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With the imminent return of Dragon Ball Super, many fans have taken this hiatus as an opportunity to reread the series from cover-to-cover. Fan-favorite arcs such as The Tournament of Destroyers, the “Future” Trunks, and the incredibly beloved Tournament of Power Arc have all been hot topics of discussion lately.
However, this revisiting of the series has led fans to question one aspect of the Tournament of Power Arc, which saw teams of 10 from various universes duel it out for survival. Within, other fighters began using the power of Fusion to combine their strengths and make what they thought was one nearly unbeatable warrior.
Unfortunately, this didn’t quite workout as well as they had hoped, but the real question fans now have is why Goku and Vegeta didn’t use Fusion in the Tournament of Power.
Follow along as this article fully breaks down why Dragon Ball Super’s Tournament of Power Arc saw Goku and Vegeta opt not to fuse with one another.
Dragon Ball Super’s Tournament of Power Arc kept Goku and Vegeta as separate entities for two key reasons
Why Goku and Vegeta don’t fuse in the Tournament of Power
Dragon Ball Super’s Tournament of Power Arc was truly something which the series had never done anything like before. It saw ten different universes send in teams of their ten strongest fighters, with those who lost all ten fighters being erased from existence. Only the last team standing would be spared this multiversal massacre, as well as win a wish from the Super Dragon Balls.
The teams tried various tactics to ensure their victory, be it underhanded strategies or the implementation of powers, abilities, and more from a team’s fighters. One incredibly popular tactic was the use of various means of Fusion, both with Potara earrings and various other means.
The fighters who did fuse ended up becoming much stronger than the sum of their combined parts, with Agnilasa and Kefla each proving this to be true. Despite both eventually being defeated, fans were still curious as to why Goku and Vegeta didn’t fuse in the Tournament of Power at any point whatsoever.
There are two major reasons for this, one of them being strategic in terms of their positions in the Tournament. Another major reason has to do with the overall narrative of the arc and franchise, which often pins Goku as its centerpiece regardless of what may be happening in the franchise. The lack of Fusion in the Tournament of Power here is no exception.
The strategic reasoning behind Dragon Ball Super’s not having Goku and Vegeta fuse stems from them being the two strongest fighters on their team. Whereas Universe 6 could accept the loss of Kale and Caulifla in the Fused form of Kefla thanks to having Hit, their strongest warrior, remaining, this isn’t the case for Goku and Vegeta of Universe 7.
Had the two Fused and became either Gogeta or Vegito, they ran the risk of losing their two strongest fighters early on in the tournament. The competition also proved that strength isn’t everything when it comes to eliminating an enemy. As a result, it’s entirely possible that Gogeta/Vegito will still be eliminated, even if becoming the tournament’s most powerful fighters as a result of their fusion.
This would’ve left Universe 7 with Gohan, Piccolo, Frieza, and Android 17 as their four strongest fighters. While none of them are particularly weak or unimpressive by any means, Universe 7’s safety would have been in a much more perilous position than if Goku and Vegeta weren’t eliminated. As a result, this is something that strategically makes sense to stay away from.
There’s also the narrative aspect in terms of the Dragon Ball franchise’s storytelling habits and choices. A vast majority of the time, Goku is the centerpiece fighter of an arc, often proving himself to be the last man standing and also the only man who can stand up to an opponent. The most recent example of this is the Moro arc, where the arc’s events eventually come down to Goku versus Moro, one-on-one.
As a result, having Goku and Vegeta fuse would stray from the Dragon Ball franchise’s formulaic storytelling. Having the two Fuse would likely mean that their union would need to win the Tournament of Power for Universe 7 in order to justify their Fusion from a narrative perspective.
This would then eliminate the option of having Ultra Instinct Goku be the focal point of the arc’s final moments. Obviously, this is something author and illustrator Akira Toriyama and Toyotaro would want to avoid. Both of these reasons serve as the two main arguments for why Goku and Vegeta didn’t fuse in the Tournament of Power.
Follow along for more Dragon Ball anime and manga news, as well as general anime, manga, film, and live-action news as 2022 progresses.
