Goku Black (Dragon Ball Series)

Template:Dragon Ball Series CharactersGoku Black (ゴクウブラック, Gokū Burakku), usually just referred to as Black, is one of the main antagonists of the Future Trunks Saga of Dragon Ball Super. His true identity is Zamasu (ザマス) from an unaltered timeline, in which he stole the body of Goku and sought to destroy all humans alongside Future Zamasu. He was given the name "Goku Black" by Bulma when he initially referred to himself as Son Goku.

Appearance

His original appearance was the same as his counterparts. After stealing Goku's body, he underwent physical changes. While still essentially identical, he has a slightly darker skin tone and fully outlined eyes, along with a somewhat skinnier physique. In the manga, he has dark outlines around his eyes. His attire consists of a sleeveless dark grey uwagi, a long-sleeved black undershirt with a turtleneck, a red sash, black pants and white boots. He wears a single gold and green Potara earring on his left ear. In the anime he also wears a Time Ring on his right index finger, while in Toriyama's artwork and in the manga Black does not possess the Time Ring. While inside dark clouds or fire, Black has a demonic appearance.

Personality

Before acting on his dark impulses, as Zamasu, he was a calm and patient individual, willing to listen to his teacher's words. Finally giving in to his desires, Black mercilessly killed Gowasu as his first step down a dark path. Upon taking Goku's body, Black became much more emotional. He gained many opposite characteristics to his host body's personality.

Like his future timeline counterpart, he is extremely sadistic, seen when he kills Bulma, along with the vast majority of the Earthlings, believing it to be "justice". However, he retains his past self's politeness and is shown to be graceful during his first fight with Goku as Black. Black also claims to have already destroyed multiple different planets' populations before going to Earth. During his short battle in the present timeline, Black seems to enjoy the pain Goku inflicts on him in their battle, suggesting a masochistic side, which disturbs Goku. During his fight with Trunks, he showed a sense of brutality as he savagely fractured Trunks' arm and shoots a barrage of ki blasts at his defenseless opponent. However, Black also seems to share a few traits with Goku, namely his desire to fight strong opponents and love of battle, even going as far as holding his full power back in order to further enjoy a fight. Black also shares Goku's sense of determination, vowing to find Trunks as he escaped to the past.

Judging from his derogatory comment towards Trunks' Saiyan heritage, it's possible that he harbors some negative feelings towards the Saiyan race, yet at the same time referred to them as a proud warrior tribe, enough to make the decision to use Shenron's power to take over and reside in the body of a Saiyan: Goku. Black also seems to respect Goku's power. He seems to utterly detest humanity, perceiving them as a blasphemy and the gods' greatest mistake.

He elaborates this hatred by stating that he has scoured several universes and has implied to have seen enough timelines (presumably also the past and the Android conflict as well) via the Time Ring to feel vindicated in his belief that humanity is an existence that prevents the universe as a whole from becoming a true paradise and has taken it upon himself to destroy all traces of mankind, who he believes have only been allowed to live as long as they have because the gods are too prideful to acknowledge their failure in creating humans. Also, rather than using the Super Dragon Balls and wish for mortals to be exterminated, he preferred to steal the body of Goku, displaying his infatuation with the Saiyan. This also seems to suggest that he wanted to destroy mortals by himself, as he believed that it was his own responsibility, as if he were the Supreme God.

He appears to have a somewhat different view on power compared to his other counterpart. Unlike the future Zamasu, who desired immortality, Black openly stated his disinterest on such a power. Instead, he is glad of the abilities he already gained through Goku's body and seeks to attain more power through his own effort, seeking battle from strong opponents to further progress his might, especially against the actual Goku from the main altered timeline.

Befitting his attitude, Black uses very formal speech patterns, and uses the pronoun 'watashi' (私) when referring to himself, which is gender neutral and but only goes to indicate his formal nature. However, while transformed into Super Saiyan Rosé, Black notably switches from 'watashi' to 'ore' (俺), a more masculine, casual pronoun, which can be used to sound arrogant. In Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2, Black in his base form sounds dark and muffled, but upon transforming, he has a more godlike attitude.

Black has also shown a fixation on beauty (or more accurately, what he perceives as beauty), considering the utter removal of mortals as making the twelve Universes into a beautiful paradise - his "utopia", he also sees his Super Saiyan Rosé form as beauty itself for both its power and appearance. An interesting trait not shared with his original self and future timeline counterpart is his comparisons of fighting foes to food: as Black has designated Vegeta, Son Goku, and Trunks as the "opening dish", "main course", and "dessert" respectively.

In the manga, however, Black's personality was drastically different from his anime counterpart. While Black in the anime always manages to stay calm and never lose his composure, even when losing a battle, Black in the manga is more prone to losing his composure the moment things do not go his way. This was shown when he was losing his battle against Vegeta, where he breaks down in a fit of rage. The difference in their personality is also reflected in their contrasting fighting styles. Black in the anime performs his attacks with a sense of finesse and flamboyance. Black in the manga, however, prefers to use brute force alone to overwhelm his enemies, taking a more aggressive fighting style. The difference in personalities is likely due to Black in the manga never meeting Goku personally prior to their encounter in the future timeline, and thus never had a personal connection with Goku. This ultimately resulted in none of Goku's traits such as a composed demeanor when fighting or his lust for battle. Similarly, his relationship to Future Zamasu in the manga was significantly different from that of the anime. In the latter, he and Future Zamasu genuinely considered each other as friends, while in the manga, Goku Black considered Future Zamasu to merely be a pawn, while Future Zamasu likewise considered Black contemptible for forsaking his divine body for the sake of power, and at one point when on the ropes were even willing to turn on each other briefly.

Biography

Background

He and Zamasu were originally the same entity, however Beerus destroying Zamasu in the past split the timeline. The Zamasu who became Goku Black thus has all of the same history as Zamasu prior to his destruction at Beerus' hand. Due to the powers of the Time Ring, the death of the other present Zamasu due to Beerus did not affect him.

