Dragon Ball Super Chapter 80 featured the 2nd round between the strongest warriors in the Universe – Gas Vs Granolah and it was a doozy. Twittertards may have a mixed opinion, but we can all agree that the Chapter had one of the best Bardock vs Gas panels in the series. The spreads were amazing, the choreography – top notch. Can’t wait to see this animated!

The chapter may not have a lot to talk about in terms of plot continuation but, we get to know more about Gas and his siblings.

Gas is finding it hard to kill Granolah despite being the strongest in the Universe. So Macki and Oil wonder if the Dragon Balls fumbled up or Elec made a wrong wish. Elec then comes out of nowhere and removes Gas’ headband, saying that the strongest in the Universe should be able to control his explosive animal instincts now.

Macki and Oil are shocked. She says if we remove our bands and unleash their instincts, they’d go berserk. So this means it applies to all the Heeters and not just Gas. This could imply that Macki and Oil’s instinct forms will be seen in the future.

Of course, they’d use it as a last resort, just like Gas did. Perhaps we would see Macki and Oil vs Goku and Vegeta…? But I personally feel Goku and Vegeta will take a shot at fighting Gas once again.

Anyway, Monaito says that Gas used the same form against Bardock 40 years ago. Apparently, he turned into “that” when Bardock had him cornered. Again, this re-emphasizes the fact that the instinct form is used as a last resort.

Later on in the chapter, Vegeta asked him “how did Bardock defeat berserk Gas?” and Monaito, said he wasn’t conscious to see what happened.

Gas was pummeling Vegeta, making fans think “why is Vegeta taking all the Ls bruh?” We explained in a Tweet where Gas’ instincts led him to attack Vegeta first just like Broly. Goku swoops in to rescue his best buddy and punches Gas on the arm. Goku’s angry face reminded Gas of Bardock attacking him with a Ki blast similar to the one Goku unleashed to finish off Frieza on Namek.

Gas immediately pulled away and cupped his hands around his head. The PTSD from his humiliating defeat at the hands of Bardock kicked in. Like King Piccolo with the Mafuba, he’s scared that Goku would use “something” which Bardock did to defeat him.

Toyotarou is clearly keeping the details of the Bardock vs Gas fight suspenseful. And Gas’ new form piqued my interest because what did Bardock do to defeat a monstrous uncontrolled Gas?

Two ideas come to mind. So without further ado, let’s dive deep!

Theory 1: Bardock uses a similar move as his ultimate move in Budokai 3

This move is a reference to DBZ Bardock, the one in the TV Special, but his DBS counterpart can use the concept.

One of Bardock’s most devastating attacks in the Budokai series is “the Spirit of Saiyans” (Supiritto obu Saiyan). This is also the team’s ultimate attack of Bardock, Tora, and Fasha in Dragon Ball Heroes the arcade game. You can check the attack here!

The attack’s description goes as follows:

When performing Spirit of Saiyans, Bardock remembers the gruesome deaths of his friends (Tora, Fasha, Borgos and Shugesh). His anger takes him over as he calls out “With all your ability… Let’s FINISH THIIIIIIIIIS!” and, as he rushes towards his opponent with a “Great Ape” aura also the image, and attacks the enemy all-out: first with a punch in the gut, and then a backflip kick sending the opponent in the air. Bardock strikes them in the ground with a full power Ki Blast that is similar to the Riot Javelin, before charging a real ki sphere around his hand as he makes a straight fist faced at the enemy, crashing down at them and inflicting massive damage.

Dragon Ball Wiki

During the battle with Gas, Bardock, rather than Tora and others, reflected on Muezli’s death. When he first encountered her, he immediately recalled Gine and the scene of her embracing Goku’s incubation chamber. His protecting instincts kicked in and he decided to spare her.

Fast forward to the scene where he pretended to kill her, Monaito, and Granolah in front of the Heeters. When Elec pulled out his pistol and shot her, Bardock became really pissed.

Muezli, a woman with maternal instincts similar to Gine, rubbed off on Bardock. It’s almost as if Gine herself died. Now don’t get me wrong. I’m not suggesting Muezli is as important to Bardock as Gine is, but his Saiyan instincts to protect were aroused involuntarily when he witnessed Muezli die before his eyes.

Apart from Gine, Muezli is the only other motherly and soft-natured person Bardock had encountered. He felt he let Gine down by not saving someone very similar to her.

