'Dragon Ball Super' Just Had Goku Abandon the Namek Race

The latest issue of Dragon Ball Super manga picked up with the furious battle on New Namek between new villain Moro, Goku and Vegeta, with the prize of the Namekian Dragon Balls hanging in the balance. The battle proves to be one of the most ferocious that the Saiyan warriors have ever fought - and also one of their biggest losses!

"Planet-Eater Moro" lives up to his name by absorbing the core energy of New Namek, as well as the lifeforces of the Namekian people and his Saiyan opponents. The absorption process has some very unexpected effects on Goku and Vegeta - namely by stealing the Super Saiyan ki that let's the Saiyans transform into their higher form!

It doesn't take Goku and Vegeta long to realize that their base form power is nothing compared to Moro's own fight power and deadly magical abilities. The villain further reveals that he has the power to literally consume the Saiyans' energy blasts like food, thereby making himself even stronger in the process. That move is a major checkmate for any and everything Goku and Vegeta can throw at Moro - and that's when we see Goku at one of his most un-heroic moments in the entire series.

Realizing how outmatched they are by the evil sorcerer, Goku tries to Instant Transmission back to the Galactic Patrol ship where Jaco and Meerus are stationed, while dropping this gem of heroic proclamation along the way:

"I feel bad about the Namekians, but we gotta get back to Merus and the Galactic Patrol."

Yes, you read correctly: Goku knows that his leaving will doom the Namekian people to some horrible deaths at Moro's hands - but he's going to let it happen anyway. At least he 'feels bad,' I guess?

Unfortunately for (not so) noble Goku, Moro's energy-sapping abilities also steal the amount of ki Goku needs to use Instant Transmission, leaving him and Vegeta stuck on New Namek. In what can only be called "Instant Karma Transmission" Moro repays Goku's cowardice by hardcore thrashing him and Vegeta, nearly blows them up with a massive energy bomb, then drains the rest of their lifeforces, leaving them dying on the battlefield. The Saiyans get a last-minute save from the Namekian healers, but it's arguably more than Goku deserved.

Some fans may argue that Goku was simply retreating to regroup, recharge, and attack again - and allowing a little mass killing that can later be wished away by the Dragon Balls has been part of the series since the Dragon Ball Z days. However, in the moment, it's not a good look at all!

...to be fair though, there's ironically a sequence of panels interrupting Goku's 'fight or flight' decision, in which we get a side scene of Whis starting to inform Lord Beerus about what's happening on New Namek, only for Beerus to straight up say he doesn't care about what happens to New Namek, as the planet has no real foods that interest him.

Guess Dragon Ball Super needs a reminder that 'Green Lives Matter...'

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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href="https://comicbook.com/category/dragon-ball-super">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.