5. Nappa and Vegeta
Nappa and Vegeta appear on this list as a package deal because that’s how they appeared on the actual show/manga. They’re number 5 on the list because of the sheer impact they had on the Z-fighters and the entire show in general.
Nappa, despite being a mere minion of the real villain, personally delivered most of the Z-fighters to King Yamma with little effort. Yamcha (from his saibaman), Chiaotzu, Tien, Piccolo, that’s 4 of the 6 that fought in the battle. He was surely going to finish the job too, but that’s when Goku showed up. But until that moment, Nappa had an impressive display of power: shrugging off Chiaotzu’s powers and suicide explosion, punching off Tien’s arm despite his block, and killing Piccolo in just one blast.
He also, for the first time, truly represented a villain and a power scale that seemed impossible for the Z-fighters to climb. The way he effortlessly slaughtered the heroes began the dominance of the saiyans, first as enemies and then as protagonists.
Vegeta is here for a few reasons. Not only did he last more than one arc (well into Namek/Frieza’s arc), he was the first villain that truly posed a threat to the entire planet (in a reasonable time, AKA one blast). Vegeta made his debut by immediately killing Nappa and letting everyone know just how powerful he was, that Nappa was mere fodder to him. Vegeta then proceeded to beat Goku into the ground, force him to kaioken until he destroyed his own body, and STILL ultimately won.
He also managed to live through a kaiokenx4 kamehameha, a spirit bomb (the first ever), showed the true danger of an Oozaru, and even had to defeat one himself. He was a villain that worked for it. And next time he showed up, he had already learned new tricks (sensing energy) and began a new reign of terror: on Krillin, Gohan, and most of all Namekians.
4. Raditz
Raditz is on this list because he started off all of Dragon Ball Z essentially. With Raditz came the realization that Goku wasn’t human. With Raditz came the realization that Goku and Piccolo were nothing compared to what’s out there. With Raditz came the rise of the saiyans.
When Raditz first made his appearance, he made his first stop by making Piccolo (the former villain from the last arc) look absolutely weak in every way. He then easily dominated Goku and Krillin, and kidnapped Goku’s newly introduced son: Gohan. He mentioned Goku being a Saiyan and was disappointed that he, as his brother, hadn’t wiped out all life on Earth by now. Already he established himself as a force to be reckoned with.
What happened soon after was also unprecedented. Goku and Piccolo, mortal enemies who hated each other from back in Dragon Ball, were forced to team up because neither could face him alone. The main hero and the former main villain not being enough to even touch this new enemy was something that was relatively new, and it brought credence to Raditz’s power.
And so they fought, 2 on 1, hopelessly out matched. Power levels were mentioned that had Goku and Piccolo not even at half of Raditz’s strength and even when they removed weighting clothing, they were easily crushed. Even when they worked perfectly together to set up Piccolo’s Special Beam Cannon, they failed. All seemed lost.
How did Raditz lose? One word: Gohan. So not only did Raditz completely outclass the two most powerful beings currently shown in the series, but he established the existence of Saiyans, Gohan’s hidden power (which came into play multiple times later on), a new level of strength far beyond the current level of the series, and Power Levels.
So Raditz died, and with him came Goku’s first death. Yes, he took the hero of the series with him. If that’s not impact, then what is?
Copyright © WarWithWords 2014
