Dragon Ball Super hasn’t been afraid to show us the many failings of Goku, with the Saiyan warrior inadvertently causing the Tournament of Power which saw the destruction of multiple universes as well as inadvertently creating the antagonist of Goku Black. With these moments, and several others within the sequel series, has Akira Toriyama’s franchise finally done the impossible and turned the air headed brawler into a villain? Though Goku’s heart may be in the right place for a majority of the time, have his flaws finally overtaken his character and made him a force for evil?
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Everything About The Tournament Of Power
Son Goku was the cause behind the Tournament of Power, and while he didn’t realize that the losers of the tournament would be eliminated along with their universes, he didn’t exactly do a lot to stop it. Considering his relationship with Xeno, he probably could have done something more to try to stop the all powerful deity from enacting such harsh results for the participants who lost. With universes being snuffed out in the blink of an eye, we have to wonder what would have happened had Goku been the victory and not Android 17.
Would Goku have wished for everyone to return or simply wished for a stronger fighter to lock horns with?
He Isn’t Winning Father Of The Year
This doesn’t necessarily make him a villain but MAN does Goku need some parenting tips. Right before the Tournament of Power took place, he had a sparring match wherein Gohan was begging for his father’s attention by reclaiming the ability of his “Mystic Form” and demanding that his dear old dad unleash his full power during their brawl.
Goku has been gone from home so many times in order to get stronger that he has become something of an absentee father and with this bout between father and son, is the only way for our protagonist to be proud of his son is if he is a worthy sparring partner?
Goku Black?
While Zamasu was the one who set a plan in motion to eradicate all life he deemed “unworthy”, it was Goku’s need to fight that basically set him on the path. With Son trying to test his skill against the rogue Kaio-Shin, the villain who would be the antagonist of the third major story arc of Dragon Ball Super was given a blueprint for how he could become stronger as well as a reason to believe that mortals were a race that had to be destroyed. Fearing Goku’s power level in comparison to his own, Son’s inability to plan ahead was once again a major cause in the creation of a threat to the universe!
Vegeta Might Be The True Hero
Goku has never had to truly overcome his Saiyan heritage, or rather the ruthlessness that went with it, having been “saved” from that fate thanks to a bump on the head when he was a baby. Vegeta, on the other hand, has made insane strides since his initial arrival and gone through several levels of character development. When you think about Goku’s character now versus when he appeared in the first episode of Dragon Ball Z, or heck even the original Dragon Ball, has he changed at all? Will he ever change? Can he put his desire to fight above anything else or will the universe keep being threatened by it?
Goku’s Love Of Fighting Overshadows Everything
At the end of the day, Goku’s desire to fight seems to supersede everything else in his life, whether it be his role as a father or the lives of his friends. Granted, sometimes these things can be important to the Dragon Ball protagonist, but it seems as if these only come into play in Son’s life when they intersect with his training. Goku is always going to have the mindset of a Saiyan, but is the race inherently doomed to put strength above all else?
