Is Nappa The Most Dangerous Villain In Dragon Ball Z? Explored

Akira Toriyama’s Dragon Ball Z has an abundance of powerful and dangerous villains. But when it comes to being the deadliest, Nappa takes the cake. Here is why.

Published on May 08, 2024  |  11:09 AM IST |  32.9K
Why Nappa Is One Of The Deadliest Villains Of Dragon Ball Z
Nappa in Dragon Ball Z (PC: Toei Animation, Naohiro Shintani, Akira Toriyama)

Akira Toriyama’s Dragon Ball Z has to be one of the most famous battle-shounen manga and anime series of all time. The storylines involve excellent battle scenes but also strong characters who grow throughout the series. But as we all know, no battle series is ever complete with some really good villains. 

Dragon Ball Z, of course, has its own set of dangerous and terrifying villains who not only worry the heroes but the audience as well. Throughout the years, these heroes have only grown in strength as our heroes have to through more and more peril to defeat them. However, one of the most deadly and sadistic villains of Dragon Ball Z appeared at the beginning of the series, and it was none other than Nappa.


Nappa is extremely strong and a sadistic killer 

One of the main reasons why Nappa, despite being an early villain, makes such an impact is that he is extremely strong. Before Goku, most of the people who fought the Saiyan could not deal much damage against him. Unlike, Raditz, Nappa’s tail is not a point of weakness but a source of power for him. Not only is he also resistant to their physical attacks like kicks and punches, but the heroes’ strongest attacks such as Tien’s Spirit Tri-Beam, Gohan’s Masenko, and Chiaotzu’s self-destruct gambit do no more than scratch the Saiyan. Piccolo and Krillin’s Tri-Form assault is also pretty much useless against Nappa and Krillin’s Destructo Disc only manages to scratch him a little. 

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Not only is he virtually impenetrable, but he is also an extremely powerful warrior. He is one of the only villains who has killed multiple main characters in a single fight in the DBZ series. He is the one who kills Tien, Chiaotzu, and Piccolo. He also was able to defeat Gohan and Krillin. Piccolo’s death, was especially important as it neutralized all of Earth’s Dragon Balls, which was really bad for the planet and its occupants. The other villains who were able to deal more damage later on in the series were mostly able to do so because Goku was not around. If Goku had not been there to stop Nappa in time, he could have easily destroyed the planet or realized his evil plan for the Earth’s occupants.

Nappa and Vegeta in Dragon Ball Z

Nappa’s sadism and destructiveness make him a true force of evil 

There are many villains in the Dragon Ball Z universe that have dealt irreparable damage to Earth and its heroes. However, when it comes to being sadistic and torturing people just for the sake of it, nobody could come close to Nappa. When he first came to Earth with Vegeta, the latter only wanted to take the planet’s Dragon Balls. But Nappa’s intent of taking over the entire planet and using it as a breeding ground for Saiyans as Human-Saiyan hybrids are superior to both species is truly sinister. 

Since Saiyans had drastically decreased in numbers, his plan was to repopulate the Earth with Human-Saiyan hybrids who would not only control the humans for them but also help them take over the galaxy once again. Even though his plan was put to a stop by Vegeta who thought that the hybrids might prove to be hard to control, the plan shows that Nappa’s evil intent goes far beyond his physical powers. 

The series also shows us how Nappa likes to cause pain in people just for the sake of it. At first, we see him almost destroy Earth’s military powers just because he is bored. He also causes a lot of unnecessary deaths on the planet of Arlia just because he is bored. Whenever he is bored on earth, he tries to destroy cities and military forces to pass the time. Nappa takes pleasure in torturing those who are weaker than him. Unlike Vegeta, a stronger warrior who has his impulses in check and does not cause unnecessary destruction, Nappa puts his opponents through torture and pain before finishing them off, taking pleasure in the act. 

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His cruelty comes to the forefront in his battle against Goku when he threatens to kill Gohan just to mentally torture the former. Even Vegeta, who has a lot of animosity against Earth’s occupants, and wanted to destroy the planet, did not hold this much animosity. Nappa, on the other hand, was ready to torture and kill a child just to teach Goku a lesson. It goes to show that even though Nappa is an early villain and probably less powerful than some future villains who pretty much gained astronomical amounts of power, he was sinister and evil in a way not many of the latter DBZ villains have achieved. 

ALSO READ: What Was The Final Correction That Akira Toriyama Made To Dragon Ball Manga? Toyotaro Reveals

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About The Author

Gargi has a Masters degree in English Literature from The University of Calcutta. She has been a content writer

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