In Dragon Ball Z, the world at large is unaware of the heroism of Goku and the other Z-Fighters. This left a lot of glory laying around that was just waiting to be picked up. The role of Earth's hero would be taken up by Hercule, who is kind of like a mix between the Macho Man Randy Savage and a muscle-bound movie star from the '80s.
Hercule was a blowhard who quickly realized that he was in way over his head when he faced Perfect Cell. The fans quickly grew to adore Hercule, as he injected some much-needed comedy into a series that was growing darker with every issue. Hercule was finally given the chance to become a true hero in the Majin Buu arc, which acted as the culmination of his story in Dragon Ball Z.
We are here today to expose the truth behind the supposed greatest hero in the history of Dragon Ball Z.
From the arcade game that turned him into a true warrior to the revelation of his real first name, here are the 15 Things You Didn’t Know About Dragon Ball Z's Hercule!
He (Indirectly) Created The Majin Race
In Dragon Ball Online and Dragon Ball Xenoverse, it is established that the Earth becomes host to several races other than humans. One of these is the Majin race, which descended from Buu. This race greatly resembles Buu physically, but their power was heavily diluted over time to the point where they are only as strong as humans.
The Majin race was inadvertently created by Hercule. Buu found a dirty book in Hercule's house called Bob & Margaret. This prompted Buu to seek out a female mate, which he did by splitting in half and creating Miss Buu.
Together, the two of them procreated with the power of the Love-Love Beam, which made a Baby Buu. They continued to make more children until the Majin race existed as its own entity.
The idea of Buu splitting apart in order to create a female mate was likely inspired by the tale of Adam and Eve in the Bible. The main difference is that God used the equivalent of a vintage issue of Playboy to create more life.
His Real Name Is...
The English dubs and localizations of Dragon Ball Z have tried to come to terms with both the Hercule and Mr. Satan name. The fans of the English language version of Dragon Ball Z seem to be fine with the character being named Hercule Satan, but it leaves an unanswered question...
What is Mr. Satan's first name in the Japanese version of Dragon Ball Z?
Akira Toriyama has actually given an official answer to this question. In the Dragon Ball: Super Exciting Guide, there are brief Q&A sections littered throughout the book.
Toriyama explains that Mr. Satan's first name is actually Mark. This is supposed to be a further pun on the demonic nature of his name, as the word Mark in Japanese can be read as Maaku, which is an anagram of Akuma. This is another word for demon or devil, which fits with the naming theme of his family.
He Used A Wish To Become The King
Dragon Ball was once the best-selling manga series in the world. It has since been dethroned by One Piece, which has almost doubled the accumulated sales of Dragon Ball and is still going strong. Eiichiro Oda has cited Akira Toriyama as his biggest influence, which is obvious to anyone who has read One Piece.
In 2006, Eiichiro Oda and Akira Toriyama worked together on an official Dragon Ball Z x One Piece crossover comic called Cross Epoch. This was set in a new world that included the main cast of both Dragon Ball and One Piece working together, such as Piccolo and Zoro both becoming wandering swordsmen.
In the world of Cross Epoch, Hercule had managed to gather the seven Dragon Balls. He used his wish to become a king, which granted him lands, subjects and wealth. Hercule used his newfound treasure to gather the Straw Hat Pirates and the Z-Fighters to his kingdom for a huge tea party, where even Shenron was invited to join in the festivities.
The Broly Bromance
Broly is a very popular Dragon Ball Z character, even though he only ever appeared in non-canon material, such as the movies and the video games. He is supposed to be the true Legendary Super Saiyan, but he was driven mad as a child due to Goku's incessant crying.
This caused the creation of an unhinged monster who also possessed the power of a Super Saiyan. It took the combined powers of the Z-Fighters to stop him.
In Dragon Ball Z: Supersonic Warriors 2, you could play as Broly after you unlocked him. One of the story scenarios involved Broly landing on Earth and losing his memories. He is taken in by Hercule, who turns him into his new disciple.
Hercule's influence is actually successful in helping Broly to overcome his anger, which allows him to become a hero. Broly still hates Goku, but he is no longer filled with a murderous rage that threatens to destroy the planet.
He Can Defeat Cell/The Z-Fighters In An Arcade Game
There have been many Dragon Ball Z fighting games released over the years. We didn't start seeing English versions of these games until the 32-bit era, which means that we missed out on a lot of awesome Dragon Ball Z titles in the arcades.
