Are you a Dragon Ball Super fan? Are you interested in Goku Black? Would you like to learn more about this character?
Then you’ve come to the right place! In this comprehensive guide, you’ll find all the information you need to know about Goku Black!
Goku Black is one of the main antagonists in the Dragon Ball Super series. Although he resembles Son Goku in every way, he is actually controlled by Zamasu, a Kaio apprentice from Universe 10. He wears black clothes and possesses the Ring of Time, an artifact reserved for Kaio Shin. 🔥PRODUCTS OF THE MOMENT🔥
In this article, you’ll discover:
- His creation, appearance and personality.
- His background in Dragon Ball Super.
- His power and main fighting techniques.
Are you ready to explore every facet of Goku Black, the most popular antagonist in the Dragon Ball Super series? Then let’s get to it! 😎
CREATION, APPEARANCE AND PERSONALITY OF GOKU BLACK.
CONCEPTION.
According to the manga’s author, Akira Toriyama, the idea was to create an evil version of the main hero, Goku. This idea had already been partially used with Thales, in the OVA films, who was presented as a Son Goku lookalike. 💥
However, in the case of Goku Black, it really is Son Goku’s physical body, controlled by another mind.
APPARENCE.
It’s hard to talk about Goku Black’s appearance without mentioning the character of Zamasu. He is a Kaio apprentice from Universe 10, following the teachings of Master Gowasu. Zamasu is of normal height and build, with green skin and crested white hair. He wears orange earrings called Potara. 📍📍
It is this character who takes possession of Son Goku’s body by asking the Supreme Shenron to exchange their physical envelopes. Thus is born Goku Black, controlled by Zamasu’s malevolent spirit. 😈
There are a few minor differences from Goku’s normal appearance, including:
- His skin is slightly darker and his eyes are more pronounced.
- His hair is even darker.
- In terms of clothing style, he wears a dark gray vest, a long-sleeved black tunic with a turtleneck, a red belt, black pants and white boots. He also wears a green Potara earring in his left ear. He has entrusted the second to his counterpart from the future. Finally, he holds the precious Time Ring, which enables him to travel into the future.
PERSONALITY.
Originally, Zamasu is the disciple of Gowasu, the Kaio of the Tenth Universe. He is calm and patient, with a genuine desire to learn and progress by following his master’s teachings. However, Zamasu develops a radically different philosophy from Gowasu when it comes to mortal beings. He questions the role of the Kaio, arguing that they should intervene rather than observe human development. In his opinion, it would be simpler to do away with mortals, as they don’t seem to learn anything and spend their time at war with each other. Zamasu has his own vision of justice, although he doesn’t realize that he himself embodies evil through his actions. 👹
This is why he always justifies his actions by maintaining that humans exist because the gods don’t want to admit the error of having created them.
When he meets Goku, he is humiliated by his defeat. It’s the first time he’s lost to a mortal being. Later, Zamasu develops an obsession for the Saiyan and uses the Super Dragon Balls to take possession of his body. He also murders Gowasu in order to seize his Time Ring, enabling him to move to the future in the guise of Goku Black and meet his counterpart from the future. Thus, they form a formidable duo. 😨
It’s impossible to talk about Goku Black’s personality without touching on his “zero humans” plan. He mentions several times in the series and manga his wish to eradicate all humanoid mortal peoples. His goal is simple and demonstrates his unhealthy mentality: eliminate all mortal races and exercise his own brand of justice.
Zamasu’s behavior changes when he becomes Goku Black. Although he’s already a bad guy, his sadism, insensitivity and bloodlust increase tenfold. He takes great pleasure in murdering Goku’s family before his very eyes. He sows chaos and destruction on Earth, wiping out many of its inhabitants. He is ruthless, bloodthirsty and brutal as he coldly kills his enemies. He takes pleasure in breaking Trunks’ arm and bombarding him with ki blows when the latter can no longer defend himself. 💥
Interestingly, however, he retains Zamasu’s politeness. In his first meeting with Goku (the real one), he remains mildly courteous. However, he also shows signs of mental imbalance, bursting into laughter for no apparent reason and having abrupt mood swings. He coldly lays out his plan: to destroy the human race. ☠
Goku Black likes to face powerful enemies, because it strengthens him. He is determined and never gives up on a goal he has set for himself. He swears to find Trunks when the latter flees into the past. 😠
He shares an important characteristic with Goku: his independence. He wants to strengthen his powers and fighting techniques on his own. He categorically refuses to take shortcuts. Unlike Zamasu from the future, he has no interest in immortality. He prefers to achieve supreme power through experience, probably a trait he takes after Son Goku. ⚡
Black is also vain. When he reveals his Pink Super Saiyan form, he describes it as beautiful, dominant, graceful and overpowering.