Zamasu was originally the North Kai of Universe 10. However, due to his prodigious fighting skill, he was selected to become a Supreme Kai-in-training under one of the current Supreme Kai, Gowasu. With his continuous distrust of mortals and growing dismay of the Kais' passive and indirect influence of the universe's development, he ultimately rejected his teachings and went rogue, developing his Zero Mortals Plan. To which, his ultimate goal became to annihilate all mortals in a specific timeline, then build up from there, conquering every other timeline with it, making the multiverse a "true utopia" rid of the mortals who ruin it. Requiring a Time Ring for his plans, Zamasu killed Gowasu and took his Potara to become a Supreme Kai so he could wield the Time Ring.

For the next part of his plan, in the anime learning of Goku's might surpassing even the Supreme Kais and the power of the Super Dragon Balls, Zamasu gathered the wish-granting orbs and wished to switch bodies with Goku. Upon his wish being granted he decided to erase all personal ties to Goku's past by killing Goku and his family, and took the name of Son Goku for himself. In the manga Zamasu swapped bodies with Monaka - the victor of the Universes 6 and 7 Gods of Destruction Selection Martial Arts Competition, however up-on realizing that Monaka was in fact weak he swapped bodies with Goku instead.

Despite his newfound power, Zamasu needed to find a reality without a God of Destruction, still fearing their intrusion to his plans. With that being said, Zamasu began traveling to various parallel realities in search for one with the ideal settings so he could act initially unnoticed. Eventually, he found one in Future Trunks' reality where the final Supreme Kai of Universe 7, Shin, was killed in a battle to defeat Babidi and Dabura, thereby killing Future Beerus due to the life-link. He also met his counterpart from that timeline, Future Zamasu, immediately allying with him shortly after killing Future Gowasu. The two then gathered the Super Dragon Balls and first wished for Future Zamasu to become immortal. They then traveled another year into the future to wish for the Super Dragon Balls to destroy themselves and stealthily annihilated all the Supreme Kais of that reality (which thereby killed the other Gods of Destruction) to leave their path of destruction unchallenged.

Beginning the main part of his plans, Zamasu traveled to many different planets and destroyed all life on them for "the sake of justice" under the name, "Son Goku". Upon his arrival on Earth, he goes on a rampage, his first attack causing half of mankind to be wiped out. Since his arrival, Zamasu became known as a terrifying warrior only known as Goku Black. Those who survived formed resistance cells, with Mai leading them. They attempted to lead Black into an area rigged with remote detonated explosives, but Black emerged unscathed.

Dragon Ball Super

"Future" Trunks Saga

In the midst of causing destruction, Black began to sense Trunks' ki, so he then pursued him. After Black caught sight of Trunks, he fired several ki blasts at the fleeing Saiyan but failed and he was hit by a ki blast himself. Regardless, he still manages to defeat Trunks and prepares to finish him off with a Black Power Ball. However, Mai saves Trunks by throwing a flash grenade at Black and then they both quickly escaped. After Black regained his sight, Black stated that Trunks could not run forever.

Trunks survived their encounter and, for a year, prepares to travel back in time using a Time Machine with Bulma in an attempt to save the future. Future Trunks and Bulma are eventually intercepted by Black himself, leading to Bulma's death and their hideout's destruction. Trunks narrowly escapes with a canister holding enough fuel for a one-way trip back to the past while Black pursues him. Later, as Trunks and Mai arrive to Capsule Corporation, Black attacks them both, knocking out Mai and heavily injuring Trunks. An angry Future Trunks transforms into a Super Saiyan and engages Black in battle, but is easily beaten. As Future Trunks fires a Masenko, Black blocks the attack, but Trunks disappears. He then begins to sense for Future Trunks' ki, and spots Future Trunks about to leave in the time machine. Black fires a Kamehameha, but the attack narrowly misses as Future Trunks leaves, and Black realizes that Trunks' ki has completely disappeared from this world. Growing angry, Black vows to find Future Trunks as he has nowhere to run.

Anime: While Black tries to figure out how Trunks escaped, a Time Ring that he wears has a sudden reaction which creates a portal to the past. After going through the portal, Black finds himself in the present timeline which he quickly spots Future Trunks and eventually introduces himself to Goku. When Black arrives in the past everybody's shocked that he looks exactly like Goku. Black then realizes that it was time travel and also seems to know Vegeta and the God of Destruction Beerus. Trunks, upon seeing him, is enraged and goes to fight him but he is stopped by Vegeta. Goku goes in his place, beginning to battle with Black. Black opens with the same golden-black ki sphere he attempted to use on Trunks. Goku blocks it while the force of the ki sphere knocks Goku into a rocky plateau. Goku powers up to Super Saiyan 2 and fights back. By sharing the fist blow with Goku, Black is amazed at Goku's power as a Super Saiyan 2 and gets excited against such a powerful opponent.

Now Black powers up a little and release his evil ki. Black then attacks Goku with several punches, eventually landing a hit on Goku in the abdomen and kicks him away, following up with a barrage of ki blasts. Trunks is confused as to why Goku is not using his Super Saiyan 3 powers, when Vegeta explains Goku's bad habit of holding back his power during the beginning of battles. While the fight goes on, Black and Goku are evenly matched with both of them hiding their true power. Goku threatens Black, betting him that he'll be able to force out his doppelgänger's true power. Goku bolts and lands several punches until Black manages to throw Goku into another mountain.

While Black gloats, he feels a distortion in Time and Space. The distraction creates an opening for Goku, as he lands a sharp kick in Black's abdomen. Black, clearly damaged but delighted, claims that the pain will make him even stronger as he powers up even further. Black stops and throws a large ki blast at Goku, who managed to deflect it. Black then follows up with a kick to the Saiyan's head, which knocks him into the ground, forming a large crater in the process. As Black realizes the Time Machine's function after Future Trunks accidentally reveals it, Goku returns with full force and lands a sharp punch in Black's stomach. They both lock fists and go into a power struggle as the pull from the distortion gets stronger and Black pulls towards it, interrupting the fight. Before getting pulled back to his own timeline, Black destroys Trunks' Time Machine. During the battle, Beerus points out that Black is clearly not Goku, noting his ki feels strange and dark.

