Dragon Ball Super seems to be approaching its inevitable climax, as Black Goku once more engages the heroes. Unlike his previous fight with Son Goku, however, Black Goku would have an ace up his sleeve -- the Super Saiyan Rose transformation.

What is Super Saiyan Rose?

While the origins of the Super Saiyan Rose transformation are still pretty much a mystery at this point, many Dragon Ball Super fans are speculating that it is a corrupted form of the Super Saiyan Blue form. In a lot of ways, this actually makes sense, both from a figurative and from a narrative standpoint.

Figuratively speaking, the combination of Black Goku and Super Saiyan Rose is almost a direct relation to the archetype of the Black Rose, which signifies a corrupted, vengeful soul. This is a perfect description of Black Goku, who is evil to his core.

Narrative-wise, it also serves as a good antithesis to the Super Saiyan blue forms of Son Goku and Vegeta. If Son Goku and Vegeta were able to successfully reach Super Saiyan Blue by becoming spiritual and strong, Black Goku might be able to reach Super Saiyan Rose by corrupting the whole SSJB transformation process.

How Strong is Super Saiyan Rose?

While there are many who believe that Super Saiyan Rose would not hold a candle to the raw power of Super Saiyan Blue, the chances of the former being slightly stronger than the latter are very notable. After all, the plot of Dragon Ball Super does require a villain who is a legitimate threat. If Black Goku's Super Saiyan Rose is not strong at all, it would all but defeat the purpose of his transformation.

This has been done in numerous anime before, too. In anime, the dark versions of characters are usually stronger than their original counterparts. The Throne machines in popular mecha anime Mobile Suit Gundam 00 are an example of this. Thus, if Super Saiyan Rose is indeed a corrupted form of Super Saiyan Blue, then there's a very good chance it would be far more powerful than Son Goku and Vegeta's transformation.

Can Black Goku Even Go Super Saiyan?

This is one thing that is currently bothering fans of Dragon Ball Super, especially since it has been known for a while now that Black Goku is not a Saiyan at all. Due to the Super Saiyan form being exclusive to members of the Saiyan race, having a villain who is not even from the same race transform into a Super Saiyajin is a rather interesting premise.

Then again, if the anime does prove to show Super Saiyan Rose simply as a means to channel and amplify Black Goku's evil energies, the existence of the transformation becomes more than justified.