After Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero, Gohan and Piccolo are as strong as Goku and Vegeta. For years, Goku and Vegeta have stood in a class of their own when it comes to power levels. None of the Z-Warriors have been on par with them since the Buu Saga when Gohan achieved his Ultimate form.
Throughout the Dragon Ball Super anime, both Gohan and Piccolo have been several levels below the top two Z-Warriors. Goku and Vegeta have come so far in the anime that there’s always been this sense that none of their fellow heroes have no chance at catching them. Gohan, despite being closer to their place on the power scale than anyone else, is still considerably weaker than Ultra Instinct Goku and Super Saiyan Blue Evolved Vegeta, whose new forms only deepened the gap between them and the rest of the Z-Warriors. As for Piccolo, he wasn’t even in the same class as Android 17 or Gohan, much less Goku and Vegeta.
Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero’s ending changed everything for the two characters. The debuts of the Orange Piccolo and Beast Gohan forms elevated their power levels to such a massive extent that it’s finally fair to group both in the same league as Goku and Vegeta. Evidence for this claim is found in the aftermath of the fight with Cell Max when Gohan claimed that they may not have won even if Goku and Vegeta had shown up as they had originally hoped. If Gohan, Piccolo, and Gamma 2 defeated a villain that might have been too much for Goku and Vegeta, it stands to reason that the four characters are close to even now.
What Gohan & Piccolo’s New Forms Mean For Dragon Ball’s Future
Gohan and Piccolo taking new positions in Dragon Ball’s power structure has the potential to reshape the future of the franchise. Dragon Ball Super and Dragon Ball Super: Broly were fundamentally stories about Goku and Vegeta, but Super Hero puts the franchise in a position to expand its focus. With Gohan and Piccolo becoming so much stronger, there’s no longer any reason for the two to be excluded the next time a new threat arrives on the Z-Warriors’ doorstep. Not using them for the fights with Fused Zamasu and Broly made sense since neither character had much to bring to the table, but now things are different.
Of course, Dragon Ball can change course later and push Goku and Vegeta ahead of them again, but to do that would undermine everything that Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero accomplished with these characters. If the next anime or movie honors the positive changes made to Gohan and Piccolo, both characters should be equal partners to Goku and Vegeta in the battles to come. In other words, the hopes of the universe shouldn’t rely on just two people anymore.