Something interesting about the Barry Kahn arc

[mecha3000]

Is it just me or is Barry Kahn basically the Eddie Brock (AKA Venom from Spider-Man) of the DB universe? I mean, I haven't exactly seen the entirety of the Saiyaman two-parter episodes, but from what I've seen - He despises Gohan because he stole his spotlight as a stuntman and because Videl rejected him in favor of Gohan. Then, after threatening to ruin Gohan's personal life and wanting revenge - He is given the Venom symbiote OOPS, I MEAN WATAGASH.

These whole two episodes just seem like genuine homages to Western superheroes, especially with the Great Saiyaman v Mr. Satan (BATMAN V SUPERMAN) movie seeming like a direct homage to Batman v Superman, and the awesome part is that is goes even further with the fact that a Great Saiyaman (MAN OF STEEL) was in production in Z so basically, it actually mirrors the real-life DC Movie Universe.

I don't know if it's just me, but I find it interesting how Toei took a cameo actor (who we never ever thought we'd see again) from DBZ's Buu Arc who only existed so Buu could imitate his face AND now they've made him his own character who to me, is DB's Eddie Brock. I'd also say Broly could fall into the Venom spot though. But yeah, I just like when separate cultures borrow from each other's works even if the Kahn/Brock thing might have not been intentional.

EDIT: Even BARRY KAHN's name sounds like something you'd hear from Marvel/Spider-Man (and Kahn looks similar to Eddie Brock already). Not to mention Gohan is already the Peter Parker of DB. However, I do acknowledge his roots also come from tokusatsu shows. But yeah, I hope to see Toei do more of this kind of thing of referencing the DB universe. From Mafuba to Kahn, I really enjoy Super's expansion - but also reflection of the DB world. Also, the fact that the public now knows Saiyaman's identity, which was glossed over after the Buu Arc shows some genuine development for Gohan's character and the DB universe overall, which I really respect from Toei and maybe Toriyama. It seems Toei is using Saiyaman as a basis to delve into superhero story elements, which I hope to see more of in filler-like episodes. With Jaco (who is like an Ultraman reference) and Saiyaman, perhaps we could see Saiyawoman return for a future Saiyaman episode? I really hope so!

[Nejishiki]

Barry is the star actor, actually. Gohan replaced another stuntman since Barry wanted the previous guy to do something extremely dangerous. There's no risk involved what with his excuse for not doing his own stunts. Gohan replacing the actor was Barry's idea to humiliate & injure Gohan to get back at Videl. Unfortunately for him, Gohan nailed the scene & received everyone's approval for a permanent role. What made Videl's rejection particularly sting is that she denied his autograph in front of everyone, hurting his fragile ego. The hate spiraled from there & Watagash has a chance meeting after his blackmail scheme fails. As for the naming conventions, both sources are in love with their puns & alliterations. I don't think that particularly meant anything directly.

[mecha3000]

Barry is the star actor, actually. Gohan replaced another stuntman since Barry wanted the previous guy to do something extremely dangerous. There's no risk involved what with his excuse for not doing his own stunts. Gohan replacing the actor was Barry's idea to humiliate & injure Gohan to get back at Videl. Unfortunately for him, Gohan nailed the scene & received everyone's approval for a permanent role. What made Videl's rejection particularly sting is that she denied his autograph in front of everyone, hurting his fragile ego. The hate spiraled from there & Watagash has a chance meeting after his blackmail scheme fails. As for the naming conventions, both sources are in love with their puns & alliterations. I don't think that particularly meant anything directly.

I misworded myself when I said cameo actor. I meant to say cameo character because Barry only appeared on a magazine in Z. My bad. But yeah, thanks for going in-depth with this whole mini-arc. I still believe that the Barry Kahn and Eddie Brock comparison makes sense if you really look into the history of Spider-Man's history with Venom and how alien hosts bonded to rivals of a main character and enhanced aggression. And like I said, it doesn't help that Barry sounds like a name from a superhero comic (it is the name of Flash) and he actually looks like Eddie Brock! So yeah, in my opinion: Barry Kahn is the DB universe equivalent of Eddie Brock, but if we were to go with a bigger character: I'd say Broly would be Venom.

Look at me, making these comparisons to western comics on a DB thread. My bad, my bad.

[Cipher]

This arc was really an odd mix of influences.

Barry is obvious a Hollywood-styled star, and the idea of Mr. Satan vs. Great Saiyaman seems to draw from the glut of Hollywood superhero movies (including, you know ... that one). However, everything else about these two episodes was as Japanese as Dragon Ball has ever gotten, from touching on idol culture, to the style of advertising, to the depictions of the studio (the scale and style of the shooting is going to be more familiar to those who have spent some time with tokusatsu rather than Hollywood productions alone), ending in a kaiju battle, and even the amount of Japanese text throughout the episode. I don't remember ever spotting that much kanji in an episode before, from posters on interest rates inside the bank to Barry's note. Toriyama mostly stuck to simple English-language writing in Dragon Ball's urban locations. It's pretty interesting.

On a side note, I can't wait for FUNimation's two-episode VHS-tape release of the "Barry Kahn Saga."

EDIT -- Also what the fuck with the fact that Barry Kahn has a last name, let alone a Western-ordered one, but everyone thinks it's so weird that Gohan does in the Saiyaman arc. It's almost like this universe barely coheres!

[Israelite Wolfman]

The whole Barry Kahn story in these last 2 episodes felt to me like a rehashing of the Baby Saga (which itself was inspired by the Garlic Jr. Saga with the idea of inflicting humans to make them stronger), the Watagash forms of Barry Kahn goes in the same linear way as Baby-Vegeta went: 1) fully humanoid with simple modifications by the parasite. 2) halfbreed creature. 3) fully controlled by the parasite alien which transforms his look completely.

[NeoKING]

The whole Barry Kahn story in these last 2 episodes felt to me like a rehashing of the Baby Saga (which itself was inspired by the Garlic Jr. Saga with the idea of inflicting humans to make them stronger), the Watagash forms of Barry Kahn goes in the same linear way as Baby-Vegeta went: 1) fully humanoid with simple modifications by the parasite. 2) halfbreed creature. 3) fully controlled by the parasite alien which transforms his look completely.

There were a couple GT references in the episode. Compare the designs to his transformed states to Rildo and the Evil Dragons. The take design cues from GT villains.