Warning: contains spoilers for Chapter 79 of Dragon Ball Super
The heroes at the center of Dragon Ball Super are not too different from the more traditional superheroes that one would see in a DC Comics publication. The thought may seem preposterous to those who prefer dubbing Dragon Ball’s main characters as Z-Fighters as opposed to superheroes, but characters like Goku and Vegeta reserve the right to be called superheroes in the same vein as Superman and Batman. They aren’t the only ones as one particular hero wouldn’t seem out of place in a Justice League line-up now, thanks to the events which lead into Chapter 79.
Heading into Akira Toriyama and Toyotaro’s 79th Chapter of Dragon Ball Super, Granolah is portrayed as the saga’s de facto villain in his quest for vengeance against Frieza and then the Saiyan race for invading his home planet years ago. Together with the Heeters, Granolah summons the eternal dragon Toronbo to have his ultimate wish granted: to become the strongest fighter in the universe. However, things change when Granolah realizes that it was a Saiyan named Bardock, Goku’s father, who spared him and saved his life at the time. Instead, it’s the Heeters, who are the true villains of the story, putting Granolah into direct conflict with Gas for Chapter 79.
Although Toronbo could only make him as strong as his potential would allow at the cost of literally taking years off of his life, the wish works. In addition to gaining a heap of new strength, Dragon Ball Super’s newest hero also acquires a slew of new abilities, many of which are put on full display during his fight with Gas in Chapter 79. Considering these new abilities and what readers already know about Granolah, it can be inferred that he’s a combination of DC’s Green Lantern and Booster Gold.
In the case of the Green Lantern Corps, both Granolah and even his opponent Gas display the ability to make objects and weapons out of pure energy. While Corps members like Hal Jordan and John Stewart receive their energy from their power rings, Granolah and Gas get their energy from the planet they’re on. Gas uses his powers to emanate daggers, staffs, and even a wrecking ball from his palms while Granolah has been seen using energy to create flaming pillars. Meanwhile, any comparisons to Booster Gold have less to do with Granolah himself and more with the relationship he shares to Oatmeel, an assistant in his eye piece that is comparable to Booster Golds’ Skeets. While much mystery still surrounds what exactly Oatmeel is and isn’t, Skeets is a small droid of artificial intelligence from the 25th century who pulls double duty as Booster Gold’s sidekick. What both Oatmeel and Skeets have in common is that they are both sassy AIs who serve a role in supplying the main hero with support and information that neither Booster nor Granolah would have otherwise.
Of course, don’t expect Granolah to make the jump from Dragon Ball Super to DC Comics anytime soon, but Granolah being a superhero isn’t so much an unwarranted thought as it is a fact at this point.
