Is Broly Canon? (& When Did He Become Canon)

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One of the most popular characters in the history of the Dragon Ball storyline is Broly because he is by far the most badass Saiyan we have seen. But the fact of the matter is that Broly has only appeared in the Dragon Ball movies and was never in the episodic Dragon Ball series. In that regard, only those who’ve seen the movies actually know who he is. But is Broly actually canon in the Dragon Ball storyline?

The original Broly, who we saw in the Dragon Ball Z movies, was never part of the Dragon Ball canon. That’s because Akira Toriyama never created him and was not involved in the Dragon Ball Z movies. However, Broly became canon when Toriyama himself wrote the Dragon Ball Super: Broly movie.

The fact that the original Broly was never canon was a surprise to many Dragon Ball fans because he was such a cool character that it was hard not to include him in the canon universe. Nevertheless, it was only a matter of time until he became canon because Toriyama saw how cool and popular Broly was. That is why he created his own Broly in Dragon Ball Super.

Is Broly Canon?

There have been a lot of cool and popular villains in the Dragon Ball storyline, but not a lot of them are as popular as Broly. Ever since he was introduced in the movie entitled Dragon Bally Z Broly: The Legendary Super Saiyan, he immediately became one of the most popular characters because of the fact that he was able to overpower both Goku and Vegeta in their Super Saiyan forms.

Broly eventually returned to fight Gohan, Goten, and Trunks in Broly: Second Coming, where he was even more powerful than before and was now sporting his green Legendary Super Saiyan form. And this was when Broly’s popularity rose to greater heights because he was now bigger, badder, and even more popular than he ever was.

Basically, Broly was a Saiyan survivor that was able to escape planet Vegeta before the destruction of the planet at the hands of Frieza. As a child, Broly was already incredibly powerful and had a power level that equaled that of King Vegeta’s. It was the fact that he was incredibly powerful that made his father realize that he had the potential to become the strongest Saiyan.

However, Broly hated Goku because of the fact that, when they were babies, Goku was constantly crying and had affected the baby Broly’s mental state. In that regard, he went on a rampage against Goku in their first meeting as he wanted to kill him so badly. It was at that moment when he became a Super Saiyan that was powerful enough to overpower both Goku and Vegeta.

Of course, Broly was still alive and had become even more powerful during the second Broly movie. This was when fans became even more interested in his character, as this was also the first time that a Super Saiyan had green hair and an aura. This signified the uniqueness of Broly’s power and potential.

But the one thing that people wondered was if Broly was ever canon? Well, this is where it might get confusing because of the fact that the original Broly that appeared in the Broly trilogy of movies during the Dragon Ball Z era was never canon.

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However, Broly has now become canon after appearing in the Dragon Ball Super: Broly movie. This time, his character was completely retconned compared to the first Broly that we saw in the DBZ movies. The DBS version has a similar origin story but had more meaning in his backstory compared to the original Broly.

But the one thing that remained constant was the fact that Broly was stronger than both Goku and Vegeta, who couldn’t even defeat Broly’s Legendary Super Saiyan state while they were both in their Super Saiyan Blue forms. In fact, this Broly was miles ahead of the original Broly in terms of his power, as he was able to defeat characters that had divine power levels.

So, in that regard, Broly is both canon and non-canon. The first Broly that was released in Dragon Ball Z Broly: The Legendary Super Saiyan is not part of the canon. Meanwhile, the one that made his debut in Dragon Ball Super: Broly is the one that’s part of the Dragon Ball canon.

Why Wasn’t Broly Canon?

As mentioned, the original Broly was never canon in the Dragon Ball universe. The reason is the fact that none of the Dragon Ball Z movies were ever written or created by Akira Toriyama, the creator of Dragon Ball. These movies were written and created by different people without any of Toriyama’s input.

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As such, none of the DBZ movies were ever canon to the Dragon Ball universe. On top of that, there was also the problem in relation to where the movies fell in the timeline. Most of the Dragon Ball sagas and storylines happen right after one another, with the exception of the time in between the Cell Saga and the Buu Saga. 

However, when you look at the Broly movies, you would wonder where they fall in the timeline because they all existed during the time of an ongoing saga. In comparison to the Dragon Ball Super movies, which Toriyama wrote and created, they all had their own place in the DBS timeline. For example, Dragon Ball Super: Broly happened right after the Tournament of Power when Frieza was revived from the dead as a result of his participation.

When you compare that to the original Broly movies, you would wonder where exactly they fall in the timeline. That is also the same for all of the other Dragon Ball Z movies that Akira Toriyama never created.

When Did Broly Become Canon?

Broly became canon when Akira Toriyama wrote and created the character for the Dragon Ball Super: Broly movie, which was released in 2018. However, he was never retroactively made canon because this Broly was entirely original and is not related to the original Broly that was released during the Dragon Ball Z era of the 90s.

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