Dragon Ball Super Manga Chapter 90 Leaks Reveal Dr. Hedo's Giant Stitched Together Secret Weapon

Chapter 90 was confirmed as the final chapter in the prequel portion of the Dragon Ball Super Superhero manga adaptation. Starting the following month, the manga was set to move into the story that actually appeared in the film itself, though it wasn't clear yet exactly where that new arc would begin.

Leaked images from the chapter were shared by DBS Hype, and at the time there were no official translations available for these panels, so everything discussed came from reading the artwork itself rather than the dialogue.

A Colorful Send-off Page Featuring the Whole Prequel Cast

The chapter opened with a colored page that I found gorgeous, noting that whenever Toyotarou does colored work it always looks great. It featured Trunks, Dr. Hedo, Goten, Mai, and their classmates, essentially the entire cast that had carried the Superhero prequel story up to that point.

Great Saiyaman X2 Fights Street Villains as the Secret Identity Plot Continues

Based on the previous chapter, which ended with Goten on a bus as another beta model appeared, chapter 90 seemed to pick up right from there. One of the first images showed Great Saiyaman X2 beating up what appeared to be bank robbers or other typical human villains.

Another panel showed Great Saiyaman X2 fighting in the streets of what looked like West City, or the Western Capital depending on the translation.

School Scenes Raise a Question About a Mysterious Spy Robot

Several panels returned to Goten and Trunks together at school. One image showed what was clearly a spy robot, though I couldn't tell from the angle whether it was Hachimaru, the bee spy robot from the film, or an earlier model. It looked like it may have bitten or stung Goten in the back of the neck.

That was puzzling because Hachimaru killed Magenta in the Dragon Ball Super Superhero story, so if this was Hachimaru, its presence here raised questions, unless it was an earlier, unfinished version. I also praised a panel of a classmate playing drums, singling out the character's hair, face and eyes as some of the chapter's best art.

A School Dance Sequence Draws a Back to the Future Comparison

One sequence depicted a school dance, and it reminded me so much of the enchantment under the sea dance from Back to the Future. Mai appeared dressed up with Trunks behind her, though there was no context yet for whether this was meant to be a date between them or where her outfit came from.

Trunks and Dr. Hedo also appeared together at the dance, which confused me a little, since it wasn't clear whether Dr. Hedo was disguising himself as a student or genuinely there, and it's possible these pages were presented out of order.

Mai's Fight and a Possible Return of the Beta Model

Another panel showed Mai appearing to hold some kind of gun, though it wasn't clear who or what she was fighting. The figure on the left of that panel looked a lot like the beta model from the previous chapter, raising the possibility that he survived.

That raised a question for me though: if he is alive, why does Dr. Hedo look surprised in a later panel? I said the chapter looked to be heading in some unexpected directions and speculated it might turn out to be a stronger chapter than I expected, while admitting I really didn't know.

Krillin and the Police Arrive, Complicating an Existing Continuity Question

Still at the dance, it looked like beta might be hooking up with somebody, or at least pretending to, before Krillin and the police force showed up. I have raised before that Krillin being the one to arrest Dr. Hedo feels odd, since in the Dragon Ball Super Superhero movie the two barely interact except briefly after Cell Max is destroyed, and nothing in the film implies Krillin recognizes who Hedo is.

I noted that the manga, anime and movies do follow somewhat different continuities with small changes between them, and since the manga was just beginning its adaptation of the film's story, it might diverge even more than expected. I said I didn't love the idea of Krillin being the one to arrest Hedo, though I added that it didn't necessarily mean an arrest was coming right away.

The Secret Identities of Great Saiyaman X1 and X2 Appear to Be Exposed

A separate image showed Krillin looking directly at Great Saiyaman X1 and X2, suggesting he had figured out who they were. That panel felt like it was near the end of the chapter, and I guessed the story was building toward wrapping up the pair's secret identity plot around that point.

Dr. Hedo's Giant Stitched Together Creature Becomes His Secret Weapon

Another image showed Dr. Hedo with one of his prototype androids as the Great Saiyamen and Krillin arrived, apparently at his laboratory to arrest him, which suggested Krillin already knew Hedo's identity by that stage and that the arrest wasn't far off.

