Why was Merus erased in Dragon Ball Super? Explained

Modified Nov 13, 2024 08:30 GMT

Dragon Ball Super and why was Merus erased (Image via Shueisha). — Dragon Ball Super and why was Merus erased (Image via Shueisha)

In the Dragon Ball Super Moro arc, Merus was erased after helping Goku and the Z Fighters against Moro. His involvement in combat, despite being an angel, led to his erasure but was crucial for Goku to master Ultra Instinct and ultimately defeat Moro.

The answer is that Merus is an Angel and broke a divine law regarding how they cannot engage in combat in any universe. They are supposed to train the God of Destruction of each universe in Dragon Ball Super and are not allowed to fight with mortals, which is why he was erased a few minutes after attacking Moro, leading to that tender moment with Goku.

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

How Merus' erasure helped Goku

Merus fighting Moro in the manga (Image via Shueisha).

During the tail end of the Moro arc, the titular villain had managed to overpower the vast majority of the Z fighters. In that regard, Goku stepped in after training with Merus and attempted to use Ultra Instinct to defeat the villain but it was shown that he still didn't manage to get the most out of this power and wasn't able to beat Moro, which is why the former had to help.

Originally, Merus fought Moro and the latter realized that he was a lot more than a mere patrolman of the Galactic Patrol, already hinting at his past as a trainee Angel. As he chose to use his powers as an Angel, he broke the law that these beings cannot fight and use their abilities against mortals, leading to his erasure.

Merus was erased for breaking angelic laws by fighting Moro. Before fading, he asked Goku, his friend, to protect the galaxy he loved as a Galactic Patrol member. This loss motivated Goku, helping him master Ultra Instinct and defeat Moro.

Was Merus' erasure necessary in Dragon Ball Super?

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The reason why was Merus erased in Dragon Ball Super makes a lot of sense when considering that Whis already established that his kind couldn't influence events earlier in the series. Therefore, it was a natural conclusion by using the series' established lore and also provided an element of tragedy to the series, one that was sorely lacking since characters can oftentimes be brought back to life.

However, while Merus' erasure was a great highlight of the Moro arc, him being revived certainly undermined his sacrifice, and is difficult to say that a lot of fans would be happy about that. Yes, he sacrificed his role as an Angel to be a mortal but there is no denying that his last stand against Moro and final words to Goku were a powerful moment that should have stayed that way.

Final thoughts

The reason why was Merus erased in Dragon Ball Super makes a lot of sense since it was established that Angels can't influence mortal events. However, perhaps the biggest mistake was bringing him back to life, which is something that undermined his sacrifice.

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Edited by Divya Singh