What are the chances of Freeza becoming a genuinely good guy?

[JulieYBM]

Who said anything about being invited? Just have him show up to be a rude bitch, get caught up in a mountain of kids and then whipped into shape by Blooma when he threatens to do something to the kids. Hilarious.

[Sadala Elite]

0. He literally says at the end of the ToP that he intends to go back to his evil ways. At the end of Broly, he is seen ruthlessly invading an innocent world with his army. He also seeks to find Broly and use him as a weapon to get his revenge on Goku and Vegeta. You'll be waiting forever.

"I'm never getting married!"

*Starts popping HRT*

"Gosh i wanna be a trophy wife..."

Things change and I have no doubt that Freeza could be naturally developed into a less antagonistic character. I mean, Hell, it happens to Dragon Ball characters all the time.

Freeza becoming a good guy would be some of the worst writing ever lol. It just wouldn't make any sense.

And just because some characters could morally change doesn't mean they all can. Freeza is full-blown psychopath, its just unnatural for him to have any sort of moral change.

[fleahop]

Bulma (to a lesser degree)
Oolong
Yamcha
Pilaf Gang
Krillin (to a lesser degree)
Giran
Tien
Chiaotzu
Piccolo Jr.
Vegeta
Android 18
Android 17
Buu
Broly (to a lesser degree)

These are the names on my quick list of people who have been affected by goku and/or the z gang into a change of heart. You'll notice the trend slows as time goes on, with newer characters being less likely to be switched to the "good" side.

Personally, I would love a story where some villain somehow flips moralities for our main characters, and it's up to Frieza and his resources to save the galaxy from the multitude of powerhouses. Though I'd still like his motivation to be simply to become evil again.

That and temporary alliances against greater powers are the only reasons I want Frieza to even pretend to play nice. The trend is slowly going away it seems and that's probably for the best. I bet I even missed some in there.

Spoiler:

...and yes I prefer Frieza, it seems more like a real name to me

[ABED]

My takeaway from that list is that it's a common element of DB. The fresh story would to go in the opposite direction - an ally or possible ally goes from friend to foe.

[Matches Malone]

Bulma (to a lesser degree)
Oolong
Yamcha
Pilaf Gang
Krillin (to a lesser degree)
Giran
Tien
Chiaotzu
Piccolo Jr.
Vegeta
Android 18
Android 17
Buu
Broly (to a lesser degree)

The only true villain on this list is Vegeta. Piccolo was a villain in reputation only, as he never did anything truly bad. Tien was on his way to becoming a villain, but Roshi changed him before it could happen. Everyone else here were either antagonists such as Yamcha and Krillin, Neutral such as the androids, or taken advantage of such as Broly and Buu.

[emperior]

Only Piccolo and Vegeta got a redemption. Maybe Buu too. The other are just ordinary Dragon Ball guys, which aren’t exactly bad guys but not either very good people. The androids were never evil in the present timeline so they don’t count.

This doesn’t mean Freeza must be redeemed too.
I think a good Freeza would feel as weird as an evil Goku. He’s great as Goku’s nemesis and I love this angle they have been pushing for recently.
If Goku must have an arch enemy then Freeza is perfect for it, and their dialogue in Super only confirms this, especially episode 95’s.
Their dialogue was already excellent in the original manga, even compared to other villains, so I feel like nobody else fits the bill.

By the way the comparison with Batman and Joker doesn’t hold. The dynamics are completely different.

[fleahop]

The only true villain on this list is Vegeta. Piccolo was a villain in reputation only, as he never did anything truly bad. Tien was on his way to becoming a villain, but Roshi changed him before it could happen. Everyone else here were either antagonists such as Yamcha and Krillin, Neutral such as the androids, or taken advantage of such as Broly and Buu.

Just to be clear, my list is of changes of heart. Obviously most were not outright villains. There is a big difference, but the action taking place is the same. If Roshi decided to never be a pervert again then that would be a change of heart. Doesn't mean he's a villain though.

[MyVisionity]

Yeah, it's definitely possible. However I don't see it happening as a change from within. It would probably take something like amnesia, spiritual possession, brainwashing, cloning, etc. for Freeza to turn into a good guy.

[Yuli Ban]

Only if there was an alternate timeline or expanded universe sort of deal. If DB isn't going to end, then at least give us that instead of constantly retconning the main timeline.



Ew!

[DBZAOTA482]

Freeza has been given multiple opportunities to change his ways but he threw them away.

He may not be causing for the Z-Warriors but he's still evil to the core and completely content on his ways.

[JulieYBM]

Freeza being a good guy is less out of left-field than Gokuu being an alien.

I mean, hell, just imagine Freeza having to drop Kuriza, Bra and Pan off at school. :p

[Dragon Ball Ireland]

Bulma (to a lesser degree)
Oolong
Yamcha
Pilaf Gang
Krillin (to a lesser degree)
Giran
Tien
Chiaotzu
Piccolo Jr.
Vegeta
Android 18
Android 17
Buu
Broly (to a lesser degree)

These are the names on my quick list of people who have been affected by goku and/or the z gang into a change of heart. You'll notice the trend slows as time goes on, with newer characters being less likely to be switched to the "good" side.

