Dragon Ball Superrevealed much of Goku’s past in theDragon Ball Super: Brolymovie, but the script for the film was actually trimmed down quite substantially. That’s where the manga’s artist, Toyotaro, stepped in, delivering a key scene in some rare art that few fans have seen before.
Dragon Ball Super: Brolyspent a significant amount of time followingGoku’s father, Bardock, as he returned to Planet Vegeta after Frieza issued his order for all Saiyans to return home. However, Bardock is already pretty suspicious of this whole situation in a way that no other Saiyans seem to be. Just why is that?
Toyotaro’s Rare Art Reveals Bardock’s Tragedy
As part of a segment on theDragon Ballofficial website, Toyotaro submitted artwork on a regular basis, depicting various characters, often ones that haven’t been seen in a long time. However, in one of these artworks, an entire scene is depicted. Astranslated by Kanzenshuu, the scene shows Bardock’s squad receiving their return home order.
However, just as they receive the message, some of Frieza’s goons appear, and apparently slaughter Bardock’s comrades before they even have a chance to return home to Planet Vegeta.As a result of losing contact with his squad shortly after the message, Bardock becomes incredibly suspicious of Frieza and this return order.
Of course, that suspicion ultimately leads to Bardock taking Goku and launching him into space towards Earth, ensuring that his son would survive the imminent destruction of Planet Vegeta. Toyotaro suggests that this scene may have happened duringBroly, although he adds, “at least, that’s how I imagine it.”
Bardock’s Comrades' Sacrifice Saved Goku’s Life
Bardock’s squadmates were introduced in the original TV movie,Dragon Ball Z: Bardock – The Father of Goku, but most didn’t actually appear inBroly. Toyotaro’s art imagines what must have happened to them, while conveniently giving Bardock a reason to be so suspicious of Frieza that he’d launch his son into space.
Toyotaro’s explanation makes perfect sense, and one can’t help but wonder if Team Bardock may have had a bigger role (or a role at all) inBrolyprior to the script being cut down. There logically must have been some other Saiyans, like Vegeta, who ignored the return-home order, and Frieza would definitely want to stomp them out.
While this information doesn’t radically alter Goku’s past or anything like that, it helps the movie to have such a solid reason behind Bardock’s concerns. It also offers fans of those characters some insight into exactly what happened to them; while it could be assumedthey died on Planet Vegeta, this art answers that question for certain.
Toyotaro’s scene probably wasn’t intended to be canonical, but there’s absolutely no reason it couldn’t be. It makes for excellent fodder for “headcanon,” particularly for fans of Bardock’s squad. While their fate is sad, it’s no sadder than that of the other Saiyans, and at least their deaths warned Bardock, ultimately kickstartingDragon Ball.
