The Saiya-jin warrior Radditz

[Godo]

Hi guys!

One thing I have noticed on several Dragonball boards is that Radditz has only a few fans and not much respect as a villain.
He is mostly treated as a miniboss, y'know, the kind that shows up in video games for practice until the real boss arrives. Of course the real boss is Nappa and Vegeta in this case.

But I want us to give the man some time in the spotlight once again, as the first pure Saiya-jin warrior that we got to know, and as a man who, even though he had a power of only 1,200, managed to survive the harsh climate of the Dragonball universe.
Well, at least until he got defeated by a Namek, his brother and his nephew.

Let's dissect Radditz as a character a little bit.

His appearance was intimidating. He was tall, muscular and had some wild, long hair (which itself later seemed to give rise to the SSJ3 hair). He wore the first Saiya-jin armor that we saw, and was even harder to defeat than Piccolo Damaio.
He held his heritage close to his heart, and never flinched when it came to his mission, and he did whatever it took to lure Goku to his side. Well, until he refused.

He didn't hesitate to harm his little brother, and enjoyed the fight all the way through, even though he had some problems during it. His tail was his pride, and he wouldn't lose it whatever happened.

But as a villain he was sly, used the ask first, then shoot tactic. He made some miscalculations regarding Goku and Piccolo's power, sure, but even Freeza would do that later.

I wonder what would have happened if he didn't get killed. Even Vegeta turned good after a while. Although there was nothing in the plot that would lead to him fighting along Goku and the others, I kinda wished he would join them, get a bit stronger, and help Earth to defend itself from Vegeta and Nappa.
Maybe it was some old quarrel with the duo who would lead him into joining the heroes, who knows?

He was a short-lived character, but I can't let go of the fact that he was a character that wasn't that explored, and that he had some potential.

I think that all these reasons that I have written about are what makes me a Radditz fanboy.

Now, I wonder if you are Radditz fanboys. If not, what do you think about him as a character?

Let's take our time in this thread and discuss and reflect over this man that goes by the name of Radditz.


You handsome, handsome man.

[caejones]

Here's something I posted in a thread from ... at least two years back...


Considering that Raditz bears family connections to Goku, it's pretty strange that he just dies and disappears within hours of his arrival--less than six episodes in the anime, a few pages in the manga (the one DBZ manga I actually own is the Raditz fight... well, most of it... I forget if the whole thing is in that one book), and if we try to make sense of the time that passes in the story... it is well under a day between Raditz's arrival on Earth and his death.