Throughout the fight, the Time Ring attempts to pull him back to the future. Black attempts to resist its pull, but is unable to. Before being pulled into the portal, Black fires a Ki blast at Trunks' Time Machine, destroying it, effectively stranding Trunks in the past. Upon returning to Future Trunks' time, he collapses from his injuries after his fight with Goku before regaining his composure. Black proceeded to test his power, using a Golden-Black ki sphere, causing it to grow bigger than its usual size before firing it, pleased at his increased power and integrating Goku's fighting style into his own. He also mocks that Trunks is now stranded in the present, leaving him free to terrorize the future as he pleases. With Trunks's departure, Black moves to attacking the base of the resistance formed by the Earthlings, who struggle to defend it from him and are for the most part murdered by Black then and there, the few survivors having to flee and designate a new base. None of this occurs in the manga, as Black does not possess a Time Ring.

After Trunks travels to the future with Goku and Vegeta, Black is surprised, given his destruction of Trunks' time machine, and confronts them, Black fights Vegeta who was able to secure a match with him first via a round of rock-paper-scissors with Goku. Black moves close to Vegeta, touching his neck in a show of his speed before Vegeta attacks him with a barrage of punches. Suddenly Vegeta stops, wondering what he just felt as Black slowly walks out of the crater and kicks Vegeta away not having taken any damage at all, though he is impressed by Vegeta's strength and offers to show him something as a "reward". Black then transforms into a form to resume fighting Vegeta, naming the form "Super Saiyan Rosé" in the spirit of Goku's naming pattern. Black mocks Vegeta, calling him the opening act before his fight with Goku. Enraged, Vegeta charges Black and unleashes another assault, but Black effortlessly avoids every punch. Black lands a mighty blow to Vegeta and prepares to finish him with another but Vegeta catches it and launches a counter assault. Before Vegeta can land any real damage, Black quickly stops Vegeta by turning his aura into a energy blade and stabs Vegeta clean through the right side of his chest, mortally wounding him, acknowledging that Vegeta has strengthened him through their fight. He thanks Vegeta for the warm up and tells him to know his place before pulling his blade out and allowing the injured Saiyan to fall to the ground, nearly dead, prompting Goku's entry into the brawl. The two fight evenly in the eyes of Future Trunks, though Vegeta determines that Black is overwhelming Goku. Black indeed does defeat Goku, but just as he prepares to fire a Kamehameha at him, Future Zamasu stops him as he arrives, recalling Black's prior promise to save killing Goku for him.

The two quickly conflict as Black insists that his body is yearning to fight Goku and battles him in an even match while Future Zamasu separately duels Trunks until Future Zamasu grabs hold of both Goku and Trunks to allow for Black to fire a beam at the pair which he does in the form of a Kamehameha, causing the two Saiyans to take damage. Black then joins with Future Zamasu in trying to fire at the pair, but their attack is stopped by Vegeta, allowing Goku and Trunks to escape. Black attempts to locate them by sensing their ki, but has trouble thanks to its faintness and being mixed among others. In the meantime, Goku, Trunks and Vegeta use a time machine to return to the past, which Black later is able to sense as it departs, failing to catch them with Future Zamasu insisting that they'd return.

In the manga, however, Black faces off against Super Saiyan 2 Vegeta, becoming a Super Saiyan to fight him. However, Vegeta manages to hold an advantage against Black and then further transforms into a Super Saiyan Blue and easily overwhelms Black, even after he transforms into a Super Saiyan to try and even the odds. Black states that he couldn't achieve the Super Saiyan Blue form, and is overwhelmed by Vegeta. When Vegeta is about to kill Black with his Final Flash, Black is saved by Future Zamasu. Future Zamasu heals Black, allowing him to receive a power-up from the near-death experience and causing his god mind and Saiyan body to become more connected. This allows Super Saiyan Black to fight on par with Super Saiyan Blue Vegeta, and after getting healed again, he gains yet another power up from his injuries and evolves into his Super Saiyan Rosé form. He then proceeds to face Vegeta while Future Zamasu faces Goku. Thanks to his new form, Black manages to hold an advantage over Vegeta and soon takes him down, and at the same time, Future Zamasu takes down Super Saiyan Goku. However, Future Trunks uses the Solar Flare to stop them in their tracks and the Saiyan trio manage to escape. Future Zamasu states that they will just have to wait for them, but Black locates Future Mai's energy and teleports to her. However, they fall into a trap, and Future Trunks takes Future Zamasu out of the fight by piercing through him with his sword. Black is then sent flying away by the empowered Trunks, as Black gets up, he witnesses Vegeta and Goku escaping in the Time Machine, but before he can attack with a ki blast, he finds himself being beaten back by Future Trunks. Due to Trunks' interference, Goku and Vegeta manage to escape back to the past, while Black tells Trunks to not get carried away before battling him.

In the anime, Black and Future Zamasu are seen at their cabin in a nearby mountain, waiting patiently for Goku's return to the future. They discuss their plans, and Future Zamasu insists that Black should wish for immortality, but Black refuses, stating that he was already satisfied having Goku's body and because of having Goku's cells running inside him, couldn't help but wanting to become stronger on his own.

Upon sensing the return of the trio (Trunks, Goku and Vegeta, along with Bulma) in the future, Black and Future Zamasu waited and eventually encountered them again. Super Saiyan Blue Vegeta quickly charges at Black, who entered his Super Saiyan Rosé form. They stopped their exchange of blows for a while and returned to their respective base forms, with Goku assuming that they were right about Zamasu and his plans with the Super Dragon Balls. Black "corrected" Goku and claimed he is Zamasu who switched bodies with Goku with a wish from the Super Dragon Balls, but kept his heart and soul intact, and killed the Goku in his old body.

The fight continued, with the duo had the upper hand on the Saiyan trio, and Black and Future Zamasu revealed to Goku that after Black stole Goku's body, he killed Chi-Chi and Goten in cold blood. This caused Goku's power to rise tremendously due to his anger, and Goku then began overwhelming both Black and Future Zamasu for a short time but was ultimately defeated by Black nonetheless. As Goku laid defeated on the ground, Black and Zamasu revealed one of the reasons behind their plans, stating that Trunks was the one to blame for traveling back and forward through time causing history to change. They declared Trunks a "sinner", because of his actions, causing Trunks to give into his anger completely and was able to access a never-seen before Super Saiyan transformation, and with his newfound power, declared the end of both Black and Zamasu.

