For years, many Dragon Ball fans wondered whether Uub would ever become relevant again in the modern Dragon Ball timeline. Originally introduced during the final chapters of Dragon Ball Z, Uub was presented as the human reincarnation of Kid Buu and the future student of Goku. However, because Dragon Ball Super takes place before the original End of Z epilogue, the character remained absent from major storylines for a long time. This led some viewers to believe the franchise had quietly abandoned him altogether.
Dragon Ball Super eventually proved that assumption wrong. While Uub still has not become a central fighter like Goku, Vegeta, or Gohan, the series has slowly reintroduced him through important hints and major lore revelations. The manga especially expanded Uub’s significance dramatically during the Moro Arc, revealing that he possesses enormous hidden divine power connected directly to the Grand Supreme Kai.
These developments transformed Uub from a forgotten epilogue character into one of Dragon Ball Super’s most important long-term setups. His future role now appears far bigger than many fans originally expected, especially as the franchise moves closer to the official End of Z timeline, where Goku begins training him.
Uub is the reincarnation of Kid Buu
Uub’s origin remains one of the most unique concepts in Dragon Ball history. At the end of the Majin Buu Saga in Dragon Ball Z, Goku defeats Kid Buu using the Spirit Bomb. Before Buu dies, however, Goku makes a wish that the evil Majin be reincarnated as a good person so they can fight again someday.
King Yemma grants this request by reincarnating Kid Buu into a human child named Uub. Unlike Majin Buu, Uub grows up as a pure-hearted Earthling living in a poor village with his family. Although he initially appears timid and inexperienced, he inherits the incredible latent potential that once made Kid Buu one of Dragon Ball’s most dangerous villains.
This reincarnation concept is important because it separates Uub from ordinary human fighters. Technically, he is both a human child and the spiritual successor to Kid Buu’s overwhelming power. Dragon Ball Super later expands this idea much further by connecting Uub directly to divine energy tied to the Supreme Kais.
That revelation completely changes how important the character becomes to the franchise’s future.
Dragon Ball Super first teased Uub during the Tournament of Power era
For a long time, Uub barely appeared in Dragon Ball Super at all. However, the manga quietly reintroduced him during the Universe Survival Saga through an important conversation involving Dende and Goku.
At the Lookout, Dende informs Goku that a talented young boy exists in a remote village and suggests that Goku should train him someday. He then reveals that the child is actually the reincarnation of Kid Buu. Goku immediately remembers his wish from the end of Dragon Ball Z and expresses excitement about meeting the boy eventually.
This moment mattered because it confirmed that the original End of Z epilogue still remained canon within Dragon Ball Super’s timeline. Many fans previously believed Super might completely rewrite the ending of Dragon Ball Z due to all the new transformations and story arcs added afterward.
Instead, the manga treated Uub carefully as a future event still waiting to happen. At this stage, however, Uub remained too young to participate in major battles like the Tournament of Power itself.
The real turning point for the character came later during the Moro Arc.
The Moro Arc revealed Uub’s hidden god power
Uub’s biggest moment in Dragon Ball Super happens during the Galactic Patrol Prisoner Saga, commonly known as the Moro Arc.
During the final battle against Moro, Goku becomes exhausted after repeatedly using Ultra Instinct. Even after receiving energy from Earth’s fighters, he still lacks enough strength to finish Moro permanently. At this point, the Grand Supreme Kai realizes there is one remaining source of enormous divine energy available: Uub.
The manga reveals that when Kid Buu was reincarnated into Uub, he retained the godly power originally connected to the Grand Supreme Kai. This detail is extremely important because Majin Buu himself once absorbed the Grand Supreme Kai millions of years earlier. While Good Buu inherited the Kai’s personality and memories partially, Uub inherited much of the dormant divine energy itself.
Without fully understanding what he is doing, Uub raises his hand and sends enormous power across the planet to Goku. The energy boost becomes strong enough to help Goku reactivate Perfected Ultra Instinct and defeat Moro successfully. Vegeta even describes the amount of god power involved as “ridiculous.”
This scene instantly transformed Uub from a future student into one of Dragon Ball Super’s most potentially powerful characters.
Why Uub’s power is so important
Uub’s hidden power matters because it introduces a completely different type of strength into Dragon Ball Super.
Most modern Dragon Ball power-ups revolve around Saiyan evolution or divine training. Goku develops Ultra Instinct through angel techniques, while Vegeta learns Ultra Ego through God of Destruction methods. Even characters like Broly and Beast Gohan rely on unique Saiyan-related potential.
Uub, however, represents something entirely different. His power comes from a combination of human purity, Kid Buu’s reincarnated energy, and the Grand Supreme Kai’s divine essence. This creates a hybrid power source unlike any other fighter currently in Universe 7.
Importantly, Uub accesses this strength naturally despite having almost no formal training yet. During the Moro Arc, he does not even fully understand what is happening when he transfers energy to Goku. This implies his true potential remains largely dormant.
That possibility has become one of the franchise’s most interesting future setups.
If Uub eventually trains seriously under Goku, his ceiling could become extraordinarily high.
Dragon Ball Super is moving closer to the End of Z timeline
One reason Uub’s role has become more important recently is that Dragon Ball Super is now approaching the original End of Z timeframe chronologically.
The final chapters of Dragon Ball Z occur ten years after Kid Buu’s defeat during the 28th World Martial Arts Tournament. Dragon Ball Super initially took place within that ten-year gap, meaning Uub was still very young throughout most of the story.
