Dragon Ball Super has returned from its lengthy hiatus following Akira Toriyama's ing with a special one-shot chapter highlighting Goten and Trunks' actions before Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero. The new chapter reveals the origins of the duo's new superhero identities, and Trunks' inspiration is a perfect fix to his unexpected embrace of the superhero premise.

While Trunks and Goten's superhero identities, as Saiyaman X-1 and Saiyaman X-2, didn't play a role in the original movie, they were part of an extended prequel arc that was created for the Dragon Ball Super manga's adaptation of the film. This prequel arc helped underline the themes of the film, showing how the two Saiyan teens had become superheroes during their high school careers, much like Gohan and his original Saiyaman identity. However, what was never actually revealed was how Trunks and Goten first decided to take on secret identities, and chapter 104 has finally shown us why.

Trunks is Unknowingly Inspired by Gohan

Trunks Becomes a Hero Due to An Unexpected Appearance

In Dragon Ball Super chapter 104, Trunks and Goten are shown watching a TV show about the superhero Clean God, which is announced to be filming a live-action movie. Goten is very hyped about it, but Trunks is a bit more blasé, initially unimpressed by the movie hero. When they go to school the next day, they head to a museum for a field trip, and soon find out that the Clean God movie is filming nearby. At the same time, some thieves have robbed the museum, and when they're caught, they end up taking Trunks hostage, forcing him to use his strength to escape.

That's when "Clean God" himself steps in and takes care of the bad guys, offering Trunks an inspiring speech about why heroes do what they do, and the importance of the secret identity for heroes. Trunks is awed at seeing the display, and eagerly agrees with Goten when they next meet that they should become heroes. It's then revealed that Clean God was actually Gohan in disguise, doing a favor for Mr. Satan in helping film the movie.

Dragon Ball Super Builds Trunks and Gohan's Relationship

Trunks Gains Inspiration from his Alternate Self's Master

Those familiar with Future Trunks will recognize that he saw the Future Gohan as his master, teaching him what he needed to know about fighting. It's appropriate, then, that present-day Trunks would also be inspired by Gohan, even if he didn't realize it at the time. It provides a glimpse at how Future Trunks and Gohan's relationship must have started, and shows that the two can have just as good of a relationship in the present, if they wished.

Since Trunks and Goten decided to take inspiration from Gohan's old superhero identity for their own, it ended up being more than just an homage to Goten's brother. Gohan's heroic actions truly changed Trunks' mind on superheroes, pushing him to become the kind of hero he really wanted to be. No doubt Gohan is proud of the two boys, and hopefully their relationship in Dragon Ball Super continues to deepen in future chapters.