Attention! Contains spoilers for Chapter #85 of Dragon Ball Super.
There’s one thing Dragon Ball fans have been waiting for for years: Vegeta has surpassed Goku. Dragon Ball Super has done a great job of making Vegeta often look as strong as Goku, and has hinted many times that Prince Saiyan can finally claim to be the strongest warrior, even temporarily. However, chapter #85 of the manga, written by Akira Toriyama and drawn by Toyotaru, proved that the series will never surpass its old dynamic, which means that Vegeta will never surpass Goku.
Goku and Vegeta’s rivalry is one of the most enticing aspects of the franchise Dragon Ball. When he was introduced, Vegeta was an excellent warrior, in a completely different league than the “low-born” Kakarot, but things changed quickly, and since then he has been forced to play second fiddle. Every time it seems that Vegeta has finally caught up with him, Goku surpasses him again with a new transformation or strength. In Dragon Ball Super, it was the same with Super Saiyan Blue: shortly after Vegeta reached this state, Goku rushed forward with Ultra Instinct. However, the debut of Vegeta’s Ultra Ego showed that Prince Saiyan finally had a chance. Given that it’s a power other than Ultra-Instinct, Vegeta could have been at least as powerful as Goku, but that quickly turned out not to be the case.
Related: Dragon Ball Super Finally Gives Vegeta an Edge Over Goku
During the battle with Gus, who used Dragon Balls to fulfill his desire to become the strongest warrior in the universe, both Ultra Instinct and Ultra Ego were equally powerless. In fact, since the Ultra-Ego gets stronger the more damage the user takes, it seemed that this technique was more suitable for dealing with a superior opponent, and thus Vegeta finally has an advantage over Goku. However, in Dragon Ball Super, chapter #85, Vegeta falls before dealing a decisive blow to Gaz due to the excessive damage inflicted on him. When Goku steps forward, he debuts with a new, improved form of Goku’s Ultra-Instinct, which makes him stronger than Gus, which means poor Vegeta is left behind again.
Vegeta has many fans, but Goku remains the main character of the franchise Dragon Ball. Toriyama seems unwilling to change his proven formula, and Goku will always be a hero saving the universe. In fact, Ultra Ego Vegeta was created by Toyotarou. The young mangaka didn’t create these characters, so his approach may be more innovative and less limited by what Toriyama probably considers the magic formula that made Dragon Pearl the most famous manga in the world. However, I must say that the franchise is almost forty years old. Although Dragon Ball Super has rejuvenated many aspects and has become a fascinating read, the formula needs to be changed so that it does not become outdated. If Vegeta defeats the bad guy at least once, this will be the perfect way to do it, and it won’t change what fans love about Dragon Ball.
Fans know that Vegeta has already established himself as a Goku in many aspects, including the fact that he developed Ultra Ego on his own, while Vis taught Goku Ultra Instinct. Thus, the battle with Gus was the perfect chance for Vegeta to attract attention and save the universe alone. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like that’s going to happen, at least not in this arch. No matter how much fans want this to happen, it seems that Dragon Ball will not change its formula, and Vegeta will never surpass his rival Goku.
