Piccolo has a chance to shake up the power structure of the Dragon Ball universe when Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero releases. The Namekian has lagged behind the strongest Z-Warriors by a wide margin for several years now, but the upcoming movie has an opportunity to narrow the gap between Piccolo and some of the other fighters. As things stand, Piccolo is nowhere near the level of Goku, Vegeta, Frieza, and a few others.
Though there was once a point when Piccolo was the strongest Z-Warrior, it was clear during the Buu Saga that though days were over. When Majin Buu was on a rampage, the only characters deemed powerful enough to be a challenge to him were Goku, Vegeta, Gohan, and Gotenks. Piccolo, on the other hand, was powerless against him. Piccolo’s inability to threaten the main villain is an idea that was carried over to Dragon Ball Super’s stories. The anime did find ways to use him as a fighter, but each battle was a constant reminder of his limitations. It wasn’t until the Tournament of Power that Piccolo one day regaining some degree of relevance felt like a real possibility.
The reveal that Gohan and Piccolo will be the true stars of Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero puts the Namekian in a position to get a much-needed upgrade. If he’s going to be fighting alongside Gohan as one of the movie’s two central protagonists, it stands to reason that the franchise will make him stronger than ever. Piccolo powering up in the final trailer for Super Hero further reinforces this notion. What’s not clear, though, is just how much the franchise is willing to change Piccolo’s power level. It’s unlikely to jump him to the top of the list, but it could finally put him above key players in the franchise.
As things stand, there’s a lot of uncertainty over who’s stronger than who. In addition to being much more powerful than the human Z-Warriors, there’s also reason to believe that he could beat both Android 18 and Majin Buu. What happens in Super Hero could provide confirmation of that and solidify his status as Dragon Ball’s fourth strongest main character. Of course, that would mean he’d have to surpass Android 17. The Tournament of Power proved that 17 is Super Saiyan Blue-level, but Piccolo’s ability to keep in pace with Ultimate Gohan against the Universe 6 Namekians suggests that he might not be that far behind him.
Looking at where everyone stands in the anime’s power scale, Piccolo has the potential to climb high, with the ceiling being a bit below Goku, Vegeta, and Gohan. He’s has been ahead of all of them once before, but the chances of the Dragon Ball franchise doing that again are low. After all, Piccolo has a tremendous gap to overcome before he can catch Goku and Vegeta. That being said, he could at least narrow the distance and perhaps acquire enough power to be an asset to them in future battles. There wasn’t anything Piccolo could have done against main villains like Golden Frieza, Zamasu, or Jiren, but a big power boost could permanently change Piccolo’s role after Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero.
