7 Dragon Ball Villains Who Wasted Their Potential

The Unforgettable Antagonists of Dragon Ball and the Ones Who Faded into Obscurity

Akira Toriyama’s Dragon Ball has always been known for its unforgettable antagonists, who often become as iconic as the heroes themselves. Villains like Frieza, Cell, and Buu have carved their names into the annals of anime history. However, not every Dragon Ball villain is destined for greatness. Some characters are introduced with great potential but end up being forgotten due to a lack of development or poor storytelling.

A defeat that follows a substantial battle may be disappointing, but it’s at least justified. What’s far worse is when a villain who looks infinitely interesting is turned into messy misdirection. Dragon Ball loves to subvert expectations and mix things up if something isn’t working. This relaxed strategy also means that some Dragon Ball villains are gone and forgotten before they even do anything.

Future Trunks Dismantles King Cold’s Legacy in a Single Strike

There is no shortage of grueling battles in Dragon Ball that continually evolve and catch the audience by surprise. One of the most intense fights in the series is Goku’s ruthless clash against Frieza on Planet Namek, which becomes the catalyst for some huge moments, including the franchise’s first Super Saiyan transformation. Goku’s triumph against Frieza hits so much harder because it’s been dozens of episodes in the making. It’s equally devastating when it’s revealed that Frieza’s body has been reconstructed and that he’s joined by his powerful father, King Cold.

King Cold takes a backseat role while Mecha-Frieza runs his mouth on Earth, confident that the Z-Fighters will be hopeless without Goku. Dragon Ball Z never gets the chance to showcase King Cold in action, but it stands to reason that his power is comparable to Frieza’s first form. He’s controlled an army of his own for even longer than Frieza and this sort of authority isn’t acquired without the power to back it up. As exciting as it would be to watch King Cold and Frieza fight in tandem, he’s turned into fallout when Future Trunks eliminates both him and his son.

King Cold’s effortless execution is meant to highlight the heights of Future Trunks’ Super Saiyan power. King Cold's reputation precedes him, which creates a disappointing dissonance in his battle with Future Trunks. King Cold has even been featured in copious flashbacks, but he never gets the opportunity to fight in them. King Cold could function as a fascinating counterpart to Frieza who offers greater insight into this infamous antagonist’s origins. Instead, Dragon Ball opts for surface-level dissection.

Master Shen's Character Deserves Better Than an Off-Screen Death

Dragon Ball’s 22nd World Martial Arts Tournament is such a satisfying heightening of its predecessor because of the competitive rivalry that’s offered by Master Shen’s Crane School students. During their youth, Roshi and Shen both trained under Master Mutaito, until a rift pushed them down very different paths. Shen’s prize pupils, Tien and Chiaotzu, are Goku and Krillin’s greatest competition during the 22nd World Tournament.

Shen recedes into the background after the tournament’s completion, especially once Tien and Chiaotzu unofficially defect to Roshi’s Turtle School of Martial Arts. It’s presumed that Shen dies off-screen, which is such a frustrating finish for someone who represents such an important part of Roshi’s past. A version of Dragon Ball that gives Shen more to do automatically becomes a version of Dragon Ball where Roshi is also more active.

It would have made sense for Roshi to turn to Shen for help after King Piccolo’s awakening. Roshi’s death could have even become an opportunity for Shen to bury the hatchet and help out the heroes. Dragon Ball Z’s filler episodes leading up to the Cell Games find a way to shoehorn Cyborg Tao back into the narrative and the same respect could have been given to Shen.

The Ginyu Force Underutilized Burter & Jeice in Dragon Ball Z

The Ginyu Force still gets a lot of attention for including some of Dragon Ball’s most eccentric and unpredictable enemies. Frieza’s top mercenary team are an odd mix of strong and stylish, who are just as interested in their poses and pageantry as they are in power. Several Ginyu Force members possess unique abilities, such as Guldo’s power to freeze time and Captain Ginyu’s body-swap skill.

After Recoome’s gratuitous beatdown on Vegeta, Gohan, and Krillin, it feels like Dragon Ball rushes through Burter and Jeice. These two Ginyu Force members come across as afterthoughts in the end. Burter is described to be one of the fastest individuals in the universe. Jeice’s skills are also amplified when he works together with Burter, and they deliver combined techniques, like the Purple Comet Hurricane which blends Jeice’s Red Magma with Burter’s Blue Hurricane. Nevertheless, Goku defeats Burter and Jeice before they get the chance to develop personalities and feel like real characters.

The distinct voices of Burter and Jeice become their most defining traits outside of their Ginyu Force membership and are forced to do much of the heavy lifting. Burter and Jeice deserve to have special abilities of their own that could have potentially revealed themselves in their filler material on King Kai’s Planet. It just doesn’t seem fair that two out of the five Ginyu Force members feel superfluous.

Raditz Was Dragon Ball Z’s Most Important Villain

There’s a very leisurely pacing in place in Dragon Ball Z, yet the tradition where a final fight lasts for dozens of episodes doesn’t kick in until later on. DBZ’s introductory battle against Raditz is surprisingly short and feels more in line with the pacing of the original Dragon Ball. This makes sense considering Raditz’s arrival marks such a groundbreaking turning point for both Dragon Ball and Goku. Saiyans are such a rarity in Dragon Ball, due to their finite numbers, that it’d now come as quite a shock if someone like Raditz were eliminated. Even Broly managed to survive the events of Dragon Ball Super: Broly and become an ally, and he’s not even related to Goku.

