Mister Satan

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"Don't you worry about me! I'm a master of Martial Arts and I'm also packin' some serious heat! And as soon as Majin Buu pops his head outta that hole, he'll be eatin a lead salad!"
Mister Satan in "The Old Kai's Weapon"

Mister Satan (ミスター サタン, Misutā Satan; FUNimation "Hercule", Viz "Hercule") is a Human.

Name

In the original Japanese media, his name is Mr. Satan, however, he is referred to as Hercule in the FUNimation dub (though he retains his original name in unedited releases) as well as Viz's own English versions of the manga. This is attributed to the typical process in Dragon Ball (and shōnen in general) of stripping Judeo-Christian references for the sensitivities of Western audiences. "Hercule" originates from Hercules in Roman mythology. In the U.S. edition of Shonen Jump, it was explained that Hercule was the real name of the character while Mr. Satan was his stage name, though no such explanation was present in the series. This was later contradicted, however, in Dragon Ball: Sūpā Ekisaitingu Gaido: Kyarakutā Hen where it was revealed in an interview with Akira Toriyama that Mr. Satan was his stage name, and his real name was "Mark". He is voiced by Chris Rager in the English FUNimation dub, Don Brown in the English dub from the UK and Canada, the late Daisuke Gouri in the original Japanese dub, Roberto Sen (during the Cell Games Saga), Rodolfo Vargas (three episodes of the Great Saiyaman Saga), and Ricardo Brust (remainder) in the Latin American dub.[2]

History

Satan looking tough.

During the Dragon Ball Z time period, Satan was the reigning World Martial Arts Champion, a title won fairly by beating other normal Humans in a time when Son Goku and other powerful fighters were battling on Planet Namek and later against the Androids. During this time, Mr. Satan became rich and famous, but also an egomaniac. He boasted endlessly on television about his strength, and that he was the "best fighter in the world." In the eyes of characters who know otherwise, he is considered to be a showboating blowhard. When the Z Warriors arrived on the scene starting with the Cell Games, he started a pattern of claiming them to be his disciples, which, while preserving his status and self-serving ego, has produced good results in the past.

In spite of showing many signs of greed and cowardice, Mr. Satan is still a fundamentally good and kind-hearted person. He genuinely cares about protecting the innocent and fighting for justice to the best of his abilities, and is prone to violent and righteous anger when faced with the abuse of helpless innocents by villains. He shows moments of great courage when his family and friends are threatened by evil. Prominently, he has saved the lives of Bee, Vegeta, and even Majin Buu.

Recognizing that Majin Buu was used in his innocence by Babidi, he tearfully begged Vegeta to spare his life as he laid helpless after being beaten by Kid Buu, and was ready to risk death to protect him. Mr. Satan's love for his friend moved Goku enough to join in his defense, allowing the formerly evil monster to start a new life as a hero and benefactor to society.

Satan's skill as an orator came into good use by the series' end. Without the adoration and support of his legions of followers, the Z Fighters would never have been able to raise the Spirit Bomb and defeat Kid Buu. By the end of Dragon Ball Z, Goku and his friends come to see the good in Hercule and decide that he is a noble hero.

Taking on Cell

Satan is effortlessly knocked away by Perfect Cell.
Satan announcing his participation at the Cell Games

After hearing Perfect Cell's announcement of the Cell Games, Mr. Satan announces to the world that he will enter the tournament and defeat Cell. At ringside, Goku tries several times to warn Satan against confronting Cell, but the World Champion believes he is more than equal to the task of taking down the deadly bio-android. Throughout the Cell Games Satan is convinced that Cell is a mere trickster, having never seen ki attacks before and believing them to be mere light shows. Hercule (and in the anime, his top students as well) face Perfect Cell and lose quickly in embarrassing fashion. The ZTV reporter on-hand to chronicle the Cell Game repeatedly ridicules Goku and the other Z Fighters, firmly believing (along with most of the world) that Hercule is the only one who stands a chance of triumphing over Cell. Mr. Satan is launched from the ring with a single effortless blow from Cell, at which point Goku steps in and the tournament commences.

Claiming that he simply slipped out of the ring, Mr. Satan (and his pupils) sits out the rest of the Cell Game, watching Goku, and subsequently Gohan, fight Perfect Cell. Mr. Satan is repeatedly questioned by the television crew about returning to the ring to face Cell again. Each time the World Martial Arts Champion insists he is suffering from agonizing stomach pains that are preventing him from a rematch.

Although Hercule cowers in fear for much of the time, he does play a pivitol role in Gohan's eventual victory over Cell. After Cell destroys Android 16's body, the severed head of 16 lands near the area where Hercule and the tv crew are hiding. The still fuctioning head of 16 implores them to carry him over to Gohan. Putting aside his fear (and looking to save face in front of the news crew), Mr. Satan agrees to bring the head of Android 16 to Gohan. This sets into motion the sequence of events ultimately reponsible for unleashing Gohan's hidden power.

