"Changeling" Fan Term Origin?

[Piccolo Daimao]

In a number of DBZ sites, I keep on seeing Freeza's race being named as "Changeling". I don't think the name of Freeza's race has ever been mentioned. Where does this come from?

[VegettoEX]

It's a purely-fan-given name that we are unable to track back to a single source with any real certainty.

I tried to a little while ago, but we didn't come up with much. I see it on alt.fan.dragonball as far back as 1999, though, which puts it at the same year that Planet Namek opened their site.

[Piccolo Daimao]

Oh, ok.

[IncompetentOverlord]

From what I've heard, It comes from the line in the viz tankoubon where Zarbon says that both he and Freeza are "Transforming-type aliens" or something tho that effect. However, if this is where it comes from, then Zarbon and the Cold family are from the same race, which I find highly unlikely.

[VegettoEX]

From what I've heard, It comes from the line in the viz tankoubon where Zarbon says that both he and Freeza are "Transforming-type aliens" or something tho that effect. However, if this is where it comes from, then Zarbon and the Cold family are from the same race, which I find highly unlikely.

Unlikely. The monthly comics never made it that far, so any Viz-translated conversations with Zarbon and Freeza (in graphic-novel-only form) would be preceded by these fan terms by two or three years based on at least that one newsgroup "Changeling" usage.

[Herms]

From what I've heard, It comes from the line in the viz tankoubon where Zarbon says that both he and Freeza are "Transforming-type aliens" or something tho that effect.

"Transforming-type alien" is what's said in the original; in Viz Zarbon says that he and Freeza can both transform (which means the same basic thing of course, but the original line makes it sound more like some sort of technical classifcation). I've wondered if "Changeling" is an extreme corruption of this line that would have come about in the days of fansubs and their (mis)translations, like from "Transforming-type Alien" to "Changing-type Alien" to "Changeling". At any rate, Changelings are mythological creatures, so perhaps this pre-existing term had a hand in the creation of the fan term.

[MajinVejitaXV]

And now I have the idea of René Auberjonois playing Freeza in my head...

-Corey

[caejones]

From what I've heard, It comes from the line in the viz tankoubon where Zarbon says that both he and Freeza are "Transforming-type aliens" or something tho that effect.

"Transforming-type alien" is what's said in the original; in Viz Zarbon says that he and Freeza can both transform (which means the same basic thing of course, but the original line makes it sound more like some sort of technical classifcation). I've wondered if "Changeling" is an extreme corruption of this line that would have come about in the days of fansubs and their (mis)translations, like from "Transforming-type Alien" to "Changing-type Alien" to "Changeling". At any rate, Changelings are mythological creatures, so perhaps this pre-existing term had a hand in the creation of the fan term.

Purely speculating, but might an early fansubber have simply translated "transforming-type" to "changeling" for simplicity's sake, and it just got taken seriously from there?
... Then again, if there were actual fansubs that used "changeling" that could be dated, that'd be evidence, wouldn't it? Alas...

[Timo]

Haha, even I heard of this term. I think I got it from the dragonballz.de forums.

[Kaboom]

And now I have the idea of René Auberjonois playing Freeza in my head...

That... would be kinda awesome, I think.

[Kingdom Heartless]

Yeah, I remember seeing it in magazines dating back to early in the decade.