Beerus has softened since the Battle of Gods arc. You could also argue Bardock in DBS Broly was veering towards redemption. In any case whether they be minor or major antagonists it's clear change of hearts are becoming a cliche at best or a crutch at worst for this franchise, so Freeza changing morality would do it no favours.

[WittyUsername]

The main thing that keeps me hopeful that they won’t ever redeem Freeza is what he represents for Dragon Ball. Freeza is known as the Dragon Ball villain, despite comprising a relatively small portion of the original manga, and for better or worse, has often been regarded as the closest thing Goku has to an archenemy. It’s obvious that the whole reason he keeps getting brought back is so they can continue milking the iconography of the Namek days, and having him become good would go against that. It would be like making the Joker a member of the Bat-family.

[Matches Malone]

It would be like making the Joker a member of the Bat-family.

Spoiler:

[JulieYBM]

The main thing that keeps me hopeful that they won’t ever redeem Freeza is what he represents for Dragon Ball. Freeza is known as the Dragon Ball villain, despite comprising a relatively small portion of the original manga, and for better or worse, has often been regarded as the closest thing Goku has to an archenemy. It’s obvious that the whole reason he keeps getting brought back is so they can continue milking the iconography of the Namek days, and having him become good would go against that. It would be like making the Joker a member of the Bat-family.

The Joker is boring as fuck. Making him join the Batfam would be a great new addition.

[LoganForkHands73]

There was a point in the Universe Survival arc where I was cautiously optimistic that Frieza might join the long list of reformed antagonists. Now though, I don't think it would be the ideal approach. While the reformed antagonist arc is a tried-and-true classic, it's become such a crutch not just in Dragon Ball but in storytelling as a whole to expect any long-running antagonist to eventually turn good. That's only one form of character growth, but a lot of people are under impression that it's the only good way for a character to grow. A good character can turn bad, a bad character can turn worse. Those can all be valid and interesting.

I'm not saying that it can't happen. There was a point where Vegeta was considered utterly irredeemable. Just before attempting to slit his throat, Krillin outright says that Vegeta's not like Piccolo, there's no way he could ever have a change of heart. Anything can happen, and anything can be interesting if written well.

But with Frieza, the fact that he undergoes a shred of development over the course of the Tournament of Power proved to be enough, for me anyway. He learns to at least tolerate Goku's existence and develop a sense of comraderie (Frieza x Android 17 ftw), and he ultimately helps save the multiverse. He doesn't need to become BFFs with the Saiyans, or Bulma, or anyone. He has no reason to. The best Frieza can do right now is, pun intended, chill out and stay as far away from them as possible.

Vegeta was a bad guy, but it took a looooong time for him to reach a point where he could be considered close to morally good. Frieza would realistically need even longer to believably get to that stage -- probably decades. Let's face it, Frieza is fucking evil -- a racist, genocidal, profiteering, unrepentant, narcissistic piece of shit -- and will probably always be. What I would like to see is more stories like the Universe Survival arc where he is somehow coerced into doing good things without being good himself -- I love "moral sociopathy" themes in stories that discuss whether a person's good actions can make up for their lack of positive traits.

[ABED]

Bulma (to a lesser degree)
Oolong
Yamcha
Pilaf Gang
Krillin (to a lesser degree)
Giran
Tien
Chiaotzu
Piccolo Jr.
Vegeta
Android 18
Android 17
Buu
Broly (to a lesser degree)

The only true villain on this list is Vegeta. Piccolo was a villain in reputation only, as he never did anything truly bad. Tien was on his way to becoming a villain, but Roshi changed him before it could happen. Everyone else here were either antagonists such as Yamcha and Krillin, Neutral such as the androids, or taken advantage of such as Broly and Buu.

Even assuming everyone got off the island in time, Piccolo the son attempted to murder everyone.

[goku the krump dancer]

Who said anything about being invited? Just have him show up to be a rude bitch, get caught up in a mountain of kids and then whipped into shape by Blooma when he threatens to do something to the kids. Hilarious.

Don’t we already have Beerus for that?

[JulieYBM]

Who said anything about being invited? Just have him show up to be a rude bitch, get caught up in a mountain of kids and then whipped into shape by Blooma when he threatens to do something to the kids. Hilarious.

Don’t we already have Beerus for that?

Beers has been a loner in his other appearances. Freeza would always try to make a party about himself.

[goku the krump dancer]

Who said anything about being invited? Just have him show up to be a rude bitch, get caught up in a mountain of kids and then whipped into shape by Blooma when he threatens to do something to the kids. Hilarious.

Don’t we already have Beerus for that?

Beers has been a loner in his other appearances. Freeza would always try to make a party about himself.

I still dont quite follow, everywhere Beerus goes, he's the center of attention. Freeza's more humble these days, still a piece of shit but a slightly less funky one. Going by the end of the T.O.P he'd rather be alone than the center of attention if the attention isn't fear but that kinda goes for Beerus as well.