Most Dragon Ball fans know Piccolo as the kindhearted — if a bit emotionally unavailable — mentor to Gohan, and as a beloved protector of the Earth. Given how much good he has done throughout Dragon Ball Z and Super, it's easy to forget that he was once the most evil of villains who did some truly terrible things in the original Dragon Ball series.
Before Piccolo was redeemed as a protector of the Earth who would give his life to defend Gohan, he was the murderous Demon King who took the lives of countless people and committed the worst kinds of atrocities. Just as looking back on the unfortunate parts of history can help humanity avoid making the same mistakes in the future, looking at Piccolo's past can shed light on just how far he has come as a person in Dragon Ball.
10 Piccolo Turned on Pilaf After Pilaf Freed Him
Piccolo Kicked The Pilaf Gang Out of His Airship Mid-flight
With Pilaf being a villain, it's often hard to sympathize with anything that happens to him. However, Piccolo's treatment of the Pilaf Gang truly highlighted how indiscriminately evil he was.
Pilaf's gang were the ones who released Piccolo from his Rice Cooker prison, though they, of course, did it with their ulterior motives in mind. Unfortunately, after finally having his power restored by Shenron, King Piccolo no longer had any use for Pilaf. Instead of being appreciative of Pilaf for reviving him, Piccolo simply dropped Pilaf, Mai, and Shu out of his ship while it was mid-flight. This is just a pure act of evil that shows that even Piccolo's own allies weren't safe from his brand of senseless destruction.
9 Piccolo Essentially Killed Goku in Their First Meeting
Piccolo Checked Goku's Pulse to Make Sure He Was Definitely Dead After Their First Fight
In their first fight, before Piccolo even reached his full power, he was already a threat the likes of which Goku had never seen. While Goku impressed Piccolo with his raw combat skill and physical strength, the boy was still no match for the Demon King.
Goku used every attack he had in his arsenal, even firing a fully charged Kamehameha, but it was no use. Piccolo easily overpowered Goku and stole his precious four-star Dragon Ball, but not before beating Goku to a bloody pulp. With one final ki blast, Piccolo not only defeated Goku but seemed to have killed him as well, even checking his pulse to make sure he was dead. In a miraculous turn of events, Goku somehow survived, but anyone else would surely have been killed by King Piccolo's onslaught.
8 Piccolo Nearly Killed Tien in Front of Goku
King Piccolo Would Have Crushed Tien's Skull if Goku Didn't Agree to Give Up
King Piccolo's purely evil nature may have been best shown in his treatment of Tien during his fight with Goku. While most fighters with honor would choose to fight fair and square, Piccolo lived by no such moral code.
Realizing that he would be unable to defeat Goku in a straight-up fight, Piccolo took Tien hostage and began crushing his skull with his bare hand. He told Goku that he would kill him right there if Goku moved a muscle, and aware that he would be unable to bring Tien back with Shenron dead, Goku had no choice but to do as the Demon King said.
7 Piccolo Killed Chaotzu With a Single Attack
Chiaotzu's Last-ditch Attempt to Stop King Piccolo Resulted in His Death
When King Piccolo finally summoned Shenron, Chiaotzu, and Tien devised one final plan to turn the tables on the Demon King. Tien telepathically communicated to Chiaotzu to step in just before Piccolo was about to make his wish and interrupt him by wishing to make Piccolo disappear.
Chiaotzu enacted his and Tien's plan just as they discussed it, but Piccolo was too fast and managed to fire a ki blast at Chiaotzu before the latter could finish his wish. With just a single energy blast from Piccolo, Chiaotzu was instantly killed, and there was no one left to stand between Piccolo and his goal of returning to his former glory.
6 Piccolo Indirectly Killed Master Roshi
Master Roshi Used Every Last Bit of His Power to Try to Seal Piccolo Away But Died Trying
On King Piccolo's mission to collect all the dragon balls, he finds Master Roshi, Tien, and Chiaotzu, who have the five remaining dragon balls. In order to protect his student, Roshi knocks Tien out to prevent him from fighting alongside him, and steps up to Piccolo to face him on his own.
