Dragon Ball Super’s Bardock/Gas Fight Was A Disappointment

Dragon Ball Super has focused on the story of the intergalactic bounty hunter Granolah for quite a few chapters, with Goku and Vegeta now facing off against the alien crime family known as the Heeters, and its strongest member Gas. With Chapter 83 of the manga, we were able to see how Goku’s father was able to defeat the Heeter who is the current strongest being in the universe, and the answer to this question is quite disappointing when all is said and done.    

As readers know, Bardock was able to achieve a new level of power, seemingly giving himself a new form in the process of managing to take down Gas. While you can attribute this to the idea that perhaps it has to do with Bardock losing his tail, or simply wanting to win just that much, it feels like a cop-out when Goku’s father is able to take the victory just because. After so many months of building up the mystery behind why Bardock was able to defeat Gas, a being that was seemingly far stronger than he was with his power level being at around ten thousand at the time, pulling a win out of thin air doesn’t give Goku and company much information to rely on in their fight in the present, and it gives readers even less.

The Saiyans ability to evolve while fighting has somewhat changed over the years, with their power able to skyrocket, in the past, when they came close to death, but seemingly, in Dragon Ball Super, their energy simply increases during a fight. Giving Bardock this wild new ability out of nowhere, after Goku’s father has barely fought Gas, is just too convenient in terms of storytelling, and could have been rectified if Bardock had come close to death and been revived by Monaito. If Bardock could simply increase his energy in this case, why wouldn’t he have the same option when placed in front of Frieza? 

In Dragon Ball Super, power increases just happen and the emotional beats that helped make the likes of Super Saiyan 1 and 2 so effective are gone. Ultra Instinct, Ultra Ego, and now Bardock’s new energy increase happen because the story needs them to happen and that’s a major crack in the armor for the Granolah Arc.

How do you think the fight between Bardock and Gas could have been improved? 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.