The Baby Arc is the second arc of the Dragon Ball GT anime
Short Summary
Continuing on from the Black Star Dragon Ball Arc, the search bring the foursome to M2, a seemingly desolate planet. However it turns out to be a trap set by Dr. Myuu who has actually been tracking the three for some time. He sends his mutant robots to attack, quickly bringing a confrontation with the three Sayians. This all leads up to the discovery of Myuu's greatest creation, Baby, who breaks free from his chambers and proves to a much greater threat when he brings his machinations back to Earth.
Main Summary
The Baby Arc has the following tropes
- Adrenaline Makeover: Parodied. Vegeta ditches the moustache, flat-top and slacks in favour of a more traditionally cool design in time for his larger role in this arc. The only reason he does this is because Bra mocked his moustache. Nobody else notices or cares when he shaves it off, much to his irritation.
- Accuser of the Brethren: Baby absolutely despises all Saiyans and wants to purge them from existence as revenge for the Saiyans' destruction of the Tsufuru-jin people. His wilful ignorance of the fact that none of the living Saiyan characters had anything to do with the Tsufuru-jin genocide makes him profoundly unsympathetic.
- Anti-Villain: Subverted. Baby, on paper, has all the makings of a sympathetic antagonist, but his Obviously Evil behaviour and actions throughout the arc make him impossible to root for.
- Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever: Oozaru (Great Ape) transformations return here for the first time since the Saiyan arc, and both Goku and Baby use an evolved form of it during their battle: Golden Oozaru. Once Goku gains control of the form, he is able to evolve even further into a Super Saiyan 4.
- Ascended Extra: Many characters who had limited screentime in the Black Star Dragon Ball arc are given much more to do in the Baby arc, including Vegeta, Uub, Majin Buu, Mr. Satan, Gohan, Goten, the two Kaioshin, and more. Uub and Kibitoshin both play critical roles in Baby's defeat.
- Big Bad: Baby, a parasitic cyborg created to avenge the extinct Tsufuru-jin race.
- Body Surf: How Baby survives, by slipping into the wounds of his host and taking over their bodies. He does this with Trunks, then Goten, and finally settles on Vegeta as his main host.
- Brainwashed and Crazy: Baby manages to do this to the whole of Earth by body surfing and leaving eggs in the host body that brings them under his command. Only Buu and Mr. Satan are unaffected as Buu hid Satan within his magical body, where Baby's parasitic eggs have no effect.
- The Casanova: In contrast to his big brother's dedication to studying, Goten has become a successful playboy with many dates and girlfriends on the go. His current girlfriend, Valese, practically worships the ground he walks on.
- Cerebus Syndrome: There is a marked shift from the lighthearted adventure fare of the Black Star Dragon Ball arc to the sudden increase in stakes and violence seen in the Baby arc, reminiscent of Dragon Ball Z. The creators were unsatisfied with the comedic direction of the first arc and wanted to revisit the more popular style of Z for this storyline.
- Chekhov's Gun: Hey, remember the Sacred Water kept in Kami's Temple seen only in the Garlic Jr. Filler arc from Dragon Ball Z (not to be confused with the Sacred Water or Ultra Divine Water owned by Karin in the main canonical manga)? No? Well, it nevertheless plays a vital role in this arc as Shin uses it to free the population of Earth from Baby's mind-control.
- Cool Chair: Baby creates an improvised "throne room" atop a series of floating rock pillars over the spot where he believes he has defeated Goku. It is here that the possessed Dende presents Baby with the Black Star Dragon Balls in an ornate goblet. He also somehow constructed an actual throne and coat of arms as well. This throne is never seen or mentioned again after this scene.
- Earth-Shattering Kaboom: The Earth gets destroyed again as Baby uses the Black Star Dragon Balls to make a wish, again starting the timer to the destruction of the planet. Luckily, Baby's wish was to recreate Planet Plant, so Goku and his friends simply move everyone on Earth there to save them before using Namek's Dragon Balls to recreate their home planet.
- Eat Me: Baby seemingly reflects Uub's Chocolate Beam attack back at him, turning Uub him into a piece of candy which he then eats. As it turns out, this was Uub's plan all along as he secretly returns to normal and starts attacking Baby from the inside, giving Goku the perfect opportunity to finish him.
- Fantastic Racism: Baby is the biggest anti-Saiyan racist since Freeza, constantly calling them degrading slurs like "savages", "monkeys" and "simian bastards". His prejudice extends to those he possesses, and a tell-tale sign of infection is when they suddenly start using the same racist slurs.
- Fighting Your Friend: Using his parasitic spores, Baby gradually takes control over the entire population of Earth, forcing them to submit to his will. When Goku returns to Earth, he is forced to fight his friends and family.
