When it comes to the number of Saiyans that appear throughout the sequel series of Dragon Ball Z, Goku’s brother probably got the rawest deal, being killed by his sibling and the Namekian Piccolo in the first few episodes of the anime and one fan has imagined what Raditz might look like if he had survived this initial encounter and joined the fight during the Freeza Saga! Working alongside Vegeta and Nappa under the sway of the nefarious alien despot known as Freeza, we have to wonder if Raditz would have eventually turned to the good side like his Saiyan partners in crime.
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After meeting his end thanks to a tag team effort that included a self sacrifice by Son Goku and a well placed Special Beam Cannon by Piccolo, Raditz unfortunately wasn’t granted a resurrection thanks to a wish on the Dragon Balls. Staying in the land of the dead for the rest of the franchise, he did recently make an appearance in the feature length film of Dragon Ball Super: Broly, when a series of flashbacks showed off the long haired Saiyan as a child accompanying both Vegeta and Nappa as they were spreading terror across the universe while narrowly dodging the fate that befell their race!
Reddit Artist EmiPotter showed off a brand new Raditz, wearing the standard issue Saiyan armor that has become the trademark attire for the Prince of the Saiyans throughout Dragon Ball Z and Dragon Ball Super, proving that even though he might be a resident of Earth, he still sticks to his Saiyan heritage:
Raditz helped usher in the “era of the Saiyans” in Dragon Ball Z, letting Goku know for the first time that he was in fact an alien. Throughout the entirety of the original Dragon Ball series, Son Goku had never known that he was born on another world, despite the fact that he had transformed into a giant ape from time to time. Even without the knowledge of his original race, Goku still became one of the strongest warriors in the world as a child and continued to raise his strength throughout the Akira Toriyama franchise.
What do you think of this interpretation of a living, breathing Raditz in the Freeza Saga? 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 Dragon Ball!