A small but still massive theory Vegeta comes up with in Dragon Ball Z to explain the power Gohan exhibited during Raditz’s fight was perplexingly left out of the anime even though it explains why he and later Goten and Trunks became Super Saiyans so early.
In Dragon Ball chapter #204, when discussing Gohan’s power level reading from Raditz’s scouter, Vegeta wonders if Saiyan/human hybrids could naturally be more powerful than Saiyans. Nappa then associates Gohan’s power to Super Saiyans and suggests breeding many of these hybrids to rebuild the Saiyan empire, but he gets shot down by Vegeta since this would result in a bunch of kids being more powerful than them. This theory later resurfaces to explain why Goten and Trunks are able to transform into Super Saiyan so early, but it was unfortunately left completely out of the anime, leading to many fans worldwide not knowing about it.
Vegeta’s Theory On Hybrids Is One Of Dragon Ball‘s Most Interesting Topics
What’s so fascinating about this possibility is that Saiyans are just so much naturally stronger than humans. It would be expected that the mixture of two insanely powerful species would result in an even more powerful hybrid, while mixing Saiyan blood with that of an “inferior” species should have to opposite outcome. Instead, Dragon Ball subverted expectations showing that mixing different DNAs can result in the most powerful warriors. It’s unclear why Vegeta’s words were left out of the anime, but his theory would prove to be even more controversial later on in the series.
Many years after the end of Dragon Ball Z, Akira Toriyama came up with the S-Cells retcon, which explained some of the key moments in the series in a completely different way. According to this theory, all Saiyans possess these cells within their biology, and a certain level is required for Super Saiyan transformation. S-cells can be increased either through regular training or by being kind-hearted, and they are then passed on genetically. This explains why Gohan was so powerful at a young age, and why Goten and Trunks obtained Super Saiyan at such a young age, without training or the famous “rage trigger”. Many fans did not like this retcon, and one of its most important effects is that it totally overwrites Vegeta’s theory about hybrids, which was a lot more interesting.
Frieza And King Cold Were Also Hybrids
Holding onto this theory that the strength of Gohan, Goten, and Trunks is contingent on them being mixed race, Dragon Ball Z has a track record of portraying hybrids as being more powerful than others. Frieza and even his father King Cold are prime examples. They are believed to be especially strong, in part, for being mutants. In fact, their family became part of an accidental spontaneous mutation starting with Frieza’s grandfather (and King Cold’s father) that caused the two of them to evolve into a hybrid species. Of course, there are many full-blooded villains in Dragon Ball Z and beyond who are incredibly powerful, but the correlations persist. Cutting Vegeta’s hybrids theory from the Dragon Ball Z anime ended up being in line with Toriyama’s sequent S-Cells retcon, but it deprived fans of one of the most interesting facets of the entire series.
