Dragon Ball Super: Why Vegeta Doesn’t Need to Achieve Ultra Instinct to Surpass Goku

Dragon Ball Super has finally given fans something they’ve wanted for a long time: a way for Vegeta to surpass Goku’s power, without copying it. The latest chapter of Dragon Ball Super‘s manga marks the beginning of the new arc, “Granola The Survivor”, which quickly builds up the next stage of Dragon Ball power-ups for Goku and Vegeta to achieve. This time around, however, Vegeta learns that there is more than one form of godly powers like the sort Goku has tapped into with Ultra Instinct. In fact, we learn that there are forms of divine power out there that may be perfectly suited to Vegeta’s rough personality.

Warning: Dragon Ball Super manga chapter 68 SPOILERS Follow!

The beginning of the “Granola The Survivor” arc sees Goku and Vegeta return to training with Beerus and Whis at Beerus’ castle. Whis is giving Goku an eye-opening lesson in the higher levels of Ultra Instinct, helping Goku set a course for the next goals in his fight-training.

While Goku gets schooled on how to properly develop Ultra Instinct, Vegeta talks with Beerus about what’s next for his evolution as a warrior. Vegeta makes it clear (in no uncertain terms) that he will not be pursuing Ultra Instinct as a goal. That’s when Beerus makes it clear that the Saiyan Prince doesn’t have to: Ultra Instinct is just one form of divine power available to a warrior.

As Beerus explains it, Ultra Instinct’s zen-like tranquility is something well-suited to the angels – but it doesn’t make sense for, say, Gods of Destruction, whose powers of annihilation are anything but serene and tranquil. Beerus teases Vegeta with the opportunity of watching him train, to begin to learn the divine techniques of a Destroyer, as an alternative to Ultra Instinct.

As stated, this development with Vegeta getting his own path to godly power is a welcome change to Dragon Ball Super. Why Vegeta has to be a Goku power-up clone has been a debate in the Dragon Ball fanbase going all the way back to Dragon Ball Z, where Vegeta constantly tailed Goku in achieving Super Saiyan power-ups. Dragon Ball Super tried to give Vegeta his own new path to power with the debut of Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan Evolved – but from the name, down to the specifics of the transformation, SSGSSE has been more of. a confusing half-step forward for Vegeta, rather than a true Ultra Instinct rival.

Now, however, it looks like Akira Toriyama is going back to the drawing board, to give Vegeta a more clearly-defined set of godly powers, that will stand in obvious contrast to what Ultra Instinct offers. Better yet: if this new power is more tailored to Vegeta’s gruff, bad body personality, it’ll prevent him from sacrificing that personality in the pursuit of power.