How Strong Is Orange Piccolo? (Compared to Other Dragon Ball Characters)
The Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero movie was one of the most refreshing movies in the Dragon Ball canon because it allowed us to shift our focus more to Gohan and Piccolo, who are both two of the most important characters behind Goku and Vegeta. Of course, a good part of the film focused on Piccolo, who not only had plenty of screen time but was also able to unlock a new form called Orange Piccolo. So, in that regard, how strong is Orange Piccolo?
Orange Piccolo is incredibly strong because he was able to completely outclass Gamma 2, who couldn’t even hurt him with any of his attacks. Piccolo said that Gamma 2 is likely almost as strong as Goku and Vegeta. On top of that, Orange Piccolo was the only threat to Cell Max before Gohan Beast.
For many years, Piccolo was just a background character because he couldn’t reach the power levels of the Saiyans. It was quite refreshing to see him getting a massive power boost during the events of Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero, as he is likely to see more action in the future arcs of the Dragon Ball Super storyline. Now, let’s look at how strong Orange Piccolo is.
How Strong Is Orange Piccolo?
In the Dragon Ball storyline, Piccolo was always one of the strongest fighters on Earth. But his power eventually paled in comparison to the Saiyans because Namekians don’t have the same crazy power boost that Saiyans tend to receive from time to time.
He was still an incredibly powerful fighter that proved to be quite important during the Tournament of Power, especially when he was working alongside Gohan. But what was clear was that he wasn’t half as strong as Goku or Vegeta.
Things changed, however, during the events of Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero when he realized that he was probably the only one that could prevent the Red Ribbon Army’s plan to kill his friends. The fact that Goku and Vegeta were on Whis’s planet and were well beyond their reach meant that Piccolo had to become stronger in a hurry. That was when he made a wish to Shenron to unlock his full potential, as the dragon himself told Piccolo that he added a “small” bonus.
After Gohan went to the base of the Red Ribbon Army to rescue Pan, who was fake-kidnapped by an undercover Piccolo, the Saiyan fought Gamma 1. Meanwhile, to prevent Gamma 2 from ganging up on Mystic Gohan, who was overwhelming Gamma 1, Piccolo had to step in for a rematch with the android that defeated him earlier in the series.
At first, Gamma 2 was able to see that Piccolo’s strength clearly improved from their last battle. Still, the android was very much in control of their fight, despite the fact that Piccolo saw a massive increase in his power. But that was when the “small” bonus kicked in.
After getting overwhelmed by Gamma 2 despite getting his potential unlocked, Piccolo had awoken a hidden power that allowed him to change his form. His jaw assumed a more chiseled form while his body became much bigger to the point that his size rivaled Broly’s own massive build. But the most surprising part was the fact that his greenish color turned orange, as he himself dubbed the transformation “Orange Piccolo.”
In his Orange Piccolo form, the Namekian saw a massive power increase to the point that none of Gamma 2’s attacks could even hurt him. Earlier in the movie, he said that the androids had the power to potentially rival Goku and Vegeta (although he didn’t say what Super Saiyan form he was referring to). However, Orange Piccolo had grown to become too strong to the point that none of Gamma 2’s attacks could put a scratch on him, as the Namekian knocked the android away with a single strike.
At that point, it was clear that Orange Piccolo was the strongest fighter on Earth and was already stronger than Gohan’s awakened “Mystic” state. On top of that, when Cell Max was awakened, the only fighter that could actually hold the gigantic beast back a bit was Piccolo. Cell Max was, of course, still a lot stronger than Orange Piccolo. But Piccolo, when assuming a gigantic form, could keep the monster at bay a bit, even though he still didn’t have a chance to defeat it.
Speaking of Cell Max, Akira Toriyama once said that this beast was so strong that not even Broly, the strongest Dragon Ball anime non-fusion character introduced at that time, was not even strong enough to stop him.
In that regard, the fact that Orange Piccolo was able to put up a good fight against Cell Max, even though he still got overwhelmed by the monster, proved that he had reached an incredible power level that allowed him to fight on par with his other allies on Earth.