Near the end of the Cell Game, the television equipment is destroyed and the conclusion, in which Gohan (with help from Vegeta) finally destroys Cell with a Kamehameha Wave, is not broadcast to the global audience. The television crew, having sought shelter from the devastating ki attacks, does not witness Cell's demise.

After the Z Warriors depart, Mr. Satan convinces everyone that Gohan was beaten and that he defeated Cell single-handedly with a vicious karate chop. Despite some initial skepticism at these claims, the gullable masses are quickly convinced that Hercule indeed defeated Cell and he becomes the world's new hero and hottest celebrity.

The next Tenkaichi Tournament

Trunks vs. Satan
Satan vs. No. 18

Seven years after Cell's defeat, Satan has become increasingly rich and famous. Satan is seen in several moments, including for a few seconds training his pupils, and cowering away in his home to avoid a gang of thugs, even as they take advantage in a fight against his daughter, Videl. He is also briefly mentioned during a conversation between Gohan and Videl as they both secretly hoped for Gohan to beat Satan at the next Tenkaichi Tournament so that Satan could be taught a lesson in humility and respect. Videl initially scoffs at any suggestion that her father is not all that he claims to be, though over time she comes to see the truth. She also confides in Gohan that her father, once an accomplished martial artist, is now living solely off his reputation and no longer keeps up with his training.

As reigning Tenkaichi, Satan is automatically entered into the Tenkaichi Tournament and is dismayed to see the Super Saiyans (The "Golden Fighters") there, remembering them from the Cell Games. Hercule rides out the tournament in fear of being exposed as a fraud, knowing full well that he does not stand a chance against Goku and his friends. After the Junior Division Final in which Trunks defeats Goten, Satan is set to fight an exhibition match with Trunks. Trunks knocks him out of the ring with one hit, but the audience believes it was all for show and that Satan let the Junior Champ win (though he was knocked against a wall and brutally injured his nose and is seen grieving over the pain in private shortly afterward).

The ancient evil, Majin Boo

At the World Martial Arts Tournament, after it is interrupted by the ruthless Babidi, Satan is set to fight against Android 18, who does not want the fame of winning and agrees to throw the final if Satan pays her 20,000,000 Zeni (double the prize money). At one point in an anime-exclusive filler, he was in the shower room shortly after his "win" against Android 18, thinking about what had happened in regards to most of the audience being blown away. However, some Paparazzis burst in and started questioning him about his win against Android 18, and he claims to "not hide anything from the fans", and while laughing, accidentally drops his towel in front of everyone, causing the Paparazzis to take pictures of the exposure. Another point in another anime-exclusive filler, he foolishly tries to fly, only to land on and hurt his weak point: his nose (and later tries to cover up his behavior to a bunch of fangirls walking in on him).

24th Tenkaichi Budokai

Spopovich vs. Satan in a flashback.

In anime-exclusive flashbacks, of the previous World Tournament (24th Tenkaichi Tournament), Mr. Satan is briefly seen fighting Spopovich (before he became a Majin, back when he was a normal human) in that tournament's first-round match. It is here that one can easily see Mr. Satan's capabilities in comparison to that of other "normal" (Human) martial artists (and that Mr. Satan does have some martial ability indeed, enabling him to defeat human opponents with less skill and/or battle power than him). He easily defeats Spopovich and goes on to fight and defeat Jewel in that tournament's final-match, winning the 24th Tenkaichi Tournament.

  • Note: None of the Z Warriors fought in this tournament, allowing Satan to win it easily and fairly.

Befriending the monster

After Majin Buu (Fat, but still evil) kills Babidi and starts terrorizing the Earth, Mr. Satan is sent to kill Majin Buu by giving him deadly presents such as cyanide-filled chocolates and an explosive video game.

But Majin Buu likes them, and makes Satan his playfriend. The cunning Satan then tricks Majin Buu into posing for a photo, having him lie on his belly while Satan strikes a pose, and then becomes Majin Buu's servant. But while Mr. Satan plans to use a super explosive to try and kill Majin Buu, Majin Buu returns early from a killing spree with a hurt puppy, showing signs of good in him. Mr. Satan brings this good to the surface by helping Majin Buu heal the puppy and convincing him kindly that killing is wrong. Mr. Satan and Majin Buu then form a true friendship, and name the puppy Bee.

  • Note that this is the only time where Mr. Satan was actually directly involved with a supervillain and almost triumphed against as well, because, should he have been able to win Majin Buu completely over to the side of the Z-fighters, the Z-fighters would have gained this new, powerful ally without the vast majority of the Buu saga, specifically the mass genocide caused by Super Buu and Kid Buu, having to take place.

