Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero

The Return of Red Ribbon

The Red Ribbon Army was supposed to be dead. A young Goku dismantled the organization decades ago, and Dr. Gero's androids and Cell were the last gasps of its scientific legacy. But Commander Red had a son named Magenta, and Magenta has spent years quietly rebuilding the organization behind the corporate facade of Red Pharmaceuticals, its true headquarters hidden beneath a holographic lake. His second-in-command Carmine identifies a potential game-changer: Dr. Hedo, the grandson of Dr. Gero himself, a genius scientist about to be released from prison after serving time for resurrecting the dead and using them to staff a convenience store to fund his research.

Magenta meets Hedo outside the prison walls, but the young scientist is no easy recruit. He already knows who they are, having sent a spy robot named Hachimaru to trail them. As a devoted superhero fan, Hedo finds the Red Ribbon Army's history repulsive. Magenta pivots to manipulation, presenting edited footage of Future Trunks killing Frieza and framing Capsule Corporation as the headquarters of a shadowy alien conspiracy. The pitch works. Hedo agrees to build the ultimate android superheroes to defend Earth from these supposed invaders: Gamma 1 and Gamma 2, sleek, red-and-blue androids designed to embody heroic ideals.

Piccolo's Double Life

Six months later, Piccolo lives a quiet life in a small house, training the three-year-old Pan in the basics of martial arts. He picks her up from kindergarten, handles the responsibilities Gohan neglects, and watches with growing frustration as Gohan buries himself in entomological research rather than maintaining his fighting condition. When Piccolo confronts Gohan about his priorities, Gohan waves off the concern, saying Goku and Vegeta will handle any threats. Piccolo throws a punch to test him. Gohan blocks it but takes a second blow to the stomach. Piccolo materializes weighted Namekian training gear onto Gohan's body and tells him to keep it on.

The quiet shatters when Gamma 2 ambushes Piccolo at his home. Recognizing the Red Ribbon insignia on the android, Piccolo feigns death after their initial exchange and follows Gamma 2 back to the hidden base. Disguised in a stolen uniform, Piccolo infiltrates a strategy meeting where he learns the full scope of the threat: the Gammas are merely the appetizer. In the basement, Dr. Hedo is constructing Cell Max, a towering bio-android inspired by the original Cell but far larger and more unstable. Hedo himself is reluctant to activate it because the control system is unfinished; Cell Max could easily turn against everyone.

Piccolo contacts Bulma, but Goku and Vegeta are training on Beerus's planet, sparring alongside Broly while Cheelai and Lemo have settled in as residents. An ice cream tub lands on Whis's staff, blocking Bulma's call. With Earth's strongest fighters unreachable and Androids 17 and 18 ruled out as targets for Hedo's analysis, Piccolo flies to Dende and asks if the young Guardian can unlock his dormant potential the way Grand Elder Guru once did for Gohan and Krillin. Dende cannot perform the technique himself, but he upgrades the Dragon Balls to grant that wish. Piccolo collects the Dragon Balls from Bulma's lab, summons Shenron, and has his latent power unlocked. Shenron mentions he threw in "a bonus" as well, the significance of which Piccolo does not yet understand.

The Staged Kidnapping

Back at the Red Ribbon base, Magenta devises a plan to lure Gohan to their location by kidnapping Pan. Still in disguise, Piccolo volunteers for the mission, claiming familiarity with Mr. Satan's granddaughter. He picks up Pan from kindergarten, where she instantly recognizes his ki, and explains the ruse. Pan plays along, delivering a convincing terrified performance in a staged video. When the footage reaches Gohan, the scholar's composure shatters completely. He powers up into Super Saiyan, creating a massive crater that topples his own house, and flies to the base in a rage.

