Broly: The Legendary Super Saiyan, from the Z Films to Super

He screams Kakarot's name and turns into a golden-haired colossus: Broly ranks among readers' favorite foes, placing second in a V Jump poll of the saga's villains. But there are two Brolys, and they shouldn't be confused: here are their stories.

The Legendary Super Saiyan of the 1993 film

The first Broly appears in Dragon Ball Z: Broly – The Legendary Super Saiyan, the eighth Dragon Ball Z feature film, released in Japan on March 6, 1993. In the Dragon Ball Z films, Broly seems to be the latest of the Legendary Super Saiyans, who appear once every thousand years.

This Broly is born on the same day as Goku, with a power level of 10,000, exceptional for a newborn. The endless crying of baby Kakarot, his neighbor in the nursery, together with the ordeals that follow, leaves him with an unconscious grudge against Goku. King Vegeta, who sees the child as a threat to his power, orders him executed; stabbed and left for dead, the baby survives, and when Frieza destroys Planet Vegeta, his powers spontaneously create an energy bubble that lets him escape with his father, Paragus.

As a teenager, Broly seriously wounds his father in the eye. Paragus then has a diadem made to contain his son's power; Broly also wears gold bracelets and a gold necklace, set, like the diadem, with a blue gem. Years later, Paragus offers Vegeta the chance to rule a new Saiyan planet: it's a trap, since the planet is about to be struck by the comet Gmory.

When Broly breaks free and reaches his legendary form, a stunned Vegeta falls to the ground, eyes wide with fear, while Broly announces that Kakarot will be his first victim. He blows up the home planet of the surviving Shamo slaves right before their eyes, then crushes the pod in which Paragus was trying to flee without him and hurls it toward the comet, killing his father.

Goku only defeats him thanks to the energy his companions give him, concentrated into a single punch to Broly's abdomen.

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Broly – Second Coming and Bio-Broly, the 1994 sequels

The sequel, Dragon Ball Z: Broly – Second Coming, was released in Japan on March 12, 1994. It reveals that Broly survived his fight with Goku seven years earlier: after landing on Earth, he was trapped in ice. It's the crying of Goten, close by, that wakes him beneath the thick layer of ice.

At the end of the film, Broly is blasted into the Sun by a family Kamehameha fired by Gohan, Goten and Goku's spirit; his heart explodes just after he screams Kakarot's name one last time. Goku's appearance alongside his sons remains ambiguous: according to the narrator, it may have been an illusion rather than a wish granted by the Dragon Balls.

Dragon Ball Z: Bio-Broly, also known simply as Bio-Broly, directed by Yoshihiro Ueda, was released in July 1994. This third film devoted to the character only features him in the form of a genetic clone: the priest the villagers had turned their backs on in Broly – Second Coming reveals that he sold Broly's frozen blood to Jaguar, whose secret weapon is this clone.

The film ends in Other World: Goku is told that Broly, sent to Hell, is apparently causing trouble there, and he's asked to go calm him down with Pikkon. In France, Broly – Second Coming and Bio-Broly were released together on October 16, 1996, under the title Dragon Ball Z 2.

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Dragon Ball Super: Broly, the exile of Vampa

The second Broly makes his debut in the film Dragon Ball Super: Broly, released in Japan on December 14, 2018, and in France on March 13, 2019, after preview screenings in January. This Broly was born in Age 732, five years before the one from the Z films, with a higher power level than Prince Vegeta: King Vegeta, taking it as an affront, sends him to the planet Vampa.

On Vampa, the child reportedly turned into a Great Ape on arrival; Paragus later removes his tail. There, Broly befriends Ba, a creature that Paragus wounds with a shot that tears off one of its ears: Ba no longer trusts Broly, who decides to wear that ear to stay with him. He also wears a collar invented by Paragus, who uses a remote control to give him electric shocks whenever his son loses control.

Decades later, two of Frieza's soldiers, Cheelai and Lemo, pick up a distress signal from Vampa and discover Paragus and his son. Unlike the Broly of the Z films, this one is calm and reserved, deeply attached to his friends and loved ones. In Frieza's army, he wears the latest model of armor, with black boots striped green at the toes. In the ship's mess hall, Cheelai steals Paragus's remote control and destroys it.