Their happiness is short lived when Bee is shot (by a bullet) and Buu along with Mr. Satan, are attacked by two evil humans, the killer thug Van Zant & his cohort Smitty (both unnammed in the original Japanese, in which Smitty refers to Van Zant as "Young Master"), with rocket launchers. Mr. Satan bravely stands against them, hitting Smitty with a rock and confronting the ringleader (Van Zant) who is reaching for his weapon. Mr. Satan fearlessly dares the thug to try it (stating "Go ahead, pick it up!"), the thug then grabs his weapon, but immediately assaulted by Mr. Satan (who shouts, "Now It's Your Turn!"), kicking the weapon out of the thug's hands and delivers a furious beating on him (which he rightly deserved) for cold-bloodedly shooting Bee (and attempting to kill both him & Buu). He ends the assault with a final kick, sending the punk tumbling off the cliff (Van Zant survives, however), defeating him. After this, a triumphant Mr. Satan calls Van Zant a "Heartless Monster!", and finally proves himself to be a true "hero".

  • Note: This is one of the few fights where Mr. Satan "completely" dominates his opponent. It also shows that given the right motivation, Mr. Satan is capable of defeating even "armed" opponents when angered.

Majin Buu then heals Bee's wound (saving its life) and all is well (for the moment). Later while Mr. Satan is preparing dinner, he is confronted by Van Zant who holds him at gun point and he prepares to kill "The World's Hero". Mr. Satan tries to use high-speed movement to evade & attack him, but is shot in cold blood, leading to the emergence of the greater evil within Majin Buu.

After Mr. Satan is shot by Van Zant, Majin Buu is torn between the promise he made and the anger he holds. He manages to heal Mr. Satan and the dog, but loses control and tells Mr. Satan to flee before it is too late. He then involuntarily spits out the bulk of his power in the form of an evil, sickly antithesis of himself, which kills Van Zant mercilessly by blasting him, along with a cluster of mountains. After being pummeled badly by the Evil Buu, the good but weaker form, in an act of desperation, attempts to turn the Evil Buu into an edible form using his Antenna Beam. However, Evil Buu reverses the attack by blowing the beam away, emerging as the victor before devouring the good Majin Buu and transforming into Super Buu. Super Buu then brutally kills Smitty (going into his mouth & causing him to expand until he violently explodes), while Mr. Satan & Bee are forced to watch in horror.

The new Buu

Super Buu is almost pure evil, but he still acknowledges Mr. Satan to a degree strong enough that he refuses to harm him, since he possesses the memories of Majin Buu. Obvious examples are as follows:

When Super Buu looks down at Mr. Satan, he could have easily killed him, but instead, he merely spoke his name and left to go up to the Guardian's lookout.

When the new Super Buu pulls off his "Human Extinction Attack" (also called Genocide Blast), Mr. Satan is one of the three Earthlings present on the ground to survive (the others being Tien and Chiaotzu), not because he is skilled enough to avoid it, but because Super Buu simply does not target him.

Satan's daughter, Videl, also causes Super Buu to make an agreement allowing Gotenks an hour to prepare for fighting, as Piccolo tells Super Buu that Videl is Mr. Satan's daughter. Super Buu nearly weeps after hearing this, as he had been about to kill Videl at the time.

During the battle against Super Buu, Mr. Satan is angered to the point that he screams "I hereby terminate our friendship, Majin Buu!" and gets out a gun. In one hilarious moment, when Super Buu fires an energy ball to destroy the Earth, Mr. Satan shoots at it and it explodes, when in reality Tien intervened and countered it. When Super Buu prepares another one (and a much more powerful one, one which Tien had no method of nullifying), Mr. Satan once again starts shooting at Super Buu, and Super Buu is sliced in half, when in reality Goku returned and fired a Destructo Disk at him.

Satan, along with Dende and Bee, then sits out the rest of the battle and sees Vegito pound Super Buu around. When Super Buu absorbs Vegito, Mr. Satan and Dende tail him around the city as he eats countless cakes and sweets. Ultimately, when Super Buu reverts back to Kid Buu, Satan decides to attempt to fight him, but Dende advises him otherwise. Ultimately, when Kid Buu finally succeeds in destroying the Earth, Mr. Satan, Dende and Bee are rescued by Goku, Vegeta and Kibito Kai at the last minute via Kibito's Kai to the Kai Planet. At first, Satan believes it all to be a dream, but changes his mind when he is unable to fly, and also when Kid Buu shows up and resumes the battle against Goku and Vegeta.

The final battle

During the battle, Satan becomes angered to the point that he challenges Kid Buu to a futile duel (causing a recovering Goku to say, "Please, not him! What did I ever do to deserve this?!"). Mr. Satan punches and kicks Kid Buu, but it doesn't even faze him. Just when Kid Buu is about to kill Mr. Satan, he hesitates and spits out a blue stone that explodes into an unconscious Majin Buu, who turned out to be the bug stopping Kid Buu from harming Mr. Satan. Believing Majin Buu to have sacrificed himself to save him one last time, Mr. Satan, tears dripping from his eyes, challenges Kid Buu with all his might. Just as Kid Buu is about to finish him, Majin Buu intervenes and fights Kid Buu alone while Mr. Satan cheers him on.

