Pan, Gohan’s twelve-year-old daughter, was first introduced in the final stages of Dragon Ball Z. She is a strong, independent daughter of Videl and boards a spaceship with the (literally) regenerated Goku and teenage Trunks. They embark on a difficult journey to find the Black Star Dragon Balls scattered across the galaxy.
Pan, along with Goku and Trunks faces many difficult situations and opponents. However, she isn’t as strong as her friends and the evidence is her inability to transform into a Super Saiyan despite her genetic propensity. An elderly Pan cheers on her grandson Goku Jr. at the 64th World Martial Arts Tournament, the Tenka’ichi Budokai. Even though Goku Jr. is a distant relative, Goku Jr. can achieve the desired transformation. Here’s why Pan deserves it.
Potential
Pan’s father was synonymous with potential. With his extraordinary feats during his childhood, Gohan was the fighter most likely to defeat Goku. Although this did not happen, Pan’s potential was passed on to her through her introductions in Dragon Ball Z as well as Dragon Ball Super. She is capable of flying even though she was a baby. It is easy to attribute her Saiyan nature to her natural affinity for fighting and combat, but Pan’s human lineage is responsible for most of the traits that make her such an attractive prospect.
Although Saiyans are built to fight, Pan’s human side complements this. Her mother Videl was once a fierce combatant who never hesitated to get into a fight. Videl took a beating from a minion from Babidi, an individual who received a supernatural ability boost through his affiliation with Majin. But he continued to fight despite suffering so much damage.
Videl had Spopovich on his back for most of the World Tournament bout. He would probably have killed Videl if he were a normal man. However, Videl becomes exhausted and Spopovich begins to play with Videl until Yamu, his evil colleague, tells him not to mess around. Combine Gohan’s enormous potential and Saiyan blood, with the fiery temperament that Videl displays, you get a Saiyan-human hybrid. But not at the expense of combat sense like her father.
Pan’s boisterous personality makes it easier for her to harness her strength, despite only being a quarter Saiyan. As Piccolo, Gohan’s teacher recognizes Pan’s potential. Young Pan can fly at an early age. This is something even Goku, a full-blooded Goku, had to learn to do as a child. As shown in the Dragon Ball Super Hero film, Pan’s strength surpasses that of a normal human and she can easily defeat grown men in seconds.
Ancestry Dot Z
One thing that was quite controversial was the last episode of Dragon Ball GT which featured the 64th World Martial Arts Tournament in Age 889. About 110 years after Pan was born. A seated Pan, an elderly man, is next to a Bulma descendant, who is taking part in the tournament. Vegeta Jr.’s opponent in the tournament is none other than Goku Jr., Pan’s great-great-grandchild (or just grandchild depending on which dub you’re asking). Vegeta Jr. and Goku Jr. can transform into Super Saiyans, as they do during their bout. However, it is obvious that distant descendants from Pan would have their Saiyan blood further diluted than that of humans and have less propensity for Saiyan abilities.
It would be one-sixteenth Saiyan if one assumes that Goku Jr. was Pan’s grandchild. Goku Jr. might be able to transform into Super Saiyan, implying that Saiyan genetics are dominant regardless of human-to-Saiyan ratios. Mendelian genetics complicate the story further as dominance can also refer to the existence of recessive traits and genes. This means that certain Saiyan characteristics could be used to skip or select certain members for reasons not fully understood. To ascend to Super Saiyan God, Goku needed the help of five righteous Saiyans. Pan turned out to be the final piece to the puzzle, despite not being born. This strengthens the “Saiyan dominant” idea of genetic inheritance in Dragon Ball. It also makes it possible for Pan to become a Super Saiyan. The Daizenshu, the official Dragon Ball guidebook, stated that only those with at least 25% Saiyan blood could assume the Super Saiyan transformation. This was long before Goku Jr. arrived.
Saiyan Enough
Given Pan’s incredible power as an infant/toddler and strong genes, her determined personality, and the ease at which Goten, Trunks, and the Universe 6 Saiyans have achieved the Super Saiyan form, it makes sense that a combatant like herself would be able to transform. Their potential Gohan was supposedly passed to his daughter. A Super Saiyan Pan could open up new possibilities for the character’s importance to the story.
It takes a good teacher less time to transform a Saiyan without any concept of the Super Saiyan transformation. A combatant surrounded by some of the most powerful fighters of Universe 7 should have the potential to achieve the desired transformation. One who is the daughter of the first person in history to ascend beyond a Super Saiyan should have that potential. Pan could be able to achieve this form even though he is distantly Saiyan. It may just take the right motivation. But with her strong character and decent base power, Piccolo trained her, the young Saiyan will become a formidable fighter worthy of becoming Super Saiyan.