- Flanderization: Shin is exaggerated into a Cowardly Lion weakling in this arc, too scared to defend himself against a possessed Dende and Mr. Popo despite being millions of times stronger than them. This portrayal continues into the Shadow Dragon arc.
- Fusion Dance: When things look dire, Buu finally reveals his true connection to Uub and decides to merge back with him, transforming Uub's appearance and giving him all of Buu's magical techniques.
- Genius Bruiser: Baby is one of the most cunning villains in the franchise and also has the strength to back up his plans (at least, when he has stolen a sufficiently powerful body).
- Hell-Bent for Leather: Vegeta ditches the lame "dad outfit" in favour of black leather pants and a red tank top.
- Heroic BSoD: Played for Laughs. Vegeta is shattered when Bra disses his moustache and resolves to shave it off.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Piccolo stays on the dying Earth and goes up with it to ensure the Black Star Dragon Balls remain inactive for good.
- Hypocrite: Baby is a massive hypocrite. He claims to hate all Saiyans for their genocidal conquests, yet he resorts to the exact same violent measures throughout the arc and steals Vegeta's body because he recognises the limitless potential of Saiyan power. In his Golden Oozaru form, he slowly degenerates into a mindless, rampaging beast, no different at all from the Saiyans that invaded his world.
- Knight of Cerebus: Baby is far more threatening and competent than previous GT villains, and his arrival marks the point where the serious goes from light-hearted adventures to fighting to save the universe.
- Manchurian Agent: After being briefly possessed by Baby during their first encounter, Trunks unknowingly carries Baby's dormant parasitic spores in his body after seemingly driving him out, which Baby activates to take control of Trunks when he arrives on Earth.
- The Mole: Giru is revealed to be one. However, he has a change of heart and helps the heroes.
- Next Tier Power-Up: Goku gains Super Sayian 4. Despite the naming convention, it is a very different beast (quite literally) from the previous Super Saiyan states.
- Pain to the Ass: After Shin rescues Goku, they realise that in order for them to win this time, Goku needs to reawaken his dormant Saiyan power and re-grow his tail. How do they accomplish this? By transforming a shapeshifting alien critter they recently met into a giant pair of pliers and painfully pulling the monkey tail out of Goku's asshole. Seriously.
- Recycled Premise: The Baby arc takes its basic premise from the obscure video game OVA, Plan to Eradicate the Super Saiyans, which also saw a Tsufuru-jin villain form a revenge plot against the surviving Saiyans. However, this arc goes in a very different direction from there.
- Revenge: Baby's motivation is to avenge the Tsufuru-jin people by wiping out the Saiyans. The word "revenge" even appears in many of his attack names, in case it wasn't already obvious.
- Revisiting the Roots: In-Universe, Goku realises that he needs to reawaken the primal power of the Saiyans in order to beat Baby, which leads to his evolution into an almighty Super Saiyan 4. Out-of-universe, the arc is a structural throwback to the Z era storylines with their Earth-threatening stakes and larger-than-life battle sequences.
- A Taste of Their Own Medicine: Baby's M.O. is planting eggs in people's bodies which then corrupt and destroy them from the inside. Uub gives Baby a taste of his own medicine by allowing himself to be eaten and then attacking him from the inside when he least expects it. Uub even asks Baby how it feels to have his body-invasion tactic turned against him.
- Took a Level in Badass: Vegeta is outright stated to be the second strongest person on Earth after Goku, despite the fact that the previous arc implied he had also retired from training to become a stay-at-home dad much like Gohan. As such, Baby's ultimate goal is to possess Vegeta's body. Gohan should logically still be stronger than Vegeta thanks to the Potential Unlock he gained in the Buu arc, but that form goes entirely unacknowledged in GT.
- Unholy Matrimony: After fully possessing Vegeta's body, Baby takes a possessed Bulma as his loyal companion. She designs the Super Blutz Wave Generator that allows Baby to transform into a Golden Oozaru and gleefully roots for him throughout his fight with Goku, much to Goku's consternation. Even after Baby is forced out of Vegeta's body she remains ever loyal to him under the brainwashing and tries to motivate him to stay on Earth and fight alongside her against the Saiyans before he tosses her aside in his attempt to escape.
- Villain Has a Point: Defied. Yes, Baby is correct that the Saiyans were a savage, genocidal race of space pirates, but his attempt to invoke "an eye for an eye" against the living Saiyans on Earth is misplaced vengeance. Neither Goku or Vegeta, let alone their half-human children, were even born when the Saiyans invaded the Tsufuru-jin homeworld.
- Worf Had the Flu: Due to Goku's child form he's nowhere near powerful enough to fight Baby and has to be saved by the Supreme Kai before he's killed.