In the manga, Black completely overwhelms Future Trunks during their battle, smashing him from building to building until the latter powers down to base form. Mai tries to retaliate but is easily swept away. He then flies up and prepares to launch another energy blast to finish Trunks off, before he is interrupted by Gowasu, who has his fate changed thanks to Beerus killing the Zamasu from the main timeline. Black is surprised to see him as he takes Trunks and Mai to his timeline, he too vanishes as well. Black then heads home with Future Zamasu and Zamasu worries about Future Zen-Oh finding out what they are doing to the multiverse. Black then shrugs it off, stating that their plans were noble and righteous.

In the anime, Trunks charges at Black and the two begin fighting. They seemed evenly matched until Zamasu stepped in and the duo begin to overpower Trunks. He doesn't stay down though and tells Vegeta to take Bulma and the injured Goku back to the past so that they can come up with a way to defeat Black and Future Zamasu once and for all, while he stays behind to hold off the duo. Black tries to stop them, but they are protected by Trunks. Black says that they will be back and continues to fight Trunks. Trunks was eventually saved by Future Yajirobe, while Black and Future Zamasu retreated. When Future Mai and some resistance members attacked Black at their cabin, Trunks appeared just in time to save them, and the fight continued, and despite gaining the upper hand early on, Black and Future Zamasu defeated Trunks, and Goku and Vegeta soon returned to the future timeline, with the Evil Containment Wave to seal Future Zamasu, but Black broke the Mafuba when he destroyed the time machine.

While Vegeta and Goku argue, Gowasu and Shin show up with the Time Ring and confront Black and Zamasu about their actions, but their attempts are in vain, and Black affirms that his path was already chosen and nothing that Gowasu said could change it and attempted to kill him, but is stopped by Goku and Vegeta. The Kai's refuse to leave when asked, wanting to see the battle through. Vegeta requests to take Black, believing that he couldn't be beaten by a fake Goku. Vegeta overwhelms Black, who notices Vegeta's drastically increased strength which allows him to send him flying. Vegeta then proceeds to give Black a well deserved thrashing while informing that he could never achieve the full power of a Saiyan by stealing Goku's body. Black questions the difference in power which Vegeta answers by declaring Black as being nothing but a fake, Vegeta affirms that he was the Prince of all Saiyans and that he would destroy him.

Black continues to be overwhelmed by Vegeta on the battlefield, noting that Vegeta must have grown stronger due to his anger. Possessing the body of a Saiyan himself, Black decides that he will do the same, and stabs his energy blade into his hand, revealing a new, large scythe variation of it. Black slashes at Vegeta, who dodges it, but the slash creates a large rift in time itself. As Future Zamasu pursues Future Trunks and the others, Vegeta and Goku are held back by the illusionary clones created by the large rift, and Black mocks them as they are surrounded by the clones.

Soon, Black realizes Future Zamasu' flustering energy (Future Zamasu was sealed with the Evil Containment Wave, but the seal could not be complete, and managed to escape, but at the cost of a tremendous amount of energy) and uses Instant Transmission to teleport towards Zamasu, with Goku and Vegeta in pursuit. When the two reunite, Future Zamasu admits that their opponents were far stronger than expected and couldn't be underestimated anymore, and informed Black about their "secret weapon". Black and Zamasu then use their Potara earrings and fuse into one, single, powerful warrior known as Fused Zamasu. Fused Zamasu was later erased from existence (along with the entire future multiverse) when Future Zen-Oh erased him after Goku summoned him, putting an end to both Future Zamasu and Black's plans once and for all.

In the manga, Fused Zamasu defuses after his hour is up, however the immortality of Future Zamasu will not allow them to seperate and he and Black are stuck in a deformed half fused state. Future Trunks proceeds to cut them in half, however this allows the two to reform individually due to both retaining the immortality. Goku Black is stabbed through the back by Future Trunks, but takes him down and transforms himself into Fused Zamasu. As the two Fused Zamasu's are preparing to kill Goku, Super Saiyan Blue Vegeta rescues him and then fires his ultimate attack: the Gamma Burst Flash - blowing the two Fused Zamasu's into pieces, which then reform into many Zamasu's.

Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2

During the events of Future Trunks Saga, Goku Black and Future Zamasu somehow manage to change history. The Supreme Kai of Time and Old Kai then tell the Future Warrior to help Future Trunks to go back in time with the Time Machine while Future Warrior (Xenoverse 2) helps Goku to fight Goku Black. Before Goku Black gets pulled by the time and space distortion and destroys the Time Machine, he notices something strange with his Time Ring while fighting the Future Warrior. After another change in history, the two Future Warriors go to Future Trunks' timeline to help Vegeta to fight Super Saiyan Rosé Goku Black. During the fight, Goku Black notices his Time Ring acting up again, knowing there was something familiar about the Future Warriors.

After returning to the Time Nest, Goku Black asks Future Zamasu how should they deal with the Time Patrol, telling him that it will require some patience. Goku Black and Future Zamasu then fight against the Future Warrior and Super Saiyan Rage Future Trunks. After everything returning to normal, Goku Black and Future Zamasu manage to make another change in history during their final battle against the Z-Fighters by bringing Turles, Broly, Janemba, Slug and Cooler due to the Time Rift Goku Black has created with his scythe. Black and Zamasu then had no choice but to fuse into Fused Zamasu.

Dragon Ball Fusions

During the time of the Timespace Tournament, Present Zamasu is summoned by Goku Black to act as his ally, the two decide to use the Timespace Rift for their own ends to exterminate mortals. Upon being forced into battle with Tekka's team and Future Trunks, Zamasu and Goku Black fuse together into Fused Zamasu. It is then discovered by the group that other Timespace's are disappearing, and Fused Zamasu reveals that this is because his comrades are wiping them out. Fused Zamasu then summons his comrades - four other Zamasus from other Timespaces - two of which are Goku Blacks. The group realize that the Zamasus are linked to Fused Zamasu, and that is how they are able to stay in this Timespace, and so decide they must defeat him. The two Goku Blacks turn Super Saiyan Rosé and the battle begins. Fused Zamasu is defeated in the end.

Power

Before switching bodies with Goku, Zamasu was already a fighting prodigy and the strongest Kai to ever live. After attaining the abilities of a Saiyan his skills and power only increased. As Goku Black, his power kept rising after each battle like other Saiyans do.