So, what depth do we get with Raditz? It's brutally clear how different he is from Goku--all about the killing, the destruction, even willing to take out his brother and young nephew to prove how ruthless he is. But that's not all, is it? Raditz seems to care about the fact that he and "Kakarot" are of saiyan origin; he seems intent on convincing his brother that because they are both saiyans, they must follow the same path. Goku, however, doesn't care at all about his race or his heritage--he is his own person, and he isn't about to kill innocents just because some rich alien asked him to.
Then there are the similarities--but these similarities accent a few differences. For example, Raditz and Goku both have ridiculously big hair--but Raditz's is bigger and flows down his back. In early DB (first appearances) Goku spent a lot of time with minimal clothing; Raditz doesn't seem to wear anything but boots, underwear and chest armor... but Goku never went around in underwear and armor--it was all or nothing (unless weighted clothing comes into the picture), and he certainly didn't wear anything to protect himself in battle; and with Raditz, his exposed legs and arms accent his muscle tone and added to his status as a strong, barbaric killer. Naked Goku accented Goku's innocence and made for cutesy humor--quite the contrast! Goku's hair makes him look goofy--Raditz's hair makes him look like a warrior. Goku eats fiercely because he's a bottomless pit of energy... and it's always a mildly disturbing, though typically comical scene when we see him attack a meal. When we see Raditz eat, it's very cold and further accents the barbaric aspect--when Goku is out in the woods catching his own food, he makes it into a game. . . not so with Raditz.
What else does Raditz do? What purpose does he serve? He introduces Goku's heritage, introduces a race of enemies and sets up a plotline that will lead to a great many things--Nappa, Vegeta, even Freeza are all initiated by Raditz... and each of these is pivotal to the story as it unfolds. He also serves to provide a situation in which Gohan can show his hidden powers, and for Goku to be killed and thus receive the training necessary to save the day when it next needs saving...
But beyond plot mechanics, Raditz serves to show us many things. Goku was always different from his enemies in the past, but never had their relationship with him gone deeper than Tsuru Sen'nin's vengeful desires upon hearing of Goku's defeat of TaoPaipai, or Piccolo Daimao reincarnating himself to continue his fight with Goku... who only fought him because he was killing people. But with Raditz, it's all about Goku--Raditz quite literally comes to the door and tries to drag Goku into a life that is completely opposite of what he has become. We know that Goku isn't going to join him without question--but we are still shown many things along the way. We see that Piccolo can change; we see the possibility of rivals joining forces to face a common threat; we see that regardless of what Raditz may say about his family connection to Goku or their race, he is still just another threat, and he starts the trend of saiya(ji)n pride leading to defeat--though not so extreme as in later cases, Raditz completely underestimates Gohan and the power of Goku and Piccolo as a team. He is also surprised that Goku would sacrifice his life just to defeat one threat, whereas Raditz is willing to sacrifice his dignity to doop a good guy like Goku into releasing him from the jaws of death. Essentially, Raditz shows us that it doesn't matter who you're related to, what race you come from, or even how superior you are to the best--you'll still wind up meeting a dishonorable end if you walk the path of evil.
The fact that Raditz dies and disappears so quickly, even though he is a blood relation of the main character accents his main theme even further. So, he's Goku's brother. But that doesn't mean anything to Goku--he's still just an evil brute trying to spread destruction and force others to become someone they aren't because of something over which they have no power. And we know what Goku does to wanna-be serial killers... so Raditz's disappearance after his defeat follows the same theme as the entire Saiya(ji)n race: it doesn't matter who you're related to, what race you are, or what class you're from... you're still an individual, and your choices will shape your destiny.

... That said, more Raditz would have been awesome.

[Kid Buu]

I would have like to see some stuff on Raditz in the Bardock TV special. Missed opportunity.

[Rory]

I would have like to see some stuff on Raditz in the Bardock TV special. Missed opportunity.

Kid Raditz? Yeah, I'd have been totally up for that. Shame really.

[Godo]

When I first watched the Bardock Special I was a little let down on the lack of Radditz, really. I mean, we see Vegeta and Nappa (if I recall correct), but no Radditz. I know that we see Vegeta and Nappa outside of planet Vegeta, but they could just have added a glimpse of Radditz whereabouts and what the hell he was doing. I mean, a Saiya-jin kid all alone conquering a planet. Must have been a hell of a sight.

Also, caejones, awesome post there. Just my thoughts exactly.

[caejones]

When I first watched the Bardock Special I was a little let down on the lack of Radditz, really. I mean, we see Vegeta and Nappa (if I recall correct), but no Radditz. I know that we see Vegeta and Nappa outside of planet Vegeta, but they could just have added a glimpse of Radditz whereabouts and what the hell he was doing. I mean, a Saiya-jin kid all alone conquering a planet. Must have been a hell of a sight.

Yeah... Raditz in the Bardock special would have been awesome~! I'm not entirely sure how they'd work such a scene into things... but they worked in Vegeta, so I guess it'd be easy enough.

Also, caejones, awesome post there. Just my thoughts exactly.

Thanks~!

[Piccolo Daimaoh]

Yeah, I would have also like Raditz to be fleshed out a bit more. I mean, he is Goku's brother.

[Sprite Satan]

Raditz is a tool. (DISCLAIMER: I like Raditz, please don't hate me)

I like him and all, but he's just a big, brawny idiot. He runs around doing the usual Saiyan macho bullshit "Blarg join us! No? Well you're too weak anyway LOLOL" then he goes eat a bear or something. Keeps Gohan alive, because he's so nice I guess, even though he knows Goku won't join, ignores his scouter (even though one of the battle powers correspond EXACTLY to his brother Saiyan?) and then gets his knickers in a twist over everything, "Argh! Energy beams! Holy shit! What's going on, you guys?!" What a dolt. His "sly tactics" are him pissing his tighty blackies convincingly enough to fool a brain damaged, sheltered moron. What a strategist!

