For years, Goku and Vegeta have been the two pillars that have held the Dragon Ball franchise together. They are Saiyan Warriors with immeasurable power, having used their abilities to save the world and the universe on multiple occasions. But after doing the same thing over and over for so many years, it is time that Goku and Vegeta consider leaving the leg work to their progeny and help defend their legacy. Dragon Ball fans have become so accustomed to Goku that they will have a hard time letting him go. The same goes for Vegeta too. Even though it might sound difficult, we would like to say that this is for the greater good of the Dragon Ball Universe. Presenting – Goku and Vegeta’s Grandsons should replace their Grandpas for Dragon Ball Reboot!!
Over the years, Goku and Vegeta have become not just powerful warriors but also fathers to children who inherit their Saiyan blood. Saiyans are known to be a warrior race focusing only on conquest and battle. They were the stuff of legends when it comes to combat prowess. As the last of their kind, Goku and Vegeta are the last of the torch bearers of a now extinct race.
There will no longer be any pure-blooded Saiyan in the Universe 7 because the Saiyan Race was destroyed by Frieza in the Saiyan Genocide. A lack of pure-blooded Saiyans would mean that there will never be a true successor to Goku and Vegeta’s mantle.
This complicates matters. Every franchise needs someone the lead hero can pass the torch to. We have seen it happen a lot of times. Take for example the Marvel Cinematic Universe. We love Iron Man, Captain America and the rest of the founding members of the Avengers. That does not mean that we should start unreasonably expecting that they will be there for us all the time.
Marvel Studios had to let them go after ten years of making them their poster children in the big screens. That is fate and providence. After a certain point of time, even Iron Man, a character within the MCU that had achieved a cult like fan following, thanks to Robert Downey Junior’s incredible portrayal of the superhero, was let go. Other new age superheroes like Spider-Man, Doctor Strange and even Black Panther were expected to fill those shoes.
Goku is no different. He needs a successor. Even though we might not expect him to back down now, it has to happen in the next, say, ten years. Goku and Vegeta need someone to fall back to.
And that is where their Grandsons come in. Goku and Vegeta’s progeny are perfectly suited to take up their Grandfathers’ roles. Here’s why.
The Dragon Ball franchise, believe it or not, is in grave trouble. The conclusion of the critically acclaimed Dragon Ball Super anime series leads to a very uncertain road to the future of the Dragon Ball Universe. There is no more inspiration for Akira Toriyama to work on. Well no other canon sources of inspiration anyways. Toriyama has been rumoured to be working on a character that is pretty much a replacement for Goku. If those rumors are true, then we can expect that there is going to be a sizeable time-skip since Goku has shown no visible signs of ageing over the decades. And so hasn’t Vegeta.
The time skip would mean that Goku and Vegeta are both going to be simultaneously replaced either due to retirement or Goku and Vegeta deciding to take up other roles (like becoming Gods of Destruction as Whis had proposed to them before). We have a very outlandish but workable theory as to where Toriyama might be trying to rope in these new characters from who will take up the job of protecting the Universe from Goku and Vegeta after the time skip.
The Dragon Ball GT Universe ran for less than 100 episodes. But it had some really powerful supervillains. Take for example Baby, the Shadow Dragons, Omega Shenron, as well as Super Android 17 – all of them were powerful foes. The Dragon Ball GT anime series also introduced new concepts like there were evil beings living inside the Dragon Balls themselves. It also introduced new kinds of Saiyan transformations never before seen in Dragon Ball history.
But due to poor viewership and low ratings, the Dragon Ball GT Universe was quietly declared to be non-canon and was treated as an untouchable concept by the anime studio. Dragon Ball Super’s contradicting storylines pretty much sealed the deal for Dragon Ball GT. But if Akira Toriyama is looking for an escape pod to save the Dragon Ball franchise, Dragon Ball GT is the best option to do that.
Dragon Ball GT holds a similar gift for the Dragon Ball World that DC Rebirth had for the original DC Universe. The latter transformed the DC Universe into something that was fit for the new generation with a logical explanation as to how and why DC changed and giving an acceptable way for the writers to dump a lot of redundant and unnecessary arcs as well as characters. Dragon Ball GT holds promise in similar regard. It could give the anime a much-needed course correction if Akira Toriyama is indeed looking for a way to eject Goku and Vegeta into the back seat and let someone else take control of the reins.
The final story arc of Dragon Ball GT, which had Omega Shenron as the final super-villain, had a pretty interesting turn of events. Goku and Vegeta were not the focus of that episode. The actual focus was on the descendants of Goku and Vegeta, who had matured into powerful warriors and become spitting images of their fathers. The final episode happened about a hundred years after the events of the original series. Pan, now a frail old woman, watches over Goku Junior as he makes his way up the ladder during the World Martial Arts Tournament. Despite the chronological errors, it is exciting to see Goku Junior coming head to head with who is revealed later to be Vegeta Junior. In the final fight, both transform into Super Saiyans. The Grandsons reveal to have followed on in their Grandfathers’ footsteps.
And it was not one but two episodes we saw the descendants of Goku and Vegeta in action. In the TV Special Dragon Ball GT: A Hero’s Journey, Goku is shown to be alive. He has merged with Omega Shenron after the final battle with the Shadow Dragons, gaining infinite longevity and immortality. He is now a God. Goku comes down to Earth to teach both Goku Junior and Vegeta Junior the worth of honor, valour, and the path to become a true hero like him. This would help them unlock the true power of a Super Saiyan. The events of Dragon Ball GT have been termed to be non-canon now but it is still a way to connect Goku and Vegeta to a larger rebooted universe if there ever was one.
Dragon Ball has until now, only depended on Pure Blooded Saiyans to save the day. There have been instances where Saiyan Hybrids like Gohan were given the authority to do just the same. Gohan saved the Earth from Cell and Trunks and Goten have played a vital role in the Buu saga. It is not an untested concept. Dragon Ball has used both the concept of a time skip (Dragon Ball Z) and a Generational Shift (Dragon Ball GT and the Cell Saga in Dragon Ball Z) before. There is only the issue of the fans and the Studio letting Toriyama ink yet another masterpiece like he once did when he came up with the Dragon Ball Z Universe. Dragon Ball needs something ambitious and bold to remain prominent in these trying times. The only way to do that would be if they manage to introduce a major change in their arcs.
Letting Goku and Vegeta step down and allowing their descendants to take the stories forward is the most logical (albeit hard to watch) step.
