Dragon Ball’s First Major Villain Has Been Defeated Once & For All in Super, But Not By Goku

Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Dragon Ball Super chapter 103! Throughout Dragon Ball’s extensive anime/manga history (including classic Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball GT, and Dragon Ball Super), there has been no shortage of increasingly dangerous villains rearing their ugly heads for Goku and the Z-Fighters to defeat. However, there’s one villain – or, rather, villainous entity – that was seemingly obliterated in classic Dragon Ball, but just wouldn’t stay down. That is, until now, as Dragon Ball’s first major villain has finally been defeated in Dragon Ball Super (but not by Goku): the Red Ribbon Army.

In Dragon Ball Super chapter 103 by Akira Toriyama and Toyotarou, Gohan and Goku are sparring on Beerus’ planet, as Goku wants to test the limits of Gohan’s all-new transformation: Gohan Beast. These two warriors aren’t the only ones on this world, either, as Vegeta, Broly, Trunks, and Goten are watching the action with Beerus and Whis on the sidelines – right alongside the last remaining leaders of the Red Ribbon Army.

This chapter takes place immediately following Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero, in which General Magenta (the son of the original leader of the Red Ribbon Army, General Red) has resurrected the Red Ribbon Army to take over the world. General Magenta was defeated, as were his androids and soldiers, though there were a few surviving members of the Red Ribbon leadership that remained. However, when these Red Ribbon leaders were transported to Beerus’ planet while working on a new scheme to take down the Z-Fighters in order to launch another global strike, they bore witness to power beyond their comprehension.

Watching Goku and Gohan fight, followed by an all-out brawl between all the Saiyans literally scared the Red Ribbon leaders straight. They decided to keep Red Ribbon operating as a pharmaceutical company (which had been the organization’s cover for years leading up to Super Hero), officially putting the Red Ribbon Army’s villainous ways behind it.

Goku Decimates the Red Ribbon Army During His Quest for the Dragon Balls

Dragon Ball chapter 96 by Akira Toriyama

Upon its introduction, the Red Ribbon Army was effectively a fascist regime that sought to take over the world through sheer force. Red Ribbon recruited the best scientists to create powerful androids, it trained soldiers to be hardened killers, and even hired world-class assassins to take out anyone the organization viewed as a threat to its power. And, during the early days of the organization’s existence, there was no greater threat than Goku.

When Goku was searching the world for the Dragon Balls in the original series, he came across a number of others who wanted to find the Dragon Balls for themselves – including the Red Ribbon Army. However, where the Red Ribbon Army stood apart from the rest was the level of evil the organization had already brought upon the world without the aid of wish-granting artifacts. This meant that Goku not only had to keep the Dragon Balls away from the Red Ribbon Army, he had to utterly destroy the regime.

In Dragon Ball chapter 96, Goku finally succeeds in decimating the Red Ribbon Army at its core. This came after dozens of chapters depicting Goku fighting Red Ribbon agents, including the aforementioned androids, soldiers, and assassins. While Goku did succeed in crushing the organization, even he knew early on the extensive reach of the Red Ribbon Army – yet Goku simply failed to realize how resilient that reach truly was.

The Red Ribbon Army Makes a Shocking Comeback in Dragon Ball Z

Dragon Ball chapter 337 by Akira Toriyama

Since Goku defeated the Red Ribbon Army the first time in classic Dragon Ball, he and the Z-Fighters had faced King Piccolo, evil Saiyans (including the reformed Vegeta), and arguably the ultimate ‘big bad’ of the entire DBZ series, Lord Frieza. That’s why the resurgence of the Red Ribbon Army at this stage in the series was such a shock, and the manner in which the organization came back was decidedly unexpected.

DBZ didn’t see the resurgence of the Red Ribbon Army as a whole, but rather the lingering ideals of one of the regime’s top scientists, Dr. Gero. Gero was one of the few survivors of Goku’s assault on the Red Ribbon Army, and so he made it his personal mission to create an android stronger than Goku that could help Gero carry on the mission of the organization he committed his life to. Dr. Gero made his debut with Android 19, and he died after awakening three of his most powerful creations: Android 16, Android 17, and Android 18.