It’s interesting to note a difference in personality between Goku Black in the manga and in the anime. In the anime, Black manages to remain calm and in control of himself. In the manga, it’s quite the opposite. He loses his cool when things don’t go according to plan, as we can see during his confrontation with Vegeta where he’s seized by an inordinate rage. 🤬
Their differences are also evident in their fighting style. In the anime, Black uses attacks with finesse, precision and flamboyance. In the manga, he favors brute force to crush his enemies, adopting a much more aggressive style. 🤛
How can we explain this difference? Probably because in the manga, Black never met Goku personally before they met in the future timeline. So they have no personal connection.
His relationship with the Zamasu of the future also differs between the manga and the anime. In the anime, Black and Zamasu genuinely see each other as allies. This is not the case in the manga, where Goku Black regards his counterpart as a mere pawn. Similarly, the Zamasu of the future thinks the same of his ally, finding it ridiculous that he has abandoned his divine body for a mortal one. 💪
Goku Black is far more sadistic and cruel in the manga.
Finally, the two clones harshly criticize Trunks’ time travel, seeing it as a provocation on the part of mortals that deserves to be punished. ⏳
character biography
BEFORE THE DRAGON BALL SUPER EVENTS
Goku Black is the same person as Zamasu. However, thanks to Trunks’ time travel from the future, the main timeline of the story has been altered. In addition, Beerus’ destruction of Zamasu in this timeline has split the future into two axes. Goku Black is therefore originally exactly the same person as Zamasu in the main timeline. Thanks to his time ring, his death at the hands of Beerus had no impact on him. 💥
Zamasu was originally a Kaio from the Tenth Universe. Thanks to his exceptional martial arts skills, Master Gowasu chose him as his disciple so that he could become the Supreme Kaio. 🌟
Zamasu harbors a genuine distrust of mortals and questions the role of the Kaio, which is simply to observe them without being able to eliminate them if they act irresponsibly. Over time, his soul becomes increasingly corrupted. This is particularly evident during tea ceremonies, where the preparations become increasingly bitter. Gowasu notices this, asserting that successful tea is the result of a pure soul. Eventually, Zamasu rejects his master’s teachings and philosophy and rebels. He devises his own project, Project Zero Mortals. 💀
The goal is simple: eliminate all mortals and gods within a given timeframe to create a trouble-free universe. To achieve this, he will have to assassinate Gowasu in order to recover his time ring. 💍
During the events of Dragon Ball Super, Zamasu becomes obsessed with taking over Goku’s body. He sees Goku as extremely powerful, ideal to house his spirit and develop new powers. He uses the Super Dragon Balls to make this wish come true. 🐲
Black Goku sets out to find a parallel universe suitable for carrying out his plan. He finds a suitable reality in Trunks’ future, where the Supreme Kaio has been assassinated by Babidi and Dabra. This inevitably leads to Beerus’s death due to the life link between them. 💀
He also meets Zamasu from the future, who immediately joins him after killing Gowasu. The infernal duo then gather the Super Dragon Balls to grant Zamasu invincibility and immortality. They then destroy the precious crystal balls. 💥
After these events, Black Goku travels across the universe, destroying all forms of life in the name of his divine justice. When he arrives on Earth, the carnage begins and half of humanity is quickly wiped out. In the face of this, the survivors band together to form a resistance led by Mai. But their efforts are in vain, as Black Goku is far too powerful for them. Trunks from the future opposes him, but to no avail. In his attempt to escape, Trunks blinds Black Goku with a flash grenade and manages to escape to the past to ask for help. 😢
These events lead us to the events of Dragon Ball Super in our main reality…
In Trunks’ future reality, Black Goku searches intensely for his presence for long minutes, but the Saiyan’s aura has completely disappeared. Furious, he vows to find and exterminate him. As for Trunks, he finds himself unconscious in the past, at the time of our main plot. When he wakes up in his bed, he reacts violently to seeing Son Goku because of their striking physical resemblance to Black Goku. He attacks Goku furiously, but is calmed by Bulma. Once he comes to his senses, Trunks apologizes and tells his story. 📖
A few hours later, Black Goku’s time ring stirs, and a temporal rift opens before him. He rushes inside and appears in the present. As he passes through the time portal, he is unaware that he is about to travel to the past. ⏳
Once in the main timeline, everyone is surprised to see an enemy who looks exactly like Son Goku. For his part, Black Goku takes a few moments to understand what has happened when he sees Vegeta, Beerus and Goku. 💡
