Goku Black

Goku Black is a character from Dragon Ball franchise, he is Zamasu who stole Goku's body after the wish he made with the Super Dragon Balls.

Background
In the manga, he and the Zamasu from the altered main timeline were originally the same entity. However, Beerus destroying the Zamasu in the past split the timeline. In the anime, Black's existence is the result of a causal loop in which had no beginning or end but was a series of events that led Black's creation. Beginning when Future Trunks traveled back before the original future events were in motion and when Goku Black fought Goku, this caused a series of events that led to the destruction of Zamasu, causing the main timeline to split into two, creating an identical timeline. Except in the unaltered, original present (Main) timeline, Black succeeded in his initial dark deed and none of the Dragon Team was aware of his plans and actions. Thus, the Zamasu who became Goku Black is - or was - exactly the same individual, and has all of the same history as the Zamasu from the altered present timeline prior to his destruction at Beerus' hand. Due to the powers of the Time Ring, the death of the present Zamasu from the altered main timeline due to Beerus did not affect him.

Zamasu was originally the North Kai of Universe 10. However, due to his prodigious fighting skill, he was selected to become a Supreme Kai-in-training under one of the current Supreme Kai, Gowasu. With his continuous distrust of mortals and growing dismay of the Kais' passive and indirect influence of the universe's development, he ultimately rejected his teachings and went rogue, developing his Zero Mortals Plan. To which, his ultimate goal became to annihilate all mortals in a specific timeline, then build up from there, conquering every other timeline with it, making the multiverse a "true utopia" rid of the mortals who ruin it. Requiring a Time Ring for his plans, Zamasu killed Gowasu and took his Potara to become a Supreme Kai so he could wield the Time Ring.

For the next part of his plan, in the anime learning of Goku's might surpassing even the Supreme Kais and the power of the Super Dragon Balls, Zamasu gathered the wish-granting orbs and wished to switch bodies with Goku. Upon his wish being granted he decided to erase all personal ties to Goku's past by killing Goku and his family, and took the name of Son Goku for himself. In the manga Zamasu swapped bodies with Monaka - the victor of the Tournament of Destroyers, however up-on realizing that Monaka was in fact weak he swapped bodies with Goku instead.

Despite his newfound power, Zamasu needed to find a reality without a God of Destruction, still fearing their intrusion to his plans. With that being said, Zamasu began traveling to various parallel realities in search for one with the ideal settings so he could act initially unnoticed. Eventually, he found one in Future Trunks' reality where the final Supreme Kai of Universe 7, Shin, was killed in a battle to defeat Babidi and Dabura, thereby killing Future Beerus due to the life-link. He also met his counterpart from that timeline, Future Zamasu, immediately allying with him shortly after killing Future Gowasu. The two then gathered the Super Dragon Balls and first wished for Future Zamasu to become immortal. They then traveled another year into the future to wish for the Super Dragon Balls to destroy themselves and stealthily annihilated all the Supreme Kais of that reality (which thereby killed the other Gods of Destruction) to leave their path of destruction unchallenged.

Beginning the main part of his plans, Zamasu traveled to many different planets and destroyed all life on them for "the sake of justice" under the name, "Son Goku". Upon his arrival on Earth, he goes on a rampage, his first attack causing half of mankind to be wiped out. Since his arrival, Zamasu became known as a terrifying warrior only known as Goku Black. Those who survived formed resistance cells, with Mai leading them. They attempted to lead Black into an area rigged with remote detonated explosives, but Black emerged unscathed.

Universe 6 Saga
In the midst of causing destruction, Black began to sense Trunks' ki, so he then pursued him. After Black caught sight of Trunks, he fired several ki blasts at the fleeing Saiyan but failed and he was hit by a ki blast himself. Regardless, he still manages to defeat Trunks and prepares to finish him off with a Black Power Ball. However, Mai saves Trunks by throwing a flash grenade at Black and then they both quickly escaped. After Black regained his sight, Black stated that Trunks could not run forever.