Anime

Upon gaining the might and abilities of Goku's body while in unison retaining his prodigious fighting skills and powers as a Supreme Kai, Black has proven repeatedly to be a highly dangerous opponent. Black in his base form is strong enough to easily beat Super Saiyan 2 Future Trunks - though Future Trunks was extremely underfed at the time. It is stated in the anime by Future Trunks that Black in his Base form is at least equal if not somewhat stronger than Super Saiyan 3 Goku. In his first fight against Goku, his base form is roughly on par with Super Saiyan 2 Goku as neither gained a clear advantage. When Black returned to the future, he noted that from copying Goku's fighting style and experiencing the mighty Saiyan's blows, his power increased significantly. With his newfound strength and skill, in his base state he is able to shrug off blows from Super Saiyan Blue Vegeta and even manages to knock him back.

Upon transforming into Super Saiyan Rosé, he takes down Vegeta with a surprise piercing blade attack and is shown to be able to fight on par with Super Saiyan Blue Goku and get the upper hand on several occasions. Continuing his fight with Goku, and due to Future Zamasu's interference, a full-force hit from a Super Black Kamehameha was able to defeat Super Saiyan Blue Goku and Super Saiyan 2 Future Trunks. In the third fight he overpowers Goku, Vegeta and Trunks simultaneously. When Super Saiyan Blue Goku powers up from his rage and brutally overwhelms Black, Black was able to quickly recover and once again imprint on the power to further increase his might and viciously retaliates and nearly kills Goku. However upon Goku and Vegeta's return Black was completely overwhelmed by Vegeta's power increase.

Upon recognizing the Saiyans' ability to grow stronger as they get angry, Black decided to incorporate this by using his universal anger, stabbing his Aura Slide blade into his hand and revealing a new scythe version, this would also increase his power even further. With this scythe, Black was able to create a large rift in space in one swing, feeding off an evil energy that blocked Goku's usage of the Instant Transmission.

Manga

It is revealed that initially, Black had trouble accessing Goku's powers upon gaining his body, and he could not even become a regular Super Saiyan. Upon traveling to different worlds and killing the gods in each world, and from his constant fights with Future Trunks, Black has grown stronger after each battle by exploiting the Saiyan Power ability by letting Future Zamasu heal his injuries every time. Currently, Black in his base form is able to defeat Super Saiyan 2 Future Trunks (though the half-Saiyan was underfed and thus may not have been able to use his full power), no longer having to become a Super Saiyan against him as Future Trunks comments in Black's fight with Vegeta that he hasn't become a Super Saiyan in a while.

While fighting Super Saiyan 2 Vegeta, Black in his base form was able to hold his own somewhat. Black transforms into his Super Saiyan state and is able to fight on par with Vegeta until the prince uses his full Super Saiyan 2 power, gradually overwhelming Black. Once Vegeta transforms into his Super Saiyan Blue form, he effortlessly pummels Black, to which he would have likely killed Black if not for the timely intervention of Future Zamasu. After being healed by Future Zamasu, Black gains a power up from his near-death experience, and in his ordinary Super Saiyan form becomes close in power to Super Saiyan God - enough to challenge the weakened Super Saiyan Blue Vegeta, and even pressure him on the defensive. Due to gaining more injuries from Vegeta, Black is healed one more time and gains another power boost - finally surpassing Super Saiyan God, exclaiming his godly mind is further connecting with his Saiyan body and cells, evolving his Super Saiyan form into Super Saiyan Rosé. In this state, after a short fight with Super Saiyan Blue Vegeta he takes down the Saiyan Prince by hitting him with several heavy blows to his stomach, knocking him out. When Future Trunks gains a power boost to hold off Black, Black chooses to use his Super Saiyan Rosé form to combat the half-Saiyan, and despite Trunks' power up Black is able to easily beat him around. However when Vegeta returns to the future and utilizes his Super Saiyan God-Super Saiyan Blue switch out strategy, even as a Super Saiyan Rosé Black is outmatched.

Upon transforming into the form of Fused Zamasu, Goku Black possessed all of the power that the Potara Fusion Zamasu possessed.

Statements by guidebooks and authors

According to the producer of Dragon Ball Super, in his opinion Goku Black is the strongest fighter other than the God of Destruction Beerus.

According to the Dragon Ball Super rival danger scale, Super Saiyan Rosé Goku Black is ranked as a twelve out of twelve.

Techniques

• Flight - The ability to take flight through the manipulation of ki.
• Ki Blast - Black is shown to use ki blasts while terrorizing Future Trunks' timeline.
• Continuous Energy Bullets - Black used this technique against Trunks.
• Black Power Ball - Black can create a golden colored Energy Ball with a core of black energy to attack the opponent. Once he fires it, the attack becomes completely golden with a black outline
  • Divine Retribution - A more powerful version of the Black Power Ball in Goku Black's Super Saiyan Rosé state, he can either fire off the ki blast, or attack with a downward slash with his ki blade as a melee attack.
  • Continuous Black Power Ball - A rapid fire version of the technique, appearing as small golden ki blasts with black outline.
    • Black Ball Rain - An aerial hailstorm-like energy barrage version of Continuous Black Power Ball.

• Black Kamehameha - Black is shown to be able to use a black-colored version of the Kamehameha.
  • Super Black Kamehameha - A stronger version of the Black Kamehameha used by Goku Black in his Super Saiyan Rosé form.
• Instant Transmission - Used by Black several times, in the manga in order to quickly get up close to Trunks and attack him and in the anime to avoid an attack from Goku.
  • Sudden Death Beam - Goku Black uses Instant Transmission to dodge attacks and get close to his opponent, then fires a point-blank Divine Retribution ki blast as a counter attack. This move is used by him in a brief clash with Goku in the episode: The God With the Immortal Body - Zamasu Descends. The move functions as a variation of Instant Transmission that acts as a counter attack. If attacked before teleporting, the Black will perform a counter attack where he appear behind the opponent to deliver a Divine Retribution ki blast.
• Ki Sense - The ability to sense ki and power levels.
• Shockwave - After engraving Goku's power into his own being he is shown using this technique while testing his new abilities.

