Gohan's love of being a hero

[Toonami97]

While I understand that Gohan doesn't exactly have the love of fighting Goku has, one can't deny that he mostly lived that life because he loved the thrill of adventure and being a hero. Who agrees?

[NitroEX]

It's only natural when you think about it. Goku was a hero to everyone else and he was just trying to be like his role model.

[Kaboom]

Perhaps playing superhero is kind of Gohan's preferred way of dealing with that innate Saiyan urge to fight?

[DBZAOTA482]

[Mystic Gohan]

Gohan is a beast hero as a kid. 9 year old and already kicking ass and outmatching his father!

[Piccolo Daimao]

While he may not have the self-confidence and willpower beyond his years like Gokuu (who, with only one mobile limb, managed to blast a hole through Piccolo Daimaou), he actually seems to care more about protecting the people of Earth and is annoyed at the crime in Satan City, which is why he decided to fight off the criminals and don a superhero costume to protect his identity.

I don't think "playing superhero" is his preferred way of dealing with that innate Saiyan urge to fight, because I don't think he even has any urge to fight anyway. It's made a point of throughout the series that he doesn't like fighting, from when he was a young boy forced to grow up the hard way in the mountains to when he refused to even fight back against Cell pre-SS2 and even tried to reason with him. We saw, even when he was a little child in the Freeza arc, that he disliked seeing people, even strangers he had no connection to, getting hurt, which is why he lost his shit and stepped in when Freeza and his gang killed the Namekians and were about to kill Dende. He didn't have any desire to become a superhero until he realized that people might find out who he is, which went against what Bulma told him about blending in with the Earthlings if he wanted a normal life.

I think him kind of enjoying that part of being a superhero (with the poses and the name) was just part of his goofy and nerdy personality. Or perhaps it was influence from the Ginyuu Force or, like Michsi's fan-comic "Who wants to be a superhero?", Piccolo: wanting to emulate his role model. Could've been Gokuu too, who he likely saw as a hero.

[Saiga]

While he may not have the self-confidence and willpower beyond his years like Gokuu (who, with only one mobile limb, managed to blast a hole through Piccolo Daimaou), he actually seems to care more about protecting the people of Earth and is annoyed at the crime in Satan City, which is why he decided to fight off the criminals and don a superhero costume to protect his identity.

I don't think "playing superhero" is his preferred way of dealing with that innate Saiyan urge to fight, because I don't think he even has any urge to fight anyway. It's made a point of throughout the series that he doesn't like fighting, from when he was a young boy forced to grow up the hard way in the mountains to when he refused to even fight back against Cell pre-SS2 and even tried to reason with him. We saw, even when he was a little child in the Freeza arc, that he disliked seeing people, even strangers he had no connection to, getting hurt, which is why he lost his shit and stepped in when Freeza and his gang killed the Namekians and were about to kill Dende. He didn't have any desire to become a superhero until he realized that people might find out who he is, which went against what Bulma told him about blending in with the Earthlings if he wanted a normal life.

I think him kind of enjoying that part of being a superhero (with the poses and the name) was just part of his goofy and nerdy personality. Or perhaps it was influence from the Ginyuu Force or, like Michsi's fan-comic "Who wants to be a superhero?", Piccolo: wanting to emulate his role model. Could've been Gokuu too, who he likely saw as a hero.

Personally I like Piccolo's theory in Michsi's comic that Gohan was trying to emulate Vegeta of all people, because it's the last thing you'd expect.

But yeah, I agree that he just cared about protecting people more than "playing superhero".

[FindKenshi]

I always thought that Gohan's motivating factor was how kind and empathetic he is. He simply does not like seeing bad things happen to people. And he knows with his abilities, that he can "lend a hand" and just help people out. He saves lives and makes the world safer by taking on those criminals. As for the whole "super hero" thing, that is just his sense of achievement and pride over what he's doing. It makes him feel good and he's proud and excited, and he wants to enhance that by basically making a cool 'game' out of it, and being a Super Hero.

We see his attitude he just thinks it's really cool, he shows off and acts goofy, transforming for himself, and just role playing while he does it. It's basically just a gimmick.