Zamasu Saga
Trunks survived their encounter and, for a year, prepares to travel back in time using a Time Machine with Bulma in an attempt to save the future. Future Trunks and Bulma are eventually intercepted by Black himself, leading to Bulma's death and their hideout's destruction. Trunks narrowly escapes with a canister holding enough fuel for a one-way trip back to the past while Black pursues him. Later, as Trunks and Mai arrive to Capsule Corporation, Black attacks them both, knocking out Mai and heavily injuring Trunks. An angry Future Trunks transforms into a Super Saiyan and engages Black in battle, but is easily beaten. As Future Trunks fires a Masenko, Black blocks the attack, but Trunks disappears. He then begins to sense for Future Trunks' ki, and spots Future Trunks about to leave in the time machine. Black fires a Kamehameha, but the attack narrowly misses as Future Trunks leaves, and Black realizes that Trunks' ki has completely disappeared from this world. Growing angry, Black vows to find Future Trunks as he has nowhere to run.

Anime: While Black tries to figure out how Trunks escaped, a Time Ring that he wears has a sudden reaction which creates a portal to the past. After going through the portal, Black finds himself in the present timeline which he quickly spots Future Trunks and eventually introduces himself to Goku. When Black arrives in the past everybody's shocked that he looks exactly like Goku. Black then realizes that it was time travel and also seems to know Vegeta and the God of Destruction Beerus. Trunks, upon seeing him, is enraged and goes to fight him but he is stopped by Vegeta. Goku goes in his place, beginning to battle with Black. Black opens with the same golden-black ki sphere he attempted to use on Trunks. Goku blocks it while the force of the ki sphere knocks Goku into a rocky plateau. Goku powers up to Super Saiyan 2 and fights back. By sharing the fist blow with Goku, Black is amazed at Goku's power as a Super Saiyan 2 and gets excited against such a powerful opponent.

Now Black powers up a little and release his evil ki. Black then attacks Goku with several punches, eventually landing a hit on Goku in the abdomen and kicks him away, following up with a barrage of ki blasts. Trunks is confused as to why Goku is not using his Super Saiyan 3 powers, when Vegeta explains Goku's bad habit of holding back his power during the beginning of battles. While the fight goes on, Black and Goku are evenly matched with both of them hiding their true power. Goku threatens Black, betting him that he'll be able to force out his doppelgänger's true power. Goku bolts and lands several punches until Black manages to throw Goku into another mountain.

While Black gloats, he feels a distortion in Time and Space. The distraction creates an opening for Goku, as he lands a sharp kick in Black's abdomen. Black, clearly damaged but delighted, claims that the pain will make him even stronger as he powers up even further. Black stops and throws a large ki blast at Goku, who managed to deflect it. Black then follows up with a kick to the Saiyan's head, which knocks him into the ground, forming a large crater in the process. As Black realizes the Time Machine's function after Future Trunks accidentally reveals it, Goku returns with full force and lands a sharp punch in Black's stomach. They both lock fists and go into a power struggle as the pull from the distortion gets stronger and Black pulls towards it, interrupting the fight. Before getting pulled back to his own timeline, Black destroys Trunks' Time Machine. During the battle, Beerus points out that Black is clearly not Goku, noting his ki feels strange and dark.

Throughout the fight, the Time Ring attempts to pull him back to the future. Black attempts to resist its pull, but is unable to. Before being pulled into the portal, Black fires a Ki blast at Trunks' Time Machine, destroying it, effectively stranding Trunks in the past. Upon returning to Future Trunks' time, he collapses from his injuries after his fight with Goku before regaining his composure. Black proceeded to test his power, using a Golden-Black ki sphere, causing it to grow bigger than its usual size before firing it, pleased at his increased power and integrating Goku's fighting style into his own. He also mocks that Trunks is now stranded in the present, leaving him free to terrorize the future as he pleases. With Trunks's departure, Black moves to attacking the base of the resistance formed by the Earthlings, who struggle to defend it from him and are for the most part murdered by Black then and there, the few survivors having to flee and designate a new base. None of this occurs in the manga, as Black does not possess a Time Ring.

