Dragon Ball Super: Will Merus Reveal Angelic Powers?

Dragon Ball Super's new manga arc, 'Galactic Patrol Prisoner,' has provided some big gains for the [...]

By Kofi Outlaw

Dragon Ball Super's new manga arc, "Galactic Patrol Prisoner," has provided some big gains for the franchise, in the forms of new characters like evil sorcerer Moro, and Elite Galactic Patrolman, Merus. In the case of the latter: Merus has revealed himself to be much more than just a highly-skilled space cop. Throughout his various battles against Moro (and a sparring session with Goku), it's clear that Merus has the ability to tap into a much greater power than he has shown. Fan theories have pointed to clues all over the manga that Merus is actually some kind of angel, which begs one big question about he and Goku's upcoming training sessions:

Will Dragon Ball Super reveal Merus' angelic powers?

The real determining factor in answering that question is, unfortunately, another question: Assuming Merus is an angel, what's the nature of his current status? The two biggest theories are that Merus is a type of angel from either a previous or alternate universe that Grand Zeno destroyed - or that he's some kind of "fallen angel" who was demoted from that high order. The former would leave Merus as a fully-powered angelic being, meaning that he still has access to all the divine powers that angels have - from superior battle techniques like Ultra Instinct, to the various mystical powers characters like Whis have revealed during the series.

If Merus is a "fallen angel" of some kind, then the specifics of what happens when angels "fall" becomes much more important. For instance: a lot of Whis' powers (teleporting, resurrection) seem tied to his staff; a fallen angel would presumably have his/her staff taken away, and therefore all the powers that go with it. Merus clearly has a bo staff-based fighting style (based on the imagery in the manga) but no actual staff, lending credit to idea that he was once an angel, but is no more.

The important thing is that even "fallen" and/or depowered, an angelic being would still be considerably formidable, as measured on a mortal power scale. Moreover, the divine power of Ultra Instinct presumably wouldn't be off limits to a "Fallen Angel," since a mortal like Goku can clearly access it. So, with Goku and Merus now contained in the safety of a Hyperbolic Chamber, it's a pretty good bet that the Galatic Patrolman could reveal what angelic power is truly all about - in ways that Whis never has.

What's your theory on Merus' angelic power reveal? Let us know in the comments!

Dragon Ball Super currently airs its English dub on Adult Swim during the Toonami programming block on Saturday evenings, and is also available to stream on Funimation and Amazon Video. The Japanese-language release of the series is complete, and available to stream on FunimationNOW and Crunchyroll. The manga has chapters that can currently be read for free thanks to Viz Media, and Dragon Ball Super's big movie, Dragon Ball Super: Broly, is now available on Blu-ray and DVD.

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