Satan also participates in convincing the people of the newly-restored Earth to give their energy to Goku's Spirit Bomb, since they refuse to listen to Vegeta and Goku (except for Goku and Vegeta's friends and family, of course). He was genuinely angry that the people of earth were refusing to believe and help the one chance they had that would save them from Kid Buu once and for all. The people end up believing they were giving their energies to him when instead, it supplies to the Spirit Bomb making it a lot bigger than before.

When Goku prepares to throw it at Kid Buu, Majin Buu holds Kid Buu down while Mr. Satan carries Vegeta's limp body aside (Though he was initially confused about Majin Buu's command of "get him!", as he thought he was telling him to grab Kid Buu, until he saw Vegeta's prone body and realized it was to get the fallen prince out of attack range). The Spirit Bomb destroys Kid Buu after Goku goes Super Saiyan, and Majin Buu and Satan make it back to Earth with Goku, Vegeta, Dende and the Kais, now accepted as two new Z Warriors.

After Buu's defeat

Satan is seen once again after a few days, having been invited to a great party at Capsule Corp., where he drinks and plays cards with Yamcha and Master Roshi. After spending time on the sidelines watching with Dende, he also seems to have formed a friendship with him, asking about Dende's job as Guardian of Earth. He also seems to forget his earlier ambitions and attempts to learn how to fly, which means he never masters it.

Ten years later, Mr. Satan is still the World Martial Arts Champion, due to his and Majin Buu's (now Mr. Buu) cheating the public by having Majin Buu defeat the participants and then lose to Mr. Satan in the finals, although he implies that the next World Martial Arts Tournament, he'll let Majin Buu win. At the start of the next one, Mr. Satan is greeted by Goku, Goten, Trunks, Vegeta, and Pan (Gohan and Videl's daughter). Mr. Satan is only seen hugging his granddaughter, wanting to spoil her sick, and worrying himself sick when he sees Pan go up against a hulking fighter called The Wild Tiger.

When Goku departs with a boy named Uub, Mr. Satan and Majin Buu watch their friend leave.

Baby's invasion

Satan in Dragon Ball GT.

During the war against Baby, Mr. Satan goes along with Majin Buu, Uub and Pan to Planet Tuffle to put up a stand against Baby Vegeta until Goku arrives again. After Trunks, Goten and Gohan are freed from Baby's control, Mr. Satan helps out to the best of his abilities to fight against Baby Vegeta with all the free Z Warriors. However they have a rough battle until Uub who had tricked Baby Vegeta (now controlling a Golden Great Ape Baby Vegeta) into eating him earlier inflated his stomach causing him great pain and reducing his strength. He is present when Goku finally forces Baby out of Vegeta and then blasts him into the sun as he tries to escape on a spaceship.

Since Baby used the Black Star Dragon Balls to create the new Planet Plant, the Earth was now in danger once again of exploding from using them. Goku and company knew they would need to evacuate everyone from Earth to the new Planet Tuffle for safety, but they also knew most of the people of Earth would not believe them if Goku or his friends told them the situation, but he knew they would believe Mr. Satan, since they still believe he defeated Cell. They had Mr. Satan announce to everyone on Earth that the planet was going to explode, and that they would need to go with his officials for proper transportation. Everyone listened to him (except a few skeptics, who Vegeta simply knocked out and threw in with the luggage) and went to Planet Tuffle for safety via Goku's or Kibito Kai's instant transmission, or King Furry's ship transportation before the Earth exploded.

Super No. 17, the ultimate Artificial Human

When the dead are brought back from Hell, Mr. Satan is seen running away from members of the Red Ribbon Army who are defeated by Pan.

The Evil Dragons

Mr. Satan World Martial Arts statue

Satan is last seen watching the final battle against Omega Shenron. In the final episode, there is a statue of him along with Goku's in the world martial arts arena.

Films

Satan beating up a Living Dead in Fusion Reborn.

