Dragon Ball Super Teases a Goku-Bardock Introduction
The Granolah The Survivor Arc in Dragon Ball Super's manga has taken the opportunity to dive into the past of the Saiyan race, with the intergalactic bounty hunter recently discovering that both himself and his mother had their lives saved by an unlikely savior. With the battle between Granolah being interrupted by the Namekian Monaito, the current antagonist learns that Bardock, the father of Goku, had rescued him as a child, not only setting up a big new mystery for the series but also perhaps hinting at the idea that a meeting might take place between Goku and his father.
Bardock's story was covered in the spin-off movie of Dragon Ball Z: Bardock - The Father of Goku, which covered a part of the life of Goku's father right before the destruction of the Planet Namek, standing up to Freeza in an attempt to save the Saiyan race from genocide. Though this movie seemingly showed us the death of Bardock, the Saiyan warrior would return in a strange follow-up story via Dragon Ball: Episode of Bardock, which showed that Freeza's attack didn't murder Goku's father, but rather flung him into the past and allowed him to not only battle one of Freeza's earlier relatives but also become a Super Saiyan himself.
On top of these appearances, Bardock has played a role in the spin-off series of Dragon Ball Heroes, appearing at random times throughout the history of the series that throws everything and the kitchen sink into the mix. Though he has yet to be a part of the Space-Time War Arc, there definitely is an opportunity for Goku's father to emerge.
As far as we know in Dragon Ball Super, Bardock remains deceased, though this new story seems to be making some big changes to his character, with previous stories showing him to be something of a monster under the employ of Freeza. While he did try to protect his own race, he certainly had no qualms about destroying planets and alien races in his path. Needless to say, it will be interesting to see why Bardock saved Granolah and his mother. Goku might not meet his father face to face but he definitely seems set to learn more about his departed dad.
What do you think of the potential meeting of Goku and Bardock? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly on Twitter @EVComedy to talk all things comics, anime, and the world of Dragon Ball.