Is Tarble now canon in Dragon Ball? Explained

Modified Oct 02, 2024 04:30 GMT

Dragon Ball and the answer to the question "Is Tarble now canon?" (Image via Toei Animation).

Many Dragon Ball fans often ask the question "Is Table now canon?" because of some details that were shown in the Super manga and the weird place that this character has in the series. Tarble made his debut in The Return of Son Goku and Friends! special in 2008 and was revealed to be Vegeta's estranged brother, which was a massive surprise for the fandom at the time.

This 2008 special was one of the few new Dragon Ball projects to come out after the franchise's conclusion, both in anime and manga format, back in the 90s and prior to the comeback with Super in the 2010s.

Therefore, the special's canon value and the role that Tarble has is something that has been debated for quite some time, although the Super manga could have confirmed that the character is part of the canonical lore.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers for the series. Any opinion expressed here belongs to the author and not Sportskeeda as a whole.

Tarble's canon status and what establishes it

The character as seen in the special (Image via Toei Animation).

Tarble can be considered canon as he was introduced as part of the series in the Super manga, particularly during the events of the Broly arc. It was during the flashback scene of this arc where Nappa asks Vegeta whether Tarble has managed to escape Planet Vegeta's destruction, although the Saiyan Prince claims he doesn't know and doesn't care, either.

He is also mentioned by Bulma in Battle of Gods to use him as another member of the Super Saiyan God ritual. However, that topic is never addressed and not much information is given of what Tarble is doing and the role he could have in the series moving forward.

The character made his official debut in 2008 with the OVA special known as The Return of Son Goku and Friends! and is something that was the first animation project for the franchise in almost a decade at the time.

However, considering that Tarble is yet to be used again in the series, it makes a lot of sense that his stance in the canon is so debatable to a lot of people.

Who is Tarble in Dragon Ball?

Tarble as seen in the special (Image via Toei Animation).

A lot of people have asked the question "Is Tarble canon now?" because of the aforementioned manga reference and the existence of the special but a lot of people don't know his role in the story. He is introduced as Vegeta's younger brother who survived the destruction of their home planet and was a member of the Frieza Force for a while, much like his sibling.

It was during this event that Tarble asks Vegeta and Goku for their help to deal with two former members of the Frieza Force, Abo, and Kado, whose strength was said to rival that of the Ginyu Force.

Ultimately, it was up to Goten and Trunks to deal with these two foes since they were already strong enough, much to the surprise of Tarble.

Final thoughts

It is understandable that a lot of Dragon Ball fans have the question "Is Tarble canon now?" because of the way that has been handled in the Super manga.

Moreover, the fact that he is Vegeta's brother and doesn't have a clear role to play in the series, which is a strange thing to see with this character.

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Edited by Prem Deshpande