Not only is Raditz a Saiyan, but he’s also Goku’s brother. Goku is someone who so deeply believes in rehabilitation over retribution that it’s difficult to picture a scenario in modern Dragon Ball in which he’d let his brother die. Raditz puts Goku in an impossible situation and threatens his son. Nevertheless, Goku has been in even more impossible situations and still found ways to help out the helpless. If nothing else, Goku could still use the Dragon Balls to revive his deceased brother and create a situation in which Raditz must help the heroes or once again be put out of his misery.

It’s unfortunate that Raditz fans have had to rely on non-canon expanded universe video games like Super Dragon Ball Heroes for their scraps of Raditz material. Dragon Ball would immediately be so much more exciting if Goku had a powerful brother who was also in the mix, either as a friend or a rival who occasionally comes out of the woodwork to attack. At this point, it feels like it’s too late to bring Raditz back into Dragon Ball, even though it’s a decision that would absolutely break the Internet.

Demon King Dabura Gets Benched Before His True Power Comes To Light

Pui Pui and Yakon both make for entertaining warm-up matches for Vegeta and Goku as the heroes storm Babidi’s spaceship. Vegeta and Goku barely break a sweat against these Majin opponents. That being said, Gohan genuinely struggles during his strenuous strike against Dabura. Dabura is King of the Demon Realm and someone whose power is at least on par with Perfect Cell. This makes Dabura one of Babidi’s most impressive acquisitions.

Everything about Dabura is interesting and he’s easily one of Akira Toriyama’s most impressive Buu Saga designs. It’s easy to see why Sand Land’s Lucifer has a Satanic design that’s practically identical to Dabura’s menacing look. Dabura’s scary strength and appearance gets him a lot of mileage, but he also possesses truly unbelievable abilities. Dabura’s Stone Spit petrifies anyone who makes contact with his saliva, regardless of their strength, and he can also breathe fire and conjure his Darkness Sword out of thin air.

Dabura’s death is played for shock value, and he’s turned into collateral damage so that Majin Buu seems even more dangerous. Dragon Ball Z doesn’t do nearly enough with Dabura, or the Demon Realm in general, for that matter, which is rather frustrating. Dragon Ball DAIMA would put Dabura in the spotlight, albeit several decades later, but it’s still too little too late.

Dr. Gero is One of The Most Brilliant Minds That Dragon Ball Has Ever Seen

The Red Ribbon Army was a major threat to Goku back during his younger years in the original Dragon Ball. Goku couldn’t have known that his dismantling of Red Ribbon would inadvertently start a disturbing grudge that would turn into a potential Android apocalypse several decades later. Dr. Gero, a Red Ribbon scientist, builds Androids 16-19, as well as Cell, in his efforts to one day get revenge on Goku. Dr. Gero also turns himself into a cyborg, Android 20, who is quite powerful in his own right.

Curiously, Dragon Ball Z introduces Androids 19 and 20 as the Cell Saga’s central threats, only for editor intervention to lead to Androids 17 and 18’s creation, not to mention Cell’s various evolutions. Androids 19 and 20 certainly look rather unconventional and it’s understandable why a more mainstream look for these villains was sought out. This leads to Dr. Gero and Android 19 meeting grisly ends rather quickly, while Androids 16, 17, and 18 step in to replace them. Few would argue that Androids 19 and 20 are more interesting than the trio that follows.

However, there’s a lot more potential in someone like Dr. Gero who possesses such incredible intellect. Dr. Gero finding a way to flee and survive – or even posthumously upload his consciousness into another Android – would make him such an interesting recurring villain. An evil Android who is still waiting in the wings would be something different. Dr. Gero could also turn into a foe for Bulma, which causes her to up her scientific game and play a more important role in Dragon Ball Z’s post-Cell Saga storytelling.

Spopovich is Still One of Dragon Ball Z’s Most Vicious Villains

Dragon Ball Z’s Buu Saga introduces plenty of dangerous adversaries, many of whom are powerful individuals who have been taken control by Babidi’s manipulation sorcery. Majin Vegeta becomes the most extreme example of Babidi’s menacing minions. However, one of the earliest glimpses into Babidi’s manipulation sorcery still stands out as one of Dragon Ball Z’s most violent and malicious sequences. Spopovich and Yamu are two World Tournament martial artists who are turned into the lowest rung of Babidi’s lackeys. They’re both tasked with stealing energy from civilians that can then be used to trigger Majin Buu’s awakening.

Spopovich’s most pivotal scene involves the exploitation of Gohan’s budding relationship with Videl. Spopovich is already more than twice Videl’s size, but he intentionally brutalizes Videl in order to draw Gohan out of the crowd and sap his superior Saiyan strength. Babidi decides to clean house shortly after the 25th World Tournament, which leads to him psychically blowing up both Spopovich and Yamu. There’s much to say about Spopovich because of his abrupt execution.

This is a little unfortunate, considering that Dragon Ball Z could have explored some psychologically rich territory if Spopovich were to survive the Buu Saga and be left with the guilt and trauma of what he did to Videl. There could even be some commiseration between Vegeta and Spopovich since they were both put under Babidi’s spell. Dragon Ball Z is lacking in powerful human characters, especially on the villainous side, and a greater role for Spopovich could have paid off down the road.