I Admit It: Dragon Ball Super Did Future Trunks Dirty for No Good Reason

Dragon Ball is a franchise with no shortage of incredibly complex, compelling, and beloved characters. While some like Goku or Vegeta are given the most development and screen time, the series has made a magnificent attempt at giving every character a chance to shine.

Yet, there is a warrior who was mistreated during Dragon Ball Super: Future Trunks. After all Vegeta’s son had to endure to save his home and protect his friends, his entire timeline got erased, effectively wiping out everything he fought to protect and making his suffering pointless.

Future Trunks’ Timeline Should Not Have Been Erased

His Sacrifices Were Made Pointless

For many Dragon Ball fans, Future Trunks is one of the franchise’s best characters. His personality, determination, and character design, which is undoubtedly one of the most iconic designs in Dragon Ball, helped him quickly become a fan-favorite Z Fighter during the Cell Saga. While his time as the main character was brief, viewers never forgot his amazing contributions to the plot. That is why it was so heart-wrenching seeing Future Trunks come back during Dragon Ball Super only for his past efforts to be made worthless in a single moment.

After Zamasu’s body was destroyed, his immortal soul survived, becoming the strongest fusion in the Dragon Ball franchise by merging with the universe. In a fraction of a second, the god’s spirit infected Trunks’ timeline, forcing Goku to act quickly and summon a future version of Zeno. The Omni-King, without hesitation, used his abilities to erase this parallel world, making it as if it had never existed to begin with. Vegeta’s son and Mai were the only survivors from their world, forced to find refuge in another dimension. While this was the only way to prevent Zamasu from infecting other timelines, Trunks still lost everything in an instant.

His training with Gohan, his fight against the android, and the peace he had restored after killing Cell were all deleted from existence. This was a huge blow to his character, as Trunks’ mission had always been to protect his Earth and save the few humans who were still alive. By having his timeline eliminated, the franchise made every battle, tragedy, and happy memory the warrior held irrelevant. The fact that he survived the destruction of his reality makes this much worse, as he will always remember that he failed to protect his loved ones.

In the End, Zamasu Was Victorious

Zeno’s Actions Eliminated All Mortals From Trunks’ Timeline

I knew all mortals are evil; you are no exception.
- Zamasu

Zamasu’s biggest goal throughout his time as a Dragon Ball antagonist was to destroy any mortal life in the universe, as he saw non-deities as insults to his divinity. The Z Warriors fought with everything they had to prevent his Zero Mortals Plan from becoming a reality, which was a monumental task considering he is one of the strongest villains in Dragon Ball. Nonetheless, despite everything the heroes did to prevent the deity from winning, Zeno’s actions at the end of the saga inadvertently led Zamasu to victory.

By eliminating the timeline, the Omni-King erased all mortals as well, with the only survivors being Trunks and Mai. Despite having his consciousness erased, Zamasu wound up as the only winner of this battle.The sacrifices, pain, and anguish the Z Warriors went through to defend Trunks’ timeline were ultimately useless. Zeno’s actions, although justified by the plot, made for an unsatisfying conclusion to what had been a great arc. Goku and his friends could never have gone to Trunks’ timeline, and the result would have been almost the same.

Trunks Suffered So the Plot Could Progress

His Timeline Was Destroyed To Justify the Tournament of Power

Grand Priest speaking with the other universes. Behind him, the two Zenos can be seen.

In episode #77, after the destruction of Trunks’ timeline, Goku had a brief meeting with Zeno and the god’s future self to talk about the Tournament of Power. During this scene, the original Omni-King admitted that he had already forgotten about the competition, leading his double to question whether such an event would be fun. Even though this moment might seem harmless, it puts into question why the writers decided to destroy Trunks’ world.

Seeing as the original Zeno had no clear intention of approving the tournament, it is likely that his future self was introduced just to convince him to listen to Goku. The Tournament of Power arc is, beyond a shadow of a doubt, one of the best in the entire franchise, with epic moments that fans still remember fondly. Yet, the fact that Trunks’ story and motivations had to be mistreated to make it a reality puts a damper on its origins.

Future Trunks’ character was undeniably mishandled during Dragon Ball Super, a fact that fans are unlikely to ever forget. Nevertheless, the impact he had on the franchise will continue to be celebrated by fans. The franchise still has plenty of amazing sagas and battles and will remain the most iconic anime of all time, despite this admittedly unfortunate moment in the story.