Android 17’s wish in the final episode of Dragon Ball Super could have set up a new saga in the next anime. There’s a common expectation that when the Z-Warriors return in another series, their next battle may follow the direction of the manga continuation and pit them against the villain called Moro. Regardless of if that’s the plan for the franchise, there could be several sagas already in the works.
Some of the stories that have possibly been set up for Goku, Vegeta, Gohan, Piccolo, and the other heroes could be born from all the mythos that was established in Dragon Ball Super regarding the show’s multiverse. Specifically, one of these stories could come as a direct result of the story that brought eight of its universes together, the Tournament of Power arc, and a decision made by the fan-favorite hero, Android 17.
Android 17, who acted as a bit of a dark horse on Goku’s Universe 7 team in the Tournament of Power, survived several grueling battles to outlast several of his teammates, including Gohan, Piccolo, Android 18, and more. Alongside Goku and Frieza, 17 made it to the final minute of the tournament, with Universe 11’s Jiren as their sole remaining opponent. When Frieza and an energy-depleted Goku took themselves out of the ring to finish off Jiren, 17 was left as the last man standing and the winner of the event for Universe 7. As previously agreed, the victor was granted the Super Dragon Balls, and a chance to wish for anything he wanted. With his wish to Super Shenron, 17 brought back the universes that were erased over the course of the tournament. It could be that a future saga in the Dragon Ball franchise will actually be built on this wish.
Dragon Ball Super’s Multiverse Explained
Dragon Ball Super heavily expanded on Goku’s world when it introduced the idea that there are multiple universes in existence. It was explained that there are 12 universes in total, and that the one the main characters are from is called Universe 7. Each universe has a counterpart that mirrors it in some way. These twin universes contain many of the same planets and races, but often share different histories. Universe 7’s “twin” is Universe 6, the home of key Dragon Ball Super characters like Hit, Caulifla, Cabba, and Champa.
All universes are overseen by an all-powerful deity known as the Grand Zeno, who has the power to erase any of them with no effort at all. Each of the 12 universes have been assigned their very own God of Destruction, an Angel to serve as his attendant, and a Supreme Kai. So far, Dragon Ball Super has devoted stories to both Universes 6 and 10, and through the Tournament of Power, fans were introduced to the best fighters from Universes 2, 3, 4, 9, 10 and 11. It was decided that since the people of Universes 1, 5, 8, and 12 are more powerful on average than the others, they were allowed to avoid participation. For this reason, little is known about them.
However, these aren’t the only four universes that the anime has thus far ignored. It was revealed that in the distant past, the multiverse actually consisted of 18 universes, but six were destroyed, supposedly because Zeno was angry at the time. The manga version of this explanation indicates that Zeno was at least partially motivated by an opinion that the multiverse was too large.
Android 17 Could Have Resurrected Universes 13-18
The multiverse shrank considerably as the Tournament of Power went on, as per the event’s rules. Once each team had all 10 of its fighters eliminated, its respective universe was subsequently erased. So, when it was all over and Android 17 was left the winner, seven universes were gone. When the Grand Minister told 17 to make his wish to Super Shenron, the character then spoke these words: “all of the universes that have been erased, I want to bring them back”.
When considering the possible repercussions of this wish, the wording which Android 17 uses to phrase this statement is incredibly important. 17 doesn’t say that he wants Super Shenron to restore the universes erased during the Tournament of Power; instead, he asks for “all of the universes that have been erased” to be brought back. Since Universes 13-18 were erased by Zeno a long time ago, it would make sense if Super Shenron revived them when he brought back the other seven.
There was no evidence of this being the case in Dragon Ball Super, but there didn’t need to be. The restoration of Universes 2, 3, 4, 6, 9, 10, and 11 was confirmed when the gods and fighters were shown being resurrected, but that’s because they were originally in the vicinity and such a scene was expected. But, Universes 13-18 could have been resurrected secretly, without anyone other than the Angels, the Grand Minister, and the two Zenos being aware of it.
Why Android 17’s Wish May Have Set Up A Future Villain
If Android 17’s wish was interpreted to include the six missing universes, Super Shenron could have restored worlds that have been gone from the multiverse for hundreds or even thousands of years. If so, the next anime could introduce six more Gods of Destruction and other new characters, concepts, and races. Also, any of the six universes could be the home of a threat that Goku and the others will have to deal with eventually.
Earlier, it was said that Universes 13-18 were erased just because Zeno was angry, but a more specific, sensible explanation could be offered in the future. It could be that details of why they were really erased was avoided on purpose. Whis, or perhaps the Grand Minister, could explain to the Z-Warriors that these universes were erased because of problems that their residents caused. But even if that’s not the case, bringing them back could still have severe consequences.
It may be revealed that a villain more powerful than Goku was on his way to leaving his home and wreaking havoc on a different world when his universe was abruptly destroyed by Zeno. Android 17’s wish would allow this character to return. Or, fighters or gods from these places could learn about everything that’s happened in their long absence, particularly Goku’s Ultra Instinct transformation, and seek out the Z-Warriors of Universe 7 to check them out for themselves. A third possibility is that the Dragon Ball franchise uses the renewed existence of Universes 13-18 to introduce new opponents in a bigger tournament with different rules and even stronger participants.