All he was good for was getting Piccolo to exposit about the Dragon Balls on an intergalactic transmitter and even that was just a coincidence. Then Vegeta shoots down the idea of restoring him to life four seconds later. Haha, sucks to be you, Radish.

Bardock never mentions him, and I don't blame him for that. If he were my kid, I'd pretend he never existed either. The last Goku speaks of him is when Enma-sama relays the tale of how Raditz got pwned for being a cry baby in the afterlife. He's as vapid as any one-dimensional enemy with his whole "Come on, hit me, I'm so awesome!/ARGH! You dare to hit me! You bastard!" flip-flopping insanity most of the villains have.

Sure, there's some half-hearted symbolism in there. He's what Goku would be if Goku grew half a foot, was evil, nearly a decade older, hit puberty and powerful enough to hold his own in a galactic empire of space warriors at the time. But, come on, he's not that deep. We all figured out that Goku would be an asshole if he never came to Earth and, no, Bulma, he does NOT look just like his brother.

That said, I like him. He does his job well. Maybe it was a waste to have Goku's Evil Space Brother be, essentially, a herald for a bigger evil but I wouldn't want see some cheesy ass redemption face turn story for him too. Piccolo and Vegeta is enough, thanks. Raditz is cool, and I respect any man that can wipe his ass with his hair but I don't think he's greatly underrated or anything.

[Daimo-Rukiri]

When I first watched the Bardock Special I was a little let down on the lack of Radditz, really. I mean, we see Vegeta and Nappa (if I recall correct), but no Radditz. I know that we see Vegeta and Nappa outside of planet Vegeta, but they could just have added a glimpse of Radditz whereabouts and what the hell he was doing. I mean, a Saiya-jin kid all alone conquering a planet. Must have been a hell of a sight.

Also, caejones, awesome post there. Just my thoughts exactly.

We saw his hands putting Son Goku in his space pod.. But I'd also would have liked to see more of Raditz in the special, more about his past and his abilities. All we know is that he's Goku's brother and has a superior rank(which ends quickly in months after death)

Even in my fan game I'm treating him more as a boss than a mini boss as it's a part of the story and the first major fight in DBZ. I may make some filler about Goku meeting Raditz in Hell, haven't worked out the details yet.

[Gotham22]

I would have loved to see Radditz in the episode "Warriors of the Dead" (even though it's filler)
or watching the SSJ3 Goku/Kid Buu fight.

[Ultimate_DB_Fan]

I agree with some people that Raditz's absence in the Bardock special was a missed opportunity. It would've been neat to see his insight into things.

[yunzabit]

I would like to see a special on Raditz, Nappa, and Vegeta conquering planets for Freeza. It would be cool to see Raditz portrayed as a protagonist like Toma in the Bardock special. During the Namek arc there were moments of flashback filler with Vegeta, Nappa, and Raditz butting heads with Freeza after conquering a planet and Vegeta mocking the Ginyu Force's new recruit, Guldo, so the concept is there.

[Godo]

Bardock never mentions him, and I don't blame him for that. If he were my kid, I'd pretend he never existed either.

To be fair, Bardock didn't seem to care at all about his children. He was a gazillion times stronger than both two after all.
He was interested in Goku (probably because of the let-down of Radditz's low battle power), but that faded as quick as the number 2 appeared on his scouter.
For a Saiya-jin warrior though, Radditz was normal in strength. Although not strong enough to be an elite, he was a reliable power.

The last Goku speaks of him is when Enma-sama relays the tale of how Raditz got pwned for being a cry baby in the afterlife. He's as vapid as any one-dimensional enemy with his whole "Come on, hit me, I'm so awesome!/ARGH! You dare to hit me! You bastard!" flip-flopping insanity most of the villains have.

Yeah, that's true. I would say that his personality as a villain would be in the same line as fellows such as Dodoria and Zarbon, although slightly less moronious.

We all figured out that Goku would be an asshole if he never came to Earth and, no, Bulma, he does NOT look just like his brother.

Well, we have to consider that Radditz was the first one we saw, except for Goku, with:
1) A tail
2) Spiky, black, floating hair

I guess that was enough to make him similar to Goku.
But then, Bulma thought that Zarbon was sexy...I think that says all.