• God Split Cut - Zamasu's signature attack, used by Zamasu after obtaining Goku's body and becoming Goku Black to kill the Son family.
  • Divine Weapon Forging - A special ability used to extend his God Split Cut in to various shapes as well as to change its properties. Only usable in his Super Saiyan Rosé state.
    • Violent Fierce God Slicer - After further refining his power, Black is able to use an enhanced version of the technique, he emits a blade of violet energy from his hand to slash and stab his opponent. It seems to be enhanced by the form's ki aura. In the Manga, Black used this technique in his base form to mortally wound his former master, Gowasu.
      • Super Saiyan Rosé Azure Dragon Sword - An improved Violent Fierce God Slicer gained through powering up from being damaged by an enraged Goku in the anime.
        • Divine Lasso - In Super Saiyan Rosé form, Black can shoot out multiple energy javelins from his blade that first pierce the target and then explode.
      • Violent Fierce God Slicer (scythe) - A more powerful version of the Violent Fierce God Slicer technique, attained by Goku Black after he turned his anger into power in the anime. It became capable of opening a large rift in the universe to an unknown place or time which would release an evil energy.
        • Cloning - From the energy of the rift, Black is able to form many clones of himself. These clones are unstable and if they were hit, they would disperse, but can immediately reform themselves after. They have the same physical might as Black himself. The clones and the rift dissipate once Black goes too far away.
• Spirit Blade - A blade made of ki. One of Goku Black's special moves in Dragon Ball Fusions.
• Saiyan Power - Goku Black is capable of gaining power boosts once recovering from almost any form of physical harm caused by his enemies like other Saiyans. In the anime this ability appears more advanced than an ordinary Saiyans. Even minor injuries and moments of pain are able to cause noticeable boosts in his power. Even more, he appear able to recover from injuries much faster than normal Saiyans. In the manga, Goku Black works in the normal nature, as only recovering from more serious injuries will boost his power, to which he also needed aid from Future Zamasu healing him before he could return to battle. Each time he uses this power up it allows his "god mind and Saiyan body" to tie further together, first allowing him to access his Super Saiyan form before finally accessing his godly ki, evolving his Super Saiyan form.
  • Mimicry - In the anime, as an extension of his newfound Saiyan biology, Black is also capable of imitating anything that he learns from Goku in battle due to them sharing the same body. He used his fight with Super Saiyan 2 Goku in order to have "battle memories" engraved on his body, and thus to learn his fighting style and become stronger as a result. He also applied a similar method when fighting Vegeta, recognizing anger as source of power for Saiyans and mimicking that to further increase his power.
• Energy Shield - In the manga, Black is showed to using this to defend against Super Saiyan Vegeta's ki blast attack.
• Telekinesis - Like Shin and Future Zamasu, Black is able to utilize telekinesis to hold down his foes. Black is using this against Super Saiyan Blue Vegeta but it didn't work on him, and later against Future Trunks in the manga.
• Invisible Eye Blast – The ability to shoot an invisible blast of ki out of his eyes. Used against Future Mai in the manga.
• Meteor Blow - One of Black's Super Skills in Xenoverse 2.
• Break Strike - Black's Evasive skill in Xenoverse 2.
• Solar Flare - According to currently unused lines in Xenoverse 2, Black can use Solar Flare.^[17]
• Kaio-ken - According to currently unused lines in Xenoverse 2, Black can use Kaio-ken.^[17]
• Pure Heart - Despite his evil actions, Goku Black is immune to the effects of the Devilmite Beam (and Psidevilmite Beam) indicating that he has a pure heart and that his evil actions are a result of his misguided belief that mortals are evil beyond repair. One of Goku Black's passive Skills in Dragon Ball Fusions. It should be noted that Zamasu also possesses this Skill.
• Spirit Shot - In the manga, Black uses this in order to clear the dust that Future Trunks had created..
• Immortality - In the manga, as a result of his faulty defusion from Future Zamasu, Goku Black retains Fused Zamasu's immortality.
• Supervillain Mode - In Xenoverse 2 as part of the Super Pack 4 DLC, Goku Black can take on Supervillain Mode by shaving off some of his life. He can even use the power up in his Super Saiyan Rosé form despite its Godly ki.
• Rage Saucer - A darkness energy fueled rush technique used by Supervillain Mode Goku Black in Xenoverse 2 as part of the Super Pack 4 DLC.
• Darkness Mixer - A ki and stamina charging technique that produces a dark aura that damages nearby enemies. Used by Supervillain Mode Goku Black in Xenoverse 2 as part of the Super Pack 4 DLC.

Equipment

• Potara - After killing Gowasu, Black took his former master's (Gowasu's) Potara earrings, allowing him to use the full capacities of a Supreme Kai. Upon meeting his future counterpart, Black gave him the right earring.
• Time Ring - Retaining his godly ki as a Kai and wearing an earring of a Supreme Kai, Black is able to wield a Time Ring, which allows him to travel through time and even alternate realities. The ring also acts as a stabilizer, keeping his existence unaffected by changes in the past, even when Beerus killed his past self. He only wields this in the anime, while in the manga his partner Zamasu is the one who possess the Time Ring.
• Metamo-Ring - In Dragon Ball Fusions, Goku Black wears a Metamo-Ring when performing EX-Fusion with Broly to form Kalory Black.

Forms and Transformations

Monaka's body

In the manga, Zamasu originally attempted to trade bodies with Monaka. However, he soon realized Monaka was actually weak, so he traded with Goku's body instead.

Goku's body

As part of his wish with Super Shenron, Zamasu's primary form is that of Goku's. Because of this, Zamasu possesses all of Goku's techniques, transformations, intelligence, and even some of his personality traits in the anime.

Super Saiyan

In Toriyama's notes for Black, he was stated to have a regular Super Saiyan form. However he only transforms into a Super Saiyan in the Super manga, using the form to combat Super Saiyan Vegeta. Upon transforming into it, Future Trunks notes he had not seen Black using the Super Saiyan form for a long time. Noticeably, this form gains sparks similar to the Super Saiyan 2 form and his eyes gain a black outline (similar to that of Majin Vegeta) and is able to compete against Super Saiyan 2 Vegeta.

In the manga, after getting a power up from nearly dying at Vegeta's hands, Goku Black's Super Saiyan form becomes exponentially more powerful than before, nearly as strong as a Super Saiyan God - thus becoming strong enough to match Vegeta's weakened Super Saiyan Blue state, and soon after (upon gaining another power up) causing his Super Saiyan form to surpass Super Saiyan God by changing into his Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan form: Super Saiyan Rosé.

