While several characters have seemingly crossed dimensions, this recap and analysis will largely focus on Gumby himself. For the most up-to-date captures on Gumby’s mystical adventures, follow me on Bluesky.
Gumby’s arrival in the Dragon World may have been even earlier than previously believed.
Immediately after Bulma meets Goku, we see Gumby hanging for this life, doing everything in his power to avoid a fate worse than death. Some time later, Gumby seems to have a group of friends alongside him as they investigate the pirate cave, but it is currently unknown if they ever encountered the Red Ribbon Army. Gumby seems to stick around for a while and has met the gang, and must have had some concerning things to say at the dinner table.
Is this Gumby training with the doll-Goku that Mr. Popo made? A few years later, if you zoom in, Gumby can be seen checking out the crater from Tenshinhan’s Kikoho and pondering Piccolo’s defeat at the 23rd Tenka’ichi Budokai.
How long has he been with us…? Time continues on…
Gumby can later be seen working on a farm, with Pokey also seemingly around.
Things really seem to heat up during Raditz’s arrival. Gumby is there for the reunion at Kame House, and then… is Gumby checking on Gohan, or did Gumby intervene and take on Raditz himself…?! We have to infer that Raditz did come to Earth and was somehow defeated, as Gumby can be seen looking over his body alongside Kuririn and Bulma.
Gumby is with Gohan and Piccolo as Shenlong is summoned to resurrect Goku. Was he training alongside them? What is he also doing at Kame House around this same time?
How is this possible, if at this time Gumby was recently in Hell (with Pokey?!) racing against Goku, Goz, and Mez… and possibly ascending to heaven…?!
Perhaps he managed to escape, as he is clearly present for the arrival of Nappa and Vegeta… but how did he get there after being with Piccolo and Gohan? He’s also back at Kame House when other friends arrive as well as still there when Bulma’s scouter explodes, despite having just been reveling in the death of Yamcha. None of the timing makes sense — is this the true power of Gumby?
The gang seems to have at least acclimated to Gumby’s presence, as we see him hanging out at the hospital when Bulma unintentionally blows up one of the Saiyan spacecraft live on television. We know that Goku later makes his way to Planet Namek, but was Gumby also sent by Capsule Corporation…?
Gumby is later seen on Namek observing a wide array of events. Gumby and his cohorts watch Freeza and his men fly by while hiding inside a cave, and later Gumby watches over the Namekian village being visted by Freeza alongside Gohan. Gumby must feel empowered to make his presence more known after this, as he casually saunters around after Vegeta slices Gurd’s head off.
As the various groups split off, Gumby can be seen posing alongside Jheece and Ginyu; is he undercover trying out for the Special-Squad, and what causes them to ultimately do battle? Gumby apparently manages to survive each of these encounters, as he is later seen alongside Dende and Kuririn as Freeza transforms for the first time.
In a perhaps unbelievable change of fate, after Gumby witnesses Vegeta’s death, does Gumby intervene and take out Freeza himself…?!
When Goku returns to Earth after the battle with Freeza, we see two Gumbys chatting with and sparring against each other. Did Gumby split and take over the bodies of Trunks and Goku? Are these separate events across space and time? Did Goku’s driving lesson during their subsequent training years take place in the same way, or are cars one method of travel between dimensions?
Some serious changes must have taken place in the intervening years, because the next time we catch up with Gumby, Bulma is performing some type of major surgery on an incredibly-buffed up version of Gumby. Have they turned Gumby into an Artificial Gum-Man?! When during all this did they have time for a fishing trip and some general relaxation…?!
The Room of Spirit and Time seem to be an important location for Gumby and the others leading up to the battle with Cell. Is this one of the methods of traveling between universes and continuities?
Are all these inter-dimensional/continuity disruptions what lead to the Artificial Humans showing up at the wrong house? Gumby seems to have done his best to advocate for a shut-down, but he clearly didn’t get through to Kuririn.
It is during this time that Cell makes his presence known, and we have to ask: with how strong Gumby has grown over the intervening years, how or why is he able to so casually ignore the plight of the common man?!
Gumby was definitely there for the battle against Cell, but his allegiance is unknown: one second he’s casually hanging out with Cell, and the next he’s mourning Trunks with the rest of the heroes.
As in the original story, years pass, and yet Gumby remains.
It is unclear if the two separate groups even recognize each other, but Gumby and friends seem to be driving a little too close to Gohan and Videl. We later see Gumby performing guitar alongside the announcer at the 25th Tenka’ichi Budokai. What are the circumstances around this? Is there a theme song for the tournament now? Is the announcer singing? The world may never know. We likewise know very little about the battle with Majin Boo (and if that even happened!), but Gumby was there to watch over Babidi and then had some harsh words for the newly-fused Kaioshin + Kibito combo. What happened here?!
It may be that Gumby is here for the long haul, as we see him studying (in place of Gohan?!) and working the farm alongside Goku — is this his pre-destined job in the the Dragon World? — prior to the arrival of Beerus and Whis.
Even within these multiverse shenanigans, further continuity disruptions appear to have taken place. Gumby and Yamcha seem to be in different places at different times leading up to the battle with Tullece. Thankfully Gumby seems to have survived even in this timeline!
Is Gumby crossing between even more dimensions and worlds than previously thought? Beyond the events with Tullece, Gumby can be seen mountain climbing while Dr. Kochin summons Shenlong, and having some kind of argument with Pokey and Kinoko! And what’s with the back of Gumby’s newspaper… could it be that Gumby is originally from the Demon Realm…?!
TENTATIVE CONCLUSIONS:
- Gumby is capable of crossing dimensions, including continuities within those dimensions
- Gumby is either fearless, or extremely confident in his strength
- Gumby’s buff glow-up prior to a possible battle with Cell did not last; it may be that Bulma was not up to the task
- Gumby may be capable of teleportation, and/or can drive at (or beyond) the speed of light, allowing him to cross large distances in a short amount of time
- Gumby’s occupational destiny may involve farming, but he appears to enjoy it
- Gumby may actually be familiar with and aware of the fact that he is in the Dragon World, and is actively working to counter certain events from happening
Please share your working theories as we continue to observe Gumby here into the new year. Together, we can get to the bottom of this.
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