In all the movies that feature him, with the exception of Bojack Unbound, he is credited as "Hercule" rather than "Mr. Satan", as he is usually referred to. Mr. Satan appears in the following Dragon Ball Z movies and specials:

Bojack Unbound

Taking place after the Cell Games, millionaire X.S. Cash organizes a World Martial Arts Tournament (that they call the Intergalactic World Tournament) as a birthday present for his only son Monty, and was supposed to feature fighters representing the four corners of the galaxy (in reality, the 4 fighters were actually the pupils of Mr. Satan; made-up to look like aliens) The winner of said tournament would have won a prize of 100,000,000 Zeni and would get a chance to fight Mr. Satan. Mr Satan was looking forward to the tournament at first, but Satan chickens out when he sees Gohan and Trunks (the "Golden Fighters") participating. He tries to get out having to fight sitting on the toilet with a fake stomach ache. During the finals it is discovered that Bojack and his henchmen killed Satan's pupils (the fake galaxy warriors), contestants in their place. Satan is forced to face Bojack (to protect his public image) and actually ends up accidentally saving Gohan from the galaxy soldiers Psychic Thread energy draining technique, as his shuttle-car (a vehicle used to travel to the staging area) flies wildly through the area, however his shuttle-car is blasted by a ticked off Bojack and is destroyed leaving Mr. Satan who comically falls to the ground, creating a man-sized crater (luckily he survives). Mr. Satan (once again) steals Gohan's credit for defeating the evil Bojack. The world believes Mr. Satan defeated Bojack with his psychic powers. In the UK dub of the film, Hercule was called Mr Satan while in the UK anime episodes it is Hercule (this is because of it being dubbed by a dutch company that only dubbed the movies and not the episodes).

Bio-Broly

Taking place sometime after the World Tournament Saga, Satan, while being attacked by Android 18 (he hadn't paid her the 20,000,000 Zeni he promised her) is invited by his old rival Lord Jaguar to fight Jaguar's Bio-Warriors. Android 18, Trunks, Goten, and Krillin follow Mr. Satan (secretly to save him from any possible danger), and defeat the bio-warriors, pretending to be Mr. Satan's students. That is, until Bio-Broly, a clone of the late Legendary Super Saiyan Broly, is activated and tries to kill Satan. In the end, after Bio-Broly is killed, Satan ends up stranded in the water, and the greedy Android 18 refuses to save him unless he pays her an extra 80,000,000 Zeni. Fuming, he swims off.

He is not referred to as "Mr. Satan" in this movie, however, but either "Hercule" or plain "Satan". It is subtly implied in this movie that Mr. Satan had a bad case of incontinence when he was a child, as Men-Men's tactic of persuading Mr. Satan to come to the island involved blackmail (that is, threatening to reveal to the press that Mr. Satan wet his bed at summer camp).

Fusion Reborn

When the dead are resurrected, Mr. Satan is only seen for a few seconds, beating up walking skeletons and zombies (this is perhaps the only fight against a threatening force to the earth where Mr. Satan actually succeeds at winning, he even says "Finally an adversary I can really beat! I need to do this where someone can see me!").

Satan appeared in Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods.

Video games

Satan appears in Dragon Ball Z: The Legacy of Goku II as a secret character. In Dragon Ball Z: Budokai, Mr. Satan is the only other human besides Krillin to have a power up (Hi-Tension), he also appears as a background character in Super Dragon Ball Z in the Cell Games stage. He is considered a joke character, especially due to his ridiculous (yet effective) special skill moves in the games.

He also appears in Dragon Ball GT: Transformation, though not as a playable character.

Satan's jetpack

Satan's jetpacks

In most of the video games, Mr. Satan flies around using what looks to be a "Capsule Corp." jetpack. In those video games, the jetpack is the reason that he is able fly and run, though often still in a lessened capacity than the other fighters. The looks and design of the jetpack changes from game to game.

  • Dragon Ball Z: Budokai – Mr. Satan's jet pack is white on top and black at the bottom with two thrusters that glow green which allows Hercule to hover in the air. The letter '01' and 'C' can be seen on the back of the jetpack. This means it is probably a first model prototype jetpack.
  • Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 2 – The jetpack takes on a different look and design, being medium in size with only one thruster. The pack only has a letter '1' on the back, while there is still the 'C' as well. There are also mini-wings on the bottom-sides of the pack.
  • Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 3 – The jetpack is still the same as before, but gives Mr. Satan better lift off than on the previous games, as well as in Infinite World.
  • Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi – The jet pack is now light-brown and bulky, with white lines, and has two individual thrusters with flaps. The letter 'C' is now white on each side of the pack.
  • Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2 – The jetpack is the same as before, except that it can't keep Mr. Satan in the air for more then 3 seconds. This makes a major handicap for players who are used to playing him. When he does fly, its rather clumsy looking. This also leaves him open to attacks.
  • Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3 – The jetpack still doesn't allows Mr. Satan to stay in the air, but it doesn't let him fall to the ground anymore. Instead, he slowly descends to the ground instead of falling. To let him fly a special item must be in his stock case.

Cross Epoch

Satan gathers the Dragon Balls (called Miracle Balls in this version) and grants a wish from Shenron to become king of an island in Cross Epoch, a crossover with One Piece. This makes everyone on the island happy.

