Broly, the "Legendary Super Saiyan" born on the same day as Goku, is a special case: he has no sagas in the TV series because he was born on the big screen. There are two versions of him, the villain of the 1990s Dragon Ball Z movies and the Saiyan Akira Toriyama rewrote for the 2018 film, which brought him into the official story. Here we go through his movies one by one; for his powers, forms and voice cast, see Broly's profile.
Outside the TV series
The character was created by screenwriter Takao Koyama, who was struck by Future Trunks's bulked-up transformation during the Cell Saga, and designed by Toriyama. Like other Saiyans he has a vegetable name: Broly comes from broccoli, his father Paragus from asparagus. He never appears in the original manga or in Z, GT, Super or Daima, but he became a fixture of the video games and a recurring antagonist in the manga Dragon Ball Heroes: Victory Mission. In a V Jump poll of the saga's villains published in March 2018, readers voted him second.
The movies
Broly – The Legendary Super Saiyan (1993)
His debut hits theaters on March 6, 1993. Broly is born with off-the-charts power, so much that King Vegeta, fearing him, has him executed along with his father: stabbed and left for dead, he still survives the destruction of Planet Vegeta. He grows up unstable, scarred among other things by the crying of baby Goku in the cradle next to his, and Paragus keeps him in check with a control device. When his father lures the heroes to a new Planet Vegeta, the sight of Goku sets him off: he breaks the device, becomes the Legendary Super Saiyan, crushes Goku, Vegeta, Gohan, Trunks and Piccolo, and kills Paragus. Goku stops him, powered up by his friends' energy.
Broly – Second Coming and Bio-Broly (1994)
In Second Coming, released on March 12, 1994, Broly crash-lands on Earth and stays frozen for years until Goten's crying wakes him up. Mistaking the boy for Goku, he fights Goten, Trunks, Gohan and Videl and is blasted into the sun by a combined Kamehameha from Gohan, Goten and Goku. In Bio-Broly, from July 9, 1994, he only returns as a clone: an industrialist recreates him from his blood, the lab's bio-liquid turns him into the monstrous Bio-Broly, and Goten, Trunks, Android 18 and Krillin defeat him once seawater petrifies him.
Dragon Ball Super: Broly (2018)
Dragon Ball Super: Broly, released in Japan on December 14, 2018, is written by Toriyama, who at his editor's suggestion makes Broly a withdrawn, naive, kind young man. King Vegeta exiles him as a baby to the planet Vampa because he is more gifted than the king's own son; Paragus follows and raises him as a weapon of revenge, disciplining him with a shock collar. Decades later Cheelai and Lemo, two of Frieza's soldiers, take them off Vampa and become his friends.
Frieza sends him against Goku and Vegeta: Broly learns with every exchange, slips into his Wrathful state and, when Frieza secretly kills Paragus, turns Super Saiyan and loses control completely. He overpowers Goku and Vegeta in Super Saiyan Blue and then Golden Frieza, until the two Saiyans fuse into Gogeta. Against him Broly reaches the form character designer Naohiro Shintani named Super Saiyan Full Power, but Cheelai and Lemo use the Dragon Balls to send him back to Vampa before the final blow. In the epilogue Goku brings him supplies, offers to train together and tells him to call him by his Saiyan name, Kakarot.
Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero (2022)
In Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero Broly has a short role: he trains with Goku and Vegeta on Beerus's planet under Whis to learn to master his rage. Goku sets up a match with Gohan, who has just learned to keep his Beast form under control, and during the bout Broly turns Super Saiyan without losing his head. The film ends with a free-for-all among all the Saiyans and a big dinner.
Our take
With no TV sagas, Broly's story reads movie by movie, and the jump between his two versions is the sharpest in the whole franchise. The 1993 Broly is pure visual impact, a monster with a motivation that borders on a joke. The 2018 one keeps the power but changes the point of view: his rage is no longer cruelty but the result of exile and an abusive father.
Super Hero adds a small but meaningful piece. Next to Gohan, the other Saiyan who gets stronger when he loses control, Broly starts learning to manage his own strength. For a character born to destroy, it is the most surprising ending possible.
Did you know? With about $124 million grossed worldwide, Dragon Ball Super: Broly is the highest-grossing Dragon Ball film ever.
For the two Saiyans who face him, see the profiles of Goku and Vegeta; for his sparring partner in Super Hero, read Gohan saga by saga. Every other film is in our movie guide.