moro’s rivalry with Daikaioh. So far, these new revelations have been fun callbacks that actually expand the Dragon Ball mythos in nice ways – let’s hope that continues.
Dragon Ball Super: Broly is out now. Dragon Ball Super currently airs its English dub on Adult Swim during the Toonami block Saturday evenings. It is also available to stream on Funimation and Amazon Video. The Japanese language release is available to stream on FunimationNOW, VRV, and Crunchyroll.
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