What if Goku never bumped his head...

[Gokuman1993]

(I know, you all probably heard this before, but this one's different, trust me!)
....but, unlike what some people think, never completed his mission? I mean, I know he would keep his Saiyan instincts, but what if through Grandpa Gohan raising him, would he go through a slow change from evil to good, kinda like Vegeta did during DBZ?

Edit (4/21/12): This post is inspired by my fanfic "Dark Protecter", which you can learn more about here: http://www.kanzenshuu.com/forum/viewtop ... =6&t=18166

[Nikkolas]

Is there really any indication that Saiyans are born evil? I don't think Toriyama really touched on that sort of fatalism except with King Piccolo's offspring who were just extensions of his pure evilness so it makes sense.

But Saiyans are normal, sentient beings and as such, I find it hard to believe they could be evil from birth.

I think with Gohan's good heart and tender care, Goku will grow up to be a good person.

[Hellspawn28]

If he never bumped his head then I doubt Goku would made it very far since he would have never got the right training if he never became a good guy. Not to mention Roshi could have stop Goku in his Oozaru form, and that RR army would have likely taken over the world after Goku was defeated. Radditz would come many years later and wipe out all of the life on Earth.

[Zephyr]

As with most "what if this didn't happen" scenarios in Dragonball, the end result is generally the total annihilation/domination of the universe at the hands of some big bad evildoer.

Goku doesn't hit his head? He stays evil, the main characters don't get as strong because of their lack of Goku's cooperation and vice versa. If Goku lives to adulthood without being ganked by all the good guys, he teams up with Raditz, and Freeza rules the universe. If the good guys successfully defeat Goku, they're pretty much screwed by the time Raditz comes along, and Freeza rules the universe.

[Gokuman1993]

As with most "what if this didn't happen" scenarios in Dragonball, the end result is generally the total annihilation/domination of the universe at the hands of some big bad evildoer.

Goku doesn't hit his head? He stays evil, the main characters don't get as strong because of their lack of Goku's cooperation and vice versa. If Goku lives to adulthood without being ganked by all the good guys, he teams up with Raditz, and Freeza rules the universe. If the good guys successfully defeat Goku, they're pretty much screwed by the time Raditz comes along, and Freeza rules the universe.

Well, techincally, I said "what if Goku never bumped his head and still became a good guy?

[Zephyr]

As with most "what if this didn't happen" scenarios in Dragonball, the end result is generally the total annihilation/domination of the universe at the hands of some big bad evildoer.

Goku doesn't hit his head? He stays evil, the main characters don't get as strong because of their lack of Goku's cooperation and vice versa. If Goku lives to adulthood without being ganked by all the good guys, he teams up with Raditz, and Freeza rules the universe. If the good guys successfully defeat Goku, they're pretty much screwed by the time Raditz comes along, and Freeza rules the universe.

Well, techincally, I said "what if Goku never bumped his head and still became a good guy?

Whoops, my bad, didn't read that thoroughly enough then...haha.

Well if he never bumped his head but still became good, I imagine the process of him becoming good would have had to involve another person showing him inadvertently, that being evil isn't necessary. He'd certainly be a different character, as his naivety is rooted in that brain damage incident.

But I do feel that without the innocent naivety that came with hitting his head, he wouldn't have become a shounen "I can do anything guise" cliche, and thus wouldn't have the drive to bring him to become as powerful as he got in the series. He'd likely not have been as caring so as to allow Piccolo or Vegeta to live.

[Gokuman1993]

As with most "what if this didn't happen" scenarios in Dragonball, the end result is generally the total annihilation/domination of the universe at the hands of some big bad evildoer.

Goku doesn't hit his head? He stays evil, the main characters don't get as strong because of their lack of Goku's cooperation and vice versa. If Goku lives to adulthood without being ganked by all the good guys, he teams up with Raditz, and Freeza rules the universe. If the good guys successfully defeat Goku, they're pretty much screwed by the time Raditz comes along, and Freeza rules the universe.

Well, techincally, I said "what if Goku never bumped his head and still became a good guy?

Whoops, my bad, didn't read that thoroughly enough then...haha.

Well if he never bumped his head but still became good, I imagine the process of him becoming good would have had to involve another person showing him inadvertently, that being evil isn't necessary. He'd certainly be a different character, as his naivety is rooted in that brain damage incident.

But I do feel that without the innocent naivety that came with hitting his head, he wouldn't have become a shounen "I can do anything guise" cliche, and thus wouldn't have the drive to bring him to become as powerful as he got in the series. He'd likely not have been as caring so as to allow Piccolo or Vegeta to live.

So, what you're saying is that Goku would never have the drive to become stronger if he didn't bump his head and became good still?