After Trunks travels to the future with Goku and Vegeta, Black is surprised, given his destruction of Trunks' time machine, and confronts them, Black fights Vegeta who was able to secure a match with him first via a round of rock-paper-scissors with Goku. Black moves close to Vegeta, touching his neck in a show of his speed before Vegeta attacks him with a barrage of punches. Suddenly Vegeta stops, wondering what he just felt as Black slowly walks out of the crater and kicks Vegeta away not having taken any damage at all, though he is impressed by Vegeta's strength and offers to show him something as a "reward". Black then transforms into a form to resume fighting Vegeta, naming the form "Super Saiyan Rosé" in the spirit of Goku's naming pattern. Black mocks Vegeta, calling him the opening act before his fight with Goku. Enraged, Vegeta charges Black and unleashes another assault, but Black effortlessly avoids every punch. Black lands a mighty blow to Vegeta and prepares to finish him with another but Vegeta catches it and launches a counter assault. Before Vegeta can land any real damage, Black quickly stops Vegeta by turning his aura into an energy blade and stabs Vegeta clean through the right side of his chest, mortally wounding him, acknowledging that Vegeta has strengthened him through their fight. He thanks Vegeta for the warm up and tells him to know his place before pulling his blade out and allowing the injured Saiyan to fall to the ground, nearly dead, prompting Goku's entry into the brawl. The two fight evenly in the eyes of Future Trunks, though Vegeta determines that Black is overwhelming Goku. Black indeed does defeat Goku, but just as he prepares to fire a Kamehameha at him, Future Zamasu stops him as he arrives, recalling Black's prior promise to save killing Goku for him.

The two quickly conflict as Black insists that his body is yearning to fight Goku and battles him in an even match while Future Zamasu separately duels Trunks until Future Zamasu grabs hold of both Goku and Trunks to allow for Black to fire a beam at the pair which he does in the form of a Kamehameha, causing the two Saiyans to take damage. Black then joins with Future Zamasu in trying to fire at the pair, but their attack is stopped by Vegeta, allowing Goku and Trunks to escape. Black attempts to locate them by sensing their ki, but has trouble thanks to its faintness and being mixed among others. In the meantime, Goku, Trunks and Vegeta use a time machine to return to the past, which Black later is able to sense as it departs, failing to catch them with Future Zamasu insisting that they'd return.

In the manga, however, Black faces off against Super Saiyan 2 Vegeta, becoming a Super Saiyan to fight him. However, Vegeta manages to hold an advantage against Black and then further transforms into a Super Saiyan Blue and easily overwhelms Black, even after he transforms into a Super Saiyan to try and even the odds. Black states that he couldn't achieve the Super Saiyan Blue form, and is overwhelmed by Vegeta. When Vegeta is about to kill Black with his Final Flash, Black is saved by Future Zamasu. Future Zamasu heals Black, allowing him to receive a power-up from the near-death experience and causing his god mind and Saiyan body to become more connected. This allows Super Saiyan Black to fight on par with Super Saiyan Blue Vegeta, and after getting healed again, he gains yet another power up from his injuries and evolves into his Super Saiyan Rosé form. He then proceeds to face Vegeta while Future Zamasu faces Goku. Thanks to his new form, Black manages to hold an advantage over Vegeta and soon takes him down, and at the same time, Future Zamasu takes down Super Saiyan Goku. However, Future Trunks uses the Solar Flare to stop them in their tracks and the Saiyan trio manage to escape. Future Zamasu states that they will just have to wait for them, but Black locates Future Mai's energy and teleports to her. However, they fall into a trap, and Future Trunks takes Future Zamasu out of the fight by piercing through him with his sword. Black is then sent flying away by the empowered Trunks, as Black gets up, he witnesses Vegeta and Goku escaping in the Time Machine, but before he can attack with a ki blast, he finds himself being beaten back by Future Trunks. Due to Trunks' interference, Goku and Vegeta manage to escape back to the past, while Black tells Trunks to not get carried away before battling him.

In the anime, Black and Future Zamasu are seen at their cabin in a nearby mountain, waiting patiently for Goku's return to the future. They discuss their plans, and Future Zamasu insists that Black should wish for immortality, but Black refuses, stating that he was already satisfied having Goku's body and because of having Goku's cells running inside him, couldn't help but wanting to become stronger on his own.

