Warning! This article contains spoilers for Dragon Ball Super chapter 97Before the current Dragon Ball Super manga arc, Goten and Trunks got an entire story arc that acted as something of a prequel to Super Hero. This controversial direction left many fans confused and frustrated, as they didn’t see a point to Goten and Trunks’ low-stakes, earthbound story. However, in the latest chapter of the Dragon Ball Super manga, the Goten and Trunks prequel is finally justified as the two young Saiyans get a chance to shine they did not have in the Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero movie.
Dragon Ball Super chapter #88 by Akira Toriyama and Toyotarou marked the beginning of a whole-new saga the likes of which fans haven’t seen since the days of the classic Dragon Ball series. The previous saga showed Goku and Vegeta unlocking and utilizing Ultra Instinct and Ultra Ego, respectively, and it also introduced the immensely powerful Black Frieza transformation. Rather than moving forward from there, however, Super decided to take a step back and follow Trunks and Goten as they fight low-level villains as the superhero duo Saiyaman X-1 and Saiyaman X-2. This storyline led directly into the events of Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero, but it seemed to have little impact. Sure, fans got some background on Dr. Hedo, but the whole thing with Trunks and Goten being superheroes just felt random and disjointed. However, in the latest chapter of Super, the significance of this arc becomes crystal clear.
Trunks & Goten Inspired Dragon Ball Super’s Gamma 1 & 2
In Dragon Ball Super chapter #97 by Akira Toriyama and Toyotarou, Goten and Trunks attack Cell Max just as they did in Super Hero, only in the manga version, they do it as their superhero personas Saiyaman X-1 and X-2 – complete with their silly costumes, poses, and a new attack that was shown in the ‘prequel arc’, performed in an amazing combination with Gamma 1 and Gamma 2. Upon seeing these two heroes in action, the Androids Gamma 1 and 2 comment on the Saiyamen, specifically their costumes. They say that these are the heroes on which Dr. Hedo based their own design, and fans know they’re correct given Trunks and Goten’s connection to Dr. Hedo from the previous arc.
Trunks and Goten’s superhero personas not only play a role in the battle between the Z-Fighters and Cell Max (which alone makes the introduction of them significant), but they also were directly responsible for the looks and attitudes of Gamma 1 and 2. Dr. Hedo has been obsessed with superheroes since fans were introduced to him, but the movie made it look that his real frame of reference when it came to creating his own superheroes for the Red Ribbon Army was the in-universe fictional character Clean God. However, since Dr. Hedo fought the Saiyamen during Trunks and Goten’s prequel arc, he was able to see up close and personal two amazing superheroes in action, and he decided to use practically every aspect of their characters in crafting his Androids.
More importantly, this lets Goten and Trunks shine, even if briefly, during the battle against Cell Max, while in the movie they were reduced mostly to a comic relief role. From fighting against a world-ending threat as their superhero personas to being the inspiration behind two of the strongest Androids in the whole series, this latest chapter of Dragon Ball Super finally justifies its Goten and Trunks, despite fans criticism, prequel by giving it a greater impact on the larger storyline.
