Dragon Ball: Piccolo's Self-Discovery, Explained

gamerant.com:

Piccolo is one of the Dragon Ball franchise's most important characters, and his trajectory which saw him go from one of the greatest antagonists Goku has ever faced to one of Goku's most crucial allies is one of the most notable examples of the frachise's well-documented heel-face-turn trope.

However, just what were the major events along Piccolo's path which caused him to undergo such a major shift in the first place? This is how Piccolo went from the literal Demon King to righteous hero over the course of two lifetimes.

Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero Review

Before getting into how Piccolo went from the greatest evil to the greatest babysitter, it is important to come to understand a bit more about the Namekians, the race to which Piccolo belongs. While the Namekians exist in both Universe 6 and Universe 7, which are introduced in Dragon Ball Super, they actually hail from a different dimension entirely. It is once said that the Namekians were spacefarers who traded with various planets, but ceased doing so after a «Great Cataclysm» which left Grand Elder Guru as the sole survivor.

Prior to the first extinction of Namek; however, a nameless Namekian was sent to Earth by his father Katas. The fissure of the nameless Namekian results in the creation of two characters who are integral to theDragon Ball story: Kami, who becomes the Guardian of Earth; and of course, the Demon King Piccolo.

The Cataclysm took place on Namek several hundred years prior to the events of Dragon Ball, and the planet was vastly different to the way it is now. The Namekians were highly technologically advanced at one point, and that is how they were able to be spacefarers, but it is also how the Nameless Namekian was transported off-world prior to its