Upon sensing the return of the trio (Trunks, Goku and Vegeta, along with Bulma) in the future, Black and Future Zamasu waited and eventually encountered them again. Super Saiyan Blue Vegeta quickly charges at Black, who entered his Super Saiyan Rosé form. They stopped their exchange of blows for a while and returned to their respective base forms, with Goku assuming that they were right about Zamasu and his plans with the Super Dragon Balls. Black "corrected" Goku and claimed he is Zamasu who switched bodies with Goku with a wish from the Super Dragon Balls, but kept his heart and soul intact, and killed the Goku in his old body.

The fight continued, with the duo had the upper hand on the Saiyan trio, and Black and Future Zamasu revealed to Goku that after Black stole Goku's body, he killed Chi-Chi and Goten in cold blood. This caused Goku's power to rise tremendously due to his anger, and Goku then began overwhelming both Black and Future Zamasu for a short time but was ultimately defeated by Black nonetheless. As Goku laid defeated on the ground, Black and Zamasu revealed one of the reasons behind their plans, stating that Trunks was the one to blame for traveling back and forward through time causing history to change. They declared Trunks a "sinner", because of his actions, causing Trunks to give into his anger completely and was able to access a never-seen before Super Saiyan transformation, and with his newfound power, declared the end of both Black and Zamasu.

In the manga, Black completely overwhelms Future Trunks during their battle, smashing him from building to building until the latter powers down to base form. Mai tries to retaliate but is easily swept away. He then flies up and prepares to launch another energy blast to finish Trunks off, before he is interrupted by Gowasu, who has his fate changed thanks to Beerus killing the Zamasu from the main timeline. Black is surprised to see him as he takes Trunks and Mai to his timeline, he too vanishes as well. Black then heads home with Future Zamasu and Zamasu worries about Future Zeno finding out what they are doing to the multiverse. Black then shrugs it off, stating that their plans were noble and righteous.

In the anime, Trunks charges at Black and the two begin fighting. They seemed evenly matched until Zamasu stepped in and the duo begin to overpower Trunks. He doesn't stay down though and tells Vegeta to take Bulma and the injured Goku back to the past so that they can come up with a way to defeat Black and Future Zamasu once and for all, while he stays behind to hold off the duo. Black tries to stop them, but they are protected by Trunks. Black says that they will be back and continues to fight Trunks. Trunks was eventually saved by Future Yajirobe, while Black and Future Zamasu retreated. When Future Mai and some resistance members attacked Black at their cabin, Trunks appeared just in time to save them, and the fight continued, and despite gaining the upper hand early on, Black and Future Zamasu defeated Trunks, and Goku and Vegeta soon returned to the future timeline, with the Evil Containment Wave to seal Future Zamasu, but Black broke the Mafuba when he destroyed the time machine.

While Vegeta and Goku argue, Gowasu and Shin show up with the Time Ring and confront Black and Zamasu about their actions, but their attempts are in vain, and Black affirms that his path was already chosen and nothing that Gowasu said could change it and attempted to kill him, but is stopped by Goku and Vegeta. The Kai's refuse to leave when asked, wanting to see the battle through. Vegeta requests to take Black, believing that he couldn't be beaten by a fake Goku. Vegeta overwhelms Black, who notices Vegeta's drastically increased strength which allows him to send him flying. Vegeta then proceeds to give Black a well deserved thrashing while informing that he could never achieve the full power of a Saiyan by stealing Goku's body. Black questions the difference in power which Vegeta answers by declaring Black as being nothing but a fake, Vegeta affirms that he was the Prince of all Saiyans and that he would destroy him.

Black continues to be overwhelmed by Vegeta on the battlefield, noting that Vegeta must have grown stronger due to his anger. Possessing the body of a Saiyan himself, Black decides that he will do the same, and stabs his energy blade into his hand, revealing a new, large scythe variation of it. Black slashes at Vegeta, who dodges it, but the slash creates a large rift in time itself. As Future Zamasu pursues Future Trunks and the others, Vegeta and Goku are held back by the illusionary clones created by the large rift, and Black mocks them as they are surrounded by the clones.