The release of Street Fighter II prompted the creation of several Dragon Ball Z fighting games that stole the same format, one of which was Dragon Ball Z 2: Super Battle.
Hercule was actually a playable fighter in Dragon Ball Z 2: Super Battle. He took Frieza's place from the first game and was treated as an equal in terms of strength to the other characters.
This version of Hercule can go toe-to-toe with the likes of Super Saiyan Goku and the Androids. His punches and kicks can harm the other Dragon Ball Z characters, though he needs a jetpack for the flying stages of the game.
It's possible for Hercule to defeat Perfect Cell in the final battle of Dragon Ball Z 2: Super Battle and become the real hero of Earth that he always claimed to be, though he still gets his butt kicked by Videl in the ending.
His Design Is Similar To A Character Who Appeared In Dragon Ball
Akira Toriyama is known for heavily reusing character designs across his work. This was especially notable during the era when the Dragon Ball manga was still being produced, as he likely had a lot less time to devote to the character designs on games like Chrono Trigger and the Dragon Quest series. This is why Crono is just a ginger version of Goku and why the end boss of Dragon Quest V is just Piccolo with a beard.
Hercule seems to be another case of Toriyama reusing a design, as he is very similar to a character from Dragon Ball called King Chappa. They are both winners of the World Martial Arts Tournaments and both have almost identical physical designs, though King Chappa has a much darker skin tone than Hercule.
It seems as if Hercule might have been the fate of King Chappa if he hadn't encountered Goku. Hercule only had the chance to become a world famous warrior due to the fact that the Z-Fighters stopped entering tournaments.
He Technically Defeated Goku, Monkey D. Luffy, And Toriko In A Battle
Goku's orange outfit inspired the clothes of other Weekly Shonen Jump heroes, such as Naruto's brightly colored ninja outfit. The protagonist of Toriko also has a similar outfit to Goku, which was meant to be a direct homage to the hero of Dragon Ball.
Toriko had a one-off TV special where it crossed over with both Dragon Ball Z and One Piece, in order to commemorate the release of the third season of the Toriko anime. This special involved a competition between the casts of all three shows where they battled each other in various events.
The final round of the tournament was a battle between whoever entered the arena first. The four finalists were Goku, Monkey D. Luffy, Toriko, and Hercule. The battle between the three protagonists was so extreme that it annihilated all of the arena except for the spot that Hercule was standing on. This made him the winner of the tournament, as he was the only one who didn't go out of bounds.
The Satanic Name
It took a while for the English localization of the Dragon Ball Z anime to reach the Cell Saga. The fans of the show who were familiar with the rest of the series (due to the Internet) were eagerly awaiting Hercule's arrival, as they wanted to see how his name would appear in the English version of Dragon Ball Z. This is because Hercule's name in the original Japanese version of Dragon Ball Z is Mr. Satan.
The sheer amount of censorship present in the original dub of Dragon Ball Z meant that the Mr. Satan name was never going to appear. The Hercule name was an invention of the dub and it has been used in most English versions of Dragon Ball Z media.
The recent Dragon Ball Z anime dubs and video games have tried to make both names canon. Two new explanations for his name have been given; one of them is that his name is Hercule Satan, while the other is that Hercule is his real name and Mr. Satan is his stage persona. This makes sense, as Hercule does have a strong professional wrestler vibe.
The Secret Talk Show Ending
The Dragon Ball Z: The Legacy of Goku series was peculiar. The first game was brutally difficult, due to the fact that the enemies just ganged up on you as soon as you entered the screen. The third game was too easy, due to the sheer amount of Super Saiyan power-ups that it gave you.
Dragon Ball Z: The Legacy of Goku II is generally considered to be the best game in the series. This is because they got the difficulty just right, as it was challenging without being frustrating. The Legacy of Goku II also had the benefit of letting you play as Hercule, though you couldn't use him until the post-game.
Playing as Hercule allowed you to access a secret ending where he goes on a talk show and brags about his accomplishments. The host asks him about the other fighters present during the Cell Games, but Hercule brushes them off to talk about himself more.
His Master Was Killed By Mercenary Tao
Akira Toriyama has sometimes given contradictory information concerning the Dragon Ball canon. This is most likely a mixture of his infamously poor memory and the fact that he just likes to keep adding more on to the story of his most famous property.