Also, if he never did bump his head and became good anyway, explain how the entire series would be played out (you dont have to do it, but it would be fun if you did )

[Zephyr]

So, what you're saying is that Goku would never have the drive to become stronger if he didn't bump his head and became good still?

Also, if he never did bump his head and became good anyway, explain how the entire series would be played out (you dont have to do it, but it would be fun if you did )

Well if he didn't become good through the head injury, he wouldn't have developed the free spirited and naive personality that defined the way he trained and got stronger. He would still have a drive to become stronger, being a Saiyan and all, he would just be lacking the stereotypical shounen "you can do anything" drive that I think allowed him to get as strong as he did.

Rest of the series? Going from my logic of him not being able to get as strong, he would be weaker than his canon counterpart at near every point in the series. Also, since he would have had to go through a gradual process of actually becoming good, that would have changed the character interactions quite a bit. For him to become good in the first place, I'd assume he'd need to form some relationships with other characters first (unless we're assuming Grandpa Gohan had managed to make him good by the time BUlma comes along).

But, since I'm assuming he wouldn't have gotten as strong, I'd say Freeza would have won.
If he wound up screwing over the Red Ribbon army, then there would eventually be some Artificial Humans.
However, without any SSj2s, there would be no releasing of Buu.

[Gokuman1993]

So, what you're saying is that Goku would never have the drive to become stronger if he didn't bump his head and became good still?

Also, if he never did bump his head and became good anyway, explain how the entire series would be played out (you dont have to do it, but it would be fun if you did )

Well if he didn't become good through the head injury, he wouldn't have developed the free spirited and naive personality that defined the way he trained and got stronger. He would still have a drive to become stronger, being a Saiyan and all, he would just be lacking the stereotypical shounen "you can do anything" drive that I think allowed him to get as strong as he did.

Rest of the series? Going from my logic of him not being able to get as strong, he would be weaker than his canon counterpart at near every point in the series. Also, since he would have had to go through a gradual process of actually becoming good, that would have changed the character interactions quite a bit. For him to become good in the first place, I'd assume he'd need to form some relationships with other characters first (unless we're assuming Grandpa Gohan had managed to make him good by the time BUlma comes along).

But, since I'm assuming he wouldn't have gotten as strong, I'd say Freeza would have won.
If he wound up screwing over the Red Ribbon army, then there would eventually be some Artificial Humans.
However, without any SSj2s, there would be no releasing of Buu.

I'm dont think lacking the "shonen spirit" would allow Goku to be weaker than normal. If anything, the series could've been the same, except Goku's a lot more ruthless when it comes to his enemies.

[Gokuman1993]

All right, I guess I'll post my answer:
If Goku never hit his head, he'd probably still be evil and want to do his mission. However, he would probably wait it out and train with Gohan first. But, through Gohan's kindness, Goku would end up having a change of heart. Of course, he'd probably be a mini-Vegeta at first, but not as arrogant and cocky.

Off-topic: Please send in some answers, guys! I feel like this post is gonna die soon.

[DarkPrince_92]

I think Goku hitting his head was like a "purification" if anything. I mean he was rowdy and crazy beforehand when he was with Gohan until then, but I imagine a Saiyan baby would be hard to handle anyway. If anything, maybe he would be like Bardock, where he may or may not have basic morals, but wouldn't do evil things just for the hell of it.

[Piccolo Daimao]

If anything, maybe he would be like Bardock, where he may or may not have basic morals, but wouldn't do evil things just for the hell of it.

Well, all Saiyans liked going around torturing and killing the inhabitants of planets because it's in their nature to love battle, bloodshed and destruction. They're sadistic fucks, but you may not count that as doing evil things just for the hell of it.

[soulnova]

I do believe that Goku would have eventually become good by Gohan's influence. Let's be honest, Vegeta seemed by far the most cold-hearted Saiyan of them all. If we take Bardock and Co. as the example of the common Saiyan, they did enjoy camaraderie and some sort of friendship, even if they didn't see morally wrong to wipe out entire planets. So they do in fact are quite capable of caring given the right circumstances.

It took Vegeta... -what? 10 years? to go from Galactic Genocide to actually put his life in the line for the people he loves. 10 years for the most hardened Saiyan. A baby in the capable hands of Gohan might have taken half that time. It would have been hell for the poor old man, yes, definitely, but not impossible.

I do believe that by the time Bulma arrived to his house he would have turned around -most- of his instincts to destroy. He could have been ruthless and not forgive most of his enemies as usual. I actually think he would have let Vegeta go, just so he could fight him again, not for some kind of mercy. Freezer would have been killed right there, etc etc. Maybe it would have been more difficult for him to become Super Saiyan as his state of mind would be totally different.

