Thanks to Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero, Gohan finally has a new form in the anime. After years of keeping the character on the sidelines of the franchise’s biggest conflicts, Dragon Ball finally let Gohan take the spotlight from Goku and Vegeta in Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero. Not only that, but the movie’s story gave the character a long-awaited upgrade.
When he was just 11 years old, Gohan broke new ground for the Z-Warriors when he became the first character to access the Super Saiyan 2 transformation. What Gohan was able to do was a testament to his potential as a fighter, but he squandered all of that to focus on his family and his scholarly pursuits. By putting his daughter in danger, Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero forced Gohan to become stronger than ever. When it looked like Cell Max had killed Piccolo, Gohan powered up and unlocked a brand-new transformation distinguished by red eyes and silver hair. The huge increase to his power level gave him the means to finish off Cell Max in Super Hero’s ending.
Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero's ending provided no explanation for Gohan’s new form, nor did the movie properly name it. However, comments from Dragon Ball creator Akira Toriyama shed light on what Gohan’s new ability is [via ComicBook.com]. Toriyama says it’s called Son Gohan Beast. The name relates to the “beast” hidden within Gohan. It was apparent in the early days of Dragon Ball Z that bouts of rage triggered massive but temporary power boosts for Gohan. Now, the character has seemingly found a way to fully unleash the “beast” that was always there from the start with a new Super Saiyan transformation. Gohan said in Dragon Ball Super that he wanted to pursue a new form that no one else has achieved, and this appears to be it.
How Powerful Is Gohan Beast In Super Hero?
By the end of Dragon Ball Super, Gohan was already the third strongest Z-Warrior. He was slightly above 17 but still a good bit behind Goku and Vegeta. Piccolo briefly passed him with his new Orange form, but by accessing his new Beast transformation, Gohan has once again moved ahead of the Namekian and is most likely several levels above 17 and Future Trunks now. As for Goku and Vegeta, it’s unclear if he’s stronger than both characters now, but it makes sense that it would take either Z-Warrior to use their full power to challenge him at this point. After all, Piccolo did point out that they wouldn’t necessarily have won even with their help.
Even if Gohan hasn’t surpassed Goku and Vegeta, his upgrade puts that possibility on the table. As the move reminded viewers, Gohan can be Dragon Ball’s strongest Z-Warrior; he just hasn’t been pushing himself as of late. He spent so much time slacking off that there was a sense that Gohan had fallen behind to a point where he could never catch up, but with all the gains he made in Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero, Gohan eclipsing both doesn’t sound so implausible anymore.