Trunks, enraged at seeing Black Goku, prepares to fight him, but is stopped by Vegeta. Goku rushes to confront Black Goku first. Black Goku attacks with a powerful black-and-gold sphere of ki, but Goku blocks it and deflects it onto a rocky plateau. Goku then transforms into Super Saiyan 2 and counterattacks. The two opponents exchange a punch, and Black Goku is amazed by Goku’s power, congratulating himself on his progress thanks to his battles against powerful opponents. 🤼
The fight between the two foes is spectacular, although they hold back their blows. Vegeta points out that Goku tends not to give his best at the start of a fight. Finally, Black Goku delivers a powerful blow to Goku, hurling him across a mountain. 💨
As he gloats, Black Goku feels a strong distortion in space-time. A rift forms and begins to attract Black Goku. Goku takes advantage of this to kick him in the abdomen. The fight goes on for several minutes, offering ever more spectacle. However, the rift attracts Black Goku more and more, forcing him to put an end to the fight. He then notices the time machine and decides to destroy it before being sucked through the time portal. 💥
Beerus notices that Black Goku’s aura is very different from Goku’s, confirming that this is someone completely different. Once back in his future, Black Goku mocks Trunks, thinking he’s stuck forever in the past. He then tests his newfound power using his “Golden Black” ki technique before deciding to hunt down the Terran resistance fighters and exterminate them. 💀
Meanwhile, our heroes find a way to get to Trunks’ reality using Cell’s time machine. Thus, Goku, Vegeta and Trunks land together in the future to confront Black Goku.
Vegeta opens the show by transforming into Super Saiyan Blue and quickly attempting to overpower his opponent. But something isn’t quite right. Black Goku doesn’t seem at all surprised by this transformation, nor is he intimidated by it. Trunks begins to realize that the fight will be far more difficult than expected. 😯
The fight begins and Vegeta finds himself powerless against Black Goku, who manages to fend him off in his normal form. Nevertheless, Black Goku congratulates Vegeta on his performance and decides to show him something as a reward…
Black Goku then transforms into an entirely new form, equivalent to Super Saiyan Blue. He calls it the Super Saiyan Rosé. The color of this transformation is due to the fact that Zamasu is originally of divine conception. Black Goku is therefore the only character who can attain this unique form. 🌟
He describes his new appearance as marvelous, divine and exceptional. Vegeta, furious, attacks, but Black Goku inflicts a devastating blow with his energy sword, piercing him in the stomach and dropping him from the sky. The Prince of the Saiyans is defeated and collapses to the ground. 😵
This event forces Goku to intervene. Our hero throws himself into the battle, and according to Trunks, the fight seems balanced at first. However, Black Goku quickly gains the upper hand, forcing Trunks to intervene. Vegeta’s son prepares a Kamehameha to help Goku, but is stopped by the Zamasu of the future who enters the scene. 😱
The two Goku continue to fight on their own, while Trunks and Zamasu clash elsewhere. However, Black Goku and his counterpart fight in perfect synchronization. Black Goku unleashes a devastating Kamehameha on his enemies, inflicting terrible damage. Just as he is about to finish them off, Vegeta deflects his attack before collapsing again. 💥
Retirement is sounded, and our three heroes manage to retreat into the past using the time machine. Black Goku and Zamasu know they’ll be back soon and decide to wait for them. 💤
In his Pink Super Saiyan form, Goku Black is a fearsomely powerful opponent. His visually stunning design has won over the hearts of many Dragon Ball Z fans.
The course of the fight differs from the manga. In the manga, Vegeta dominates Black Goku. Just as he is about to finish him off, Zamasu intervenes to save his double. After healing, Black Goku recovers and becomes even more powerful, rivalling Vegeta. Thanks to a second healing, he then reaches Super Saiyan Rosé mode, gaining the upper hand and knocking Vegeta to the ground. What follows is identical to the anime, with the three heroes managing to retreat into the past. ⌛
Black Goku and Zamasu retreat to a house in the mountains, awaiting the return of the three Saiyans. During their discussion, Zamasu explains that if Black kills Goku too quickly, he will lose the opportunity to become stronger. It would therefore be preferable to ask for immortality. However, Black refuses, as he is fully satisfied in Goku’s body and prefers to progress on his own. 💪
Later, the three Saiyans return for a second round. The fight begins between Blue Vegeta and Black Goku Rosé. During a pause, the evil double explains to Goku how he murdered Chichi and Goten shortly after the body swap.
