The Dragon Ball franchise has never been more popular. Hot off the heels of Dragon Ball Super: Broly, a new film, Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero has been released. While not the action-packed powerhouse of its predecessor, Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero is a more comedic affair that brings the world of the Z fighters further into the future.
With this new entry, comes many callbacks and references to previous stories within the franchise. Those who have been following since the early days of Dragon Ball will be delighted to see so many exciting nods to the franchise's long history.
The Red Ribbon Army
The Red Ribbon Army was Goku's earliest foes. Ran by Commander Red, the army sought the Dragon Balls through world domination throwing all sorts of crazy characters and villains at Goku to stop him. In the end, Goku was able to defeat the army and Staff Officer Black by invading their HQ.
Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero explains that Commander Red's son, Magenta had been quietly rebuilding the army under the guise of Red Pharmaceuticals. Legacy is very important to the franchise and the fans, so it's a great bit of nostalgia to bring back the villains that began this whole journey.
Android 16
There were a lot of numbered androids introduced in Dragon Ball Z, but Android 16 was pretty special. He was programmed to kill Goku, but he had a soft heart to him that differentiated him from the other androids. Some American audiences may not know this, but Android 16 is actually Dr. Gero's son and at some point, was killed offscreen by an enemy's bullet.
This bit of trivia was never explicitly stated in the run of the show, but Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero officially makes it canon. When Magenta is learning about the Gero family, a family tree is presented with 16's image, thus confirming him to be Gero's son. Fans always like being rewarded for their long-time devotion to a franchise and explicitly stating 16's history adds more information to the expanding universe of Dragon Ball.
Android 21
Android 21 is not an android from any saga in Dragon Ball Z, instead, she debuted in the video game Dragon Ball FighterZ. She also appears in the most recent Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot video game. In the games, she appears as a beautiful female scientist but can transform into a deadly warrior.
Android 21 is based on Vomi, who was Dr. Gero's wife and mother to Gevo. In the same scene with the family tree in Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero, a picture of Vomi is shown to inform the audience that she is Dr. Hedo's grandmother. It's great to see the makers behind the franchise include video game characters into their cannon.
Cell Max
One of the most iconic villains in all of Dragon Ball is Cell. Many fans would jump at the opportunity to claim that the Cell Saga is the best saga in the entire original run of the series. While Dragon Ball Super seems more interested in introducing new villains, the movies appear to be more interested in bringing back classic villains.
In this case Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero brings back the villainous Cell. Dr. Hedo was tasked with creating a new version of Cell for the Red Ribbon Army, and he delivers Cell Max. Cell Max is a large Kaiju-sized version of Cell's second form and proved to be an unrelenting foe for the remaining fighters on Earth. Some might not be happy with this new version of Cell, but it makes sense to bring back such a beloved villain in any capacity.
Piccolo's License
One of the most beloved filler episodes of Dragon Ball Z was when Piccolo and Goku had to learn how to drive. The episode "Goku’s Ordeal" had Chi Chi force the two to learn how to drive. It didn't go very well as the two ended up destroying their cars in a race and failing their driving test.
After Piccolo "kidnaps" Pan in Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero, he flies away on one of the Red Ribbon Army's flying vehicles but ends up crashing through a billboard on the way up. Pan remarks that he's a terrible driver and Piccolo just responds by saying he never got his license. Fan service can sometimes be a good thing.
Special Beam Cannon
One of the most iconic scenes in Dragon Ball Z was when Piccolo charged up his Special Beam Cannon to kill Radditz and Goku. It was a very bold way to start the new Dragon Ball series. Since then the Special Beam Cannon has only been used sparingly by Piccolo.
In a turn of events, Gohan reveals that he's been practicing the Special Beam Cannon in secret to impress his surrogate father. Gohan's version of the Special Beam Cannon ended up being exactly the thing needed to kill Cell Max. Because of this, Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero continued to prove why Gohan and Piccolo are one of the best duo's in Dragon Ball.
Broly
Akira Toriyama made waves when he reintroduced a new version of the fan-favorite villain Broly in Dragon Ball Super: Broly. Since the original Dragon Ball Z films aren't canon, Toriyama took the opportunity to deliver an almost complete over hall of the character that made him more compelling. The power level of the Legendary Super Saiyan was increased, and he proved to be far more than a match for Goku and Vegeta.
Last audiences saw Broly, he was living on planet Vompa with Cheelai and Lemo and the character hasn't reappeared in the Manga since. But Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero takes a moment to show audiences what Goku and Vegeta are up to, turns out their training with Brolly on Beerus' world. Since Broly hasn't shown up in the Manga yet, it's nice to see Toriyama hasn't forgotten about him yet.
Jiren
The initial run of Dragon Ball Super introduced the idea of the Multiverse to the Dragon Ball franchise. During the final arc of the anime, Earth's fighters had to band together to fight the most powerful warriors from various other universes, including Jiren. Jiren ended up being the most powerful foe in the entire tournament, and it took the combined might of Goku, Freeza, and Android 17 to finally take him down.
Even though Universe 7 has plenty of powerful fighters like Granolah, Moro, and Freeza, Jiren left a huge impression on the Saiyans. Jiren's mere existence is why Vegeta and Goku are pushing themselves in Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero. Perhaps that's one of the reasons why Jiren is one of Dragon Ball's best villains.
Piccolo Grows
Back in Dragon Ball, when Piccolo was known as Piccolo Jr. after being birthed from the egg that King Piccolo threw up, he exhibited an ability that he hasn't employed since. During his fight with Goku at the 23rd Budokai Tournament, Piccolo grew to giant size, but he hasn't done it since that fateful tournament.
During the climactic fight in Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero, Krillin tells Orange Piccolo, the new form that Piccolo is able to achieve, to grow big. Piccolo even remakes that he forgot he was able to do that. Even though growing to the size of Cell Max didn't give him a power boost it did help to level the playing field a bit. It was also great to see a character utilize a power set that most had probably forgotten about by now.
Gohan's New Form
Throughout Dragon Ball Z, Gohan was told he could be the strongest fighter on Earth. He would even be able to surpass Goku. Gohan was the first Saiyan to reach Super Saiyan 2 and defeat Cell once and for all. During Dragon Ball Super, Gohan had other priorities than fighting but still wanted to find another path of getting stronger than Super Saiyan.
Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero sees Gohan wrapped up in his work with the promise of the warrior he could become getting less and less likely. However, when he sees Cell Max seemingly kill Piccolo the trauma from the first Cell is reawakened which triggers a new transformation. Officially it's called Beast Gohan, but it's actually based on the original colorization of Super Saiyan in the manga, making it a fun Easter egg on two fronts.