About the Bardock special, an idea about how they could add in Radditz for a tiny moment would be just after the explosion, where we see him getting a radio transmission on his scouter that announces the news, and he coldly replies "understood", and continues with the slaughter, or continues feasting on an alien leg.

[Rocketman]

I wouldn't consider myself a Raditz fan, but the character is somewhat interesting. I can't help but wonder how it'd go if Raditz was used as the Enemy Mine/Antihero/Lancer instead of Vegeta.

[Godo]

Radditz would probably end up as a better ally than Vegeta. I could see a scenario similar to the one that happened at Namek, with Vegeta, Gohan and Kuririn teaming up.
And I bet that Radditz would have made Gohan stronger than Piccolo did. He would make Gohan into a real Saiya-jin warrior, rather than a small kid that pisses his pants every now and then.
And I bet that Radditz would become much stronger at Earth, using new kinds of training.
Or even more awesome, both Goku and Radditz died, and then trained at Kaio's, with Radditz taking care of Nappa, and Goku of Vegeta.

[Ultimate_DB_Fan]

I can't help but wonder how it'd go if Raditz was used as the Enemy Mine/Antihero/Lancer instead of Vegeta.

Now THAT would be an interesting, alternate take on things. I'm sure there are fanfics out there where the roles of Raditz and Vegeta were reversed, where Raditz is the one who's always proclaiming himself to be the strongest, all while being Goku's brother in the process.
Now that I think about it, does anyone think the Goku/Vegeta battle of the Saiyan Saga would've been even more dramatic if it were Raditz fighting Goku instead?

[Godo]

Now that I think about it, does anyone think the Goku/Vegeta battle of the Saiyan Saga would've been even more dramatic if it were Raditz fighting Goku instead?

Well, yeah. It's more dramatic if Goku fought his brother than if he fought some stranger Saiya-jin.
It could have been built up as Vegeta being the prince of his people, and he was strong too.
But Nappa and Radditz, by being weak, were exposed to many, many zenkais, putting them up a lot in powerlevel.
It's the same concept as with Bardock.

So powerlevel-wise, it could be like:

Average Saiya-jin warrior: 500
Prince Vegeta: 1,200/1,500
Nappa: 4,000
Radditz: 18,000

Of course, they needed Goku since his powerlevel of 416 wasn't that bad.
And it would put all these skyrocketings in powerlevels slower.

[omegacwa]

Wow, I'm posting for the first time in a while....

Anyway, in my full length Dragonball movie script that I posted on here a long while ago, I explored the possibility of Goku and Vegeta being half brothers. Same mother, different fathers. To sum it up, it is the reason for Vegeta's hatred, because he saw his mother as a betrayer to the royalty of the Saiya-jin, when she left King Vegeta to be with a lesser warrior in Bardock. I can't actually remember everything I wrote at the moment but that's kind of the jist of it.

[Li'l Lemmy]

I wouldn't consider myself a Raditz fan, but the character is somewhat interesting. I can't help but wonder how it'd go if Raditz was used as the Enemy Mine/Antihero/Lancer instead of Vegeta.

This. Raiditz is an exceptional waste because of this right here.

It should have been Raditz who became Goku's major rival. While I wouldn't sacrifice Vegeta entirely, I think that this particular character arc would have been better suited in Goku's own brother.


~Da Lemmy

[rereboy]

I for one wouldn`t like if Raditz was to take up Vegeta`s role or vice-versa.

The reason why the Goku/Vegeta fight is so powerful is because Goku (a low level warrior which is not related to the nobility) is fighting and matching Vegeta (an elite level warrior, the heir to the Sayan throne, a Prince).

The fact that Goku can stand up to him is amazing. A true testement to just how much Goku worked to reach that level of power.

If Goku was related to Vegeta, Goku would have blood ties to the nobility, and so the fact that he can stand up to Vegeta wouldn`t be as impressive.

If Raditz was the one in Vegeta`s place, Goku wouldn`t be fighting a member of the nobility, and so it also wouldn`t be as impressive.

The way it is originally planned out in the story, it shows us that Goku is able to overcome the very limits of his family and bloodline and compete with the very best of the Sayans, being able to even hurt him and eventually surpass him.

If Raditz was the one to take up Vegeta`s place, this wouldn`t work as well.

I would like to see a little more Raditz too, but Raditz serves his purpose well just the way he is in the story.