How Strong Is Orange Piccolo Compared To Other Dragon Ball Characters?
Orange Piccolo is indeed strong, but the only way for us to see how strong he has become is to compare his feats and power level to some of the most notable characters in the Dragon Ball Super anime series.
Gohan
In his potential-unleashed “Mystic” form, Gohan was strong enough to fight Super Saiyan Blue Goku, who wasn’t holding back during their sparring match before the Tournament of Power. Goku needed to use Kaioken x20 to defeat Gohan in that fight. Gohan, of course, was able to slightly overpower Gamma 1 in their fight in Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero, even though the gap between them wasn’t wide.
But the fact that Orange Piccolo was clearly a lot stronger than Gamma 2, who is just as strong as Gamma 1, proves that he is far stronger than Gohan’s potential-unleashed state. It was only when Gohan achieved his “Beast” form, which is the ultimate culmination of his hidden potential, that he was able to completely outclass Orange Piccolo.
Goku
As mentioned, Goku needed to use Super Saiyan Blue Kaioken x20 to defeat Gohan in their sparring match because it was clear that his son could match his SSB form. While we all know that Goku could use Ultra Instinct, he was yet to learn how to freely utilize that form during the timeline of events of Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero. This is probably the reason why Piccolo said that the Gamma androids had the potential to match Goku.
That said, Orange Piccolo is definitely a lot stronger than Super Saiyan Blue Goku. It is possible that Orange Piccolo, however, is at the level of Super Saiyan Blue Kaioken x20 Goku, which was the form he used to defeat Gohan in their sparring match. But the manga version of Goku, who has mastered Perfected Ultra Instinct and True Ultra Instinct, is already well beyond Orange Piccolo.
Vegeta
Vegeta always found a way to match Goku’s strength, who was always the first one to become stronger than the Saiyan Prince. But the usual theme of Dragon Ball is that Goku and Vegeta are almost always just as strong as each other, as Vegeta was able to unlock his Super Saiyan Blue Evolved form during the Tournament of Power. This form is said to be what allowed Vegeta to match Goku’s Super Saiyan Blue Kaioken x20 form.
Considering that Vegeta’s SSB Evolved form was able to overwhelm Top’s God of Destruction form and was able to allow him to fight alongside Goku’s strongest Super Saiyan Blue form, it is possible that Orange Piccolo is at this level. That’s because Gohan, who witnessed Goku and Vegeta in the Tournament of Power, said that he didn’t think that Goku and Vegeta could have beaten Cell Max. Nevertheless, in the manga, Vegeta had achieved Ultra Ego, which makes him far stronger than Orange Piccolo.
Frieza
While Golden Frieza is a powerful form that allowed the evil tyrant to match Goku and Vegeta in their Super Saiyan Blue forms, he wasn’t at the level of Jiren in the Tournament of Power and was completely rag-dolled by Broly in Dragon Ball Super: Broly. As such, as far as the anime is concerned, he isn’t at the level of Goku or Vegeta, who both achieved stronger forms.
That said, Orange Piccolo is likely stronger than Golden Frieza, who couldn’t even fight an enraged Super Saiyan Broly on par. But we all know that Frieza is now the strongest mortal in the manga because he unlocked Black Frieza, which completely overwhelmed Ultra Instinct Goku and Ultra Ego Vegeta.
Broly
At the time of his introduction, Broly was the strongest Dragon Ball character introduced in the anime as he was able to completely overpower both Goku and Vegeta while they were in their Super Saiyan Blue forms. In his Legendary Super Saiyan form, he also put up a good fight against Super Saiyan Gogeta before the fusion warrior went Super Saiyan Blue. Of course, Toriyama did say that not even Broly was strong enough to defeat Cell Max.
Considering that Orange Piccolo was strong enough to hold Cell Max at bay and was able to survive some of the monster’s powerful attacks, it is quite possible that he is almost at the level of Broly’s Legendary Super Saiyan form, although it is possible that the huge Saiyan is still stronger than him.