Abilities

Satan's martial arts prowess is at a level well below that of the Z Warriors, his abilities are comparable to that of "normal" Dragon World martial artists (and other trained humans, people like Chichi, who only possesses basic fighting skills, techniques, are abnormally fast, strong, and lack Flight or the ability to use Ki in basic ways), like those encountered during the early Dragon Ball tournaments. We can infer that Satan is actually a skilled normal human martial artist. His perfect record in the world tournament (during the hiatus of Z Warriors appearances) is believed to be earned fairly. With that being said Goku did refer to his skills as the basics when contemplating whether he should fuse with him or not.

When he was first introduced, he is ignorant to (or refuses to believe in) the existence of ki energy and ki attacks, and dismisses its use in martial arts (comparing it to a magician's trick and often stating this to various reporters even when it clearly isn't). Though he eventually discovers it is very real, he never actively seeks to learn how to use it (possibly due to his previous denials).

He does possess small amount of superhuman speed, strength, & stamina, which he often willfully demonstrates it through various shows of might (breaking boards, tearing phonebooks in half, or single-handedly pulling a string of 4 Buses several feet and punching a hole in it in the anime only), is able to survive being knocked into a mountain (by Perfect Cell, no less, although Piccolo notes even Cell wouldn't put in any effort into killing the likes of Satan), a punch to the face from Kid Buu, and also takes a full-force kick from Omega Shenron and only be knocked out for a matter of minutes, all arguably for comic relief. He is able to use high-speed movement (super speed) which he is seen using during his second encounter with the the crazed gunman, Van Zant.

After witnessing his daughter, Videl's, use of Flight, he attempts to learn how to fly by himself, but fails (hurting himself in the process falling from a chair and later a cliff after Kid Buu blows up the Earth). He never learns how to fly (even though he could easily learn how to from either his daughter, granddaughter, or Buu).

As a running gag in the anime, every time he stacks tiles on top of each other and breaks them with a karate chop, one tile always seems to remain. The first time was to demonstrate his strength during the Cell Games, in which he used fifteen, and the second time was after he took the credit for defeating Cell, using twenty tiles this time. The third time was during Bojack Unbound, when he broke an entire tower of tiles in the beginning of the movie (again to demonstrate his strength) when he and a tycoon hold an inter-galactic tournament.

However, the one ability that Mr. Satan, possesses that none of the other Z-Fighters could ever master was the gift of gab. Whenever the Z-fighters' strategy required the cooperation of the general public (such as the Super Spirit Bomb in the Kid Buu Saga or evacuating the Earth in the Baby Saga), they turned to Mr. Satan to persuade the people. This made him just as (if not more so) invaluable in those cases to the Z-team as Goku or Vegeta.

Gokule

Main article: Gokule

The Fusion between Goku and Satan as imagined by Goku.

Gokule is the imaginary Fusion of Goku and Satan formed by the Potara Fusion. He only appeared in Goku's imagination and as a playable character in Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 2. After Goku returned to life and Earth, he found Gohan to be the only remaining strong fighter to fuse with. When Goku threw the Potara Earrings to Gohan, Gohan dropped it. When he finally found it, he was absorbed by Super Boo. As the only two beings that were still alive were Hercule and Dende, Goku imaged what the fusions would look like and which of the two would be better. He chose Hercule because Hercule had more fighting experience and might make Goku a little stronger. In addition, fusing with Dende would make the Dragon Balls of Earth disappear. Just at the moment Goku said that Hercule should catch the earring and put it on his left ear, Vegeta appeared and Goku used Instant Transmission to find Vegeta and fuse, forming Vegito. This being the case, Gokule was only a hypothetical character in the anime, and is only seen as Goku's mental image of what the fusion would look like.

This Fusion is referred to as Gotan in the Japanese version of Budokai 2 and onwards.

Techniques

Satan has only a few known moves, though considered severely overrated. Ones that stood out among the rest are below.

Hercule Critical Attack

Hercule Critical Attack

Dynamite Kick

Satan uses the Dynamite Kick against Perfect Cell with no effect. It is present in the Budokai games and referenced to in Dragon Ball Z: Buu's Fury.

Rolling Attack Satan Punch

The Rolling Attack Satan Punch (ローリング アタック サタン パンチ, Rōringu Atakku Satan Panchi) is Mr. Satan's signature move. This is just an ordinary punch preceded by a forward roll and Satan shouting, "Satan Punch!". He actually used this on the punching machine for the 25th Tenkaichi Tournament, which was destroyed by Vegeta. This is also known as the Megaton Punch (メガトン パンチ, Megaton Panchi).

Game Boy Bomb

The Game Boy Bomb is one of Mr. Satan's humorous last resort moves. The attack consists of Satan dashing towards his opponent, stopping at the last second, handing his opponent a giftwrapped box (which contains a handheld game), then running off as his opponent is distractedly playing the portable game. Satan then pushes a remote-control button to make the handheld game explode. The move is likely derived from Satan giving Majin Buu a "Game Poy" (an obvious parody of a Game Boy) and pressing a button to make it explode in the Buu Saga. In the Budokai series, this move is called "Present for You", and is his ultimate move.

