Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero Already Improved One of GT’s Biggest Disappointments

Upon its release, Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero was met with immediate praise from fans and critics alike for its exciting storyline, epic visuals, and clever writing, but the film was an achievement for the Dragon Ball mythos for at least one more reason than those: Super Hero improved one of Dragon Ball GT’s biggest disappointments.

Long before Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero – or even Dragon Ball Super, for that matter – the official sequel to Dragon Ball Z was Dragon Ball GT. GT picked up where End of Z left off, meaning there was a pretty significant time jump between the main events of Z and the start of GT. That means a number of characters who were children, or even babies, were ready to go on their own adventures alongside the more established characters like Goku, Vegeta, and Trunks. And one such character was Gohan’s daughter, Pan.

Pan was arguably the main character of Dragon Ball GT, which is why she was such a disappointment in the series. Or, rather, Dragon Ball GT totally let Pan down. Despite being the protagonist, Pan never had a notable victory, she was a borderline hindrance to the other Z-Fighters, and she never got a significant power-up – Pan didn’t even go Super Saiyan! Overall, Pan was totally wasted as a new main character for the Dragon Ball sequel, which is something Dragon Ball Super has already begun to remedy.

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Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero Set The Stage For Pan’s Redemption

In Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero (written by Akira Toriyama, directed by Tetsuro Kodama), Pan is once again the primary focus, only this time she is way younger than she was in GT, and she isn’t the main protagonist, but rather the catalyst for the conflict. Pan was kidnapped by the resurgent Red Ribbon Army, and while she is more or less a victim waiting to be saved, the film makes it clear that Pan’s far more than that.

When Piccolo is training Pan at the start of the film, it’s revealed that she is already learning some advanced techniques at the incredibly young age of just three years old. Indeed, Pan knew how to fly when she was just a baby (as shown in the Dragon Ball Super anime), so it’s no surprise that Piccolo is throwing her right into the thick of his training, just as he did with her father so many years prior. Not only that, but Dragon Ball‘s Pan was fighting some of the gun-wielding Red Ribbon Army guards by the end of the film, and she wasn’t scared at any point during the kidnapping.

Pan’s Power Level, Bravery, & Heroism Is Already Being Established In Dragon Ball Super

Pan is already showing signs of being advanced in terms of power level and mastery of difficult techniques, meaning she has the potential to surpass anyone else in the series. With continued training from Piccolo, and then perhaps even the likes of Goku and Vegeta – or even Beerus and Whis – Pan could become an immensely powerful fighter within the Dragon Ball mythos, and based on her aptitude in Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero, that development wouldn’t be surprising in the least. Once she gets a bit older in Dragon Ball Super, it’s safe to say that Pan will do much more than finally become a Super Saiyan. She may very well outshine everyone who came before her, and it’s all because of the way she was established in Super Hero.

Dragon Ball GT was fine with letting Pan be nothing more than a fairly strong fighter without any significant victories or power-ups, though it’s clear from the way she was portrayed in Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero that the same will not be said for Pan in Dragon Ball’s current continuity.

Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero is available to watch on Crunchyroll.

Watch on Crunchyroll