In the film, Broly enters a state of rage called Ikari no Jōtai in Japanese, meaning “state of anger.” Frieza wants to see how far Broly's power can go: he kills Paragus, hoping his father's death will make him go Super Saiyan. That's exactly what happens. Goku and Vegeta, who were fighting him, can no longer hold him back and steer him toward Frieza, who takes a one-sided beating. The two Saiyans then fuse: facing Gogeta, Broly powers up even further and lands a few hits, before the fusion regains the upper hand by going Super Saiyan Blue.

As a terrified Broly watches Gogeta's final attack coming, Cheelai asks Shenron to send him back to Vampa. Cheelai and Lemo, who have deserted Frieza's army, join him there; Goku later pays them a visit, brings them a capsule house and explains that Broly is probably even stronger than Beerus, which makes him an excellent sparring partner.

On Beerus's planet: Super Hero and the manga

The Dragon Ball Super manga doesn't tell the film's story: Broly debuts there in chapter 42, where a few panels allude to the film, and then the story moves on to the next arc, in which Goku sums up those events for Merus.

In the film Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero, Broly has only a small role: Goku and Vegeta have taken him, along with Cheelai and Lemo, to Beerus's planet to train him to control his power and to protect him from Frieza. In a post-credits scene, once Goku and Vegeta's long training match is over, Beerus has fallen asleep and Cheelai is relieved, but Lemo and Broly are moved to tears.

The Dragon Ball Super manga extends this period: during a training session against Gohan, in chapter 103, Broly surprises him, as well as Goku and Vegeta, by turning Super Saiyan while staying in control.

Two Brolys, from Takao Koyama to Akira Toriyama

The first Broly is a major villain outside the official continuity, conceived by screenwriter Takao Koyama (his creation is also credited to director Shigeyasu Yamauchi) and designed by Akira Toriyama for a 1993 film whose success led to two sequels. Koyama came up with the idea of a menacing Saiyan villain after seeing Future Trunks transform into “Super Saiyan Third Grade,” a heavily muscled form, in an episode of the Dragon Ball Z anime.

For the 2018 film, it was Toriyama's editor, Akio Iyoku, who suggested bringing Broly back, given the character's immense popularity. Toriyama wrote the story and screenplay for Dragon Ball Super: Broly and designed the characters; he reinvented Broly's personality: the sadistic, vindictive character became a withdrawn soul, bewildered and tender-hearted. Toriyama had set aside the green hair of the 1993 Legendary Super Saiyan: it was animation director Naohiro Shintani who brought it back for the “Full Power” form.

Like the other Saiyan names, which are drawn from vegetables, Broly's is a pun on broccoli; his father Paragus's name is a pun on asparagus. The V Jump reader poll that ranked Broly second appeared in the magazine's March 2018 issue, released in January.

In Japanese, adult Broly is voiced by Bin Shimada in both versions. In English, Vic Mignogna voiced him in Funimation's 2003 dubs of the 1993 film and the two 1994 films, and again in Dragon Ball Super: Broly; Johnny Yong Bosch took over the role in 2019 with the video game Dragon Ball FighterZ, then voiced him in the film Super Hero in 2022.

For fans of Broly

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Broly at a glance

Frequently Asked Questions

• How many Brolys are there?
  Two: the villain of two Dragon Ball Z films released in 1993 and 1994, outside the official continuity, and the Broly reimagined by Akira Toriyama for the film Dragon Ball Super: Broly (2018).
• Why does Broly hate Goku?
  In the Dragon Ball Z films, Broly was born on the same day as Goku: the crying of baby Kakarot, his neighbor in the nursery, left Broly with an unconscious grudge. The 2018 Broly doesn't have this backstory.
• Who killed Paragus?
  In the 1993 film, it's Broly, who crushes his father's pod and hurls it toward the comet. In the 2018 film, it's Frieza, who wants to push Broly into becoming a Super Saiyan.
• Is Broly stronger than Beerus?
  Nothing establishes that. At the end of Dragon Ball Super: Broly, Goku merely supposes that Broly might be even stronger than Beerus.
• Is Bio-Broly really Broly?
  No. In the film of the same name, Bio-Broly is a clone created from Broly's frozen blood.
• Who voices Broly in English?
  Vic Mignogna in Funimation's dubs of the 1993 film, the two 1994 films and Dragon Ball Super: Broly; Johnny Yong Bosch since 2019, including in Super Hero. In Japanese, adult Broly is voiced by Bin Shimada.

👟 In the 2018 film, when he joins Frieza's army, Broly swaps the white boots he wore on Vampa for a black pair with white trim; to refresh your own pair too, check out our Dragon Ball shoes.