[Super Vegetto]

Gohan from begining of dbz was the one that sufferd the most. He never liked to see someone getting hurt and that is the true spirit of hero.
Goku not killing Majin buu is like he knowed he can kill him but he didnt. Its more like chalange thing where they say Dabura is no problem and why to fight him ? Other way its yust waist of time. Against Cell same thing happend where he underestimate Cell and whatching his son getting tortured with smile on face...
But maybe thats yust the way story goes since Gohan in ssj2 in showed as cold killer ,and no one blames him for not killing Cell cuz last thing would be that he selfdestruct. I mean the story must go on, so they made Goku died cuz AT planed to finish the saga there and Gohan to step in Gokus place,,, The thing where Gohan fight Super buu is yust for storyline since fans and maybe AT himself whanted Goku to kill Buu..So its more on Gohan to love being the hero and Goku is more for chalange, while he also is for protecting the earth but not so much like Gohan..

[Goten Forever]

Gohan's never loved killing enemies if that's what you mean. He just wants other people to be safe so he will protect when necessary. He found in Satan City that normal civilians needed quite a bit of protection from large crimes, so he went to Bulma to find a way to deal with these without jeopardizing his quiet home and school life.

[Michsi]

I think the superhero part fits Gohan's character well. The Saiyaman gig might silly and nerdy, but he had been running around "saving the day" well before that as the "golden warrior". The outfit only came later and with that , the poses.

The way I see it the difference between Gohan and Goku (& co.) when it comes to fighting is that for his father fighting is pretty much his calling, his purpose in life, while Gohan treats it more like a mission. It's his responsiblity to be there on the front line when he knows his family and friends are also there and he knows he has the power to make a difference.

I do believe that he does enjoy that part of his life to some extend, the challenge, the power , the knowledge of having done something good and only dislikes the pain and suffering .

[SylentEcho]

All Gohan cares about is protecting people and studying. I don't think he ever thought of himself as a hero for even a second.

The whole Saiyaman thing was to protect people too. He just wanted to protect his identity while he was at it and came up with a version (a really cheesy one) of what he thought a super hero was.

[Kingdom Heartless]

Because his Uncle Ben told him that with great power came great responsibility.

[Lord-Gazza]

I think there is an aspect of the Saiyan's love of fighting in Gohan, something which is repressed by his human blood and desire not to see anyone get hurt, but it comes out when he unleashes his anger. Look at the fight with Cell, Gohan could have obliterated Cell as a Super Saiyan 2 before Cell upgraded into his Super Perfect Form but he didn't. He wanted to prolong the fight, to enjoy watching Cell suffer and to completely humiliate him. This ultimately leads to the death of Goku.

This side of Gohan comes out again in the fight against Majin Buu. Gohan, having his true potential unlocked by Old Kaioshin, could have destroyed Super Buu, he is wiping the floor with Buu and is enjoying it. Yet again, his arrogance and wish to prolong Buu's suffering is his downfall. This seems to be the downfall of all Saiyans who give in to these urges. It's the reason that Vegeta didn't take out Imperfect Cell when he had the chance as well.

[Piccolo Daimao]

I think there is an aspect of the Saiyan's love of fighting in Gohan, something which is repressed by his human blood and desire not to see anyone get hurt, but it comes out when he unleashes his anger. Look at the fight with Cell, Gohan could have obliterated Cell as a Super Saiyan 2 before Cell upgraded into his Super Perfect Form but he didn't. He wanted to prolong the fight, to enjoy watching Cell suffer and to completely humiliate him. This ultimately leads to the death of Goku.

This side of Gohan comes out again in the fight against Majin Buu. Gohan, having his true potential unlocked by Old Kaioshin, could have destroyed Super Buu, he is wiping the floor with Buu and is enjoying it. Yet again, his arrogance and wish to prolong Buu's suffering is his downfall. This seems to be the downfall of all Saiyans who give in to these urges. It's the reason that Vegeta didn't take out Imperfect Cell when he had the chance as well.

Gohan himself said that Cell deserved to suffer, which I don't think was anything to do with some dormant Saiyan urge to fight. The guy had set his children on his friends to torture them. Wouldn't you want to beat the living shit out of him and make him feel the pain his loved ones were forced to?

In the manga, the fight between Gohan and Super Boo is relatively short until Boo self-destructs, and once again, he was pissed that Boo had killed all his friends. Yes, you could say that they'd be able to return to life with the DBs, but that doesn't demean the impact of their deaths. Unlike Gohan, Vegeta actually wanted a good fight. Most actual fights, especially those that are hyped up that much, aren't OHKOs.