Who knows? With no brain damage maybe he might have actually been an even better tactician. There are 2 things that might have been real trouble on the first part of Dragon Ball. 1st, No Flying Nimbus. He would have been a normal 12 year old kid... not exactly as pure as heart, it would have taken him longer to travel around with no flying. 2nd, the attack of the Devil Man's Devilmite Beam would have surely killed Goku if hit.

[Terra-jin]

I actually think he would have let Vegeta go, just so he could fight him again, not for some kind of mercy.

Didn't exactly this happen in the original story? Goku went on about Vegeta dying being a waste, wishing only to fight him once more as the one thing he wanted purely for himself. He told Krillin that his heart soared when he fought Vegeta and that it was his selfish wish to experience it again.

In the dub, there's this whole talk about the good guys "not stooping to his level" and showing mercy... quite a difference from the Japanese version.

-oOo-

Anyways, here's my take on what woulde've happened with Kakarot. He was indoctrinated with his mission to wipe the Earth clean of life, making it ready for sale. I'd imagine that this indoctrination would drive Saiyans to commit the gradual omnicide on the planet they were sent to. Who knows... perhaps this process is the very thing that made the Saiyans such brutes?

Growing up under Gohan's patient care, Kakarot may have developed some kind of feelings for him and Earth life in general, but his mission would still provide a conflicting influence on his personality. However, indoctrination can be overcome, as evidenced by Cell, who eventually simply disregarded his mission. I'd imagine that Kakarot's de-indoctrination process would be less painless than Cell's, so he might derive his motivation (fighting spirit) from that.

I think it's doubtful that Kakarot would be taken in by Muten Roshi, Karin and Kami. However, because Kakarot retained his Saiyan memory, perhaps he would also remember advanced training techniques of Saiyan origin - remember Raditz mentioning Goku lacking even a fraction of the "proper training". This way, Kakarot may yet grow to become strong enough to defeat Piccolo Jr.

Enter Raditz. Assuming Kakarot did gradually shed his Saiyan brutality, this'd be an awkward meeting. The fact that he abandoned his mission might make Kakarot feel like a traitor - as he was branded by his fellow Saiyans. Would he turn on his friends and go full-on Saiyan again, or would he choose Earth for good?

[Gokuman1993]

Anyways, here's my take on what woulde've happened with Kakarot. He was indoctrinated with his mission to wipe the Earth clean of life, making it ready for sale. I'd imagine that this indoctrination would drive Saiyans to commit the gradual omnicide on the planet they were sent to. Who knows... perhaps this process is the very thing that made the Saiyans such brutes?

Growing up under Gohan's patient care, Kakarot may have developed some kind of feelings for him and Earth life in general, but his mission would still provide a conflicting influence on his personality. However, indoctrination can be overcome, as evidenced by Cell, who eventually simply disregarded his mission. I'd imagine that Kakarot's de-indoctrination process would be less painless than Cell's, so he might derive his motivation (fighting spirit) from that.

I think it's doubtful that Kakarot would be taken in by Muten Roshi, Karin and Kami. However, because Kakarot retained his Saiyan memory, perhaps he would also remember advanced training techniques of Saiyan origin - remember Raditz mentioning Goku lacking even a fraction of the "proper training". This way, Kakarot may yet grow to become strong enough to defeat Piccolo Jr.

Enter Raditz. Assuming Kakarot did gradually shed his Saiyan brutality, this'd be an awkward meeting. The fact that he abandoned his mission might make Kakarot feel like a traitor - as he was branded by his fellow Saiyans. Would he turn on his friends and go full-on Saiyan again, or would he choose Earth for good?

Wow, that'd be an excellent idea for a fanfic

Here, why dont you read mine: http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7294848/1/D ... _Protector

[Gokuman1993]

Does anyone have more ideas about this situation?

[Mystic Gohan]

I swear i remember somewhere it saying that saiyan babies that are sent away in pods hear stuff in the pods that lets them know what they are doing. Saying that, Goku was a violent baby before hitting his head, so imo if Goku never hit his head, you get Turles.

[vegetaslegacy15]

Well he would not be as naive anymore so he wouldn't wind up married to chichi.
But at the beginning of the story he would start weaker because Sayians are very cocky when it comes to their strength. But then he would get his rear end whooped by an opponent probably like Yamcha or something. Then he would train obsessively just like Vegeta does and he would become stronger than he is in series. He would also be a lot more ruthless and definitely kill Vegeta, Piccolo, the Ginyus, and Freeza.

I am also not sure if he would still participate in the Budokais.

[Mystic Gohan]

Lol wut? Goku beating Freeza/Vegeta?

[DHM211]

Isnt Turles a model of what Goku would have been like if he never bummped his head as a child.