Warning: Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero Spoilers!
Franchise creator Akira Toriyama says Piccolo reaches a power level on par with Goku and the strongest Z-Fighters in Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero. The final reincarnation of King Piccolo was first introduced in Dragon Ball, in which he served as the main antagonist in the series’ final saga. In Dragon Ball Z, Piccolo put aside his villainous agenda to help Goku defeat Raditz. During Goku’s first stint in Other World (and in preparation for the arrival of Vegeta), Piccolo trained Goku’s son Gohan, became an unexpected father figure, and a valued member of the Z-Fighters.
In Dragon Ball and at the beginning of Dragon Ball Z, Piccolo was one of Earth’s wisest, most cunning, and mightiest heroes. Although he’s done his best to keep up, Piccolo has largely been left in the dust of Super Saiyan transformations. Dragon Ball Super took this a step further with the introduction of Super Saiyan God, which once again sidelined Piccolo and Gohan in favor of Goku and Vegeta. In what could be described as a course correction, Super Hero focuses on Gohan and Piccolo as they combat the Red Ribbon Army’s latest androids. Furthermore, the film gives the pair powerful new forms dubbed “Final Gohan” and “Orange Piccolo.” With Super Hero currently playing in theaters across Japan, Toriyama has opened up about how Piccolo has acquired power on par with the franchise’s best.
The Twitter account for DB_super2015 (via ComicBook.com) recently shared comments made by Toriyama regarding Piccolo’s transformation. He explained that Super Hero is the first time the Namekian has received a proper transformation and, while Orange Piccolo may not be the flashiest, Toriyama’s “just happy that [Piccolo's] finally obtained battle power on par with Goku and co."
Especially for those who haven’t seen Super Hero, Toriyama's comments are surprising, to say the least. Although Super Hero’s promotional materials teased Gohan and Piccolo have been training since the Tournament of Power, fans assumed only the former would be getting a form outside of Super Saiyan and Ultimate/Mystic. The end of Super promised a return to form for Goku and Chi-Chi’s son after years of slacking off. Gohan has always been the character with the most latent potential thanks in part to his lineage. Before Super Hero, nothing in Dragon Ball canon suggested Namekians could rival the god-like abilities of Saiyans. The suggestion that Piccolo would obtain battle power “on par with Goku” would have been deemed ludicrous.
Based on the manga, Goku and Vegeta possess the power of Ultra Instinct and Ego, respectively, during Super Hero. At full power, those Saiyans would still annihilate Gohan and Piccolo in a fight. But the forms Final Gohan and Orange Piccolo may be comparable to Super Saiyan Blue. However, the Ultra techniques have only been obtained under the tutelage of an Angel like Whis—who hasn’t trained Gohan or Piccolo. Still, audiences will undoubtedly be pleased to see their favorite Namekian get the respect he deserves when Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero releases stateside this August.
Source: DB_super2015/Twitter (via ComicBook.com)