A separate panel introduced a giant dinosaur-like creature that I wasn't entirely sure was a full android or some kind of bio-engineered hybrid, based on the visible stitching on its body. I liked this because it isn't typical of Dragon Ball, where dinosaurs are rarely shown as fighters, and here was a dinosaur-dragon hybrid stitched together by Dr. Hedo, apparently meant to serve as his weapon against the Great Saiyamen and the police.

The Battle Against the Creature Draws Comparisons to the Cell Max Fight

Great Saiyaman X1 and X2 fought the creature across several panels, with it grabbing one of them as the battle continued. I acknowledged a lot of fans would not be into this arc after the Granolah arc, which had featured Ultra Ego Vegeta, Gas, Black Frieza and other high stakes abilities, calling this arc much more down to earth by comparison.

I said I was glad the arc didn't last very long, and mentioned that multiple friends had told me directly they weren't reading the manga at all because they don't care about it, calling that a sad truth, while adding that at least it didn't drag on for too long.

I praised the art in these action panels, noting Toyotarou's work looks great when he puts his heart into it, even if the storytelling has needed work at times, and guessed he may have put extra effort in knowing this was the climax of the prequel arc.

More fighting took place on the creature's back, with Trunks and Krillin joining in. I pointed out how the fight resembled the eventual Cell Max battle in that the group was fighting something far bigger than themselves, even though Cell Max is clearly bigger still, and found it fitting that this arc would climax with a battle against a giant creature before leading into another one later. I also wondered whether Toyotarou would show more of that later Cell Max fight in detail or simply skip ahead to what was already seen in the film, though I said that decision isn't really up to him alone.

Goten and Trunks Go Super Saiyan, Answering a Question From the Film

One image showed Goten and Trunks powering up into Super Saiyan, which addressed a question some fans had raised, since they did not go Super Saiyan in the film. I said I don't know why that was the case in the movie, but I don't think it means they forgot how to transform, similar to how their fusion technique came out wrong.

My read is that once Cell Max appeared, their first instinct was to fuse, and they simply executed the fusion incorrectly, not that they had forgotten Super Saiyan altogether.

A Gamma 2 Style Finishing Blow and the Manga's Heavier Violence

One panel showed a lunging, Superman style blow to the creature's gut that reminded me of Gamma 2's sacrifice from space, and while not identical, the similarity was clear and I called it more good art.

Trunks was then shown literally ripping through the creature. I pointed out that manga violence tends to run higher than what's shown in the anime, since there are no broadcast guidelines governing a printed manga the way there are for television in Japan, and traditionally Dragon Ball manga has been more violent than its anime counterpart.

The Creature Falls and Dr. Hedo Is Finally Arrested

A huge splash page showed the creature completely falling apart thanks to Trunks, who I called the hero of the prequel story. The group is shown giving each other daps as Dr. Hedo appeared to be losing composure, before a panel showed Krillin arresting him.

I noted I had predicted Dr. Hedo would end up in jail near the end of this chapter, and that Krillin ended up being the one to make the arrest. I said I don't think it's a plot hole, though I would have found it interesting if Krillin specifically recognized Hedo from the movie, adding that the people writing Dragon Ball Super likely didn't plan this manga prequel route back when the film itself was written. I said the story clearly gets made up as it goes, and while Toriyama has planned some things in advance, it's clear he hasn't planned everything.

The Alpha Units Are Rounded Up as the Chapter Sets Up the Film's Opening

The final images showed all of the alpha units being taken in, not just Dr. Hedo, including what looked like beta shown on his knees. Another panel showed a picture of Dr. Gero alongside Dr. Hedo, which I thought was a nice touch given Hedo's fandom for superheroes, and showed Krillin now in possession of Dr. Gero's secret data disc.

I wondered whether Krillin would actually get the chance to analyze that disc or simply not care about it, and pointed out that Krillin is married to Android 18, who I would think should have some knowledge of Gero's other projects even if she didn't know about Cell specifically. That would be a good question to ask her directly, since she'd be the one who would know.

The final image showed Dr. Hedo in jail with Hachimaru, confirmed here as Hachimaru, spying on him from inside the cell. That image leads directly into the opening of the Dragon Ball Super Superhero film, where Magenta arrives to break Hedo out of jail.

Do you think Krillin arresting Dr. Hedo fits with how little the two interact in the film, or does the shifting continuity between the manga, anime and movies make that not matter?