Dynamic Mess Em Up Punch

The Dynamic Mess Em Up Punch is Mister Satan's ultimate blast (in Budokai Tenkaichi 2). He punches the opponent many times (which does no damage) and finishes with a "powerful" punch (sometimes doing a whole bar of damage) saying, "You're all washed up!". This is the attack he used to "defeat" Artificial Human No. 18 and win the 25th World Martial Arts Tournament. When he used it, he called it the Megaton Punch (メガトン パンチ, Megaton Panchi). It is also known as the Satan Miracle Special Ultra Super Megaton Punch (サタン ミラクル スペシャル ウルトラ スーパー メガトン パンチ, Satan Mirakuru Supesharu Urutora Sūpā Megaton Panchi). After he defeated No. 18, he changed the name of the attack to the Satan Miracle Beautiful Super Baribari Punch (サタン ミラクル ビューティフル バリバリ スーパー パンチ, Satan Mirakuru Byūtifuru Baribari Sūpā Panchi).

Mister Buu Arrives!

Mister Buu Arrives! is Satan's ultimate blast in Budokai Tenkaichi 3, where Buu saves Mr. Satan from his opponent after being kicked. Buu barrages the opponent with punches and ends with Mr. Satan finishing off the opponent with a powerful kick.

King of Dreamers

King of Dreamers is one of Satan's Blast 2 attacks in Budokai Tenkaichi 2. He runs up at the opponent and throws a barrage of kicks and punches to which the opponent doesn't react at all. He then lifts them and throws them in the air with a mighty heave and raises his first two fingers. He uses this attack only once against No. 18 before winning the match with the Dynamic Mess 'em up punch.

Satan Kōru

Satan Kōru (サタン コール, Satan Kōru)

Super Spirit Bomb

The Super Spirit Bomb is the Ultimate Team Attack of Goku and Satan (the attack that defeated Kid Boo) where he uses his "ability to convince, people of Earth" (possibly his "greatest strength") to help out by giving up their energy to Goku (believing their giving it to Satan himself). Goku then throws the completed Super Spirit Bomb at the opponent, concluding the attack. Appears in the video game, Dragon Ball Z: Super Sonic Warriors 2, as Goku(Base) and Satan's Team Attack. ("Guys, Help a Brother Out!")

Battle power

His battle power is below that of his daughter, Videl (who knows how to use ki, flight, and takes training more seriously than he does), but it is higher than Spopovich's (before becoming a Majin) or that of a "normal" untrained human (like the evil gunmen Van Zant and Smitty).

Battle record

Satan rarely defeats an opponent by himself, due to being no more than the strongest normal human in the series, but he does manage to win once every now and then. This is a list opponents defeated by Satan:

  • Spopovich (as a normal Human) - Defeated in the 24th Tenkaichi Budokai.
  • Jewel - Defeated to win the 24th Tenkaichi Budokai.
  • Android 18 - He technically defeated her to win the 25th Tenkaichi Budokai, though had No. 18 not thrown the fight, the outcome would have been very different.
  • Smitty - Hit him in the face with a rock.
  • Van Zant - As physical retaliation for shooting Bee.
  • Majuub - Technically beat him at the 31st Tenkaichi Budokai in Dragon Ball GT, although it was Uub who had let him win due to a request made by Majin Buu.

List of opponents he helped defeat:

  • Perfect Cell – Threw No. 16's head to where Gohan was standing, leading to the events which caused Gohan to snap and become Super Saiyan 2.
  • Bojack – Accidentally freed a trapped Gohan, who was trapped in energy draining Psychic Treads.
  • Kid Buu – Convinced all the people of Earth to give Goku their energy for the Super Spirit Bomb, as well as carried Vegeta away so Goku could throw the Bomb without hitting Vegeta.

List of opponents he lost to:

  • Perfect Cell – Cell swatted him far out of the ring and into a mountain with one swift stroke.
  • Trunks – He technically "lost", but because he faked that he let Trunks win, the general public believed he threw the match on purpose.

Voice actors

Name changes

Due to editing, Mr. Satan was renamed "Hercule" in the edited and dubbed American version on television and in the English-translated manga, in spite of the fact that a variety of references to hell, heaven, and the next life appear frequently in Lilian Olsen and Gerard Jones' Viz translation; he remains "Mr. Satan" in the uncut English anime on DVD, as well as the Mexican InterTRACK dub. The original name was considered too offensive due to its connection to the biblical Satan, a connotation that was intended but does not have the same religious significance for most in Japan. The new name originates from its use as his name in the French DBZ dub, which was based on Hercules in Greek mythology.

