Does Chapter 66 show Goku at his most doubtful in the series?

[BWri]

There is an interesting exchange that happens between Goku and Whis in Chapter 66 and it unnerved me a little, because despite being at the strongest and most capable he's ever been, Goku displays more doubt in himself than I've ever seen him display in the entire series. Is this just me or is this Goku at his least confident?

It begins with Whis telling Goku, as he's battling Moro, to shatter the crystal in Moro's head to defeat him. Goku is surprised by this news and asks "You think I can pull it off?" Then Whis has to give him a little pep talk, saying things like "You have already acquired divine power" and "Have faith in yourself" which leads to a shocked Goku contemplating Whis' words.



Goku then continues to sound unsure. With his next statement his words trail off, "Okay ... if that's the only way ..." and its not until Beerus steps in to threaten Goku comically, that Goku seems to gain some of his bravado back. In the end Goku does fail this first volley even with Vegeta's assistance and it's not until everyone else gets involved such as Piccolo, Goten, Trunks, Jaco, the Earthlings, everyone at the lookout, and most importantly Uub and Daikaioshin that Goku is finally able to succeed with their help.

So maybe it's a case of him properly accessing that he alone didn't possess what he needed to defeat Moro, but for me it's so odd seeing him being this unsure of himself. It's to the point that it almost feels out of character, which is crazy to say because everyone has doubts but Goku rarely shows them.

Does anyone know if he's ever doubted himself this much before? I can't think of any other times. I know one example some of you might say, but in that one I believe he displayed a lot confidence in the situation.

[EGonzo]

He admits he's scared just before fighting Raditz, and is basically freaking out after Kaioken x20 fails against Freeza until he transforms.

[ChronoTwigger]

To me the panels look more like something "Why he told me so, while the whole time he didn't helped me at all?"

One thing I've noticed is how, just after receiving the call, Whis become atrociously serious.
To me something bad happened, to the point Moro was just a secondary issue to solve and forget quickly.

[SupremeKai25]

No, Goku at his most doubtful and hopeless was in the Future Trunks arc. In the Moro arc, he at least doesn't give up hope and ends up scoring a victory. Goku in the Future Trunks arc at one point doesn't even try to find a way to win, and straight up advises Vegeta to retreat back to the Present because they evidently stand no chance vs. Black and Zamasu.

[Lionel]

I agree with the others. Goku was more contemplative than fearful or uncertain of his chances at defeating Moro. I agree that his downturn against Freeza once the Kaioken failed was possibly Goku at his most vulnerable or at least one of the most vulnerable moments we've seen him in. You could argue similarly for Goku against the Cell Jrs when he admitted to not having anticipated that turn of events but in that situation he had a firm strategy in mind with Gohan unleashing his potential power.

[FlpShimizu]

Plus, he sounded fully aware that it was all was his fault. Combined with Gods and Angels stepping in to help cause he couldn't get it done, that would propably make you think about how deep in the shit they were

[BWri]

Plus, he sounded fully aware that it was all was his fault. Combined with Gods and Angels stepping in to help cause he couldn't get it done, that would propably make you think about how deep in the shit they were

Yeah, this was another reading I got from it. I think he knew he didn't stand a chance by himself.

He admits he's scared just before fighting Raditz, and is basically freaking out after Kaioken x20 fails against Freeza until he transforms.

Good point vs Raditz. I don't remember him freaking out that much vs. Frieza. The only part that comes to mind is when Frieza was about to shoot him point-blank in the face with a Death Beam.

To me the panels look more like something "Why he told me so, while the whole time he didn't helped me at all?"

That's interesting. Now that you say that, I can see it. It may be that Whis easily knowing how to defeat Moro has caused Goku to question just how far from Whis he still is.

One thing I've noticed is how, just after receiving the call, Whis become atrociously serious.
To me something bad happened, to the point Moro was just a secondary issue to solve and forget quickly.

Hmm, this may play into Goku's attitude there as well. In any case, NEXT ARC HYPE!

I agree with the others. Goku was more contemplative than fearful or uncertain of his chances at defeating Moro.

I didn't see it that way, but I see where you all are coming from.

I agree that his downturn against Freeza once the Kaioken failed was possibly Goku at his most vulnerable or at least one of the most vulnerable moments we've seen him in.

I have to read this scene. I never noticed him in this state during this fight. I only remember how defenseless he was when he was gathering energy for the Genki Dama and Frieza nearly killing him.

You could argue similarly for Goku against the Cell Jrs when he admitted to not having anticipated that turn of events but in that situation he had a firm strategy in mind with Gohan unleashing his potential power.

If I recall correctly, at least from the anime, he seemed to think that all was lost at that moment, indicated that he lost faith in his decision to leave it all to Gohan. That counts too. At first I wanted to count it as him losing confidence in Gohan, but ultimately that would be a situation of him losing faith in his own decision making. It's still a little different from what I'm seeing from the latest chapter, which looks to me to be a lack of confidence in himself and his own skills. Here, it seems like he's completely unsure of himself to the point that Whis needs to give a pep talk. Could be that he knows he can't win, but against Cell and Raditz for instance, he just flat out admitted that.

[OLKv3]

I don't remember Goku ever needing a pep talk before, unless I'm forgetting something

[Grimlock]

There's this great scene in the anime where Vegeta appears naked and gives Goku some pep talk during Freeza fight. Bardock and King Vegeta are also there. I'm using cellphone now so I can't provide a link, but it should be easy to find.

[BWri]

I don't remember Goku ever needing a pep talk before, unless I'm forgetting something

Exactly. He's always seemed very self-motivated.

There's this great scene in the anime where Vegeta appears naked and gives Goku some pep talk during Freeza fight. Bardock and King Vegeta are also there. I'm using cellphone now so I can't provide a link, but it should be easy to find.

That was a cool scene, but its not like Goku was doubting himself before that like he seems to do in 66. At least I don't remember him doubting himself. Maybe there was some internal monologue that I'm forgetting.