Is Gohan Not in Dragon Ball Super: Broly?

Since the full trailer and key art are now available for Dragon Ball Super: Broly, fans have one big question left: where is Gohan?

Goku’s firstborn son is conspicuously missing from every bit of promotion for the upcoming anime movie. Even in the 90-second-long trailer, characters like Piccolo and Bulma make an appearance while Gohan is nowhere to be seen. Likewise posters, ads and character designs are all Gohan-free.

This has fans wondering why such a powerful fighter would be left out of a battle for the fate of the earth. Gohan has matched and, at times surpassed his father’s power throughout the series, and his unique genetic make-up has imbued him with a set of powers all his own.

Add to that the simple fact that fans love Gohan. The good-natured scholar and fighter grew up before our eyes in Dragon Ball Z, but he played a minimal role in Dragon Ball Super. This movie would have been a great opportunity to get more screen time with him, but apparently that was not the direction Akira Toriyama and his team decided to go.

It’s worth noting that there was good reason to include Gohan in this movie, as well. While Dragon Ball Super: Broly reportedly consists of an all-new plot, re-booting and canonizing the villain, his past appearances have usually included Gohan. In Dragon Ball Z: Broly – The Legendary Super Saiyan, teen Gohan travels to New Planet Vegeta along with the other fighters and helps face off against Broly. His energy even helps Goku deliver the finishing blow.

In Broly: Second Coming, an older Gohan takes the central role. The Majin Buu-era Gohan fights Broly more or less by himself, with only Goten and Trunks to help him. In the end, a Kamehameha from Gohan, Goten and the spectral image of Goku sends Broly hurtling into the sun.

The new movie appears to borrow elements from both of these old stories. In all the promotional art, Broly bears the same X-shaped scar on his chest that he acquired in Second Coming. Also, much of DBSB appears to take place in an arctic setting, much like the tundra where Broly was frozen solid at the beginning of Second Coming.

However, the movie also brings back Broly’s father, Paragus, who controlled him and used him for his own purposes in their first movie.

The exact details of Dragon Ball Super: Broly have not been released just yet. Fans will likely have to wait until January to see exactly how the fight shakes out in theaters.