Saiyan beyond God

As a natural god who was able to synchronize the power of his newfound Saiyan body upon harnessing Super Saiyan Rosé, his variation of Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan, Goku Black possesses the power of Super Saiyan God, and thus this state.

Super Saiyan Rosé

Goku Black possesses the ability to become a Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan - in the manga, or his own version of regular Super Saiyan - in the anime. In the anime Black stated that he fully mastered Goku's power to be able to achieve Super Saiyan Rosé. In this state, Black is able to overpower Super Saiyan Blue Goku and Vegeta individually. During the three matchups with the Saiyans, Black remains transformed in this state while fighting.

In the manga, Goku Black's Super Saiyan form eventually evolves into this form after exploiting the Saiyan Power ability by letting Future Zamasu heal his injuries a few times. It is speculated that this form's color is light pink due to Goku Black's (Zamasu's) identity as a natural-born God, as Goku and Vegeta's Blue forms are blue due to them being mortals possessing godly ki.

Fused Zamasu

In the manga, as a result of Goku Black and Future Zamasu being the same person, they fused on a cellular level and are unable to properly defuse and are left in a semi-fused state. After Future Trunks attempts to kill them by slicing them in half. The immortality is shown to have stayed with both of them and they reform fully, with their immortality allowing them to re-mold themselves into two individual Fused Zamasus. After being stabbed through by Future Trunks, he transforms into Fused Zamasu.

Fusions

Fusion Zamasu

Fused Zamasu, or Fused Zamas in Dragon Ball Fusions, is the extremely powerful permanent fusion born between the union of Future Zamasu--Present Zamasu in Fusions--and Black by the Potara earrings. This is due to Black's body, able to power up constantly when in near death or while fighting, and Future Zamasu's immortality. Because of this, Fused Zamasu is one of the most powerful fusions in the franchise, comparable to Vegito. When created at the desperate time where Goku Black and Future Zamasu were defeated by Goku and Vegeta, this fusion was enough to turn the tides around. Even when holding back, Fused Zamasu was able to take on Future Turnks, Vegeta, and Goku--as well as Goku and Vegeta's fusion Vegito--all at once and separately in their strongest forms.

Due to the fusses being one and the same, neither one of the fusses are dominant, and Fused Zamasu's attributes are evenly distributed and blend perfectly. Because of this, he does not have the desire to be too flamboyant like Goku Black and does not let the obsession of Goku stop him from getting the job done. Additionally, due to being a mix of two of the same people, although at the same time contrasting in abilities, Fused Zamasu can experience mutations that can make him stronger. However, this can either be his downfall, or make him even stronger than ever as shown in both the anime and manga. But in the end, all of the problems Fused Zamasu faces are only temporary, due to Goku Black's Saiyan Power.

Karoly Black

A game-only fusion born between the union of Broly and Black through EX-Fusion in the game Dragon Ball Fusions.

Video games

• Dragon Ball Heroes
• Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2
• Dragon Ball Z: Dokkan Battle
• Dragon Ball Fusions

Black makes his debut appearance in a video game and as a playable character in Dragon Ball Heroes, introduced in the ninth mission of the God Mission series (GDM9). He is also a playable character available as a pre-order bonus/dlc character for Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 .

Voice actors

• Japanese: Masako Nozawa, Shin-ichiro Miki (Original body)
• Mandarin dub (Taiwanese): Li Jing Tang
• Funimation dub: Sean Schemmel
• Portuguese dub: Henrique Feist
• Brazilian Portuguese dub: Wendel Bezerra
• Bang Zoom! dub: Lex Lang
• Latin American Spanish dub: Mario castañeda

Battles

Anime

• Zamasu vs. Goku (Super Saiyan 2)
• Zamasu vs. Babarian
• Goku Black vs. Future Trunks
• Goku Black vs. Future Mai
• Goku Black vs. Future Trunks (Base/Super Saiyan)
• Goku Black vs. Goku (Base/Super Saiyan 2)
• Goku Black (Base/Super Saiyan Rosé) vs. Vegeta (Super Saiyan Blue)
• Goku Black (Super Saiyan Rosé) vs. Goku (Super Saiyan Blue)
• Goku Black (Super Saiyan Rosé) and Future Zamasu vs. Goku (Super Saiyan Blue), Vegeta (Super Saiyan Blue) and Future Trunks (Super Saiyan 2)
• Goku Black (Super Saiyan Rosé) vs. Vegeta (Super Saiyan Blue)
• Goku Black (Super Saiyan Rosé) vs. Goku (Super Saiyan Blue)
• Goku Black (Base/Super Saiyan Rosé) and Future Zamasu vs. Goku (Super Saiyan Blue), Vegeta (Super Saiyan Blue/Base), & Future Trunks (Super Saiyan 2)
• Goku Black (Super Saiyan Rosé) and Future Zamasu vs. Future Trunks (Super Saiyan Rage)
• Goku Black (Super Saiyan Rosé) and Future Zamasu vs. Future Trunks (Super Saiyan Rage)
• Goku Black (Super Saiyan Rosé) vs. Vegeta (Super Saiyan Blue)
• Goku Black (Super Saiyan Rosé) vs. Goku (Super Saiyan Blue) and Vegeta (Super Saiyan Blue)

Manga

• Zamasu vs. Kibito
• Zamasu vs. Babarian
• Goku Black vs. Future Trunks
• Goku Black vs. Future Mai
• Goku Black vs. Future Trunks (Super Saiyan 2/Base)
• Goku Black (Base/Super Saiyan) vs. Vegeta (Super Saiyan 2/Super Saiyan Blue)
• Goku Black (Super Saiyan Rosé) vs. Vegeta (Super Saiyan Blue)
• Goku Black (Super Saiyan/Super Saiyan Rosé) vs. Vegeta (Super Saiyan Blue)
• Goku Black (Super Saiyan Rosé) and Future Zamasu vs. Future Trunks (Super Saiyan 2/Strengthened Super Saiyan 2) and Future Mai
• Goku Black (Super Saiyan Rosé) vs. Future Trunks (Super Saiyan 2/Strengthened Super Saiyan 2) and Future Mai
• Goku Black (Super Saiyan Rosé) and Future Zamasu vs. Future Trunks (Strengthened Super Saiyan 2) and Vegeta (Super Saiyan Blue)
• Goku Black (Base/Super Saiyan Rosé) vs. Future Trunks (Super Saiyan 2)
• Goku Black (Super Saiyan Rosé) vs. Vegeta (Super Saiyan God/Super Saiyan Blue/Super Saiyan God-Blue)
• Goku Black vs. Future Trunks (Strengthened Super Saiyan 2/Base)
• Goku Black (Fused Zamasu/Infinite Zamasu) and Future Zamasu (Fused Zamasu/Infinite Zamasu) vs. Goku
• Goku Black (Fused Zamasu/Infinite Zamasu) and Future Zamasu (Fused Zamasu/Infinite Zamasu) vs. Vegeta (Super Saiyan Blue)

