Dragon Ball fans have been at a bit of a standstill for over a year now as they eagerly await the Dragon Ball Super manga’s return. Dragon Ball Super wrapped up its Super Hero Saga with Chapter 104, “The Birth of Saiyaman X,” but the manga has been on a prolonged hiatus following Akira Toriyama’s passing. Toyotarou is positioned to take over the manga, yet it remains unclear if he intends to continue Dragon Ball Super for years to come or just wrap up the narrative with one more epic saga.
Black Frieza’s threat hangs heavy over the heroes and it’s the one major story element that Dragon Ball Super needs to resolve. This has prompted some theories that the “Black Frieza Saga” will be Dragon Ball Super’s concluding story arc. A final fight against Frieza would provide many Dragon Ball characters with cathartic closure. However, there’s actually a lot more value in a second Tournament of Power as Dragon Ball Super’s swan song.
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A 2nd Tournament of Power Paves the Way For Even Stronger Opponents
Universe 7 Has an Higher Mortal Level Now
Martial arts tournaments are one of Dragon Ball’s oldest traditions and an excellent way to showcase back-to-back combat. Dragon Ball Super’s Tournament of Power pushed the martial arts competition to new extremes by featuring a battle royale between some of the strongest fighters from across the multiverse with life-or-death stakes. Dragon Ball Super used the Tournament of Power to help reinforce the sheer enormity of the multiverse and that Goku and company may not be as important as they think. The Tournament of Power features 80 fighters from Universes 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10 and 11.
These are revealed to be the weakest of the universes and therefore expendable. Accordingly, Universes 1, 5, 8, and 12 were exempt from the Tournament of Power because of their higher overall Mortal Levels. Universe 7 has become considerably stronger since the Tournament of Power because of the extreme transformations that have been reached by Earth’s heroes. A second Tournament of Power would justify itself if Universe 7 were now up against the universes that were excluded the first time around, which could also become an effective way for Universe 7 to assert itself as the multiverse’s best.
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A second Tournament of Power would absolutely include Universes 1, 5, 8, and 12, but it would still require a few more universes to fill things out. This means that there would also be opportunities for rematches against some of the more popular universes from the first Tournament of Power, particularly Universes 6 and 11. Characters like Kefla, Cabba, Hit, Top, and Jiren all made major impressions during the Tournament of Power and it’s exciting to consider how much stronger they’ve become.
Multiple characters could have experienced extreme epiphanies after their Tournament of Power losses. It’s also very possible some of these characters are looking for revenge and have axes to grind with Universe 7. This is all captivating, suspenseful storytelling that becomes a worthwhile way to conclude Dragon Ball Super. It’s important to remember that martial arts tournaments are crucial to the endings of Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, and even Dragon Ball GT’s epilogue at the 64th World Tournament. There’s satisfying symmetry to conclude Dragon Ball Super’s manga in a similar fashion.
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A Unique Team of Fighters Gives a Second Tournament of Power More Value
Dragon Ball Super had plenty of powerful characters who were available to participate in the inaugural Tournament of Power. That being said, there has been an influx of superior figures who Universe 7 could recruit for a second tournament. There’s the potential for an even better Tournament of Power, simply because of how far Dragon Ball’s cast has come during the subsequent story arcs. A grandiose martial arts competition that features dozens of opponents is an ideal way to give every character proper attention and collectively celebrate Dragon Ball’s entire cast, rather than just a few characters.
During the first Tournament of Power, Goku stumbles upon Ultra Instinct for the first time, but it’s still very much a work-in-progress at this point. Goku has gone on to master Perfected Ultra Instinct and even develop his own True Ultra Instinct transformation. It’d be so satisfying to watch Goku casually turn to Ultra Instinct in combat and use his Perfected Ultra Instinct energy avatar to take on gigantic competitors. Additionally, characters like Vegeta, Gohan, and Piccolo have made even greater gains. A Tournament of Power that features Orange Piccolo, Gohan Beast, and Ultra Ego Vegeta would instantly be more exciting than its predecessor.
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Dragon Ball Super’s first Tournament of Power also emphasized how important it was to recruit the right fighters to represent Universe 7. Goku does a good job on this front, but Dragon Ball Super would be doing itself a disservice if it featured all the same fighters in a second Tournament of Power. For one, there are now new heroes that would definitely be involved – like Broly and potentially Gamma 1. There’s also the potential for Buu to actually fight this time around, rather than to reverse course at the very last moment.
