What Dragon Ball Super Movie's "Super Hero" Title Could Mean (Will the Great Saiyaman Return?)

Toei Animation recently revealed the offiical title of the next Dragon Ball Super movie, Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero. The news was announced during the Dragon Ball Special panel at San Diego Comic-Con@Home, which featured executive producers Akio Iyoku and Hirihiro Hayashia as well as Goku voice actor, Masako Nozawa, talking about the upcoming film.

Credit: Toei Animation

Although no major plot details have been revealed, the team revealed early concept art of character designs from series creator Akira Toriyama as well as the first teaser featuring CGI Goku. Now, fans are wondering why the film's title is "Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero" so let's speculate on what this could mean.

While the plot details for the movie are still being kept under wraps, the Dragon Ball panel gave us our first look at the concept art featuring Piccolo, Krillin, and a young Pan, the daughter of Gohan and Videl. In Dragon Ball Super: Broly, Krillin didn't show up at all, and Piccolo's role was pretty minor. Pan's age in the artwork suggests that there's a three or four-year time skip from the events of Tournament of Power arc. A concept art for a new character was also revealed, but they did not elaborate his role in the film's story.

So, why is the movie titled Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero?

Based on the clues they revealed in the panel, it's hard to say why there's "Super Hero" in the title, but at the panel, Dragon Ball Super manga executive editor Akio Iyoku mentioned that the film will invoke more "superhero vibes" than previous installments. However, Dragon Ball's Z-warriors are not usually portrayed as superheroes in the traditional sense, despite their incredible powers, so the title makes fans wonder how the film will bring those superhero vibes.

However, there's one Z-Warrior who played a superhero role in the past. Seven years after the Cell games, Gohan embraced the superhero life when he took the alter ego of "Great Saiyaman".

Credit: Toei Animation

While the executive producers at the panel didn't confirm Gohan's appearance in Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero, his daughter Pan, who appears to have grown-up by three or four years, will be in the film, so it's likely that Goku will wear his Great Saiyaman costume once again to save the day.

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Piccolo, one of the most important characters in Gohan's life, is also set to appear in the movie, so there's a strong chance that the "Super Hero" in the upcoming film's title is referring to Gohan. After all, it's been a long time since Gohan took the spotlight. Many fans believe that Gohan's greatest moment was during the Cell saga, when he defeated the titular villain, and many were upset at the decision to give him an alter-ego in the Great Saiyaman Saga because of how he appeared to be less badass than his epic moment in his fight against Cell.

Hopefully, Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero will give Gohan the chance to shine.

Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero is scheduled to release in theaters in 2022, but exact release dates may vary depending on the region. For the latest information, trailers, and plot details about the film, check out our hub for Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero, and don't forget to follow our Anime fan page on Facebook here.