When does Goku go Super Saiyan 2?

Everyone remembers when Goku went Super Saiyan 1 for the first time. It was on Namek while fighting Frieza after Krillin was brutally ‘sploded. We then saw Gohan turn Super Saiyan 2 while fighting Cell after Android 16 was ‘sploded. So the question on everyone’s lips is when does Goku go Super Saiyan 2?

We first see Goku turn Super Saiyan 2 when he is fighting Majin Vegeta in episode 229. But the first time he turned Super Saiyan 2 was offscreen during his 7 year stay in the other world after the Cell but before the Babidi saga.

Vegeta Vs Goku II

Although fans might have suspected that Goku could turn SSJ2 after training so long in otherworld we had no proof. Perhaps if the world martial arts tournament were allowed to continue with all of the original contestants, we’d have seen it then. But Goku didn’t need to use it until he faced a semi-brainwashed Majin Vegeta. Vegeta only got SSJ2 after the Majin boost so if he hadn’t got that perhaps Goku wouldn’t have needed to show us Super Saiyan 2. But as it happened SSJ2 Vegeta challenged Goku to a fight forcing his hand and showing us that he’d achieved the mighty Super Saiyan 2. Little did Vegeta know he also had Super Saiyan 3 up his sleeve but that’d a story for another blog post!

When did Goku learn Super Saiyan 2?

As mentioned previously, we don’t see Goku actual do the training required to do a Super Saiyan 2 transformation. But between Cell killing him, and him being brought back to earth by Fortuneteller Baba is the only possible time he could have learnt it. Although he wasn’t as strong as Gohan when he turned SSJ2, we can assume that he bridged the gap in power during his otherworld training. Also, training in other world doesn’t have the same impact on the body, which would have allowed him to train for longer with less fatigue.

The interesting thing about Goku and SSJ2 is that this is the only time he didn’t get a new Saiyan transformation first. He was the first to get SSJ1, SSJ3, SSG, SSB and Ultra Instinct. It marks a brief period when Goku wasn’t the king of the universe, and Gohan was stronger for a short period until Goku would play catch up. So SSJ2 will never truly be associated with Goku, and will always be Gohan’s transformation.