Gogeta's Stardust Explosion: how it beat Broly in DBS: Broly

The move that put Broly down in Dragon Ball Super: Broly (2018) wasn't the Kamehameha that was about to follow. It was the Stardust Explosion, the newest technique in Gogeta's arsenal. I think it could end up being his most powerful move, with one possible exception.

This is everything we know about the Stardust Explosion. The honest answer is that it isn't much, because the technique has appeared only once.

The Stardust Explosion goes by several names

Like many other moves in Dragon Ball, this technique has more than one name. In the Dragon Ball Super Card Game it's called the Resonant Explosion. In Dragon Ball FighterZ it's called the Meteor Explosion, and it serves as Gogeta's level 3 super.

I've chosen to go with Stardust Explosion, though I also refer to it as the Stardust Exploder. That name matches the naming convention of the Stardust Breaker.

At the time of writing, the only place the move had appeared was Dragon Ball Super: Broly. It's an interesting technique, but back then we didn't know much about it. If it appeared again, I said I might revisit the topic.

How Gogeta used the Stardust Explosion to defeat Broly

First, Gogeta pummeled Broly with several shots to the midsection and the face. That left Broly weak enough for Gogeta to land a backflip kick. While Broly was stunned in midair, Gogeta put his arms out and lifted them up. A huge explosion followed, and it seemed to come from Broly's midsection.

This was the move that beat Broly. The Kamehameha Gogeta was going to fire afterward would probably have killed him. A huge wave of energy came up seemingly out of nowhere, and Broly blew up in "a pure cataclysm of particle energy," even though he didn't die.

The move is powerful. It makes me wonder what would have happened if Gogeta had used it on Janemba in the old Dragon Ball Z movie. Then again, the move didn't exist back then. It was created for Dragon Ball Super: Broly.

Who created the Stardust Explosion behind the scenes

Within the film, Gogeta invented the move. Outside the story, we don't know who came up with it.

It probably wasn't Akira Toriyama, judging by the simplicity of the Dragon Ball Super: Broly script. Most likely it was director Tatsuya Nagamine or somebody on the staff.

The fan theory that Gogeta planted energy in Broly's stomach

One prevailing fan theory deals with Gogeta's punches to Broly's gut. It says he was infusing Broly with some of his Super Saiyan Blue god energy to prepare the explosion. In this view, Gogeta was planting seeds in Broly's stomach to eventually set the move off. Again, this is only a theory.

I don't think there's anything to it. It's never been talked about, and I don't see it being hinted at. I've seen this fight maybe 35 times, because the animation is so beautiful, and nothing in it makes me think that's what happened.

Why the Stardust Explosion could be Gogeta's most powerful move

Gogeta can manipulate the particles inside Broly and create an explosion. That's impressive. It shows Gogeta's power, and it also shows his intellect as a fighter. He had to work out how to put Broly down once and for all. He had to stop him destroying the Earth, or possibly something greater, and this was how he did it.

If you analyze what happens, the explosion Gogeta creates inside Broly is enormous. It looks like a nuclear bomb was dropped. Outside of perhaps a full power cosmic Kamehameha, I feel the Stardust Explosion could end up being Gogeta's most powerful move.