Raditz a good guy ?

[shonenhikada]

Do you think Goku could have reformed his brother into a good guy, without having to kill him, or was Raditz far gone, having spend all his life as a blood thirsty mercy and being tainted by Freeza ? Also is it me or is family not that important to Goku. After he finished trained with King Kai their were many people stronger than Raditz on the Earth. Why not ask then to wish back all those killed by the Namekian Piccolo, so Raditz can come back to life, Goku knocks raditz, and then heads of to the battle Vegeta, and once the fight is over with Vegeta, they end up having a family spat that results in Raditz become a good guy or maybe an anti-hero like Vegeta.

[roidrage]

Well, it worked with Vegeta (though Gaffer Tape would dispute that), and he wasn't even related to Goku or looked down on by the other Saiyans. This is why I liked his what-if scenario in BT2.

That said, Goku doesn't really care enough about the guy to waste any time trying to redeem him (why would he?), and no, family isn't particularly important to him. There are times when he treats Gohan more like a sparring partner than a son, as someone who he wants to fight one day, like Uub.

[Super Saiyan Turlast x4]

I think Raditz was a lost cause, like Nappa. Vegeta was at one point, too, but the changes he faced were drastic. Most which were of his own doing, along with other circumstances.

[Makaioshin]

Raditz was given his chance when Goku let go of his tail. Family is probably important to Goku to a degree but Raditz isn't his family. They are related but in the time they knew each other Raditz threatened people Goku cares about. I don't think Raditz could have been reformed as Vegeta. Raditz was deceitful in his fight with Goku while Vegeta at least just relied on his own power.

[Nex Carnifex]

I think the only way to turn him good would be if someone hit him across the head really hard. I think the reason Vegeta could be turned was because of his willpower and mental resistance to Frieza's tyranny, allowing him to find a common enemy with good guys. Raditz wasn't as strong or prideful and probably would never dare to double cross his leader, so he'd probably continue being an ass.

[Son_Gohan]

I honestly doubt it, when Vegeta keeps a cool head I would say he comes off at least more reasonable and not as dogmatic as Raditz seemed to be.

Raditz appeared to me as more infatuated with the Saiyan warrior mentality, and the barbarity associated with it, while Vegeta was more apathetic towards his heritage and was looking out more towards his own goals, in my opinion. I think the differences in their class is what separates them the most in that regard, since Vegeta was already of the highest-ranked in his race, while Raditz was at the bottom and always had a lot more to prove as a warrior.

[soulnova]

The main reason they had to kill him it was because he was an immediate big threat to everyone around him. There was no way for them to keep him in check, which is why I think Vegeta was also allowed to stay on Earth. Piccolo had increased his power level and could have at least stand his ground if necessary.

I believe that if Goku had been stronger, I'm positive that he would have tried much harder not to kill him and "make him behave" instead.

Out of habit, Raditz would have eventually turned into a gray character... because to tell you the truth, I always thought Vegeta was the one to be more far gone with the Saiyan mentality of all three. Even if it was filler, Nappa was upset about the rumors of Frieza destroying Planet Vegeta, and Vegeta simply said "Meh". Nappa actually suggested to revive Raditz with the Dragonballs and Vegeta went "LOL No". Nappa expected Vegeta to take him away when the battle was over and he had been crippled, and Vegeta blasted him to oblivion.

Vegeta didn't even asked for mercy when crawling back to his pod, he wouldn't apologize for anything. Raditz did.

[Bussani]

Do you think Goku could have reformed his brother into a good guy, without having to kill him, or was Raditz far gone, having spend all his life as a blood thirsty mercy and being tainted by Freeza ?

Saiyans were just as bad before they started working for Freeza, apparently. I suppose that's a bit besides the point, but...then again, maybe it isn't? I think Raditz was a pretty good example of a barbaric, underhanded Saiyan, and I can't imagine him becoming a good guy anymore than I can imagine Taopaipai reforming. That said, just because I find it hard to imagine doesn't mean I don't think it makes a cool what-if!

[Toadster]

If Piccolo and especially Vegeta could, Raditz certainly could. The right circumstances have to come together, however.

[Travis Touchdown]

I think he definitely could have been reformed. I didn't see Raditz as that bad of a bad guy, just true to his saiyan nature.

Saiyans are brutal by nature, but they do show a sense of brotherhood. Bardock's crew were concerned when he was injured, but then when they heard he'd be all right, they made fun of him in the healing tank. From there, Bardock showed a lot of rage at the loss of his crew and fought to avenge them.

Raditz, from my opinion, PLEADED with Goku to join him. He didn't even hurt Gohan when he kidnapped him. When Goku seemingly showed he wasn't going to join him, then Raditz agreed to fight him and even told him he'd be forced to kill him if Goku still refused.

Nappa's first thought with the Dragon Balls was to revive Raditz until Vegeta shot that idea down. When Goku broke his back, Nappa reached out to Vegeta for help and honestly thought Vegeta was about to help him.

Vegeta, on the other hand, doesn't exhibit any of these factors. People use Vegeta as an example of saiyan personality and ruthlessness, but I think Vegeta is an asshole even by saiyan standards. And if Vegeta, of all people, can be reformed, then I think not only could Raditz have certainly joined the good guys, but Nappa too.

