This article contains spoilers for Dragon Ball Super chapter 87!When Frieza was first introduced in Dragon Ball, he would be absolutely repulsed by the idea of wielding a power that was even remotely similar to that of a Saiyan as he saw himself as a being far superior to the race of ‘monkeys’ as he so insultingly called them. Though his latest power-up in the pages of Dragon Ball Super was seemingly stolen from Goku as it shares a striking resemblance to the Saiyan’s darkest transformation.
In Dragon Ball Super’s “Future” Trunks Saga, Trunks travels to an alternate past in an effort to recruit Goku and Vegeta and bring them back to his future timeline to help him defeat a seemingly unstoppable foe: Goku Black. Goku Black actually isn’t Goku at all but a Kai named Zamasu who turned his back on the mortals he was tasked with watching over after deciding they weren’t worth the lives they were given. Zamasu then launched an attack on all living things across the multiverse with the goal of creating an existence that is only inhabited by gods. To do this, Zamasu wishes upon the Super Dragon Balls to swap bodies with the most powerful being he had ever met: Goku. The mixture of Zamasu’s divine spirit and Goku’s overpowered Saiyan body created the unstoppable villain known as Goku Black, a villain that even the original Goku couldn’t beat.
In Dragon Ball Super chapter 87 by Akira Toriyama and Toyotarou, Goku and Vegeta believe they have vanquished a villain who proved to be the strongest fighter in the universe: Gas. However, in the opening pages of this chapter, Gas reveals himself to be badly injured but is still powerful enough to fight Goku and Vegeta simultaneously even as the two were in the god-like forms of Ultra Instinct and Ultra Ego, respectively. Just when the Saiyans think that Gas is truly unkillable, Frieza comes out of nowhere and obliterates Gas with a single move and then proceeds to destroy the entirety of the Heeters forever. Goku and Vegeta are utterly shocked by what they have seen, but as Frieza explains, that was only a fraction of his true power. Then, Frieza unveils his all-new form to his two greatest enemies, a form that empowered him to pull off these feats of incredible power—one that he named ‘Black Frieza.’
This chapter of Dragon Ball Super presents some striking parallels to that of the “Future” Trunks Saga—specifically in terms of Goku Black versus Black Frieza. The most obvious similarities between the two are the names as “Black Frieza” is reminiscent of “Goku Black,” but their link goes beyond that. Goku Black was arguably Goku’s strongest form given that he was an actual deity with the ability to unlock powers he normally wouldn’t have access to, including the transformation of Super Saiyan Rosé. Plus, Goku Black was actually unkillable and was only defeated after Grand Zeno blinked him out of existence, meaning Goku Black was able to beat the original Goku with no problem. Similarly, Black Frieza is able to beat Ultra Instinct Goku and Ultra Ego Vegeta after taking out Gas and the Heeters without even breaking a sweat which is a level of power that rivals that of even Lord Beerus himself.
Essentially, both Goku Black and Black Frieza are beings that wield a power beyond that of even the strongest gods in the Dragon Ball universe (save for Grand Zeno himself) and are effectively the most powerful versions of themselves despite the fact that Goku Black isn’t the original version of the character—proving that Frieza just stole Goku’s darkest transformation in the latest chapter of Dragon Ball Super.
Dragon Ball Super chapter 87 is available on Viz.
