7 Times Goku Should’ve Used SSJ4 in Dragon Ball But Didn’t (For Some Reason)

Dragon Ball Daima has come to an end with the full canonical debut of Goku’s new Super Saiyan 4 form, but it’s funny in retrospect looking back on all of the times he could have used it but just chose not to. Decades after it was first introduced in the non-canonical events of the Dragon Ball GT anime, original franchise creator Akira Toriyama officially brought the form into the full series canon with Dragon Ball Daima‘s story. But as fans would expect from such a reveal, it’s raised all sorts of questions about the timeline. Because it’s ultimately a new, but very familiar form.

Dragon Ball Daima‘s final episode has brought the big fight against the Supreme Demon King Gomah to an end thanks to Goku’s new Super Saiyan 4 form’s power, but it came with a rather wild reveal. While it seemed like Neva’s magic helped Goku achieve this form, Goku reveals it’s something he had actually been training towards and was unsure it if it would work. It was something he’s been capable of this entire time, but apparently just never uses it again as soon as Beerus and Whis introduce god powers in the events of Dragon Ball Super.

Given that Dragon Ball Daima takes place after the Majin Buu arc and before the Battle of Gods arc, here are a few times that Goku using the Super Saiyan 4 form would have really come in handy. It’s just that, for some reason, he never does.

vs. Beerus

Goku’s fight against Beerus at the start of the Battle of Gods arc is likely the most egregious (and hilarious) example of this new reveal. Because if Super Saiyan 4 is now a form that Goku was capable of, it’s now even wilder that Goku only used up to Super Saiyan 3 in that initial fight against Beerus if he had this in his back pocket. Although he eventually gets god abilities after this fight, the fact that he doesn’t even try and use Super Saiyan 4’s power against Beerus is now just funnier in retrospect. Especially when in some versions Goku even says he only has three transformations at that point.

vs. Goku Black

The fight against Goku Black not seeing any Super Saiyan 4 in it is less egregious of an example. While Goku uses the base Super Saiyan forms to face off against his evil counterpart initially, the fight quickly goes to the god level. Super Saiyan 4 would not have fit too well within the latter stages of the fight as it’s likely not on the same level as the god forms (especially Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan), but he could have used it in the earlier stages when Goku Black was still figuring himself out. But it’s likely best that he didn’t use it here, so this one can at least be explained away.

vs. Kefla

Although Goku should have used Super Saiyan 4 at many times during the Tournament of Power, there are only a ew key times where it would have been necessary as Goku ran out of his traditional options. Many of these involve his fights with Kale and Caulifla because as he was fighting against Universe 6’s Saiyans and showing them the heights of their potential, Goku even uses this opportunity to showcase his Super Saiyan 3 transformation. It’s an ability that eats a lot of stamina, so he otherwise wouldn’t use it unless it was to show off. Which would have been the time to use a little bit of Super Saiyan 4 to demonstrate how strong the Saiyans can get, but of course it doesn’t happen.

vs. Jiren

It’s the same case for his fight with Jiren too. Not only does he face off against Jiren at multiple occasions where the use of Super Saiyan 4 would have been a good way to even the odds when the god forms weren’t available, but Goku even goes as far as exhausting all of his options to keep up. You’d figure that with Goku struggling so much that he would attempt to reach the potential peak of his base Super Saiyan abilities when he couldn’t use the full slate of his godhood, but that’s not what happened here. It’s just another strange case like the rest of this list.

vs. Broly

This is just like the situation with the Universe 6 Saiyans. Both Goku and Vegeta run the gamut of their transformations as they face off against a fellow Saiyan, but neither of them even touch the new forms introduced during Dragon Ball Daima. If they both had access to Super Saiyan 3 (in Vegeta’s case) and Super Saiyan 4 (in Goku’s case), then this would have been the time to use those abilities before heading fully into the god transformations. This isn’t what happens, and that’s what continues to make the retcon in the new anime all the more frustrating.

vs. Planet Eater Moro

The fights against Planet Eater Moro in Dragon Ball Super‘s Galactic Patrol Prisoner saga are one of the few occasions where it would also make sense for Goku to not even try and use Super Saiyan 4. Moro would devour every single thing thrown at him, so for Goku it made a lot more sense to hold back. A form like this that is likely constantly spewing out energy was one that he wouldn’t want to use against such a foe. It’s also why he doesn’t use transformations that burned through stamina like Super Saiyan 3. Moro was a villain that needed to be defeated in a certain way, so it made sense for Goku to just stick to his various levels of Ultra Instinct here. But it would have been cool.

vs. Gas

As the final prominent fight in Dragon Ball Super that Goku’s really involved in, Gas would have been the perfect opponent to use Super Saiyan 4 against. He was literally one of the strongest foes that Goku had faced to this point, and an extra transformation would have really come in handy as Goku and Vegeta were exhausting every single option they had in order to defeat him. It’s the same case for the fights against Granolah as well, and it’s these fights that really hammer home how ridiculous of a concept it is that Goku has been hiding a transformation all this time but just didn’t use it.

Does Goku hiding Super Saiyan 4 in Dragon Ball Super bother you also? Let us know all of your thoughts about it in the comments!