Dragon Ball Super’s ‘New’ Power Is Stolen from Goku’s First Big Threat

In Dragon Ball Super, Goku just finished battling an enemy who wielded a power greater than any previous villain he or any of the other Z Fighters have faced in the past. However, while the power level may be new, the method used to achieve it was introduced with Goku’s first world-ending threat – King Piccolo.

In Dragon Ball Super chapters 85 and 86 by Akira Toriyama and Toyotarou, Goku has harnessed the full might of Ultra Instinct in a way that makes the angelic transformation purely his own while retaining its otherworldly power. The reason Goku tapped into this energy source is that he is fighting an enemy named Gas who is one of the Heeters – a group of villains hellbent on killing Frieza and taking his place at the top of the universal food chain. However, before the Heeters get to Frieza, they first have to fight Goku, Vegeta, and the Z Fighters’ new ally, Granolah. Since the Heeters used the Dragon Balls to make Gas the strongest fighter in the universe in a previous chapter, the villains believe that taking out the heroes will be a breeze, when in fact it nearly costs Gas his life. In a last ditch effort to beat Goku, Gas overcharges himself and draws energy from his life source, causing him to age rapidly in the process.

In Dragon Ballchapter 156 by Akira Toriyama, Goku (who is a child at this point in time) is fighting King Piccolo, who successfully took over the world in a previous chapter. Since this chapter takes place in the early days of Dragon Ball continuity, Piccolo is the most powerful fighter in the world, though Goku gives himself a huge edge right before their fight. Upon visiting the deity Korin, Goku drinks the Ultra Divine Water, which makes him exponentially stronger and a worthy match for King PIccolo himself. When Piccolo realizes just how powerful Goku has become, he decides to tap into his reserves and pulls energy from his life source to make himself even stronger while lessening his life span in the process.

Gas’ power in Dragon Ball Super seemingly acts identically to King PIccolo’s in this chapter of Dragon Ball, with the only difference being the amount of power the two villains are channeling during their respective battles with Goku. In Dragon Ball Super, Goku and Gas are battling on a godlike level, making it necessary for Gas to drain himself of nearly all of his life force just to harness enough energy to potentially beat Goku. Goku’s fight with Piccolo is decidedly less epic just in terms of power level, which means Piccolo only needed to use a fraction of his life force rather than draining himself of virtually all of it like Gas.

While Gas and Piccolo drained themselves of their life force at different rates relative to their desired power levels, the actions themselves were identical. Since Gas was seemingly going to be beaten by Goku after the Saiyan mastered his own, all-new version of Ultra Instinct, he literally stole life from himself in an effort to be immediately stronger. The connection between King Piccolo and Gas gives this ability a fascinating history in Dragon Ball lore, taking it from a dangerous new power to one of the most established abilities in franchise canon – one Goku has now been able to beat on multiple levels of power.