In an interview with Saikyo Jump, Toriyama revealed that the Mr. Satan name isn't actually his real name, but rather a title he picked up from his dojo. Mr. Satan was trained at a location called Satan Castle. He took the name from this dojo after he became its greatest fighter.
According to the same interview, Mr. Satan and his master ran afoul of Mercenary Tao in a bar. They both made fun of Tao's hair, which prompted him to badly wound Mr. Satan and murder his master. It was this encounter that prompted Mr. Satan to be more careful when choosing his opponents in the future.
His Angelic Wife
In Dragon Ball Z, we learn that Hercule had previously been married to Videl's mother, but she passed away during the period of time between the Cell Games and the arrival of Majin Buu. It seems that Hercule cared a great deal about his wife, as he never remarried, despite his fame and fortune.
We learn nothing about Videl's mother within the story of Dragon Ball Z. This prompted some fans to suggest that Miss Piiza was Hercule's wife, as she is seen to be a close associate of his during the Cell Games. She actually made a brief appearance in Dragon Ball Super, so we know that she can't be the one.
Akira Toriyama has given some more details about Hercule's deceased wife. Her name was Miguel and she was a singer who stole Hercule's heart.
Miguel's name is significant, as it is the Spanish version of the name Michael, which refers to one of the seven archangels that serve God. This fits into the naming theme of the Satan family, which Toriyama is fond of using for all of his characters.
He Became A Cult Movie Star
Hercule was able to keep on winning the World Martial Arts Tournaments after the Buu Saga. This is because Buu would enter the tournaments and flatten the competition, before taking a dive for Hercule.
In the Dragon Ball Online timeline, it was revealed that Hercule would eventually retire from the fighting scene due to Buu no longer being able to help with fixing the tournaments. He tried to create his own martial arts instruction series that was distributed via streaming, but these didn't take off as they relied heavily on special effects.
When Hercule retired from fighting, he decided to take up an acting career. You might remember him from such films as Satan Legend and Satan Wars. These films weren't commercially successful, but they gained a cult following that lasted after Hercule's death. It seems that he would go on to become the Tommy Wiseau of the Dragon Ball Online world.
He Isn't The Only Earthling Who Has Never Died
Nearly every single Earthling who was alive during the events of Dragon Ball Z has died at least once. This is due to the fact that Buu wiped out all life on Earth with a powerful tracking attack. It's possible that someone like Android 17 might have escaped this attack, due to the fact that Androids don't emit an aura. He was likely killed later on when Buu destroyed the Earth.
It's a common misconception that Hercule is the only Earthling in Dragon Ball Z who never died at least once, as Goku saved him from the destruction of Earth.
Fortuneteller Baba also survived the destruction of Earth, as she was away in the afterlife looking for Vegeta when Buu destroyed the planet. We also know that she survives longer than Hercule, as she is still alive in Dragon Ball Online. This makes her one of the few original characters to have survived in the future era of Online, along with the likes of Korin.
The Hercule-Brand Jetpack
Hercule is one of the most popular characters in the Dragon Ball franchise. This causes an issue for the video game developers who have to include him in their titles, as Hercule can't compete with the other Dragon Ball Z characters without making up some sort of power-up for him.
One of the ways in which Hercule can keep up with the other Z-Fighters in the Dragon Ball video games is through the use of a jetpack. Hercule has owned a Capsule Corp jetpack in most of the video game appearances where he is playable.
Hercule's skill with the jetpack is often determined by how much of a comedy character he is in the games. He can either use it to fly on the same level as the Z-Fighters, or to the point where he can turn its flames onto his enemies, or he can barely use it to stay afloat for more than a few seconds.
The Galactus Effect
The Marvel Comics universe is filled with advanced alien species that could take over Earth if they wanted to. Earth is rarely invaded, however, and the reason why was given in the pages of X-Men.
A Shi'ar warship immediately fled from the planet after reading the intelligence report on Earth, which explained that the superheroes of the world had defeated Galactus on multiple occasions. It was this reputation that was protecting the planet.
It turns out that Hercule was responsible for the same thing in relation to his own world. According to Dragon Ball Online, Hercule passed away in the year 820. His death prompted the remnants of Frieza's army to invade the Earth, as they had come to believe-- through all of the propaganda-- that Hercule was responsible for slaying Frieza.
This could either be the death that happened due to Future Trunks or the one that happened in the later movies.
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Can you think of any other interesting facts about Dragon Ball Z's Hercule? Let us know in the comment section!