However, modern Dragon Ball Super arcs have moved increasingly close to the End of Z period. Pan has grown older, Goten and Trunks have aged visibly, and the timeline gap continues shrinking. This means Goku meeting Uub officially is no longer some distant future event.
The franchise has therefore started laying groundwork carefully so Uub’s eventual introduction feels more meaningful. Instead of appearing suddenly at the tournament like he originally did in Dragon Ball Z, Super now establishes his background, hidden power, and importance earlier.
This approach gives the character much stronger narrative setup than he originally received decades ago.
Uub could become Goku’s final student
One of the most important aspects of Uub’s story is his connection to Goku personally.
At the end of Dragon Ball Z, Goku chooses to leave with Uub specifically because he sees enormous untapped potential within him. Rather than continuing to chase battles endlessly himself, Goku decides to train the reincarnated Kid Buu as the next generation’s protector.
Dragon Ball Super strengthens this future relationship further. Dende explicitly encourages Goku to train Uub someday, and the Moro Arc proves that Uub possesses the kind of power worthy of Goku’s attention.
Unlike Gohan, Vegeta, or Broly, Uub also represents a completely fresh student dynamic for Goku. He is not a Saiyan rival or family member. Instead, he is a human child carrying the reincarnated essence of one of Goku’s greatest enemies.
That creates an interesting thematic cycle within Dragon Ball. Goku’s greatest villain eventually becomes his final student and potentially his spiritual successor.
The idea fits perfectly with Dragon Ball’s long-running themes of growth, redemption, and martial arts mentorship.
Why has Uub not appeared more yet
Despite all the setup, some fans remain frustrated that Uub still has not become a major active character in Dragon Ball Super.
The main reason is timeline continuity. Dragon Ball Super still needs to preserve the original End of Z events, where Goku and Uub officially meet at the World Martial Arts Tournament for the first time. If Super introduced Uub too aggressively earlier, it could create continuity problems with that ending.
This limitation explains why the series mostly uses Uub in indirect ways currently. He influences major events like the Moro battle without fully joining the main cast yet.
Another challenge is Dragon Ball Super’s increasingly crowded roster. Characters like Ultra Instinct Goku, Ultra Ego Vegeta, Beast Gohan, Orange Piccolo, Broly, and Frieza already dominate most major battles. Adding another extremely powerful fighter risks making the cast even harder to balance.
Still, the franchise clearly continues positioning Uub as important long-term rather than abandoning him entirely.
The Moro Arc alone proved that his role will likely become much larger eventually.
Uub is different from Dragon Ball GT’s version
Many fans associate Uub primarily with Dragon Ball GT, where he becomes a much more active fighter and eventually fuses with Majin Buu to create Majuub.
However, Dragon Ball Super currently treats Uub differently from GT in several ways.
GT portrayed Uub mainly as a powerful martial artist trained directly by Goku for years. Super, meanwhile, emphasizes his divine energy connection and Supreme Kai-related power much more heavily. The modern manga also focuses more on Uub’s innocence and hidden potential rather than immediately turning him into a frontline warrior.
Because GT is considered a separate continuity, Dragon Ball Super is not required to follow the same storyline exactly. However, Super still borrows certain ideas from GT occasionally, meaning concepts like Majuub could theoretically return in a different form someday.
Right now, though, Super appears more interested in building Uub gradually rather than rushing his development.
That slower approach may ultimately benefit the character long-term.
Uub may represent Dragon Ball’s future beyond the Saiyans
One reason many fans remain excited about Uub is that he represents something Dragon Ball desperately needs: a major non-Saiyan future hero.
Modern Dragon Ball increasingly revolves around Saiyan transformations and god-level forms. While characters like Piccolo and Android 17 still matter occasionally, Saiyans dominate most major storylines overwhelmingly.
Uub offers an opportunity to shift the franchise slightly in a new direction. He is human, yet possesses divine and Majin-related power unlike any other Earthling. His abilities are not tied directly to traditional Saiyan evolution systems.
This uniqueness could make Uub one of the franchise’s most refreshing future fighters if handled properly. Rather than becoming another variation of Super Saiyan power scaling, he could introduce entirely new combat mechanics and spiritual concepts into Dragon Ball Super.
That possibility is part of why the character still generates so much discussion despite limited screen time.
Uub’s future role could become massive
At this point, Dragon Ball Super has clearly established Uub as far more than a forgotten epilogue character.
The manga now confirms he carries enormous dormant god power connected to the Grand Supreme Kai, possesses extraordinary natural talent, and remains central to Goku’s future plans after the timeskip. His contribution during the Moro Arc already helped save Universe 7 indirectly despite his lack of formal training.
Most importantly, Dragon Ball Super treats Uub as unfinished potential rather than completed development. Nearly every appearance involving him emphasizes how little he currently understands his own abilities. That creates enormous room for growth once Goku finally begins training him officially.
As Dragon Ball moves closer to the End of the Z timeline, Uub’s role will almost certainly continue expanding. Whether he eventually becomes a central protagonist, a successor to Goku, or simply one of Earth’s strongest defenders, Dragon Ball Super has already made one thing clear: Uub is no longer just a forgotten ending character from Dragon Ball Z.
Another important factor that strengthens Uub’s future role is how Dragon Ball Super positions him within the broader balance of Universe 7. While characters like Goku and Vegeta continue to push into god-tier territories, Uub represents a grounded yet immensely powerful alternative rooted in Earth itself.
His growth could eventually restore balance between divine fighters and human-based warriors, something the series has gradually moved away from over time. If developed properly, Uub could bridge the gap between mortal and godly power systems, making him one of the most important characters for the franchise’s long-term storytelling direction.