Piccolo is the most underrated Dragon Ball fighter despite his many years of proving his strength, & Goku’s ultimate insult proves that won’t change.
It’s fair to say that Piccolo does not get the respect he deserves in Dragon Ball canon, especially from the likes of Goku. Piccolo used to be the strongest being on Earth, on more than one occasion, and has been consistently training his entire life to maintain and continue to grow his power. But, no matter his achievements or power-ups, it seems as though Piccolo is destined to always be underrated, and Goku’s ultimate insult proves why.
Dragon Ball Z was just as much Piccolo’s story as it was anyone else’s, as it charted his career from world-ending villain to a savior of humanity. Piccolo was roughly on-par with Goku at the start of DBZ, following his defeat by the Saiyan’s hand during their fight in the World Martial Arts Tournament at the end of classic Dragon Ball. This status quo remained unchanged up until the Frieza Saga, as Piccolo gained an immense power-up upon his fusion with Nail. However, once Goku became a Super Saiyan, Piccolo was left in the dust. At least, until he fused with Kami, thereby reestablishing his original form. At that point, Piccolo was even stronger than a Super Saiyan, and with consistent training, he would push himself well beyond that point by the end of Z. For reference, Goku reached his max with Super Saiyan 3, and Vegeta with Super Saiyan 2. This evidence suggests that Piccolo really wasn’t that far behind them, being only a little bit weaker than Vegeta before the events of Dragon Ball Super. Unfortunately, regardless of the facts, that’s not at all how Goku perceives his one-time greatest rival.
Goku Thinks Piccolo Is WAY Weaker Than He Really Is
In Dragon Ball Super chapter 10 by Akira Toriyama and Toyotarou, the Z-Fighters of Universe 7 are in a multiversal tournament against Universe 6. In this chapter, Goku loses to Frost, a fighter from the other universe who resembles Frieza, both in terms of aesthetic and power level. Piccolo was the next fighter after Goku, and when he asked Goku if he had a shot, Goku essentially laughed in Piccolo’s face and told him there was no way he’d be able to beat Frost. In fact, Goku tells Piccolo that his best option would be to weaken Frost enough for Vegeta to beat him more easily, as Vegeta was up next after Piccolo. However, during the fight itself, Piccolo actually holds his own against Frost, and might have even won the fight if Frost hadn’t cheated by using a poison needle.
While Piccolo immediately proved Goku wrong, the fact that Goku didn’t even think Piccolo would be a match for Frost – who was roughly as powerful as Frieza was when he fought Super Saiyan 1 Goku on Namek – is downright insulting. In-continuity, this chapter of Dragon Ball Super wasn’t very long after the events of the Majin Buu Saga, which meant Piccolo was roughly as powerful as a Super Saiyan 2. While it is true that Super Saiyan is an amplifier, not a set power-level, Piccolo has steadily increased his own power level through hardened training at the same pace as the Saiyans. In fact, the Saiyans have actually become too reliant on transformations, which has thereby made them weaker than they could be (as pointed out in Dragon Ball Super chapter 93), making the power gap between them and Piccolo even tighter.
This chapter shows that Goku never bothered to check Piccolo’s strength since his massive power-up in the Android Saga, indicating that the Saiyan warrior has underestimated his ex-arch enemy practically since they became allies. Now that Goku is channeling the energy of the gods and using techniques of the angels, it’s likely this trend will continue throughout Dragon Ball Super – even after Piccolo got his own god-tier power-up with Orange Piccolo – which is an unfortunate and frustrating circumstance that all stems from Goku’s ultimate Dragon Ball insult to Piccolo.
Source: Screenrant.com
