Dragon Ball: Future Trunks Alternate Timeline, Explained

Dragon Ball: Future Trunks Alternate Timeline, Explained

Key Takeaways

  • Future Trunks introduced time travel to Dragon Ball, facing dark timelines and defeating enemies alone.
  • Death of Goku in his timeline led to Androids’ reign of terror, creating a hopeless future.
  • Goku Black saga showcased a dark timeline with no hope, ending with the erasure of Universe 7.

As a long-time Dragon Ball fan and time travel enthusiast, I must say that Future Trunks’ timeline is nothing short of a rollercoaster ride through despair and hope. The character’s journey from defeating Freeza to facing Goku Black has been a testament to resilience and bravery in the face of overwhelming odds.


In the Dragon Ball series, time travel was an unexplored concept until the arrival of Future Trunks. He defeated Freeza initially, and later participated against the Androids and Cell in their respective arcs. The introduction of Future Trunks shaped the storyline, leading us to understand two distinct timelines which we initially thought would be straightforward. Later on, we were provided insights into what his timeline may have been like since it was a world without protectors except for him and Future Gohan. The events in this alternate timeline remained mostly unchanged for a significant portion of the Dragon Ball series.

In the timeline where Future Trunks originates, we’ll trace the series of events that transpired, starting from the divergences during the Android Saga and continuing through the Goku Black Arc. This will provide us with a clear understanding of the Future Trunks timeline.

Goku’s Tragic Death Creates the Worst Possible Scenario

And The Darkness That Followed

In this alternate future, the events unfold much like they do in our timeline, but there’s a major deviation. Instead of Goku meeting his end in battle, he succumbs to a heart virus and passes away naturally. Since he dies of natural causes, he can’t be revived using the Dragon Balls. Shortly after, Android 17 and 18 make their appearance on Earth. The Z-Fighters, including Vegeta, meet their demise at the hands of these robots, along with Piccolo. This means that there are no more Dragon Balls left in the world. It’s this timeline where Future Gohan and Future Trunks undergo their training, leading to the events depicted in the History of Trunks special that many fans recognize.

This chronology encompasses the gloomy occurrences like Future Gohan’s demise, Future Trunks’ initial loss against the androids, and his subsequent choice to journey back in time to alter certain events. At that time, the repercussions of these actions would have taken many fans by surprise. In this alternate reality, the Androids had wreaked havoc for a prolonged period, resulting in widespread destruction and years of darkness and devastation. This state of affairs made Bulma old enough to have a fully-grown Future Trunks. However, upon his return from the main timeline post the Cell Saga, Future Trunks had significantly increased his strength, enabling him to effortlessly defeat the Androids, as well as his own Imperfect Cell, without any difficulty.

Essentially, Goku’s death sets off this series of events in the ominous alternate realities. Nevertheless, Future Trunks persistently confronts dangers beyond the Androids and Cell. Before encountering his Dark Twin, he faced a challenge involving a sorcerer and a Demon King.

An Even Bigger Threat Than Future Cell

Goku Black Wreaks Havoc in Future Trunks’ Timeline

In the timeline we’re familiar with, a significant amount of time elapsed following Cell’s defeat, and the Majin Buu Saga never unfolded due to Buu remaining dormant and King Dabura and Babidi being swiftly vanquished. This differs from Future Trunks’ timeline where he thwarted the entirety of the Majin Buu Saga. Yet, he couldn’t prevent the emergence of Goku Black. The arrival of Goku Black to this timeline marked the beginning of his rampage through universes, saving Future Trunks for last. This event set off the chain of events leading to the Goku Black arc. However, it’s important to note that in our current understanding, this is the bleakest timeline with no hope or existence at all.

In my gaming world, when Zamasu turned out to be a menacing threat across the multiverse, it was on me, Goku, to intervene and seek help from Zeno. Unfortunately, this intervention led to the eradication of Universe 7 in that timeline, leaving only Future Trunks and Future Mai as survivors. A significant divergence in this reality is the heart-wrenching death of Bulma at the hands of Goku Black. Frankly, even with Future Trunks’ best efforts, he couldn’t prevent many of these unfortunate events from unfolding due to various reasons.

  • Most of the Z-FIghters died while he was still a baby and growing up.
  • Future Gohan died before Future Trunks could learn more about Super Saiyan.
  • Future Trunks may have grown stronger from time travel, but Goku Black was too strong.

It’s not surprising that the course of events has taken a dismal turn, given that Future Trunks was Earth’s sole guardian, yet he struggled when fighting alone. Consequently, his timeline continues to be obliterated and irreversible. A potential end-of-the-world scenario unfolds, culminating in the departure of Future Trunks and Mai to another timeline. Additionally, a second Zeno has appeared in our main timeline. Dragon Ball undeniably offers intriguing time travel narratives, even if they can sometimes be convoluted.

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2024-08-26 18:03