The battle continues, with the infernal duo once again getting the better of their opponents. Black Goku once again pierces Goku with his “God’s Slicer” technique. In a spike of fury, Goku temporarily regains the advantage before being overtaken. 🗡
Zamasu and his counterpart accuse Trunks of having seriously erred by traveling through time and consider him the worst of mortals. Faced with this, Vegeta’s son is overcome by rage and charges at the duo. He manages to compete with them for several minutes before being overpowered. Trunks covers Goku and Vegeta’s escape into the past. 🏳
After some thought, our heroes decide to capture Zamasu using the Mafuba technique. This is an excellent idea, as it circumvents the invincibility of this formidable foe. Vegeta trains in the Hall of Spirit and Time to push back his limits. 🏋️♀️
When they return with Bulma, Gowasu and Kaio Shin, the final battle approaches. Gowasu and Shin try to reason with the duo, but to no avail. Goku Black asserts that his choice has long since been made, and nothing can stop him from executing the Human Zero plan. ☠
Vegeta challenges Goku Black and manages to overwhelm him. The latter is genuinely surprised by the progression of the Prince of the Saiyans. Vegeta gives him a real beating, claiming that Black will never be able to reach his full power, as this is not his original body.
If you’re a fan of the Prince of Saiyans, be sure to check out our ultimate guide to Vegeta! 😉
In this duel, Vegeta Blue largely dominates Goku Black Rosé.
GOKU BLACK’S FINAL EPISODE
Black realizes that Vegeta’s power comes from his intense anger. Being a Saiyan himself, he decides to do the same. He creates a large pink scythe by planting his energy in his hand. Black wounds Vegeta and opens a space-time rift. Goku joins Vegeta to help him, and the two Saiyans face numerous Goku Black clones. 🤔
Meanwhile, Trunks manages to trap Zamasu in a vial using the Mafuba technique. However, the seal isn’t closed properly, and Goku Black manages to free him using instant teleportation. Zamasu escapes and realizes that his opponents are not to be underestimated. He offers Black the use of their secret weapon. 📍📍
Goku Black and Zamasu merge using the Potara earrings. They become a single being, a fearsomely powerful warrior: fused Zamasu.
The new Zamasu is superhumanly powerful and easily overpowers the three Saiyans. Trunks manages to stand up to Zamasu with Vegeta’s help. Father and son fend off a Zamasu attack with a powerful Garric Cannon. This scene is reminiscent of Gohan and Goku against Cell. 💥
However, Zamasu’s spirit survives and attempts to merge with the universe. He unleashes a devastating rain on Earth, wiping out all its inhabitants. All seems lost. Goku appeals to King Zeno, who decides to destroy Zamasu and the Earth. Our heroes then return to the past. ⏳
And so ends the story of Goku Black. This enemy will forever mark the Dragon Ball Super saga. Most fans agree that this adversary is one of the most interesting in the series, thanks to his visually successful appearance, a captivating storyline, an exceptional transformation into a Pink Super Saiyan, and an epic ending. 😎
At the end of the fight, Zamasu’s body envelope dislocates, losing its invulnerability.
POWERS OF GOKU BLACK
It’s important to remember that before swapping bodies with Son Goku, Zamasu was already a powerful fighter and probably one of the strongest Kaioshins in the universe. He was also capable of moving the planet-sized Super Dragon Balls. 🌍
After taking over Goku’s body, he acquired the Saiyans’ own characteristics while retaining his own techniques. When he became Goku Black, he became extremely formidable. He easily eliminates the real Son Goku, who was inside Zamasu’s body. 💥
Let’s now take a closer look at Goku Black’s fighting abilities in the anime and manga. 📖
IN THE ANIME
Goku Black easily crushes Trunks Super Saiyan 2 in his base form. According to Trunks, Black equals the power of Son Goku’s Super Saiyan 3.