Soon, Black realizes Future Zamasu' flustering energy (Future Zamasu was sealed with the Evil Containment Wave, but the seal could not be complete, and managed to escape, but at the cost of a tremendous amount of energy) and uses Instant Transmission to teleport towards Zamasu, with Goku and Vegeta in pursuit. When the two reunite, Future Zamasu admits that their opponents were far stronger than expected and couldn't be underestimated anymore, and informed Black about their "secret weapon". Black and Zamasu then use their Potara earrings and fuse into one, single, powerful warrior known as Fused Zamasu. Fused Zamasu was later erased from existence (along with the entire future multiverse) when Future Zeno erased him after Goku summoned him, putting an end to both Future Zamasu and Black's plans once and for all.

In the manga, Fused Zamasu defuses after his hour is up, however the immortality of Future Zamasu will not allow them to separate and he and Black are stuck in a deformed half fused state. Future Trunks proceeds to cut them in half, however this allows the two to reform individually due to both retaining the immortality. Goku Black is stabbed through the back by Future Trunks, but takes him down and transforms himself into Fused Zamasu. Future Zamasu also transforms into his Fusion form as well. As the two Fused Zamases are preparing to kill Goku, Super Saiyan Blue Vegeta rescues him and then fires his ultimate attack: the Gamma Burst Flash - blowing the two Fused Zamasu's into pieces, which then reform into many Zamases.

Dragon Ball Game Appearances
Dragon Ball Xenoverse 3

Black is one of the characters of the game.

Dragon Ball Z: Invasion From Hell

Black appears as a form for Zamasu.

Dragon Ball Super: Dark Future

He is the main antagonist alognside Zamasu.

Crossover Appearances
Guilty Gear Cross Tag Battle

Black is one of the characters from Dragon Ball FighterZ side.

Street Fighter Vs Killer Instinct

He appears as a guest character.

Project X Zone 4: Fate at Hands

Goku Black appears as a Boss Unit.