However, it wasn’t until Gero’s all-time most powerful creation made his debut that the Z-Fighters were really in trouble: Cell. Cell was created by Dr. Gero, who was working on behalf of the fallen Red Ribbon Army, making Cell a Red Ribbon agent himself, whether he knew it or not. This chapter in the Red Ribbon Army’s Dragon Ball history was an example of the regime’s lingering evil, and the dangers of that evil if left unchecked in the world, and it wouldn’t be squashed yet again until Cell was defeated.

Gohan Finished the Red Ribbon Army Off in Dragon Ball Super

Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero & Dragon Ball Super chapter 103 by Akira Toriyama and Toyotarou

As previously mentioned, the Red Ribbon Army was restructured into a pharmaceutical company after Goku decimated it during classic Dragon Ball. Red Ribbon Pharmaceuticals had nothing to do with Dr. Gero, who was merely carrying on the spirit of the original Red Ribbon Army with every evil creation and scheme. However, that didn’t mean Red Ribbon wasn’t plotting another global assault all along itself, it was just waiting for the right time to strike – and that time was during the events of Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero.

In Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero, the Red Ribbon Army uses every bit of its resources (including the brilliance of Dr. Hedo, the grandson of Dr. Gero) to create incredibly powerful androids to take over the world. Once Cell Max is unleashed, however, the Red Ribbon Army quickly loses control over the situation, at which point Gohan unlocks his Beast Mode form and destroys Cell Max after the bio-android unwittingly decimated the Red Ribbon Army for the Z-Fighters during his planet-shaking rampage.

However, it wasn’t until Dragon Ball Super chapter 103 that the last remaining leaders of the Red Ribbon Army would decide to abandon their plans for world domination, and instead opt to fully commit to the legitimate Red Ribbon Pharmaceuticals. So, while Goku had a hand in the ultimate defeat of the Red Ribbon Army, it was the exhibition of Gohan’s true power in both Super Hero and chapter 103 that convinced the already beaten organization to stay down once and for all.

The Red Ribbon Army is Finally Defeated in Dragon Ball Canon – Or Is It?

Dragon Ball GT episode 42

After Dr. Myuu was killed by his Machine Mutant, Baby, in Dragon Ball GT (with Machine Mutants essentially being ‘alien androids’), he was sent to hell, where he encountered Dr. Gero. Together, Myuu and Gero created the perfect Android by combining human and Machine Mutant technology.

This ‘perfect android’ came in the form of an upgraded Android 17, dubbed Super 17, which proved to be stronger than even Super Saiyan 4 Goku. Not only was Super 17 a powerhouse the likes of which Goku and the Z-Fighters had never seen, but the entire return of the Red Ribbon Army through the evil of Dr. Gero nearly destroyed the whole world. An interdimensional portal to hell was opened by the villain in order to get his new creation to Earth, which allowed an army of dead villains to flood the planet, bringing the entire world to its knees.

The Red Ribbon Army’s return in Dragon Ball GT was perhaps the closest the organization (or outlying agents) came to ending the world. So, if Dragon Ball Super does flow into Dragon Ball GT, then the Z-Fighters haven’t even faced the Red Ribbon Army at its strongest, which is a far stretch from defeating the organization for good.

While the possible inclusion of Dragon Ball GT means the Z-Fighters could still have their greatest challenge ahead of them in terms of crushing the Red Ribbon Army once and for all, it’s still not even clear if GT is a part of the main series canon or not. Therefore, at this point in the series, it’s safe to say that the Z-Fighters can go ahead and confidently celebrate their victory, as Gohan (not Goku) just defeated the Red Ribbon Army in Dragon Ball Super – effectively putting to rest the first major villain in Dragon Ball canon.

Dragon Ball Super chapter 103 is available to read now on VIZ!

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