Dragon Ball Super Hero Is Teasing Super Saiyan Pan (But Will It Happen)

The Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero trailer is teasing Pan's Super Saiyan transformation. But will the anime really go there with her character?

Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero is teasing a Super Saiyan transformation for Pan. As thing stands, Pan is the only character on the show with Saiyan blood who can’t use this form yet, but that’s because she’s only a toddler. However, her appearance and Kindergarten uniform in the movie indicate that she’ll be between 4 and 5 years old when she returns.

Goku’s granddaughter is one of a handful of Dragon Ball characters confirmed to come back for Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero. The last movie focused exclusively on Goku and Vegeta’s off-world conflict with Frieza and Broly, but it looks like the sequel is keeping things closer to home with a story about the Red Ribbon Army. Unfortunately, Broly left no room for characters like Krillin, Tien, Yamcha, or even Gohan, but Super Hero being set primarily on Earth could offer the anime plenty of opportunities to showcase its other major characters. So far, it’s been revealed that Krillin, Piccolo, and Pan will all factor into Goku and Vegeta's next adventure. And since Pan will now be old enough to have speaking lines, this will also be the franchise’s first chance to do something meaningful with her character in Dragon Ball canon.

What the movie could have in store for Pan was hinted at in the Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero teaser trailer. Included in the footage was a shot of Pan powering up. At the 0:27 mark, she can be seen generating enough wind for her hair to blow. This effect with the hair is a common one in the anime, and one that’s commonly linked with the Super Saiyan state. It’s usually a precursor to a character’s first-ever experience with the form. Typically, the hair blowing in the wind leads to it flying up into the air and turning gold, thus completing the transformation. Clearly, Super Hero is signaling Pan going this route in the movie, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’ll happen. Like others have in the past, she may not be able to push through to the Super Saiyan level.

If Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero follows through on its tease, the debut of Super Saiyan Pan would be a huge development, especially since it’s never happened in any Dragon Ball movie or show. She didn’t even access this state in the non-canon Dragon Ball GT, despite being significantly older. If she climbs this hurdle in Super Hero, she’d be the youngest Super Saiyan in the Dragon Ball universe. Goten and Trunks pulled it off at 7 years old and 8 years old respectively, which was an unprecedented move. Looking at the importance of this form, becoming a Super Saiyan should always be an earned moment. Goku, Vegeta, and Gohan all had to endure challenge after challenge before any of them could reach that point, which is why it was considered a problem that Goten and Trunks became Super Saiyans so quickly. The movie may not want to repeat that with Pan.

Even though she’s already demonstrated the ability to fly, going Super Saiyan could still be out of reach for a 4 or 5-year-old Pan. She may very well attempt to transform in Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero, but may ultimately discover that her current power is insufficient. if so. that means it’ll likely be a long time before she can start contributing on the battlefield, but that’s not a problem. After all, the Z-Warriors boast a number of powerful fighters who can protect the world for the time being. Meanwhile, Pan can train until her time comes.