Gohan has recently emerged as perhaps the new strongest character in Dragon Ball Super, having fought toe-to-toe with not only his father, but also Vegeta and even Broly. Gohan’s Beast mode is a powerful new transformation, to be sure, but it’s one that he was only able to achieve in this timeline; in Future Trunks’ time, Gohan never reached this new level of power. So what made present Gohan so much stronger than his future counterpart?

Future Trunks greatly respected Future Gohan as his mentor, with Gohan having to step up and take the lead role in that future after the deaths of Goku to heart disease, and Vegeta and so many others to the Androids. Future Gohan is said to be around 23 years old when he dies, making him only a bit younger than the Super Hero-era Gohan, meaning both have had equal amounts of time to train their power. And while main timeline Gohan spent many of those years happily married and working a normal job, Future Gohan definitely spent that time training. If anything, it seems that Future Gohan should’ve absolutely unlocked the Beast transformation before Gohan had.

Future Gohan is Held Back by the Circumstances of His Life

No matter how one looks at it, Future Gohan has certainly had a rough life. Like his main timeline counterpart, he lost his father at a young age, but while main timeline Goku would be revived years later, Future Goku’s death was irreversible. Future Gohan also had to watch as the friends and family he’d known all his life, like Piccolo, were killed by the Androids one by one, until essentially only he and Future Trunks were left to fight.

Without Piccolo or Goku to help guide their training, it’s likely that Future Gohan and Future Trunks struggled with gaining control and mastering their power. After all, Future Gohan was still just a child himself when most of the Z Fighters were killed, and while he had been trained some by that point, there was still a lot of potential left untapped. They also lost access to the Dragon Balls when Piccolo died (therefore Kami along with him), meaning no shortcuts like wishing for his potential to be unlocked were available. Future Gohan also loses an arm at one point, which no doubt also affected his ability to train.

While there’s the practical loss of access to the wisdom and resources of the older Z Fighters, one also has to consider how much of a burden this must’ve been on Future Gohan. Righteous fury can certainly be the trigger for greater power in Saiyans, but the absolute despair that Future Gohan and Trunks faced as they battled against the Androids alone for years must’ve been a difficult thing to endure. Future Gohan not only had to endure this, but had to be a pillar that Trunks could lean on for strength as well.

Gohan’s Loving and Supportive Environment Was His True Strength

In contrast, the main timeline’s Gohan has had a much better life, living alongside the other Z Fighters in relative peace. While Gohan definitely endured his share of hardships, such as growing up for several years without Goku, he had a chance to develop more as a person and as a warrior. While Goku may not be the best father, his presence in Gohan’s life has undoubtedly been a positive one. Gohan also faced powerful opponents like Buu in the main timeline, which helped propel his power to even greater heights.

Because he’s so busy dealing with the Androids, Future Gohan never meets Videl, and thus never gets married or becomes a father. On the surface, that might seem like it would make him stronger, but it couldn’t be farther from the truth. Gohan’s desire to protect his daughter and family is a true source of strength for him. It may sound cliché, but the love he has for his friends and family really is critical to his power. After all, Gohan awakens the Beast transformation after watching Piccolo nearly be killed by Cell Max, and Piccolo is perhaps even closer to him than Goku.

Additionally, Gohan never had to bear the emotional burden of being the sole survivor of the original Z Fighters, nor the weight of being the only one standing in opposition to the Androids. That (relative) lack of trauma may actually be the key difference between Future Gohan and Dragon Ball Super‘s Gohan. This allowed him to form a family, to grow as a person, and actually experience what life is like. While Future Gohan has known nothing but war, Gohan has gotten to see what peace is like, and has learned why it’s so important to protect it from those who would destroy.

Gohan’s New Power Makes Him Different from Goku and Vegeta

Like Future Gohan, Goku and Vegeta have lived relatively rough lives, themselves among the few survivors of their planet’s destruction, and having witnessed the death of friends on many occasions. Their impressive power is born of training and suffering, working hard to draw out their full strength and constantly finding new ways in which to expand their abilities. Much of Gohan’s power is said to be “latent potential,” at least prior to obtaining the Gohan Beast transformation, but he didn’t have to train quite like they did to bring it out. That would seem to back up the idea that Gohan’s peaceful life is actually better for his growth.

Ultimately, Future Gohan, despite being a valiant warrior, simply didn’t have the strength of his emotional bonds with others to rely upon the way his main universe counterpart did. He had already lost everything long ago, and never had the chance at a family, so while he fought bravely for his ideals and to protect the innocent, that’s all he really had to give him strength. Comparing these two versions of Gohan and their power, it’s clear that Dragon Ball Super‘s Gohan has benefited from having a happier life, and hopefully that will apply to Goten, Trunks, and Pan as well.