Dragon Ball Super at this point in the story, it seems that there are only 2 possibilities for the iconic transformation to abandon its non-canon status. The “Dragon Ball Super” anime is something that, as you all know, is completely up in the air at this point, since although its return seems inevitable,
the reality is that it is impossible to predict when it will happen. On the other hand, we have the manga, which although it is currently on hiatus, the truth is that it has gained a lot of content since the end of the Tournament of Power. Therefore, based on a series of events that have been happening, I ask myself: Will Super Saiyan 4 arrive?
Dragon Ball Super has 2 possible candidates to introduce Super Saiyan 4
Dragon Ball Super this is not the first time I have addressed the topic of Super Saiyan 4 in “Dragon Ball Super”, but I believe that currently, we can make a little emphasis on 2 characters that are clearly special candidates to develop Super Saiyan 4, or a transformation/variant that approaches it.
Broly, the ideal archetype of Super Saiyan 4
The Broly of “Dragon Ball Super” is surely one of the best character reconversions that one could imagine in the franchise, since although it is true that since the events of his movie he remained somewhat in the shadow of Goku and Vegeta, now it seems that things have changed. There are a series of things that make me think of him as the ideal candidate to be the one who introduces Super Saiyan 4 in a canonical way in “Dragon Ball Super”.
First of all, we have Broly’s ‘Ikari’ form, a unique transformation of the Saiyan that allows him to channel the power of the Great Ape of the Saiyans while maintaining his humanoid state. As is well remembered, the keys to Super Saiyan 4 in Dragon Ball GT are that the user must master both the Super Saiyan form and the Great Ape form. At the moment when Broly used that type of power against Goku and Vegeta, it was already clear that his affinity with the roots of the Saiyans was clearly above average.
To this we must add one of the most recent developments of the Dragon Ball Super manga: Broly is once again able to use Super Saiyan and, not only that, but he can finally do so without losing control over his mental faculties. That is, at this point, Broly meets the two original requirements that were advanced in Dragon Ball GT in order to develop the power of Super Saiyan 4: knowing how to use the power of the Great Ape and also of the Super Saiyan.
Obviously, it is also important that Broly’s Super Saiyan base form is a power-up sufficient to practically match Gohan’s Beast form. It is clear that there is enormous potential to explore in his person, and it would not be surprising if this eventually led to Super Saiyan 4 or some kind of adaptation of it.
While Goku and Vegeta have gone down the path of the gods and Gohan his own, it is obvious that Broly is the only Saiyan left who continues to rely on the power of his lineage to fight. In every way, he is the perfect subject to reintroduce something like Super Saiyan 4 and make it official, but… there is also another option.
Gotenks and the surprise factor: can he use Super Saiyan 4?
Today, I consider Gotenks to be the character that has been treated in the strangest way in “Dragon Ball Super”. Why? Because despite the emphasis on introducing him again and again, especially during the Super Hero arc, all of his interventions have been more of a failure than a success. However, I believe that there are reasons to believe in a possible resurgence with… Super Saiyan 4?
Surely the most surprising thing about Gotenks’ first appearance was that it cost him relatively little to use Super Saiyan 3. Indeed, the power-up between Goten and Trunks was so brutal that two children who only knew how to use Super Saiyan were able to develop the most powerful transformation of the Saiyan lineage until then.
Although it does not seem so, one should assume that today Goten and Trunks are equal to or more powerful than in their stage in DBZ, where they were again just kids. Taking that into account, is it possible that the next time they complete their fusion properly they will make the direct jump to Super Saiyan 4?
It is striking that despite the fact that both characters have been put in the same bag of activity as Goku, Vegeta, Gohan, and Broly, they have been the only ones who have not shown any progress, on the contrary. Obviously, it is understandable that they are the weakest of all of them, but are they simply a comedy object or will they really receive their due power-up like the rest?
What seems clear is that if Goten and Trunks also end up becoming more powerful, they will do so jointly, since in the battle against Gohan on Beerus’ planet, they made it clear that they are a duo in combat. That is, there is no sign that they are going to grow excessively as individual warriors.
That Gotenks would obtain Super Saiyan 4 seems to me clearly a less logical option than Broly’s, since after all, it would be giving them a form of power practically because yes. Obviously, I do not rule them out, but they do not seem to me the best alternative.
Conclusion:
Although the return of the “Dragon Ball Super” anime is uncertain, the manga continues to offer interesting content to fans. With Broly’s recent evolution and speculation around Gotenks, it is possible that Super Saiyan 4 will become canon in the series. However, these are only speculations and we will have to wait to see how the series develops to know if this will really happen.