[Piccolo Daimao]

Vegeta, a bastard even by Saiyan standards, was reformed due to the incredibly lucky and coincidental amount of circumstances that wound up with him staying on Earth with no other motivation than to become a Super Saiyan and defeat Gokuu, since Freeza was now dead. Then Blooma happened to take a liking to his body, seduced him, gave birth to his sprog, Gokuu died, he sulked even more, he became comfortable living in Capsule Corp. HQ without any worries, formed a bond with Trunks and - through him - Blooma until he finally just gave up on his petty hostility towards Gokuu and accepted that Gokuu was simply more gifted than him and would remain the best of the two, no matter what he did.

If all that happened to Raditz or even Nappa, both of whom representing the average Saiyan, they'd probably be reformed too, if not sooner because they wouldn't have such a big stick up their ass over Freeza betraying them (Vegeta probably took it more personally because Freeza killed his father while keeping him alive just to use him for power, and he wasn't happy being Freeza's bitch right from the start - see the Bardock special - while most Saiyans seemed pretty down with Freeza's regime as long as they got to fight) and "Kakarotto" surpassing them. Well, for the latter, maybe Nappa, since he was an elite.

[Monkey D Goku]

Yes as others have said but it all comes down to circumstances that Raditz never had.

[Thanos]

I think Raditz was dead to Goku after he kidnapped Gohan. I don't think Raditz ever had a chance of being good... he exhibited some sociopathic tendencies (like using the concept of family and forgiveness to trick Goku).

I think Vegeta, on the other hand, was benevolent at birth. Of course, you have Saiyajin programming, in addition to being treated harshly and going through some tough times since he was a small child. Then, his entire planet and race is wiped out--followed by the troubles of his rivalry with Goku. All of these, I think, made him extremely bitter and angry. Then, through all the experiences of forgiveness and opportunities, some of his humanity (or "saiyajinity", if you will) began to surface.

In some ways he's a more benevolent man than Goku. Between the two of them, Goku sustained brain-damage and wasn't subjected to the harsh life of a Saiyajin, yet by the end of Z, their level of benevolence is arguable not far off from one another... and I honestly think the thing with Bulma was a one night stand. Trunks being born for sure softened his heart, especially after witnessing his son's future-self being killed by Cell, which most likely taught him not to take it for granted.

...and if you want to bring GT into this (which I wouldn't, personally), he considers Earth his home and its sworn defender.

[Toadster]

Raditz isn't pure evil... He may have been a dirty trickster, but if he didn't trick Goku, he would have absolutely died. Saiyans don't really care about family at all, and he knew Goku was soft, so of course he used whatever words he could to get out of that situation. That doesn't make him psychotic and unable to be redeemed. Yet somehow Vegeta wasn't psychotic, despite not giving a single shit about Raditz and killing his injured partner after life-long service and loyalty? I'm sorry Thanos, I'm just not seeing it.

[Rocketman]

Raditz tried really goddamn hard to 'save' his brother. He tries to get Goku to join him at least three times on Roshi's island, then even when Goku arrives with Piccolo to fight him, Raditz still asks twice before he accepts that there's no way it's going to happen.

Saiyans do have a strong sense of brotherhood (except the Prince of Dickbags and he got turned around), I don't think it's fair to say Raditz was completely irredeemable.

That said, it's near impossible to create a situation where he gets the chance unless you rewrite a bunch. There's no reason for him to keep his promise to leave Earth, nobody there is strong enough to force him to retreat like they did with Vegeta... I guess you could have Piccolo's first Light of Death happen before the tailgrab and have Raditz get injured by it and therefore willing to leave? That removes the King Kai training, though. Piccolo wouldn't spare a retreating Raditz either.

[InfernalVegito]

Since Radditz was loyal to Vegeta and listened to him I think he could as well become a good guy just like Vegeta. If he wasn't defeated by Son Goku and Piccolo and flew back, he could've returned with Vegeta (if he didn't kill him because he failed like Nappa) and live through the story as an ally. I always thought how different and cool the story could have been if Radditz was saved and reformed.

[Fionordequester]

I have to concur with most of the other posters here in regards to Vegeta being a jerk even by Saiyan standards. If even he could be redeemed, then Raditz and Nappa could have too.

[Fionordequester]

I have to concur with most of the other posters here in regards to Vegeta being a jerk even by Saiyan standards. If even he could be redeemed, then Raditz and Nappa could have too, unless there's something we don't know about Nappa and Raditz that would have painted them as even worse than Vegeta.

[Fox666]

Raditz is much worse than Vegeta. Sure Vegeta was evil, but he spared the lifes of Kuririn or Gohan. Raditz came looking for Goku because he wanted the assistance of another warrior, he asked for the head of a hundred humans and was willing to kill Goku in the end. Nappa is the kindiest to the three. He tought of Vegeta as a true friend and the death of the Saibaimen bothered him.

[DBZAOTA482]

Raditz is much worse than Vegeta. Sure Vegeta was evil, but he spared the lifes of Kuririn or Gohan. Raditz came looking for Goku because he wanted the assistance of another warrior, he asked for the head of a hundred humans and was willing to kill Goku in the end. Nappa is the kindiest to the three. He tought of Vegeta as a true friend and the death of the Saibaimen bothered him.

Didn't he nearly get crippled and was incapable of fighting?