Dragon Ball Super could take a page out of Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO’s “What If?…” storytelling and recruit Future Trunks to participate. To this point, Goten and Trunks would also be viable fighters this time, since they’re now no longer children. A Tournament of Power that celebrates Goten and Trunks – and presumably Gotenks – would be the perfect way to redeem these characters. A battle between Gotenks and Kefla, or Broly and Kale, would be clear highlights. Another Tournament of Power also gives Dragon Ball Super the chance to finally canonize Pikkon and have Goku recruit this deceased fighter to represent his universe.
Black Frieza Could Run the Tournament of Power II & Be the Ultimate Threat
Black Frieza Could Play the Classic Dragon Ball Role of the Tournament Villain
Dragon Ball Super’s manga using another Tournament of Power as its concluding story saga would ostensibly be very different from a final fight against Frieza, but it doesn’t need to be. Dragon Ball Super could actually combine these concepts together and use them to heighten both ideas. Dragon Ball has a history of villains hosting martial arts tournaments as a final challenge, such as the Cell Games, and so it wouldn’t be out of place for Black Frieza to function as the Tournament of Power’s master of ceremonies.
Frieza was last seen making plans to take out the Zeno twins and become God Emperor of the multiverse. Perhaps the Tournament of Power is the final stage of this plan. Frieza might defeat the Zeno twins, or at least temporarily incapacitate them, so that he hosts his own tournament where every universe needs to fight for their lives. Frieza is the one who does the erasing instead of the Zenos.
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Another approach for how to combine these ideas is that Black Frieza represents his own team and is actively fighting against everyone else. Black Frieza may boast that he has power that’s superior to the entire multiverse and that his death will end the tournament. In this version of events, the other universes wouldn’t be fighting against each other, but instead all working together against Black Frieza.
This is an all or nothing scenario in which Black Frieza’s victory means that he becomes God Emperor of the multiverse and that he’s defeated all the strongest fighters who had the potential to defeat him. Whether Black Frieza is the host, competition, or something in between, he’s a smart ingredient to make a second Tournament of Power even better. Frieza made waves during the first Tournament of Power and there are many individuals from across the multiverse who would be motivated to end him.
A New Tournament Of Power Could Incorporate Dragon Ball DAIMA
Dragon Ball Super Can Connect Franchise Dots
Dragon Ball Super’s narrative has nearly reached the events of Dragon Ball Z’s Peaceful World Saga epilogue. Fans are excited to see Dragon Ball Super reach – and surpass – this point in the timeline. That being said, Dragon Ball DAIMA has taken over the fandom and a second Tournament of Power could turn into an effective way to connect these dots and solidify Dragon Ball DAIMA’s canon. Dragon Ball DAIMA is set before Dragon Ball Super, yet it features radical transformations that conveniently never appear in the latter.
This has led some fans to believe that Dragon Ball DAIMA adheres to its own separate timeline that could be further explored in a new DAIMA season or feature films. Dragon Ball Super could pay respect to Toriyama’s final Dragon Ball series by explicitly featuring DAIMA’s characters and events in its final storyline. This would even give the impression that everything in Dragon Ball DAIMA was intentional and that it was purposefully setting up plot elements that would be later paid off in Super’s endgame.
The Longer Dragon Ball Super Keeps Him in the Background, the More Black Frieza Needs to Deliver
Black Frieza has been playing the background in Dragon Ball Super for two years, and the hype over his return has only continued to build among fans.
The Tournament of Power could carry over to the Demon Realm where this vast dimension represents a separate universe that participates in the tournament. Alternatively, Goku could head back to the Demon Realm in order to recruit characters like Majin Duu or Glorio to fight for his team and repay the favor for the Demon Realm’s liberation. Dragon Ball Super’s incorporation of Dragon Ball DAIMA characters in its final storyline would be very entertaining.
The same would be true if Dragon Ball DAIMA’s new transformations also enter the mix. Super Saiyan 3 Vegeta and Super Saiyan 4 Goku would both be successful ways to reinvigorate the Tournament of Power. Goku’s Super Saiyan 4 spectacle might even inspire Caulifla to also attempt ascending to this state. A Dragon Ball DAIMA “crossover” is a unique way to breathe fresh life into a second Tournament of Power, but all of these possibilities help conclude Dragon Ball Super on an exciting note that does the franchise’s legacy justice.
