The Big Question Dragon Ball Super Fans Have About Android 17's Wish

When you really think about it, it's quite appropriate that the Tournament of Power arc in "Dragon Ball Super" ends with a wish. Despite the series espousing the virtues of working hard to achieve one's goals, "Dragon Ball" is actually based on achieving one's desires instantly using magical wishes. Shenron, for all intents and purposes, is a big reptilian genie with the Dragon Balls acting as his lamp, and for a long time there wasn't an arc of the series that didn't depend on his powers in some way. This is why it means a lot that the prize given to the victor of the multiversal Tournament of Power, Android 17, is a wish.

Of course, not just any wish cuts it as the grand prize in a battle among eight universes. Granted by Super Shenron and endorsed by the Omni-King, Zeno, Android 17 could wish for literally anything his cybernetic heart desires. He originally intends to wish for a cruise with his family. In the end, however, he asks that all of the universes which are erased throughout the tournament be restored.

Of course, this wish isn't nearly as cut and dry as it sounds. Because of some hefty implications made by the lore in "Dragon Ball," 17's wish could have a grander result than he initially intends. This has become a big question among "Dragon Ball Super" fans, who are hopeful that these potential effects could yield an interesting future story.

Questions surrounding Android 17's wish first sprouted up in a Reddit thread created by u/mermicide. Pointing out that, before the events of the Tournament of Power, Zeno erases six other universes to make the current 12 (four of which are exempt from the tournament), u/mermicide suggests that 17's wish — which doesn't specify which universes should be restored — could include these lost six. This would make a total of 13 universes restored by the wish, and a grand total of 18 universes that exist across Zeno's reality. Additionally, u/mermicide suggests that 17's wish could also include Future Trunks' erased timeline, effectively doubling the number of universes out there.

Fans of "Dragon Ball Super" immediately latched onto this idea. "I've always wondered about this too," wrote user u/Corvus_19. "I think the wish was left open ended like that so that the writers could use the other universes IF they want to. If there were 6 erased universes, and each of the current 12 'mirrors' one another, I wonder if one of the erased universes had Saiyans like 6 & 7." "I hope he did," replied u/Quick_Kick. "Imagine the possibilities." 

Unfortunately, it seems that at the moment, Android 17's wish only extends to the seven erased universes listed in the Dragon Ball Wiki (along with a new, artificial one). While that's plenty of universes to spare, it still seems like a missed opportunity to have six new worlds go unexplored.