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Gohan VS Superboy is the 67th episode and Season 4 Premiere of DBX, featuring Teen Gohan from the Dragon Ball series and Superboy from DC Comics in a battle between teenage successors to world-famous alien heroes.
Interlude
The scene opens with the lights flickering on in the arena and the camera panning over to reveal the large crowd of people watching the show. Ringmaster makes his appearance as he steps onto the main stage and walks towards his microphone which he then grabs in order to properly introduce himself to his audience.
Ringmaster: Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to MY Arena where there's no rules, no research, only bloodshed! I am Ringmaster! Your announcer, your host extraordinaire for this extravaganza! And let me welcome you, to, the EXHIBITION!!!
Ringmaster: In today's match, we have two angsty teens with superpowers!... and bad dads. In one corner, we have the son of Goku, the half-saiyan, half-human hybrid, the prodigy, TEEN GOHAN!!! And in the other corner we have the original crisper baby, the Kryptonian Light, the archetype of teenage angst, SUPERBOY!!! Let's size up the competition.
Comparison
Ringmaster: Gohan's fierce fighting style comes from years and years of brawling! Seriously, he might only be a teenager, but he's been catching hands for most of his life!
We see an animation of Ringmaster running through the analysis as he prepares some punches.
Ringmaster: But it's no surprise. Being half-Saiyan, he's pretty much born battle ready. Need Proof? Well, when he fought Frieza he was only five years old! Can you imagine THAT? Meanwhile, a human 5 year old would probably lose a fight with a balloon.
We then see an animation of Ringmaster running away from a red balloon in a panic.
Ringmaster: Gohan even defeated Cell at the age of 11!
We cut to Ringmaster.
Ringmaster: That's one tonka-tough tyke! But let's not go underestimating Gohan's opponent: Superboy. The super-stud isn't exactly a Kryptonian like the hero he's named after. He's actually a hero who's had his DNA tweaked to be as super as possible! Making him half-human, half-Kryptonian!
Ringmaster: This has given him a pretty stellar list of superpowers! Most notably super-strength, super-speed, and of course that whole super-durability thing! Like, this kid doesn't even flinch at bullets!
We see an animation of Ringmaster repeatedly losing his hand before simply regrowing it and giving a thumbs up.
Ringmaster: But even if he does get hurt, he has a healing factor, wouldn't that be nice! This super-brooding boy is so powerful he's even moved the Earth! But all those superpowers don't outclass Gohan! Let's not forget, this kid's got impeccable martial arts skills, a laundry list of ki attacks and, although he's never moved the Earth, he's certainly powerful enough to blow it up! So don't you go underestimating him!
We cut back to Ringmaster.
Ringmaster: BUT ENOUGH TALK! Let's see which one of these two angsty teens has the power to win the EXHIBITION!!!
Exhibition
The scene opens up with Gohan training in an area surrounded by numerous mountains, then the camera pans over to show Superboy is watching Gohan train from a distance before landing right beside him which Gohan notices and prepares to fight the half-Kryptonian.
Gohan: I'll give it all I've got!
Gohan then powers up and Superboy begins the fight with a lunge towards his opponent which Gohan dodges. Superboy follows up on this attack by firing his laser eyes a few times that Gohan once again dodges before firing a Masenko that Superboy simply stops dead in it's tracks with his hand. Superboy then charges at The Saiyan Hybrid who attempts to block The Kryptonian Lights attack but it knocks Gohan back a bit, allowing Superboy to follow up with a swift kick that sends Gohan into the air, but before he can continue Gohan counters with a kick of his own...
Gohan: Saw that one!
...before delivering his foot down into the ground which Superboy dodges and then delivers a flurry of punches and kicks and delivers one final punch that sends The Son of Kakarot into the air again and then sends Gohan into a pile of stone. Before Superboy can continue his attack, Gohan teleports behind the half-Kryptonian and delivers his own flurry of punches and kicks before sending him into the air again and firing numerous Masenkos. Before the ki attacks can hit Superboy, he lifts himself into the air and flies towards his opponent who tries in vain to stop Superboy with a few more Ki Blasts. Superboy then throws Gohan into the ground and begins to pummel him over and over until one final punch sends him into a stone pillar.
In order to keep up with his foe, Gohan transforms into his Super Saiyan 2 form with force so great even Superboy starts to stop in his tracks. Gohan then continues the fight with a series of punches that sends Superboy through numerous series of rocks before bringing his opponent into the stratosphere. The two continue fighting but the end up knocking each other back as they both land on nearby asteroids.
The climax of the fight begins with Superboy charging his heat vision and Gohan charging his father's most iconic attack.
Gohan: KA...ME...HA...ME... HAA!!!
The two half-human teenagers then fire off their attacks as they engage in a beam struggle, which Superboy appears to be winning, as made evident by Gohan starting to lose his footing to the Kryptonian teenager's Heat Vision.
Gohan isn't willing to give up though as the spirit of his father appears to help him win this climatic struggle.
Gohan: I won't lose! I can't lose! HAAAAAA!!!
With that, Gohan and the spirit of his father perform the Father-Son Kamehameha, which not only overpowers Superboy's heat vision but also kills him as Gohan powers down and the spirit of his father disappears.
Gohan: I did it... dad...Instead of finishing the fight with his heat vision, Superboy dodges Gohan's Kamehameha and then grabs the half-Saiyan by his head and charges with his body into the sun, which completely disintegrates Gohan's skin and leaves him nothing more as a skull which Superboy then crushes with his hand.
True Ending
Gohan isn't willing to give up though as the spirit of his father appears to help him win this climatic struggle.
Gohan: I won't lose! I can't lose! HAAAAAA!!!
With that, Gohan and the spirit of his father perform the Father-Son Kamehameha, which not only overpowers Superboy's heat vision but also kills him as Gohan powers down and the spirit of his father disappears.
Gohan: I did it... dad...
Alternate Ending
Instead of finishing the fight with his heat vision, Superboy dodges Gohan's Kamehameha and then grabs the half-Saiyan by his head and charges with his body into the sun, which completely disintegrates Gohan's skin and leaves him nothing more as a skull which Superboy then crushes with his hand.
Trivia
Production
- The core connections between Gohan and Superboy are that they are both heroic, half-human, half-alien teenage successors to iconic alien superheroes (Son Goku and Superman, respectively) who are genetically descended from them in some way (Gohan is Goku and Chi-Chi's half-Saiyan son, while Superboy is a genetic clone of Superman and Lex Luthor) and inherited many of their powers in the process. Both also deal with the challenge of living up to their predecessors' legacies and balancing their heroism with their youth (Gohan strives to balance his responsibilities as both a student and a hero, while Superboy grapples with Superman's legacy as he forges his own heroic identity).
- Both of their predecessors have previously fought each other in Seasons 1 and 2 of Death Battle, respectively, before this episode was released, and the two would battle one more time afterward in Season 10.
- Starting from this episode:
- Ringmaster replaces Boomstick as host.
- The winner of each episode is decided through a community vote.
- There is a brief rundown for each combatant before the fight.