Thereafter, he grows stronger and stronger after each fight. He assimilates Goku and Vegeta’s techniques. By absorbing attacks, his power increases tenfold in subsequent encounters. This is how he surprises Vegeta during their confrontation in the future. ⚡
In his Pink Super Saiyan form, he easily manages to defeat Vegeta. One of his most formidable techniques is his piercing blade. He impales his enemies to knock them out. 🗡
One of his best attacks is the Super Black Kamehameha. He uses it to defeat all three Saiyans at once. In his last fight against Vegeta, he is in great difficulty, which strengthens him once again. 💪
Finally, discovering the power of Saiyan anger, he develops new techniques. He creates an extremely powerful pink energy scythe. He uses it to open a space-time rift and summon clones ad infinitum. He even declares that its power surpasses his own, reaching an unprecedented level. Gowasu later confirms that, by this time, Black had reached the most powerful form without fusion. ✨
IN THE MANGA
Right from the start, we’re informed that Black has trouble accessing Goku’s powers. He’s had to progress on his own by killing numerous opponents, including gods. He also progressed by facing Trunks of the Future. To do this, he didn’t hesitate to use Zamasu’s healing power to continually regenerate himself. Finally, in his basic form, Black is able to defeat Trunks SSJ2 with no problem. 👍
Vegeta almost killed Black when he was in Super Saiyan Blue. Zamasu narrowly saves his counterpart, leading to an incredible recovery that achieves Super Saiyan Rosé. In this form, Black easily defeats Vegeta and the other Saiyans. However, the manga follows the anime when Vegeta returns for the final battle. The prince of the Saiyans triumphs over Black thanks to his anger. 😡
GOKU BLACK’S FIGHTING TECHNIQUES
Black has many fighting skills, both in the anime and in the video games. Here’s a list of the 12 techniques most used by this fearsome character! 😀
- Ki explosion: this is the elemental form of an energy attack. He frequently uses it to annihilate humans.
- Continuous energy balls: technique used against Trunks, consisting of sending a burst of energy balls.
- Black Power Ball: Black creates a golden-colored ball with a core of black energy to attack the opponent. When he throws it, the attack becomes entirely golden, surrounded by a black halo.
- Godly Retribution: an improved version of the Black Power Ball. He uses it in his Pink Super Saiyan form. He can shoot it or use it in close combat in the form of a ki blade.
- Black Power Ball continues: fast version of the previous technique, where multiple balls assault the opponent.
- Human Extinction Attack: an aerial barrage of energy similar to a hailstorm.
- Kamehameha Black: an evil version of Son Goku’s famous technique, colored black.
- Super Kamehameha: an improved version of the previous technique, used by Goku Black.
- Binding Black Kamehameha: a combined duo attack with the future Zamasu, used in his Pink Super Saiyan form. The two attacks combine to create a devastating ball.
- Instantaneous displacement: a Goku technique that allows instant teleportation to a given location.
- Clonage: the Pink Super Saiyan creates numerous clones thanks to a temporal rift. When they are killed, they always return in greater numbers.
- Sudden Death Ray: a combination of instant displacement with a divine retribution move. This is a counter-attack.
7 SURPRISING FACTS ABOUT GOKU BLACK
As usual in our Ultimate Guides, here are some surprising anecdotes about the character in question. Discover 7 surprising facts about Goku Black below!
- While Black and Goku clashed numerous times in the anime, they never fought in the manga.
- Black is the second villain to swap bodies with Son Goku, the first being Captain Ginyu.
- Black, like Thales, is one of the enemies who resembles Goku, with the difference that Black is actually in his body.
- Ironically, Trunks is responsible for all the catastrophic situations. If Trunks hadn’t gone back in time to the main timeline, Goku and his friends would never have met Zamasu, and Zamasu would never have met Goku. This event led Whis and Beerus to find Zamasu and propose a fight between him and Goku, resulting in the series of events we know.
- Black somehow succeeded in his objective, since Trunks’ dimension of the Future became a chaotic Earth, without any human beings.
- In the video game Dragon Ball FighterZ, Freezer explains that if Son Goku were like Black, they could be very good friends.
- In the same video game, after summoning Shenron, Black wishes for immortality and refers to his counterpart Zamasu.
FOLLOW IN THE TRACES OF THE PINK SUPER SAIYAN!
Congratulations! You now know all about Goku Black, Dragon Ball Super’s fearsome antagonist.
This villain has left an indelible mark on the series thanks to his style, his story and his extraordinary fighting techniques. Before merging with Zamasu, he had reached an unprecedented level of power. The Super Saiyan Rosé is visually impressive and possesses devastating powers. 💥
He’s one of the few fighters capable of putting Goku, Vegeta and Trunks to the sword simultaneously. What’s more, his perfect coordination of attacks with Zamasu gives him immense power. 💪 🔥PRODUCTS OF THE MOMENT🔥