Trivia

 * Goku Black's name uses katakana for "Goku" (ゴクウ) rather than kanji for "Son Goku" (悟空).
 * At first, Black refers to himself with the formal pronoun watashi (私), similar to Zamasu. Upon ascending to his Super Saiyan Rosé form, however, he adopts the more masculine, assertive pronoun ore (俺). Finally, after fusing with Zamasu to become Fused Zamasu, the merged entity refers to himself with either the self-appreciating phrase kono Zamasu (このザマス, "this Zamasu") or the highly formal, poetic pronoun ware (我).
 * While in the anime, Black fought against Goku on many occasions, in the manga they never fought.
 * Black's existence and origin in the anime is similar to Skynet from The Terminator franchise, as both rule a dystopian future where most of civilization on Earth is wiped out. They both fight against similar resistances, led by a leader clinging on to hope. Ultimately, Black and Skynet both send themselves, or a version of themselves in Skynet's case, to travel back in time to kill that certain leader. This fails but ultimately results in their own creation, "creating themselves" through a series of events in the past due to their actions.
 * Even though Dark Magic cannot possess gods, this was no problem with Black in Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2. However, it is possible that Goku Black and Future Zamasu willingly let Towa's Supervillain spell affect them to gain more power (similar to how Vegeta allowed Babidi to turn him into Majin Vegeta). This is supported by Goku (who has the power of Super Saiyan Blue) allowing Towa to control him and force him to perform EX-Fusion with Broly in Dragon Ball Fusions, further suggest that gods can allow themselves to be controlled if it suits them.
 * Goku Black is the second instance where a villain switched bodies with Goku, the first being when Captain Ginyu.
 * Unlike Ginyu, however, he retained his use of Goku's body up to his fusion with Future Zamasu, and by extension, by the time he was killed by Future Trunks and Future Zeno.
 * Black's hairstyle is more reminiscent of Goku's early design for Dragon Ball Z.
 * Noticeably, Ginyu keeps his own voice while he is in other people's bodies and his control causes no changes to the body's appearance, but this does not apply to Goku Black, as he has Goku's voice and slight physical changes.
 * Counting movie villains, he is also the third villain to consider switching bodies with Goku, after Ginyu as aforementioned as well as Dr. Wheelo.
 * Goku Black is the second character to be named Black in the series, the first being Staff Officer Black of the Red Ribbon Army.
 * Goku Black's debut episode featured lettuce frequently, which was most likely a reference to Turles, the main antagonist of The Tree of Might who, like Black, closely resembled Goku in appearance.
 * Goku Black's English voice in Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 sounds different depending on his form. In base form, he has a gruff voice, similar to the tone Goku has as a Super Saiyan 4. In his Super Saiyan Rosé form, he speaks with a British accent. No explanation has been given for this change, although it may reference his original identity as Zamasu.
 * One of Black's quotes in Xenoverse 2, "because knowing is half the battle, and the other half is the battle" references the famous catchphrase from the G.I. Joe cartoon series.
 * Goku Black's standard outfit resembled Goku's outfit from the film Dragonball Evolution.
 * Ironically, in the anime, it was Goku Black's actions in Future Trunks' timeline, as well as the original present Goku's actions in the original, unalterned main timeline that led to his creation and more "sinful" timelines in the first place; had Future Trunks not time traveled back to the present, main timeline and sought the Z Fighters assistance to combat Goku Black, they would not have met the Zamasu of the now altered main timeline, which would led to Goku sparring with, and subsequently, defeating Zamasu, which in turn, spurned Zamasu's already growing hatred of mortals and newfound desire of Goku's body. Also, ironically, Black left the multiverse in worse shape than before he created his Zero Mortals Plan.
 * However, in the manga, Zamasu learns about Goku by watching him fight in the Tournament of Destroyers on GodTube and only encounters Goku after he steals his body.
 * In both the Unaltered Main (Present) Timeline and the Altered Main Timeline, Zamasu's hatred for mortals grew even further, and then soon afterwards desired to obtain Goku's body after being defeated by Goku in a sparring match. In the Main Timeline that was altered due to Future Trunks' time travel to the past, Goku was in Universe 10 with Beerus and Whis investigating the similarities between Black and Zamasu's ki, and it was during this time Goku and Zamasu sparred. The anime depicts the fight in the original, unaltered present timeline to be very similar, if not the same, as it was in the altered present timeline. However, it was never revealed in the anime why the original present Goku was in Universe 10 sparring with Zamasu, an interesting oddity as Goku Black had not yet existed, and it was in fact this very sparring match (along with Zamasu's hatred of mortals) that led to Goku Black's existence in the first place.
 * Despite all previous time travels resulting in alternate realities, the events of "Future" Trunks Saga in the anime uniquely appeared to form a time paradox as Future Trunks' time travel to the past altered it, and then warned about Black, which lead to Goku meeting Zamasu. However the events of the unaltered timeline from which Black originated are not fully shown, making it likely that originally Future Trunks would not have warned Goku and his friends about Black. As the original present Zamasu was successful in obtaining the original present Goku's body, Future Trunks originally did not warn the Z Fighters about Goku Black's existence before this event occurred.
 * It was revealed in an interview with Akira Toriyama that the inspiration for Goku Black originated from the "copy of the hero" idea in media such as "False Ultra Man" of the Ultraman series or "False Kamen Rider" of the Kamen Rider franchise.[19][20]
 * Goku Black has similarities with Baby, as both are main villains who have a deep hatred for Saiyans, - although Black hates all mortals as well - use the new Dragon Balls introduced in their series to further their grand plans for the universe, both use Saiyan bodies for the power they feel they need to accomplish these plans, and both use altered Super Saiyan forms to match and surpass Goku. They also both share the same irony of the thing that they hate, Mortals and Saiyans respectively. The Mutant Tuffle and the tyrannical Kai ultimately become the very thing they hated in their quest to vanquish their respective races. Because of their deeds, they gained more sinister personalities and more destructive desire as a result: thus, destroying their race's good name.