", published in Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine on February 9, 1988,[2] as the reincarnation of the evil King Piccolo, who was positioned as a demonic antagonist of the series.

After losing to Son Goku in the World Martial Arts Tournament, Piccolo teams up with him and his friends in order to defeat newer, more dangerous and powerful threats, such as Vegeta, Frieza, Cell, Majin Buu, Beerus, Zamasu, Jiren, Broly, and Moro.

King Piccolo was created after he told the author how Roman Emperor Nero enjoyed watching people suffer.

[4] However, the Shenlong Times issue #2, a bonus pamphlet given to some buyers of the Daizenshuu 2: Story Guide guidebook, says that the character was modeled after Torishima himself.

[3] Although Piccolo's transformation from a villain to a hero was considered by Toriyama to be cliché, he still felt excited when drawing him, noting that despite having a scary face, he still looks appealing.

[11] By the time he reprised the voice in Dragon Ball Super, Piccolo had become Furukawa's favorite character of all his roles.

[17] Ray Chase voices Piccolo in the Toonami Asia broadcast of Dragon Ball Super produced by Bang Zoom!

Due to his Namekian physiology,[19] Piccolo can expand his arms,[20][21] move fast enough to not be seen,[22] regenerate lost limbs of his body[23][24] so long as his head is still intact,[25] and possesses superhuman hearing[26] and strength.

[35][36] Unlike most energy-based attacks in Dragon Ball, the potent Makankōsappō pierces its targets like a drill rather than enveloping them or exploding on contact.

"Repeated Flash Bullets", "Hellzone Grenade" in English media), which involves firing off many orbs of energy that float around the opponent.

[69][70][71] After these events, in Dragon Ball Super: Broly, Piccolo, standing by an unknown location, telepathically senses Goku having trouble fighting the titular character, and after he and Vegeta transport themselves to Piccolo via Shunkan Idō, later assists them into performing the Fusion technique successfully after two failed, hilarious attempts.

Through a wish from the Dragon Balls, Shenlong unlocks Piccolo's potential, taking on an empowered state similar to that of his pupil's Potential Unleashed (潜在能力解放, Senzai Nōryoku Kaihō) form, and has Pan play along with a plan to sabotage the army's ploy and put Gohan back to fighting spirit.

[73] He battles the monstrous Cell Max giant-to-giant, but is severely outmatched and injured, causing Gohan to awaken his power through fury.

[85] After the Namek arc, Piccolo appears to help Gohan and Krillin when they are attacked by their friends who are under the effects of the Black Water Mist.

[86] In battling the group, Piccolo seemingly falls victim and appears on Kami's Lookout, where Gohan and Krillin travel to stop Garlic Jr., to halt the pair.

[90] In the anime-only sequel Dragon Ball GT, Piccolo arrives to recover Goten after Baby ceases possessing him and moves to Gohan.

After Baby is defeated, Piccolo sacrifices himself to put the Black Star Dragon Balls to rest and bring peace to the world.

In the 2006 Dragon Ball and One Piece crossover manga Cross Epoch, Piccolo appears as a swordsman alongside Roronoa Zoro.

In an episode of Mad parodying the film Moneyball, Piccolo and other Dragon Ball characters are drafted by Billy Beane into the Oakland A baseball team.

[102] In the 2016 game Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2, Piccolo and Android 16 are defeated by Villainous Mode Imperfect Cell, allowing him to absorb #17 and #18 at the same time.

In the 2018 game Dragon Ball FighterZ, Piccolo is found unconscious by Goku and Krillin,[104] and agrees to help them fight off clones and discover their origins upon waking up.

DVDTalk enjoyed Piccolo's malicious characterization which, in retrospect, makes a major contrast with his more mature portrayal from Dragon Ball Z.

[120] During a review of the Dragon Ball anime, Chris Beveridge from Mania Entertainment noted Piccolo to be able to perform a large number of abilities in contrast to other characters such as Goku, making the fight between both of them unbalanced.

[122] While reviewing the fourth Dragon Ball Z film, Anime News Network writer Allen Drivers found Piccolo's initial scenes peacefully enough to entertain viewers.

[125] Beveridge praised Piccolo's growth in Dragon Ball Z as one of the most important parts of the series, noting how he decides to train Gohan to fight Vegeta.

[126] Although Katherine Luther from About.com noted Piccolo to be one of the strongest warriors from his planet, she mentioned he has several weaknesses that make him weaker than other characters from the series, with his most notable one being his affection for Gohan.

[128] Piccolo's return in Super Hero earned similar comments from Polygon due to how he continues his role as Gohan's guardian and takes a more civilized way of living to stay close to him and train.

As a result of these events in the movie, Polygon claimed that he was the best father in the entire franchise and that Gohan honors him during the film, most notably in the climax.

However, the fact that the new androids can rival Piccolo and Gohan so easily came across as forced and at the same time as common in the franchise due to how power levels are often exaggerated.

[132] In regards to the film's presentation, GameSpot claimed that Piccolo and Gohan are the best CGI designed characters contrasting with poor models used for Goku and Vegeta and also found charming the awkward way Piccolo interacts with the rest of the characters such as when he uses a cellphone in a strange position and noted that the film made him more attached with the rest of the cast.