Dragon Ball Super has brought back Black Frieza in a cool new way ahead of the manga's return next year
Dragon Ball Super is gearing up for its return next year, and Black Frieza has made a surprising comeback ahead of the manga's big return. Dragon Ball Super has been in the midst of a lengthy hiatus following the passing of late creator Akira Toriyama, and will be ending 2024 without any new chapters. But it was surprisingly announced during the Jump Festa 2025 weekend that Dragon Ball Super's manga is actually preparing for a big comeback next year. But until fans get to see this next major phase of the series in action, Black Frieza has returned to the spotlight in a cool way.
As part of the celebration for the Jump Festa event each year where Shueisha shows off all of their new and ongoing projects in the works, Shueisha enlists its creators to commemorate the occasion with special art for the event itself. Dragon Ball Super artist Toyotaro was one of the many creators recruited for the occasion, and shared a cool new look at Black Frieza. It's different than the other showcases of the villain as it gives fans a much more detailed look at the metallic color scheme for this godly new form. Check it out below as spotted by @DbsHype on X.
Dragon Ball Super's manga will be returning for its first new entry in months on February 20th in Japan. Hitting the pages of Shueisha's V-Jump magazine, this will be a brand-new story not seen in the manga or anime before. It's going to be a special one-shot story, and the first look at the new entry teases that it's going to be a super hero focused fare with Goten and Trunks at the center of the action much like how they had some extra time with the events before the Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero arc. But it's yet to be revealed exactly what kind of one-shot story this will end up being.
It's also unfortunately yet to be revealed if the Dragon Ball Super manga will be returning in a more full form after this new one-shot hits, but this is a good sign in the right direction for a full comeback. It's something fans have been asking for after the end of the Super Hero arc, and Black Frieza is a big tease as to why as the villain is currently the strongest being in Universe 7. So Goku, Vegeta and even Gohan are now training as much as they can to somehow catch up to their foe's ungodly level of power.
Black Frieza will undoubtedly be a part of whatever form Dragon Ball Super takes in the future. This new form was one of the final villain teases that Toriyama had overseen before his passing, and will likely have a huge impact on what's to come in the future. Combined with all of the new reveals that have been happening with every new episode of Dragon Ball Daima now airing this Fall, and a potential future for Dragon Ball Super is an incredibly bright one.
Frieza had revealed he had unlocked this brand new Black Frieza form after training in a Hyperbolic Time Chamber for an equivalent of ten years. He appeared and instantly defeated both god level Goku and Vegeta in a single hit following the events of the Granolah the Survivor arc, and has been lingering in the background of everything that has happened ever since. But when the series does return in full, there's not much avoiding that can be done anymore.