List of characters killed by Goku Black

• Gowasu (Goku Black's timeline) – Killed by Black so he could steal both the Potara earrings and Time Ring. Event erased upon present Zamasu's death.
• Goku (Goku Black's timeline) – Killed by Black after stealing his body. Event erased upon Present Zamasu's death. However, due to Goku Black's Time Ring, he is allowed to exist in the body which he stole from Goku.
• Chi-Chi (Goku Black's timeline) – Killed by Black along with Goten in the anime. Event erased upon Present Zamasu's death.
• Goten (Goku Black's timeline) – Killed by Black along with Chi Chi in the anime. Event erased upon Present Zamasu's death.
• Future Gowasu – Killed by Black.
• Future Supreme Kais – All killed by Black during his travels across every Universe (except for Future Shin in the manga, who died due to injuries sustained from his battle against Future Dabura and Future Babidi).
  • Future Gods of Destruction – When Black killed all the Supreme Kais, the Gods of Destruction died with them (except for Universe 7's God of Destuction in the manga, who died at the same time as Shin, due to their lives being linked together).
• An unknown number of mortals from several planets.
• Earthlings – In the anime, Black killed more than half of the human race during his rampage on Earth. In the manga, he and Future Zamasu killed them all.
  • Earth's Resistance – A lot of soldiers were killed by Black during his invasion.
• Future Bulma – Killed by Black while he destroys her lab.

Trivia

• Goku Black's name uses katakana for Goku (ゴクウ) rather than kanji for Son Goku (悟空).
• At first, Black refers to himself with the formal pronoun watashi (私), similar to Zamasu. Upon ascending to his Super Saiyan Rosé form, however, he adopts the more masculine, assertive pronoun ore (俺). Finally, after fusing with Zamasu to become Fused Zamasu, the merged entity refers to himself with either the self-appreciating phrase kono Zamasu (このザマス, "this Zamasu") or the highly formal, poetic pronoun ware (我).
• While in the anime, Black fought against Goku on many occasions, in the manga they never fought.
• Goku Black is the second instance where a villain switched bodies with Goku, the first being when Captain Ginyuused his Body Change technique on him. Unlike Ginyu, however, he retained his use of Goku's body up to his fusion with Future Zamasu, and by extension, by the time he was killed by Future Trunks and Future Zen-Oh.
  • Interestingly, Ginyu keeps his own voice while he is in other people's bodies, but this does not apply to Goku Black, as he has Goku's voice rather than Zamasu's.
    • However, Goku Black's voice indeed change to a tone similar to Zamasu's when transformed into his Super Saiyan Rosé form in the official FUNimation English dub of Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2.
  • Counting movie villains, he is also the third villain to consider switching bodies with Goku, after Ginyu as aforementioned as well as Dr. Wheelo.
• Goku Black is the second character to be named Black in the series, the first being Staff Officer Black of the Red Ribbon Army.
• Goku Black's debut episode featured lettuce frequently, which was most likely a reference to Turles, the main antagonist of The Tree of Might who, like Black, closely resembled Goku in appearance.
  • In Xenoverse 2, Turles has special dialog with Black in which he says, "Kakarot? Hm... No, I guess not. Say, how about joining up with me?" only for Black to be offended by Turles and responds by saying "Seriously? What a barbaric way to address a god, Saiyan. It seems humanity must be erased after all. There is no other choice." showing that Black finds Turles' barbaric Saiyan nature to be just another example of why he must carry out his Zero Mortals Plan.
    • Presumably he would likely also probably despise a mortal like Turles for consuming the holy Fruit of the Tree of Might that he has harvested by brutally sacrificing countless planets, as according to Elder Kai (& King Kai in the japanese version of Tree of Might) the fruit is only meant to be consumed by divine beings such as the Kai and Supreme Kais (Goku Black was originally a Kai and apprentice Supreme Kai of Universe 10).
• Goku Black's English voice in Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 sounds different depending on his form. In base form, he has a gruff voice, similar to the tone Goku has as a Super Saiyan 4. In his Super Saiyan Rosé form, he speaks with a British accent. No explanation has been given for this change, although it may reference his original identity as Zamasu.
  • One of Black's quotes in Xenoverse 2, "because knowing is half the battle, and the other half is the battle" references the famous catchphrase from the G.I. Joe cartoon series.
• Goku Black's standard outfit resembled Goku's outfit from the film Dragonball Evolution. Coincidentally, Goku Black himself had a connection to the main villain Zamasu, similar to Oozaru's connection to Lord Piccolo (with both Zamasu and Lord Piccolo likewise sharing the same English voice actor).
• Ironically, it was Goku Black's actions in Future Trunks' timeline that led to his creation and more "sinful" timelines in the first place, as had Future Trunks not warned Goku and the Z-Fighters about Goku Black's presence in the future, they would not have discovered Zamasu, Goku would not have fought him, and Zamasu would not have been inspired to wish via the Super Dragon Balls the theft of Goku's body, as well as create the Zero Mortals Plan. As the first step of the Zero Mortals Plan involved killing his master Gowasu to steal his Time Ring and Potara earring, with Beerus destroying his alternate timeline counterpart resulting in the birth of Black's timeline, Zamasu ironically left the multiverse in worse shape than before he created his Zero Mortals Plan.
  • However it should be noted this only applies to the anime, as in the manga Zamasu learns about Goku by watching Goku fighting in the tournament between Universe 6 and Universe 7 on GodTube and only encounters Goku after he steals his body.