Despite Dragon Ball Super’s massive success in reinvigorating the once dormant franchise, general consensus on the follow-up’s quality has been a topic of contention for fans. Both the anime and the manga have garnered ire for playing major story beats too safe, keeping the series in flux since Battle of Gods. Then comes Dragon Ball Super: Broly, a film that, by all intents and purposes, should be a mess.
While it leaves a bit to be desired when it comes to its story, Broly marks an important change of pace for Dragon Ball, one that values lore and characters above all else. Few characters to have come out of Super stand out as fleshed out and intriguing as Broly, the Legendary Super Saiyan reborn, and better than ever at that. Of course, Broly spending half the film essentially catatonic means that fans have to fill in his personality’s gaps themselves, and what better way to do so than with fan theories?
10 Broly’s Wrath State Is Super’s Version Of Super Saiyan 4
Fans of Dragon Ball GT has been championing Super Saiyan 4 since Goku transformed in his fight against Baby. Some detractors have even praised the form, suggesting it be added to Super. Although the red furred form has yet to see its triumphant return, that doesn’t mean a prospective SSJ4 doesn’t exist.
Given how Broly’s Wrath State uses the latent power of the Oozaru, it’s entirely likely that Broly currently has access to Super’s version of Super Saiyan 4. Unfortunately, as the Wrath State is the first tier in Broly’s transformation line, weaker than even his Super Saiyan, it’s unlikely he’ll get much use out of it moving forward.
9 Broly’s Base Form Has All The Power Of An Oozaru
Although Paragus confirms that Broly has manifested the power of an Oozaru in his Wrath State, it’s just as likely that the ape’s abilities are just a core part of Broly’s natural base form. After all, Broly had his tail removed years ago as a child and his Wrath State isn’t so much a transformation as it is a state of mind, of being.
Unlike Super Saiyan which has to be triggered, the Oozaru’s abilities are a natural part of Broly’s being. His docile nature keeps them dormant, but they are present and are likely the reason for his enormous Battle Power.
8 Broly Is The Prophesied Saiyan
The prophesied Saiyan is the thread that ties the Namek arc together. From start to finish, Vegeta, Gohan, and Goku all demonstrate feats that seem to suggest they’re the legendary Saiyan. Ultimately, it’s Goku who transforms, definitively ending Freeza’s reign of tyranny. Unfortunately, Goku is not the prophesied Saiyan as Broly beat him to it.
Broly’s new depiction may not have access to Super Saiyan right away, but he’s leagues stronger than Goku and Freeza ever were on Namek just in his base form. Had Broly been on Namek, he would have swiftly defeated Freeza. This is to say nothing of how quickly Broly managed to transform compared to Goku. For him, it’s second nature.
7 Broly Is Stronger Than Beerus
Beerus is a bit of a tricky subject when it comes to Dragon Ball. Although Toriyama originally intended him to be the benchmark Goku never surpasses, both Jiren and Broly have displayed more than enough power to give Beerus a run for his money when it comes to feats alone.
Interestingly, Goku seems to suggest that Broly actually is stronger than Beerus in the film itself. Given that he and Vegeta needed to fuse into Gogeta to defeat Broly, and the fact that Broly was rapidly gaining power in his Legendary Super Saiyan form, it’s more than likely that Goku was right on the money regardless of Toriyama’s intentions for the God of Destruction.
6 Broly Still Has Zenkai Potential
After the Saiyan arc, Toriyama needed to find a way to buff Goku, Vegeta, and Gohan, and fast. The Namek arc was in a league of its own, with enemies tenfold stronger than Vegeta was, even as an Oozaru. Rather brilliantly, Toriyama developed the “Zenkai,” a latent ability that raises a Saiyan’s Battle Power after they’re pushed to near death.
As the series continued, Zenkais were phased out, believed to only be a trigger for Super Saiyan. Then comes Goku Black who more or less pulls off Zenkai after Zenkai despite having access to all of Goku’s abilities. With this in mind, there’s no reason Broly can’t have Zenkai potential, especially since it’s unlikely he managed any on Vampa.
5 Broly Can’t Trigger LSSJ On Command
Dragon Ball Super has added quite a few transformation into the fray, but they all share one similar feature: they can’t be triggered on command. Future Trunks’ Super Saiyan Rage was a fluke stemming from his desire to save his timeline; there’s no indication Vegeta can actually trigger Super Saiyan Blue Evolution anymore; and Ultra Instinct lives and dies by this rule.
Given the new trend in transformations, and the fact that modern Dragon Ball loves its patterns, it’s more than likely that Broly won’t be triggering Legendary Super Saiyan by himself anytime soon. Especially if Toriyama decides to keep him around as a major character.
4 Broly Will Take Vegeta’s Place As Goku’s Rival
On that note, it’s more than likely that Vegeta won’t be Goku’s rival for much longer. All throughout Super, several characters have been teased as Goku’s new rival. Beerus, Hit, and Jiren were all built up to take the task, but none of them did as none became proper mainstays other than Beerus.
The end of Broly heavily suggests that Broly will be sticking around for the foreseeable future. Given that Goku outright requests that they train together before the credits roll, things don’t seem too good for Vegeta when it comes to job security. It’s for the best, either way. It’s about time Goku got a new rival.
3 Broly Will Be The Series’ New Tritagonist
Dragon Ball has always had three characters front and center at any given time. Goku, Bulma, and Oolong were the original main trio, and Z eventually evolved to focus primarily on Goku, Vegeta, and Gohan. Come Super, that third slot has been oddly vacant with characters rotating in and out at best.
Now that Broly is a main cast member, and Dragon Ball itself is focusing more on the Saiyans, it’s not unreasonable to expect that Broly will take the mantle as the franchise’s tritagonist. He’s more or less a Gohan who doesn’t mind fighting so he’s a natural fit. Toriyama had to leave him alive for a reason, after all.
2 Broly Doesn’t Know How To Fight
Broly is a very deliberate film when it comes to choreography. Vegeta fights tactically aggressive, Goku goes with the flow of the action, and Gogeta finds an even compromise. Then comes Broly who fights like a toddler throwing the mother of all tantrums. It makes sense, though. Where Gokus is a bonafide martial artist and Vegeta a soldier, Broly’s just some guy who happens to be super strong.
Growing up on Vampa with a father who outright feared his power, Broly realistically would never have been taught how to properly fight. This theory also gives Goku more than enough justification to seek out Broly for training. It’s just as much for the Legendary Super Saiyan as it is for him.
1 Broly Is Kale’s “Twin”
In one of Super’s more inspired moments of world building, it was revealed that the multiverse was made up of twelve universes, each one sharing a “twin.” For Universe 7, its twin was Universe 6. Saiyans, Earthlings, and Namekians exist between both. While Goku and Vegeta don’t have direct counterparts, Frost’s existence does suggest that characters do actually have “twins” in this sense.
This is important to consider as it’s the only way to make heads or tails of Broly and Kale’s existences. They’re both so similar in terms of personality, physique, and development that there’s no way they can be analyzed outside the context of one another. What Frost is to Freeza, Kale is to Broly.