Gamma Battles and Broken Assumptions

Gohan arrives at the base and immediately charges toward Pan, but Gamma 1 intercepts him. Even as a Super Saiyan, Gohan struggles against the android's precision and power. Piccolo, still playing his undercover role, lifts Pan by the collar and threatens her in front of everyone, a calculated move to push Gohan past his limits. The Gammas, believing themselves to be genuine heroes, protest Piccolo's treatment of a child, revealing their authentic moral programming. The provocation works: Gohan snaps into his Ultimate form, and the tide begins to turn.

Gamma 2 enters the fight as backup, and Piccolo intercepts him using his newly awakened power. The android reveals hidden reserves that push Piccolo back. Falling into a crevice in the base, Piccolo remembers Shenron's words about throwing in a bonus. A sigil lights up on his back, his skin turns orange, his antenna stands on end, and his body grows bulkier. Orange Piccolo emerges and flattens Gamma 2 with a single devastating punch.

Pan, meanwhile, tears through Red Ribbon soldiers with inherited Saiyan strength. When Carmine fires a gun at her, she dodges every bullet. The Gammas, witnessing their supposed allies shooting at a child, finally realize they have been deceived. They cease their attacks against Gohan and Piccolo, and the battle seems to be over. Bulma arrives with reinforcements: Trunks, Goten, Krillin, and Android 18. Piccolo is startled to see Trunks and Goten as teenagers, and Gohan explains that Saiyans remain small until they hit a growth spurt. When Gohan asks about the orange form, Piccolo shrugs and names it on the spot.

Cell Max Unleashed

Inside the base, Magenta prepares to activate Cell Max against Dr. Hedo's frantic protests. Hedo reminds him that the control system is incomplete, but Magenta has already committed. When Hedo physically tries to stop him, Magenta shoots him, only for Hedo to shrug off the bullet thanks to a skin-toughening serum he injected years ago. Magenta reveals cybernetic enhancements of his own, but Hachimaru stings him with lethal poison. Dying, Magenta undoes the final restraints on Cell Max with his last breath.

The sky darkens as Cell Max erupts from beneath the base. A gigantic, red, winged creature resembling Cell's second form, it is mindless destruction incarnate, incapable of strategy or speech, answering to no one. Piccolo tosses a Senzu Bean to Gohan, who fumbles it without his glasses, and it falls into a crevice. The entire group charges in: Goten, Trunks, Android 18, both Gammas, Piccolo, and a weakened Gohan fighting at Super Saiyan level.

Dr. Hedo reveals Cell Max's weakness: a soft point at the top of his skull. Goten and Trunks attempt the Fusion Dance but produce fat Gotenks, who fails to go Super Saiyan but accidentally headbutts Cell Max's weak spot, producing visible cracks. Gamma 2 decides to sacrifice himself, gathering all his energy into a single Core Breaker dive. With the group's coordinated support, he strikes Cell Max's head, but the monster blocks at the last moment. Gamma 2 only manages to sever Cell Max's arm before the resulting explosion forces Pan to finally learn to fly in order to escape the blast.

The Form Beyond Ultimate

Cell Max attempts to crush the unconscious Dr. Hedo and Gamma 2's lifeless body. Piccolo returns to Orange Piccolo and holds up Cell Max's foot. Krillin reminds him of his old gigantification technique from the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament, and Piccolo grows to enormous size, grappling with Cell Max as the others provide support. He feeds Gohan the last Senzu Bean from his belt and tells him to charge one full-power attack at the weak point.

Cell Max lands a blow that appears to kill Piccolo. The sight of his mentor falling triggers something primal in Gohan, a rage deeper than any he has felt before. His hair turns white. His irises burn red. Gohan Beast emerges for the first time, a form beyond Ultimate, beyond anything Gohan has ever accessed. He withstands Cell Max's attacks effortlessly, then overwhelms the creature with raw power. Cell Max charges a massive energy sphere in desperation. Piccolo recovers and locks Cell Max in place. Gohan channels his fury into a Special Beam Cannon, Piccolo's own signature technique, and fires it clean through Cell Max's energy ball and through the top of his skull. Cell Max topples and explodes. The group escapes the blast.

