One of the most enduring comic relief characters in Dragon Ball is Mr. Satan. Hercule is Videl’s father – making him Gohan’s father-in-law, Goku’s brother-in-law, and Pan’s grandfather – and a con man with a heart of gold who, despite his weakness, has repeatedly helped save the universe. His antics often land him in potentially life-threatening situations, but it always ends well for the world champion.

To the people of the world of Dragon BallMr. Satan, not Goku, is the strongest man in the world. Since claiming Gohan’s victory over Perfect Cell at the Cell Games, he has been worshipped by almost the entire population of the Earth and has become as rich and famous as possible. Despite his many mistakes, Mr. Satan is popular with fans for his hilarious antics and his genuine love for his family (including Mr. Buu).and its surprising moments of triumph.

Mr. Satan is a legitimate martial arts champion

Mr. Satan won the 24th World Martial Arts Tournament fairly

Primarily a comic character and one of the weakest main characters in Dragon BallIt is easy to forget that Mr. Satan is still one of the greatest fighters on earth. Mr. Satan spent his life training and studying martial arts, becoming strong enough to pull four buses by himself and smash through one of them. Having already made a name for himself by winning other competitions, Mr. Satan wanted to further test himself and become famous, with his eye on the greatest prize available to a martial artist: the title of the World’s Strongest Man.

Mr. Satan competed in the 24th World Martial Arts Tournament, where he effortlessly defeated Spopovich and Jewel to become the new champion. Although Mr. Satan didn’t actually defeat the best fighters in the world to claim this title – as the reigning champion, Goku, and the rest of the Z-Warriors didn’t even know about the event’s return – he defeated all of his opponents fairly. Aside from the supernaturally powerful members of the Dragon Team, Mr. Satan is truly the strongest fighter in the world and had he debuted during the original tournament, Dragon Ballwould have been more than capable of holding his own against the likes of Giran, Nam, Man-Wolf, and Pamput. In the series’ present, he knocks out Smitty and Van Zant after they shoot Bee, and he even proves to be a great mentor to Videl and Pan.

Mr. Satan has become one of the richest and most popular men in the world through lies

Mr. Satan built his luxurious life on the back of Gohan’s greatest achievement

After winning the 24th World Martial Arts Tournament, Mr. Satan managed to turn his victory into fame, something the previous winners, Master Roshi, Tien, and Goku, were never interested in. He was already rich, successful, and popular, but his life was forever changed by the Cell Games. After Perfect Cell’s announcement of said tournament and his declaration that he would destroy the Earth if no fighter could defeat him, the eyes of humanity collectively turned to the “Strongest Under Heaven,” Mr. Satan.

A master of showing off, Mr. Satan convinces his adoring audience that Cell is nothing to be afraid of, that his powers are nothing more than “tricks,” and that he will defeat the android and bring peace to the world. When he actually faces Cell, Mr. Satan is defeated with a single punch and is forced to watch as the Z Warriors take control of the situation. Gohan achieves Super Saiyan 2, defeats Cell with the help of Goku, Vegeta, Piccolo, Krillin, Tien, and Yamcha, and saves the world. However, since the cameras Mr. Satan brought with him stop broadcasting, no one else is privy to these events. Giving Mr. Satan the opportunity to lie and claim victory over Celm.

With the world having long forgotten Goku and his victory as a child over King Piccolo, saving humanity from his tyranny, Mr. Satan is hailed as the ultimate savior. Mr. Satan becomes the second richest after the Briefs family, one of the world’s largest cities is named after him, and his millions of fans practically idolize him. The reward for Mr. Satan’s deception comes seven years after the Cell Games, at the 25th World Martial Arts Tournament, where he comes face to face with humanity’s true heroes. To maintain his wealth and status, Mr. Satan, constantly under stress, is forced to tell even more lies and manipulate events in his favor. He later reorganizes the structure of the World Tournament to try to avoid fighting a Z-Warrior, and in the finale bribes Android 18, who had already defeated Super Saiyans Goten and Trunks, into going into hiding.

Mr. Satan is a loving friend and father who saved the universe

Goku and Vegeta could not have defeated Kid Buu without Mr. Satan

Mr. Satan is cowardly, deceitful, manipulative, greedy, narcissistic and a liar. These are all characteristics found in villains, but Dragon Ball has never kept its characters strictly bound to traditions, as can be seen in Bulma, one of the two original main characters, who exhibits all of these characteristics. That’s not all that Mr. Satan has in common with Bulma, because despite everything he is also a selfless hero with important talents that none of the much stronger characters possess.

When Mr. Satan first arrived at the Cell Games, he was fully prepared to enter a life-or-death battle to save the world. He may have initially dismissed Perfect Cell’s outstanding power as a mere ruse, but he was still selfless enough to risk everything against a threatening enemy. Mr. Satan is also a loving and overprotective father, using his enormous wealth to spoil Videl, train her in martial arts, and prevent her from finding a boyfriend by telling her that she cannot date anyone who is not stronger than him. After Videl marries Gohan, Mr. Satan becomes very fond of and supportive of him. Mr. Satan gets along similarly with Goku and Chi-Chi, making sure they never lack money. When his granddaughter Pan is born, Mr. Satan enjoys the role of grandfather, taking care of her as a baby and pampering and training her as she grows into a toddler, just as he did with Videl.

Mr. Satan’s greatest contributions to the series take place during the final story arc Dragon Ball Zthe Buu Saga. When the threat of Majin Buu emerges, his fans, who believe him to be invincible, place the expectation on Mr. Satan to defeat him. Not understanding what he is dealing with, Mr. Satan attempts to murder Buu using various tricks before calming Buu down by befriending the innocent monster and teaching him that killing and eating humans is wrong. Due to the strong bond the two forge, Mr. Satan is later spared by Super Buu when he uses the Human Extinction Attack to kill almost everyone else on Earth.

After Tien and Chiatozu are killed by Kid Buu’s destruction of the Earth, Mr. Satan is one of only two humans left alive, and although he is significantly weaker than several other human fighters, he is exactly the ally Goku and Vegeta need at that moment. When Goku and Vegeta prove unable to defeat Kid Buu with their own power, a Spirit Bomb charged with the life force of every living thing on Earth becomes their last hope after they are restored and Namek becomes their last hope, but since the population of Earth does not trust the Saiyans enough to willingly give them their energy and none of the heroes have the rhetorical skills to convince them, the universe can only be saved by Mr. Satan convincing his fans around the world to trust him, each gladly providing their ki for their champion.

In modern Dragon BallMr. Satan rarely, if ever, gets involved in the action. Instead, he’s there to be a lovable family man, get the cast extra money when needed, and encourage Mr. Buu to fight for Earth. Mr. Satan and Mr. Buu remain best friends. Mr. Satan gives Buu everything he wants, and in return, Buu makes sure no one ever makes it to the finals of a tournament where they could potentially dethrone Mr. Satan. Buu remains one of the strongest non-Saiyan members of the Dragon Team, and he only helps out on occasions like the Universe 6 Tournament and the Tournament of Power because Mr. Satan asks him to.

Mr. Satan is a prime example of how characters in Dragon Ball can contribute to the series without being powerful warriors. His role in Dragon Ball Super could be compared to his fame at the end of the Dragon Ball Zbut he remains a consistently hysterical, funny and welcome presence.