Dragon Ball Super: An Argument For Piccolo Returning As A Villain

Dragon Ball has been quite adept at giving its villains a redemption arc that brings them to the side of Goku and the rest of the Z Fighters. Vegeta, Androids 17 and 18, and even Freeza, for a brief time, joined the fold of protecting their Earth and their universe. One of the earliest adopters of shifting from antagonist to protagonist in the Dragon Ball franchise was Piccolo, the green skinned Namekian whose background remains one of the most intriguing of all of Akira Toriyama's characters. Perhaps however, it's time to throw a wrench into the works of this anime and return Piccolo to a time when everyone feared the "Great Demon King".

When Piccolo first appeared, he was a character that was split down the middle, with his good side becoming the Earth's God and his evil side of Piccolo Daimoah essentially becoming the devil. This latter version of the Namekian remains one of the most terrifying villains thanks in part to his sheer ruthlessness and evil demeanor. Of course, as we know, when he was killed by a young Goku in the initial Dragon Ball series, he expelled an egg that held the Piccolo that we came to know today.

So why make him evil now that he's become such an integral part of the Z Fighters? Simply put, Piccolo gets lost in the shuffle of things a bit too often in the current Dragon Ball Super series. Though he still acts as a teacher/father figure to Gohan, his power level simply can't keep up in step with the Saiyans. On top of this, Piccolo becoming a villain would buck the trend of Dragon Ball characters finding redemption. How would the Z Fighters reacts? More importantly, how would Gohan?

So what would make Piccolo evil? There are some story methods they could take, most specifically Gohan being killed in some form or fashion with a Z Fighter to blame. Lord knows that Goku and Vegeta aren't the most level headed fighters when it comes to jumping into the fray and they could make a mistake that cost them dearly. There's also the idea of having King Piccolo return and overtaking his son's mind. This would make for an excellent link to the past and create a connection with the first Dragon Ball series, arguably the most overlooked chapters of the franchise.

Finally, how can you make Piccolo a threat to the universe when we have Super Saiyan Gods flying around? Easily enough, the Tournament of Power gave us the perfect way for a Namekian to gain a serious power boost: fusion. Were Piccolo to absorb the members of his race one by one, he could potentially be infinitely stronger based on the number of beings he absorbs. If the Demon King resurrected were to do so, it would make him far more terrifying.

What do you think of Piccolo walking the path of a villain again some day? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly on Twitter @EVComedy to talk all things comics, anime, and Dragon Ball!

The Japanese-language and English dub releases of Dragon Ball Super are now complete and available to stream with FunimationNOW and Crunchyroll. Viz Media is releasing new chapters of the manga at a monthly rate that can be read entirely for free through the Shonen Jump digital library, and Dragon Ball Super's big movie, Dragon Ball Super: Broly, is now available on Blu-ray and DVD. Fans in Japan are also able to enjoy fresh non-canon adventures from the franchise with new episodes of Super Dragon Ball Heroes' promotional anime series.