Dragon Ball Z’s movies, and non-canon episodes, introduced quite a few characters that have yet to find their way to the main continuity of the shonen franchise. From the likes of Cooler, Lord Slug, Turles, and Janemba, only the lEgendary Super Saiyan known as Broly has had the chance to make the leap to Dragon Ball Super. Luckily, the current artist for Dragon Ball Super’s manga, Toyotaro, has taken the opportunity to revisit old characters with new art, including the first villain of the Dragon Ball Z movies, Garlic Jr.
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Garlic Jr. first appeared in the initial Dragon Ball Z movie, Dead Zone, which introduced the pint-sized villain as a threat that had the ability to open a portal to the titular realm. While the son of Garlic was ultimately banished to the Dead Zone thanks to the combined efforts of Goku, Piccolo, and Kami, the antagonist would return in the “Garlic Jr. Saga”. Taking place in the main Dragon Ball Z series proper, the outside-of-continuity story would see the movie villain return with new henchmen at his beck and call without Goku to lend an assist to the Z-Fighters.
Dragon Ball Garlic
The Official Dragon Ball Website shared the new image from Dragon Ball Super’s manga artist, Toyotaro. The artist is currently working on an arc that adapts the storylines of the latest film of the franchise, Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero, which has shown off familiar and new events. If the latest arc follows the movie to the letter, we should see both Gohan Beast and Orange Piccolo make their debut.
With Broly making his return in Dragon Ball Super, there is always the possibility that other villains from the movies could make comebacks of their own. Of course, should Garlic Jr. break free from the Dead Zone once again, he would need to do some serious training to fight against the likes of Goku’s Ultra Instinct and Vegeta’s Ultra Ego. The shonen series hasn’t been shy when it comes to giving old villains some major upgrades, with Frieza being a prime example as of late.
Do you hope to see Garlic Jr. return in the future of the anime franchise? What other movie villains are you hoping to see make a comeback? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly on Twitter @EVComedy to talk all things comics, anime, and the world of the Z-Fighters.