In the aftermath, Gohan and Pan embrace as Piccolo congratulates his student. Gohan notes that even Goku and Vegeta might not have been able to defeat Cell Max. Gamma 2, drained of all energy, disintegrates as Dr. Hedo and Gamma 1 watch. Piccolo declares that in the end, Gamma 2 really was a superhero. Dr. Hedo and Gamma 1 accept positions at Capsule Corporation. Pan flies joyful circles around everyone.

In a post-credits scene, Goku and Vegeta collapse from exhaustion after their own sparring match on Beerus's planet. Vegeta's fist lands last. He smiles and declares that he finally won.

Toriyama's Most Personal Script

Akira Toriyama wrote every line of dialogue in Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero, and by multiple accounts, he was more deeply invested in this film than any of the three theatrical scripts that preceded it. Production began in 2017, before DBS: Broly even released, and the final draft took two years to complete. The Red Ribbon Army was chosen as the antagonist because, as Toriyama noted, they never made a big splash in the original manga despite being one of its most iconic organizations. The double "Super" in the title was unintentional; Toriyama forgot the main series was called Dragon Ball Super rather than just Dragon Ball.

Originally, Piccolo was planned as the sole lead. Producer Akio Iyoku pushed for Gohan to co-star, and the resulting dynamic between mentor and student became the film's emotional backbone. Toriyama's screenplay does not script battle choreography in detail. His directions for fights consist of notes like "and now these two characters have a big battle," leaving the animation team to choreograph the actual combat. This approach gave the animators creative freedom while Toriyama maintained total control over character, narrative, and dialogue.

The CGI Question

Super Hero was the first Dragon Ball film produced primarily in CG animation, a decision that divided the fanbase before release. The cel-shaded 3D models aimed to replicate the hand-drawn look while enabling more dynamic camera work and consistent character models across scenes. Some viewers praised the visual clarity and the freedom it gave fight choreography, particularly in the Cell Max battle where the camera swoops through multi-character brawls. Others missed the fluid, hand-drawn expressiveness of DBS: Broly, and the CG occasionally created an uncanny stiffness in quieter dialogue scenes.

The character designs returned to Toriyama's manga aesthetic rather than the anime designs, a deliberate choice that affected how familiar characters appeared on screen. Goten and Trunks, now teenagers, appeared in their manga-accurate forms for the first time in animation. The grown-up redesigns of Gohan in his weighted Piccolo gear and Piccolo in his small countryside house added visual texture to the film's domestic opening act.

New Forms and Franchise Direction

Gohan Beast and Orange Piccolo represent the first major new transformations given to non-Goku, non-Vegeta characters in over two decades. Gohan Beast, with its white hair and red eyes, deliberately evokes the design language of Ultra Instinct and Ultra Ego while being entirely distinct in origin, rooted in Gohan's rage rather than divine technique. Orange Piccolo, granted by Shenron as an unsolicited bonus on top of a potential unlock, gives Piccolo a power ceiling that allows him to participate meaningfully in top-tier battles for the first time since the Cell Saga.

The film earned 2.51 billion yen in Japan and over $100 million worldwide, a strong performance though below DBS: Broly's record-setting numbers. Released on June 11, 2022, in Japan and August 19, 2022, in the United States, it was distributed by Toei Animation, Sony Pictures, and Crunchyroll, marking the first Dragon Ball release under the Crunchyroll banner following Funimation's merger. A Toei Animation hack delayed the film from its original April 2022 date.

The film's events were later adapted into the Super Hero Saga of the Dragon Ball Super manga, where they were expanded with additional scenes and context. Super Hero's lasting contribution to the franchise is its insistence that Dragon Ball's next chapter does not belong solely to Goku and Vegeta. Gohan's Beast transformation, Piccolo's evolution, Pan's first flight, and even Dr. Hedo and the Gammas' redemption arcs all point toward a universe where the supporting cast can carry the weight of a feature film. Whether future entries follow through on that promise remains to be seen, but Super Hero made the argument convincingly.