WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Dragon Ball Super, Chapter 54, by Akira Toriyama and Toyotarou, available now in English from Viz Media.
Owing mainly to his ability to absorb energy, Moro has proven himself one of the deadliest villains in the history of the Dragon Ball franchise, taking out Goku, Vegeta and Buu with ease. However, Earth's heroes are no strangers to being wildly outmatched, and in Dragon Ball Super Chapter 54, Moro just made a costly error that could spell his doom.
Revealing that he has the ability to store the powers of three other individuals, Moro's fighter, Seven-Three, manages to best Piccolo, Kuririn, Jaco and Gohan with relative ease by drawing on his master's powers. Thinking he may die, Piccolo remarks that Goku and Vegeta will soon return to avenge them. This gives all of the villains pause, as they remember Goku and Vegeta from the fight on Namek. Kuririn adds that the two Saiyans are working to power themselves up. This leads to Saganbo, who has been serving as one of Moro's chief officers, trying to divert his army to Earth so as to consume the planet before Goku and Vegeta return.
However, Moro stops him. The villain explains that waiting "will deliver [him] far greater energy," as he's confident he'll be able to beat the Saiyans, even powered up. Moro orders Seven-Three and his gang to retreat, which results in the four Z-Fighters surviving the near-fatal encounter. Shimorekka, one of the other villains, brags that he'll be back to finish the job once Goku and Vegeta return, saying the attack will begin approximately 20 days. Jaco then uses some quick thinking to convince them to give them an extra month.
The choice Moro makes here to wait will likely prove disastrous. It's a common trope that an overconfident villain waits too long, resulting in the heroes powering up to defeat them. Versions of this mistake have happened several times in the Dragon Ball franchise. Frieza, for example, toys with his victims and refuses to show his true power until it's too late. The villain's delays and sadism result in him killing Kuririn, which prompts Goku to become a Super Saiyan. During the Cell Games Saga, the titular villain gave the Z-Fighters time to train and relax before taking him on, meaning they were in the best shape they could possibly be for the fight. Moro's blunder is somewhat more obvious and major, as he's purposefully trying to give his opponents time to become as powerful as possible, which has not historically worked out for villains.
Earth might also have a secret weapon of its own. Galactic Patrolman Merus, who has been training Goku to use Ultra Instinct, learns that he has two months to travel to Earth. After saying he'll be there for the fight, he laments that other planets will be destroyed during that time. Two months translates to approximately six months in Merus' version of the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, and the two train.
Chapter 54 drops hints that Merus has a previously unknown association with the Angels -- the powerful forces who work to train the Gods of Destruction. Goku observes that Merus treats food in much the same way as the Angel Whis, as he can eat food but doesn't need to. The action then moves to Whis himself, who approaches the Grand Priest to talk about something about Merus and "Angel Laws," though what exactly this means isn't made crystal clear. Still, taking in Merus' relatively similar appearance to the series' Angels into account, there's likely a major revelation on the horizon that might explain just why Merus is so powerful.
If Merus indeed has some relation to the Angels, he could end up proving absolutely integral to Dragon Ball Super going forward. Although the hero doesn't seem to have the same raw power as Whis, Merus has proven himself capable of doing major damage time and time again. Plus, there's no indication Ultra Instinct is subject to Moro's power absorption abilities, meaning that Goku will finish his training much, much stronger than before. A powered-up Goku and Vegeta fighting alongside Merus spells disaster for Moro; making his upcoming defeat his entirely his own fault.
Dragon Ball Super Chapter 55 releases Dec 20.