WARNING: The following contains spoilers for the Dragon Ball Super manga by Akira Toriyama, Toyotarou, Caleb Cook and Brandon Bovia, on sale now in English through Viz Media.
Goku and Vegeta have each cheated death while fighting against stronger opponents on numerous occasions -- including multiple times when they both met their untimely ends. But one devastating defeat in the Dragon Ball Super manga at the hands of the magical supervillain Moro ended abruptly, with both Saiyans somehow surviving the harrowing experience.
While Moro easily defeated both of his Super Saiyan enemies, he surprisingly leaves them behind when he could have quickly finished them off. Here's how Moro committed his ultimate mistake -- and why this oversight was another case of hubris that has cost Dragon Ball characters victory on many instances throughout the franchise's history.
After being freed from millions of years of captivity, Moro sought to regain his full power by consuming the raw energy of anyone and everything in his path, including drawing power from entire planets. Teamed up with his fellow escaped convicts from Galactic Patrol custody, Moro set his sights on New Namek to use the Namekian Dragon Balls to wish for his full potential back after eons of withering away. Vegeta engages Moro first, feigning defeat in order to learn the villain's master plan before taking the fight more seriously. However, Moro reveals he's been holding back as well, easily overpowering both Goku and Vegeta and beating them within an inch of their lives. Moro uses his magical abilities to drain energy from the two defeated Saiyans before turning his attention back toward recovering the seven Namekian Dragon Balls scattered across the planet.
There are a couple reasons for Moro to turn his attention elsewhere and abruptly leave the battlefield when he had Goku and Vegeta at his absolute mercy. First, by all appearances, both Saiyans were virtually dead already, with Moro draining them of so much energy he had begun to regain his youthful appearance. Even after the young Namekian healer Esca rescued the two warriors and used his powers to heal them to the best of his abilities, Vegeta and Goku remained comatose for three days, their wounds and energy drain had been that severe.
Moro was also alerted by his righthand henchman Cranberry that a nearby Namekian village with a Dragon Ball had been located. While Moro could have finished off Vegeta and Goku in a matter of seconds given how weak both were, he was more interested in tracking down the Dragon Balls to achieve his true goal rather than let the Namekians escape with them to prolong his search any further. Had Cranberry not notified Moro, the villain may have been more thorough in ensuring the two Saiyans were definitively dealt with.
From Frieza taking his time to destroy the Z Fighters to Vegeta allowing Cell to reach his perfect form, overconfidence and misplaced pride has long been the Achilles' heel of many major Dragon Ball characters. Moro not finishing off Goku and Vegeta in their initial skirmish on New Namek -- despite holding the defeated Saiyans' lives in his hands -- is another instance in a long list of mistakes informed by hubris. This move would ultimately prove to be Moro's undoing after a final showdown on Earth.
