Why Did Broly Hate Goku? Here’s The Real Reason

One of the most popular characters introduced in Dragon Ball history is Broly, who was introduced in Dragon Ball Z: Broly – The Legendary Super Saiyan. Although that version of Broly wasn’t canon, he was reintroduced as a new character in Dragon Ball Super: Broly. But the original version of the character was actually quite wrathful to the point that he hated Goku so much for something that didn’t seem logical. So, why did Broly hate Goku?

Broly hated Goku so much not only because he was traumatized by Goku’s constant wailing when they were infants but also because he felt that Goku didn’t recognize his superiority as much as the other Saiyans did. As such, he wanted to kill Goku to prove his superiority against the “weaker” Saiyan.

While the story tells us that Goku’s constant wailing annoyed an infant Broly so much when they were babies, there is a deeper side to this story that we will seek to talk about in this article. As such, let’s look at the real reason why Broly hated Goku so that we can get a better understanding of what makes Saiyans tick and why it is important to understand their mindset.

Why Did DBZ Broly Hate Goku?

There have been a lot of different characters that were introduced in the Dragon Ball Z movies, and most of them were forgettable because they were never canon. However, the one character that has always been popular even though fans knew that he wasn’t canon was the original version of Broly, who was introduced in Dragon Ball Z: Broly – The Legendary Super Saiyan.

The story revolved around how Goku, Vegeta, and the rest of the gang discovered two other Saiyan survivors who lived on a different planet. However, due to the innate talent that Broly had, King Vegeta felt humiliated by the fact that the boy was considerably stronger than his son and was already close to his power level. He feared that Broly could be the Legendary Super Saiyan, and that was why he ordered him and Paragus to be executed, as he didn’t want someone to threaten his family’s rule over the Saiyans.

Nevertheless, Broly and Paragus survived their execution and even the destruction of Planet Vegeta. They found themselves on a different planet, where they eventually met Goku and Vegeta decades later. However, instead of harboring a deep hatred towards Vegeta and his family, Broly hated Goku instead. 

His hate towards Goku was seemingly so unusual that he seemed out of control the entire time. He wanted to kill Goku so much that not even Paragus was able to control him. So, why did Broly hate Goku so much?

In the movie, the reason given was the fact that Broly and Goku were both nursed together as infants and were beside one another. As a child, Goku (or Kakarot) was wailing more than any other infant in the nursing room, and he was doing so to the point that he affected the infant Broly from a mental standpoint due to the fact that he was traumatized at a rather early age. On top of that, Broly’s mental condition was also affected by the attempt at his life and the fact that his father wanted to control him.

The different events in Broly’s life led him to hate a fixed point that his psyche had long hated—Goku. As such, he fixated all of his hatred on Goku, who he believed was the root cause of all of the suffering he had to endure from his childhood years all the way to his adult life. However, there seems to be a deeper meaning behind all of his hatred towards Goku.

If we look at Saiyan culture, we would understand that they are a people that values power and innate talent over anything else because Saiyans are warriors by nature. They also value a Saiyan’s innate strength at birth instead of focusing on a Saiyan’s potential. That is the reason why the Saiyans are divided into classes based on their innate strength at birth.

When Broly was born, he already had a power level of 10,000, which was considerably more than any other Saiyan at that time. In fact, he was almost just as strong as King Vegeta, who had a power level of around 25,000. Meanwhile, Goku was born with a power level of just 2.

Considering that Saiyan culture is instinctive in Saiyans (as seen from Goku’s rabid behavior when he landed on Earth), Broly already knew as a child that someone like Goku should have respected him even when they were still infants. However, instead, Goku kept wailing on in the nursing room despite his apparent lack of talent. But while Goku didn’t have a high power level, the fact that he was constantly crying meant that he had spunk and work ethic in him.

Nevertheless, Broly’s Saiyan nature made him think that Goku didn’t respect him. On the other hand, Vegeta was almost immediately shocked and fearful of Broly when the Legendary Super Saiyan displayed his apparent superiority. 

Deep inside, Broly hated Goku because he wanted to put the “weaker” Saiyan in his place. As such, he wanted to kill Goku so that he could earn the respect that he didn’t get when he and Kakarot were still infants. Defeating Goku would have allowed him to secure his place as the strongest Saiyan, as Saiyans are warriors that instinctively prioritize power over anything else.

Why Did DBS Broly Hate Goku?

As mentioned, the original Broly that was introduced in the Dragon Ball Z movie was never part of the Dragon Ball canon. This is because Akira Toriyama, the creator of Dragon Ball, didn’t have a hand in his creation. However, Broly became part of the canon when a new Broly was introduced in Dragon Ball Super. But the thing is that this Broly’s origin story was slightly changed.

The storyline where Broly was traumatized by Goku’s constant crying was removed. However, he was still regarded as a threat by King Vegeta, who ordered him to be sent to a distant planet to prove his power so that he couldn’t become a threat to his reign as Saiyan royalty. In that regard, there was no reason for Broly to hate Goku.

Instead, Paragus hated King Vegeta and the entire Saiyan royal family for what he did to him and Broly. On the other hand, Broly didn’t hate anyone because he was portrayed to be an innocent and sweet person. Still, Broly wanted to please his father so much that he was willing to fight Goku and Vegeta. In particular, Paragus wanted him to kill Vegeta to take revenge on what the Saiyan’s father did to him decades ago.

As such, in his attempt to please his father, Broly was able to unlock his Wrathful Form, which was fueled by his hatred towards Vegeta. But even his Wrathful Form wasn’t enough against the Saiyan duo when they entered their Super Saiyan Blue state. In that regard, Frieza had to give Broly a push by killing Paragus.

It was during the fight with Super Saiyan Blue Goku that Broly was getting overpowered. That was when Frieza killed Paragus and tried to pass it off as Goku and Broly hitting him with a stray ki blast. In that regard, Broly’s anger allowed him to achieve his Legendary Super Saiyan form, which was incredibly powerful and much stronger than Super Saiyan Blue.

Broly developed a hatred for Goku because he believed that he was the one responsible for killing his father. On top of that, Broly was already in his Wrathful Form, which made him uncontrollably angry. So, while he didn’t have a reason to hate Goku at the start, he eventually wanted to kill Goku and everything around him due to his rage. Nevertheless, he and Goku actually became friends at the end of the movie when Broly was teleported back to his home planet of Vampa.