Now coming back to Bardock vs Gas. Gas transforms, and Bardock feels hemmed in. To save himself, he used his Saiyan instincts of fighting and protecting when backed into a corner.

Monaito and Granolah are out there on the battlefield, lying unconscious (Gas would have attacked Monaito). So he needed to protect them. Then he felt disappointed that he couldn’t save Muezli.

So, just like the “Spirit of Saiyans” attack in Budokai 3, he unleashed the power of Oozaru while remaining in his humanoid shape and thinking about Muezli’s demise. And just like in the game, he rushes towards his opponent with a “Great Ape” aura around his face and attacks all-out.

This scenario matches with the theme of the arc because Oozaru involves the Saiyan instinct going out of control (like Gas) and that was more powerful than Gas’ instinctual powers. But in this case, Bardock remained in control.

This is not exactly the same as Ikari Broly. The sheer amount of S-Cells was too much for Broly to handle that his head hurt while going berserk. This won’t be the case for Bardock as “Spirit of Saiyans” encompasses the feelings of his comrades and loved ones.

Imagine the chapter where Bardock reveals his trick to defeating gas called “the Spirit of the Saiyans” reminiscing the name of Chapter 76 is “The fate of the Saiyans”. It’ll be so damn cool! Bardock’s actions could change Vegeta’s perspective that the Saiyans aren’t destined to be wiped out because Bardock did fight to protect.

But, it doesn’t mean that DBS Bardock is some righteous person who wasn’t ruthless at all. He was so ruthless that he ate off an alien which he killed in a distant world.

Also, Vegeta was the one who asked Monaito how Bardock defeated Gas. This, I believe, is a subtle foreshadowing of Vegeta transforming as a result of Bardock and attempting to use his unbridled instincts to get stronger. Again, it matches with the arc’s theme.

Theory 2: Bardock transformed into his Oozaru form

This seems like a common route to theorize on. Bardock, backed into a corner, suddenly throws a Ki ball into the sky to create a small artificial moon that reflects 17 million Zeno units/sec radiation, a.k.a Green-spectrum radiation, which is needed to transform into a giant ape (just like Vegeta in the Saiyan Saga). How did Bardock know this? Because he’s a brilliant scientist that’s why!

The huge body would endure Gas’ attacks while at the same time, causing a considerable amount of damage.

However, there’s one small issue. In the flashback of Chapter 80, Bardock doesn’t have a tail.

Some say Toyotarou forgot to add it while others believe it’s a genuine plot point purposefully made to be so. Personally speaking, I think it’s the latter.

I suspect that Gas cuts off his tail to prevent him from turning into a giant ape. But that depends on when this particular flashback took place. Whether it is after or before Bardock uses his trump card. What if the panel above is the last scene in Bardock vs Gas?

If that’s the case, then this theory remains a possibility. Gas could have cut off his tail after Bardock transformed. But I feel Gas wouldn’t be conscious enough to remember the Saiyans’ weakness so he may have cut it off before he went Berserk. The tail grew back in the Broly movie/Dragon Ball minus flashback because Bardock isn’t as strong as a Super Saiyan.

Not a serious theory: Bardock went Super Saiyan

There is a viral theory amongst Twittertards that Bardock might go Super Saiyan against Gas but it’s mostly treated as a joke. I doubt that Bardock would have gone SSJ because if he did, he’d killed Frieza.

But let’s say he forgot how to transform, later on, it still doesn’t make sense because if he were as strong as a Super Saiyan, his tail wouldn’t have grown back but we see his tail there in the Broly movie flashback.

I and so many other faithful fans feel Bardock going Super Saiyan isn’t the right way to go about things because it would come across as cheap fan service. We wouldn’t like it at all.

However, a false Super Saiyan, like the one Goku used against Lord Slug, could be a possibility.

Verdict

I place my bets on the first theory – Bardock using a move similar to “Spirit of Saiyans” where he uses the power of Oozaru without transforming into one while thinking of Muezli’s death and the need to save Monaito and Granolah. I feel it’s a cool idea that might come to fruition. And as I mentioned before, it matches with the theme of the arc “fate of the Saiyans”, “are Saiyans evil?”, etc.

Whatever the mysterious strategy turns out to be, Bardock vs Gas is certainly a battle we’d love to see happening on screen. And it’s only a matter of time before Toyotarou reveals the truth.

But what do you guys make of all of this? Do you think Theory 1 will play out or do you have some other theory in mind? Let us know in the comments below!