The Dragon Ball franchise has given the fans several memorable moments. But the most iconic of all remains when Goku transformed into Super Saiyan for the first time against Frieza. Goku was consumed by rage after the latter killed Krillin in front of him. Since then, there has been no stopping for the transformation, with the latest one being the Ultra Instinct in Dragon Ball Super.
Dragon Ball had a Martial Arts theme, and after the Frieza Saga, it started to focus more on the transformation. But there is a flaw in the Dragon Ball timeline, which was missed by most of the fans. Even before the Super Saiyan transformation, there was a ‘False Super Saiyan’ form, which was featured in Dragon Ball Z: Lord Slug film.
False Super Saiyan Was a Thing Before Super Saiyan
Dragon Ball Z: Lord Slug film was released in 1991. Lord Slug was the main antagonist of the film. He was a super Namekian and more potent than all of the Z Warriors. Lord Slug had a similar mentality to Frieza, where the former traversed the galaxy, conquering several planets. When he came to Earth, all the Z Warriors opposed him, but he proved to be far too strong for them. Even Goku was having a hard time.
[Question] When does “DBZ: Lord Slug” take place?
by indbz
It was during this time that Goku transformed into False Super Saiyan, where there was a yellow aura, like the Super Saiyan around him. His pupils vanished, and he was consumed by rage. For a moment, he had the upper hand but could not maintain the form for long. Fans were a bit surprised to see Goku in such a form. Technically, the Dragon Ball: Lord Slug film was released before his official Super Saiyan transformation.
So, the False Super Saiyan form came before the official Super Saiyan transformation. It is one of the weirdest transformations, considering it does not match the proper timeline of the Dragon Ball universe. Considering it was released before the Frieza Saga, it has little meaning since Goku was training under 100 times Earth’s gravity and traveling to Namek. But as weird as it sounds, False Super Saiyan form has earned a place in the Dragon Ball franchise.
Most of the Dragon Ball Films are Non-Canon
Only two movies in the Dragon Ball franchise are canon – Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods and Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection ‘F.’ Following that logic, Dragon Ball Z: Lord Slug was non-canon since it was made by Toei Animation instead of Akira Toriyama. Official records mentioned that Goku used Kaio-Ken 100x against Lord Slug. But it would have left him too sore to travel to Namek.
The theory also adds that if Lord Slug happened before the Saiyan Saga, it has no meaning since Goku did not know Kaio-ken then. When the film was released, Goku was headed towards Namek. Apart from all the theories that since it was released three months before the official Super Saiyan transformation, it could have a hint for the upcoming iconic moment.
