Dragon Ball Super Goku Finally Masters Ultra Instinct

Dragon Ball Super first introduced Ultra Instinct during the Tournament of Power, but Goku couldn't properly control it... until now, that is.

After much waiting, Goku appears to have finally mastered Ultra Instinct in Dragon Ball Super. The Ultra Instinct form is a God-like transformation whereby a powerful fighter achieves a state of complete tranquility, unlocking previously unimaginable speed and reflexes. The Ultra Instinct form had been hinted at throughout Dragon Ball Super but wasn't officially introduced until the Tournament of Power saga, in which Goku accessed Ultra Instinct while battling against Jiren. The Saiyan attained two states of the technique: a weaker precursor and a full-blown silver haired look, both of which far surpassed Super Saiyan Blue. However, in the Dragon Ball Super: Broly movie, Goku didn't use Ultra Instinct at all, and it was later confirmed that he was unable to replicate the transformation at will.

The Dragon Ball Super anime is currently on hiatus while the franchise focuses more on its big screen output, but the manga version of the story has continued uninterrupted, moving from the Tournament of Power, skipping over the Broly material, and moving onto the Galactic Patrol Prisoner saga with Moro as the lead villain. A wizard capable of absorbing entire planets to enhance his power, Moro has proved a formidable and ruthless opponent, and decimated Namek before dispatching Goku and Vegeta by depriving them of their Saiyan transformations. While Vegeta trained on Yardrat, Goku worked with an angel, attempting to harness his Ultra Instinct power for real.

That goal has apparently now been achieved. In the latest chapter of Dragon Ball Super, Goku returned from his training and set about saving his (apparently useless) friends and family from Moro's goons. Finally coming face to face against the big boss, Goku was taunted into unleashing his newfound power, and immediately, effortlessly powered up to his "Ultra Instinct Sign" mode. This state was the Ultra Instinct precursor Goku tapped into originally during the Tournament of Power but couldn't achieve during the Broly arc, showing a clear mastery over the technique thanks to his latest training session.

The real question is how far Goku's control over Ultra Instinct now extends. Against Jiren, the Saiyan achieved both the Sign and silver-haired form purely through desperation and willpower. While Goku has clearly mastered the former, has he also learned how to go full-Ultra Instinct at will? Dragon Ball tradition would suggest that he has. The fight between Goku and Moro hasn't even started yet, and the hero has already whipped out a new transformation. In true "this isn't even my final form" style, it's highly likely that Goku still has another card up his sleeve, and this is teased in the chapter itself, where the Saiyan proudly proclaims his new transformation is "the initial state of the form of the Gods."

Dragon Ball fans will no doubt be delighted to finally get some progression on Ultra Instinct. More often than not, Goku retains a new transformation straight after first achieving it, but it's been a long time since Ultra Instinct was first introduced, with very little mention of it since. The fate of Ultra Instinct looked even more uncertain when Dragon Ball Super: Broly ignored it entirely, but the transformation's return in the manga promises Ultra Instinct will be a big part of Goku's future.