Highlights
- Fusions in the Dragon Ball franchise merge two warriors into a single body, creating a powerful new character with enhanced abilities.
- Fusions like Gotenks and Vegito have become beloved additions to the series, with distinct personalities and incredible strength.
- While fusions are rare, they provide a way for the heroes to defeat powerful villains, but their infrequent appearance adds tension and prevents the story from becoming boring.
While fusions had been an aspect of the Dragon Ball franchise in one form or another since early on, it wasn't until the Buu Saga that we got to see its potential. Fusions are essentially a way to merge two warriors into one body in order to form an entirely new being that not only had all the powers of the fighters but also had an additional boost that greatly compounded their already awesome power. This led to a character strong enough to beat pretty much any villain they came across.
Over the years, this became one of the most beloved abilities of the entire series as the being it formed was an entirely new character added to the roster with a whole personality of their own. We first saw the fusion of Goten and Trunks to form Gotenks, a wild, hilarious and powerful fusion that went toe-to-toe with Super Buu and could even reach Super Saiyan 3. He was followed by the legendary Vegito, the result of a fusion between Goku and Vegeta who was said to be the perfect warrior and was able to utterly embarrass Gohan absorbed Super Buu. Since then, we have seen the concept of fusion make a return in one of two ways; with the Potara Earrings or the Metamoran Fusion Dance and as the series moves forward, let's take a look at what it may hold for fusions.
Fusions in Super
Though they have been few and far between, fusions have made their way back in Dragon Ball Super. First, we saw the ultimate trash talker, Vegito, make his highly anticipated return to the franchise in the Goku Black arc where the heroes were completely overwhelmed by the might of Merged Zamasu. Seeing no other option at hand, Goku and Vegeta agreed to finally fuse with the Potara Earrings, once again giving birth to Vegito, who was then able to transform into his blue form and completely dominate Zamasu before burning through the rest of the fusion timer due to his raw power.
After this, we were taken to the Tournament of Power, in which Grand Zeno changed a rule during the middle of the tournament which allowed characters to fuse. This led to fighters from Universe 3 conjoining into one robot as well as the formation of Agnilasa, a giant enemy also fighting for Universe 3 as well. Most notable of these, however, was Kefla, a merger between the Universe 6 Saiyans Caulifla and Kale. Kefla was an absolute powerhouse in this tournament and even gave Ultra Instinct Omen Goku some trouble before finally being eliminated by him in one of the greatest Kamehameha's ever seen. Kefla was strong and durable and had a personality very similar to Vegito, leading her to become an instant hit with fans.
Finally, another character that was finally made canon in the Dragon Ball Super: Broly movie was the Saiyan that fans have been begging to see for decades; Gogeta. Gogeta is the result of Goku and Vegeta fusing via the Metamoran Fusion Dance and it serves as the official introduction of Gogeta into the canon Dragon Ball timeline. Gogeta was the star of the 1995 movie, Fusion Reborn, but was never canon like all other Dragon Ball Z movies. However, he was finally made so in Broly and made every single fan giddy with excitement as he made his appearance and was able to dispatch Broly with ease by being able to access his Super Saiyan Blue form.
What's Next for Fusions?
Despite being ways for the heroes of the story to pretty much guarantee a win over the villain that they are currently facing, fusions very rarely make an appearance, especially for Vegeta and Goku. In the story, this is explained by them hating the concept of fusion for multiple reasons such as sharing the body and no longer being in control as the fusion makes an entirely new being. However, the main reason that Goku and Vegeta hate having to fuse is because they are Saiyans. Saiyans love to fight and to be able to defeat characters by own strength and abilities, so they hate having to accept that an opponent is vastly stronger than them and accepting help of any kind by not being reliant on their abilities.
This, however, is a smart choice thematically as well. This is because it shows that the fusions are characters that essentially have an easy way out to solve any problem and that if any new foe arises in the story, the fighters wouldn't even have to worry because Goku and Vegeta could just fuse to take them out. This would create a lack of tension and would just make the story flat and boring.
So, due to this, fusions may need to be integrated into the story the same way as they are now; very rarely. Since we all know that Dragon Ball Super eventually has to end, it could be a very wise decision to have the fusions be a crutch to be relied upon only for the absolute pinnacle of strength in the very last arc of the story against the strongest villains that cannot be beat any other way. Also, the main timeline could even take some notes from Super Dragon Ball Heroes, where due to spatial and temporal problems, there is a convergence of timelines which causes multiple versions of heroes to exist simultaneously and they have shown both fusions together.
This could allow for there to be a threat so great that both Vegito and Gogeta are needed to take it down, shedding more light on both characters and allowing fans to have more time with them without them ever overstaying their welcome or overshadowing Goku and Vegeta. Another possibility for the story to use more fusion is by integrating it into the storyline of the arc itself. What this means is that the Saiyans could, hypothetically, go up against a villain who may not necessarily be stronger than them, but has an ability that counteracts them completely, facilitating the need to fuse more than just out-muscling the opponent.
Though many fans would love to see as many of these two characters as they possibly could, it is quite easy for this to be done wrong, ruining a much-loved part of the series. In any case, the future for fusions in Dragon Ball is ripe with possibilities and is eagerly anticipated by fans who want to see the strongest characters in the universe again.
Dragon Ball Super is available to stream on Funimation & Crunchyroll.