There is no shortage of iconic moments in Dragon Ball lore, from Goku’s first transformation into a Super Saiyan to Yamcha dying pathetically in a crater, though there is one moment that stands above the rest as perhaps the most iconic sequence in the entire series—too bad Piccolo accidentally spoiled it.
Before spoiling one of the most impactful moments in Dragon Ball, Piccolo’s life was one of great complexity. Piccolo was originally a centuries-old being known as King Piccolo who was the incarnation of every ounce of evil expelled from the body of Kami—Earth’s God. When Goku defeated King Piccolo, the villain produced an egg containing his own reincarnated form. When the egg hatched, fans were introduced to the Piccolo they know and love today—well, sort of. When Piccolo made his villainous return, he was still just that: a villain. Piccolo originally tried to avenge the death of his ‘father’ when he attempted to publicly kill Goku during that year’s World Martial Arts Tournament. When Piccolo failed, he became pretty inactive for years until the Earth was invaded by the Saiyans who threatened to destroy the world for their own evil purposes. At that point, Piccolo joined the Z Fighters, which began his journey to becoming a Z Fighter himself and a true Dragon Ball hero.
In Dragon Ball chapter 310 by Akira Toriyama, Goku and Frieza are beginning their iconic first battle on Planet Namek while Gohan, Krillin and Piccolo watch from the sidelines. While Goku trained vigorously for this moment, it seems clear at the start that the Saiyan warrior is no match for Lord Frieza. However, it is quickly revealed by Piccolo that Goku isn’t actually using his full power, yet the Saiyan is still able to hold his own against the intergalactic conqueror. While Piccolo may seem optimistic, he is still keeping in mind that just because Goku isn’t losing too terribly to Frieza doesn’t mean he can actually beat him. In fact, Piccolo comments on Frieza’s power as well, saying, “If he wanted to, he could blow up this entire planet.”
As every Dragon Ball fan knows, Frieza brings his battle with Goku to a close when he shoots a powerful blast into the core of Planet Namek and then tells Goku that they have five minutes until the planet explodes—a truly iconic scene that became known as the greatest lie in Dragon Ball history. Knowing this, it is easy to see how Piccolo totally spoiled that moment just a few chapters before it happened. When Piccolo says that Frieza has the power to blow up the planet, he’s essentially creating a ‘Chekhov’s gun’ scenario with Frieza’s planetary destruction acting as a proverbial gun being introduced in the first act and then used in the second. While Chekhov’s gun is a highly influential theory of effective writing, it also risks spoiling plot points for those who know what to look for—something that is abundantly true in this case.
After Piccolo says that Frieza has the power to blow up Planet Namek, readers are expecting that to happen from that point forward. So, when it does finally happen, it is less of a shocking exhibition of Frieza’s strength and more of a promise that was expected to be paid off—proving that Piccolo accidentally spoiled Dragon Ball’s most iconic moment.