Dragon Ball Z video games released in the English-speaking world since 2000 (including the Budokai and Legacy of Goku series) use "Hercule" rather than "Mr. Satan," ostensibly because this is the most familiar name to English-speaking fans. For this same reason, the fusion of Hercule and Son Goku that occurs in the game Budokai 2 is called Gokule. In the Japanese version of this game, however, the character remains "Mr. Satan" and the fused character is called Gotan. The European version of Dragon Ball Z: Budokai had him named 'Mr. Satan", but was later changed to "Hercule". In the booklet for the American release of Dragon Ball Z: Ultimate Battle 22, the character's name is given as "Mr. Hercule Satan" with Hercule being his first name, and Satan his last.

Generally, in most anime series, the name Satan implies evil, with "Mr. Satan" being the only exception.

Despite its use in the French and Portuguese versions, it should be noted that the changes there were not motivated by editing away offensive content, but instead to distinguish him from Piccolo, whom had been renamed "Satan Petit Cœur" and "Coraçãozinho de Satan" respectively (both loosely translate to "Satan's little heart").

In the U.S. edition of Shonen Jump published by VIZ Media, an explanation is given that Hercule is the "real name" of the character while Mr. Satan was the name he used as a wrestler (though he has always been a martial artist) perhaps because his design and general showboating personality is similar to a stereotypical western wrestler.

Mr. Satan was also named "Mr. Savage" on early English Dragon Ball products long before the Cell Saga was dubbed or published in English.

In the tradition of Dragon Ball name puns, Mr. Satan and his family are named after demons/figures from mythology and religion. His daughter's name, Videl, is an anagram of the word devil. His granddaughter, Pan, can also be taken to mean the figure from Greek mythology (though since her father is Gohan, it could just as easily mean "bread"; given Toriyama's love of puns, it could be both).

Meanwhile in the Philippines, being one of the only two Christian nations in Asia, the name Mr. Satan would sound unpleasant for a cartoon character (whose Filipino translation means "Satanas" or "Demonyo"), therefore it was also dubbed to "blend" with the character. Although there are no manipulations made in the animation (such as changing the names where "Satan" are written, like in "Satan City"), instead they made use of a more slapstick moniker called "Master Pogi", which literally means "Master Handsome" (making his city "Pogi City" or "Handsome City") to match the sense of humor that he brings to the story (the irony being that he isn't that good looking). Eventually, Satan City was renamed Pogi City.

In the new Super Exciting Guide: Character Volume, there are interviews with Toriyama and he's asked about Mister Satan's real name. Toryiama mentions that Mister Satan is just the character's ring name and that his real name is Mark (マーク). This is a romanization of a rearrangement of Akuma (Japanese for devil), Maaku.[citation needed]

Trivia

  • Satan can be seen on the Joker card in one of Oolong's card games.
  • In Dragon Ball Z: Supersonic Warriors 2, Broly becomes good friends with Hercule in one of his "what if" alternate timelines. This friendship that Hercule had with Broly is very similar to the one he had with Majin Buu.
  • Although weak compared to the majority of the cast, Mr. Satan is a skilled martial artist, and his strength exceeds that of most humans.
  • Akira Toriyama revealed in the Super Exciting Guide interview that Mr. Satan's first name is Mark (マーク, Maaku), a rough anagram of Akuma, which means "Devil" or "Demon" in Japanese, keeping in line with his family's naming scheme.
  • Satan has won the World Martial Arts Tournament 6 times, even though in 4 of the tournaments, his opponent (Mr. Buu) let him win.
  • Satan only makes one costume change.
  • Satan is one of the few main characters not to die in Dragon Ball Z (excluding what may have been a brief clinical death at the hands of Van Zant).
  • Satan enjoys eating high class steak and riding high class Satan model cars.
  • Along with the Supreme Kai, Pan, Baba, and Uub, Mr. Satan is one of the only characters out of the main cast, who is never killed during the course of Dragon Ball Z and Dragon Ball GT.
  • Ironically, Mr. Satan gets himself into far more dangerous situations than anyone in the series yet he always come out alive unlike most of the other characters despite being one of the weakest of the Z-Fighters, if not the weakest. Typically, it's his bond with the fat Majin Buu that allows for him to come through, against both the Super and original forms of Buu. However, it is to be noted that despite the Buu in question having merged with the same Uub (or Majuub) who was out of the count at the time, he manages to survive a kick from Omega Shenron, which even the strongest of the human Z-Fighters should logically be unable to do. This occurs in a similar fashion to Kid Buu's punch to Satan's nose merely doing enough harm for him to shout in pain.
  • In the fight between Vegito and Super Buu, Mr. Satan is able to see the fighters while they move and fight, while unable to sense energy, however Gohan, during the Saibaman struggle, could not see the fights until he concentrated on their energy, and not using his eyes. This is another plothole of the series.
  • Almost every time Mr. Satan has to come to the ring in the World Martial Arts Tournament, he usually ends up hurting himself, then winds up lying to the crowd saying that he was kidding around.

References