Just to weigh in on Zamas
2 and SSjB as represented in the Future Trunks arc - from what I can tell from the manga, SSjB has two main issues that are resolved in the arc:
- Most of its energy being expended if repeat transformations are activated;
- Its energy becoming leached out through extended use.
Vegeta falls foul of the first problem against Hit, and resolves it against Black by being able to transform in bursts that he is able to repeat without taxing himself. Goku specifically notes that Vegeta isn't losing power when he does this. So, several commenters (e.g.,
Thani,
Dragon Wukong,
The Undying) are concluding that Vegeta is maintaining the full power of SSjB by doing this, albeit for moments. They are also concluding that Completed SSjB is likewise the retention of this initial burst of power, but presumably just over a longer (and therefore more useful) period.
ZombieVito, by contrast, is arguing that Completed SSjB isn't just a retention of power: it's a buff (else Goku's performance against Zamas
2 doesn't make sense), but that this
also doesn't make sense and is an example of inconsistent writing. Those maintaining the first position argue that it does make sense, but that the difference in power between Black and Zamas
2 must be relatively small - small enough, at least, that the fusion just brings Zamas
2 up to the full power of SSjB.
I think the key to resolving the difficulty is Goku's resolution of the second problem regarding SSjB. On its face, to say this is pretty banal, but hear me out. Fundamentally, I guess I can summarise my position by saying that I just don't agree that the
initial power of SSjB is the same thing as the
complete power of SSjB.
Various statements make it clear that SSjB (and related forms) lose power the longer they are used in battle, but Vegeta's comments in particular indicate that this is to do with the aura spilling out when the form is used. He notes that Zamas
2's aura erupting puts a burden on him where, unless he can maintain stamina, he'll "suffer the consequences" (presumably, lose control over his power and so lose the form). Goku's solution to completing the power leaching issue is to "seal the overflowing power...within his body." The visible signal of this is that he manifests no aura.
It seems clear to me from these statements that SSjB's power leach therefore takes place
through the aura, which is in turn the visible 'overflow' of SSjB power. If Goku is a vessel for the power, and it is spilling out all the time like this, it is power that simply isn't
used, whether SSjB is used for a short time or otherwise. To use an analogy, the Blue power is like a geyser, and the user is like a glass; even if the glass is filled by the geyser, there's plenty more water you're not catching. But what if you
could? Ending the analogy,
that's what Completed SSjB's power is like - it's the geyser contained in the glass, and it can be directed at the will of the vessel.
That this, or something like this, must be true, is clear from the fact that Zamas
2 easily beats SSjB Vegeta after fusing. Although Goku's used the Mafuba, and both he and Trunks say he's too weak to really use SSjB as a result, the same isn't said for Vegeta at all - in fact, Goku has already said (as we noted above) that Vegeta isn't losing power. And yet, in just one rapid exchange, Zamas
2 beats Vegeta out of SSjB; there's no indicator that Vegeta has lost any power, let alone a significant amount, or used the form for much time in aggregate. More to the point, when Vegeta is given the opportunity to be fully restored after a beating, he admits he can't fight equally with Zamas
2, so the most natural interpretation is that his SSjB, even at its full initial power, doesn't stand a chance of matching Zamas
2.
For the same reason, I don't agree that Zamas
2 isn't much stronger than Black. The fact that SSjB Vegeta toys with Black and gets trounced by Zamas
2 makes it clear that there's a massive difference here, and not just one of focus or ability to move better, or whatever. Zamas
2 puts it down to a "devastating power" that he's "always wanted" - he remembers what Black's power was, so even accounting for his own bombast, it's clear that there's meant to be a world of difference between Zamas
2 and Black on his own.
However, I don't think Dragon Ball Super is being inconsistent about the power of SSjB; it's just indicating that an
initial use is still not
complete use and control of the power; only a sealing of the power in the aura within the body can do this. So, the massive power that is in the aura is harnessed and put to use. This is how a Completed SSjB can be more powerful than even a Fully-powered 'ordinary' SSjB. Likewise, this overflow being brought within would therefore nullify any period where an 'ordinary', power-leaching SSjB may have been used, as it fills the user up withn the Blue power. This conclusion not only accounts for indications that Completed SSjB is of a different order of strength to SSjB generally (such as in Vegeta's fight with Beerus - I think it's a reach to say that he is only as powerful as he was at first, since Beerus says Completed SSjB is an improvement), but also allows for Zamas
2 to have a considerable fusion boost.
TL;DR - Completed SSjB is a buff when compared with SSjB generally; it comes from sealing the aura within, which contains most of the power which
isn't otherwise used, even when SSjB is using the explosive power of its initial transformation. If this is accepted, then Zamas
2 can be a lot stronger than Black as well, and there's no contradiction here.