In one of the most memorable moments in Dragon Ball history, Roshi tells King Piccolo who he is: the student of Mutaito, the one who sealed King Piccolo away the first time. Piccolo is completely shocked to hear this, and it's the first time he shows real fear in the series. In hopes of sealing away Piccolo as his master did, Roshi gives his life to use the Evil Containment Wave technique. Unfortunately, Roshi misses at just the last second, making it all for naught. While Roshi's death was due to his own sacrifice, Piccolo's mere existence is such a source of evil that the Turtle Hermit had no choice but to fight to his dying breath.
5 Piccolo Killed Shenron to Prevent Anyone Else From Making Wishes
Piccolo Destroyed Shenron For No Good Reason Aside From His Pure Malice
Even before having his wish to restore his power granted, Piccolo had already killed a number of Goku's friends. As devastating as that was, Goku always had the hope that he could bring them back using the Dragon Balls when the fighting was finally over, but King Piccolo had other plans.
After having his wish granted by Shenron, King Piccolo did the unthinkable and killed Shenron, rendering the Dragon Balls completely powerless. Piccolo's other half, Kami, originally created the Dragon Balls to give humanity hope in honor of Roshi's master, who gave his life to seal Piccolo away the first time. That being the case, by destroying the Eternal Dragon and rendering the Dragon Balls powerless, Piccolo had both literally and figuratively destroyed all hope humanity had left.
4 Piccolo Broke Goku's Limbs So That He Couldn't Fight Back — Twice
Piccolo Doesn't Care About Fighting Fair, Leading Him to Cripple Goku in Both of Their Fights
King Piccolo was not only an extremely powerful warrior; he was also highly intelligent and calculating. Piccolo knew a threatening opponent when he faced one, and Goku was easily his greatest potential threat. After returning from drinking the Sacred Water, Goku was even stronger than ever — perhaps stronger than Piccolo himself.
By taking advantage of Goku's love for his friends, Piccolo was able to break nearly every bone in Goku's body while Goku was powerless to fight back. When the two fought initially, Piccolo broke both Goku's legs and one arm, but Goku was able to still find a way to win. In their next encounter, Piccolo Jr learned from his previous incarnation's mistake and took care to break both Goku's arms and legs to ensure he was helpless.
3 Piccolo Sent Tambourine to Kill Every Master Martial Artist in the World
Piccolo's Minions Committed Just as Many Acts of Pure Evil as Their Master Did
Upon his initial revival, King Piccolo sought to establish his superiority right away. To do that, Piccolo ordered his minion, Tambourine, to seek out and kill all the strongest martial artists on the planet.
By far, the most heart-wrenching scene left behind from Tambourine's murder spree was the death of Krillin. This was Krillin's first death in the series and the first major death of a main character in the franchise. It left a profound impact on Goku, but that was hardly the beginning of Piccolo's reign of terror.
2 Piccolo Took Over the Entire World
The World Descended to a State of Utter Chaos Under King Piccolo's Rule
After restoring his full power, Piccolo made it his mission to take control over the entire world. With Roshi, Chiaotzu, and Krillin killed, and Goku severely injured, few people were remaining who could put a stop to Piccolo's rampage.
Eventually, Piccolo made his way to Central City and usurped the throne of the beloved King of the World, King Furry. Under King Piccolo's rule, the world was plunged into utter chaos. Piccolo released all the world's most violent prisoners and allowed society to collapse for his mere amusement.
1 Piccolo Killed Innumerable Innocent People
King Piccolo Had No Qualms About Killing Any and Everyone Who Stood in His Way
It wasn't just Goku's friends who were forced to face the wrath of Demon King Piccolo; in his quest to conquer the world after having regained his youth and power, King Piccolo mercilessly killed countless innocent civilians. He also swiftly eradicated several waves of military personnel who attempted to stop him.
Piccolo truly lived up to his name as the Demon King, wreaking havoc and terror upon the world to a degree that was never before seen in Dragon Ball. Even though several villains would come after Piccolo in DBZ and Super that would cause even greater destruction, none of them did so with quite the same kind of intentional malice as King Piccolo.
