Warning: Contains spoilers for Dragon Ball Super chapter #85
There is one thing that fans of Dragon Ball have been waiting for years to happen: Vegeta surpassing Goku. Dragon Ball Super has done a great job in making Vegeta often look as strong as Goku, and it hinted many times that the Prince of Saiyan could finally claim the title of strongest warrior, even if temporarily. However, chapter #85 of the manga written by Akira Toriyama and drawn by Toyotarou proved that the series will never grow past its old dynamics, meaning that Vegeta will never surpass Goku.
Goku and Vegeta’s rivalry is one of the most enticing aspects of the Dragon Ball franchise. When he was introduced, Vegeta was the superior warrior, in a whole different league from the “lowborn” Kakarot, but things quickly changed and he was forced to play second fiddle since then. Every time that it looks like Vegeta has finally caught up, Goku surpasses him once again with a new transformation or power. In Dragon Ball Super, it was the same thing for Super Saiyan Blue: soon after Vegeta reached that state, Goku plunged forward with Ultra Instinct. However, the debut of Vegeta’s Ultra Ego made it look like the Prince of Saiyan finally had his chance. Considering that it is a different power from Ultra Instinct, Vegeta could at least be as powerful as Goku, but this quickly proved to not be the case.
During the fight against Gas, who used the Dragon Balls to obtain his wish of being the strongest warrior in the universe, both Ultra Instinct and Ultra Ego were equally powerless. Actually, because Ultra Ego becomes stronger the more damage the user takes, it looked like this technique was more suited for fighting against a superior opponent, and thus Vegeta finally had an edge over Goku. However, in Dragon Ball Super chapter #85, Vegeta goes down before striking a decisive blow to Gas, due to the excess of damage he has taken. When Goku steps up, he debuts a new, improved form of Goku’s Ultra Instinct that makes him stronger than Gas, meaning that poor Vegeta has been left behind once again.
Vegeta has many fans, but Goku remains the protagonist of the Dragon Ball franchise. Toriyama seems unwilling to change his tried-and-true formula, and Goku will always be the hero who saves the universe. In fact, Vegeta’s Ultra Ego was created by Toyotarou. The young mangaka did not create these characters, so his approach can be more innovative and less constrained by what Toriyama probably sees as the magic formula that made Dragon Ball the world’s most famous manga. However, it must be said that the franchise has been around for almost forty years. While Dragon Ball Super rejuvenated many of its aspects and is an entertaining read, the formula must be changed to prevent it from becoming stale. Having Vegeta beat the bad guy for once would be the perfect way of doing this and it would not change what fans love about Dragon Ball.
Fans know that Vegeta already proved himself to be Goku’s in many aspects, including the fact that he developed Ultra Ego on his own, while Goku was taught Ultra Instinct by Whis. The fight against Gas, then, was the perfect chance for Vegeta to take the spotlight and save the universe on his own. Sadly, it looks like this will not be the case, or at least not in this arc. Regardless of how much fans want to see it happen, it seems like Dragon Ball will not change its formula, and Vegeta will never surpass his rival Goku.
Dragon Ball Super chapter 85 is available now via Viz Media’s website.
