You may recall certain characters addressing Piccolo as "King Piccolo" and "Kami". The reason for this was not expanded upon during the movie itself, but as many fans know, the character we refer to as "Piccolo" in fact emerged as the result of a rather long and complicated past.

In this article, we'll be delving through history to show you the changes that Piccolo has undergone over the years in order to become the splendid Namekian we see in SUPER HERO!

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When Piccolo was a child, a cataclysmic climate shift occurred on Planet Namek that resulted in his lone evacuation aboard a spaceship sent to earth. As he grew and matured, he became a martial artist, and eventually split himself into two separate beings: Kami and Great Demon King Piccolo.

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After suffered a head injury as a youth, Piccolo forgot his own name and decided instead to go by the phrase uttered to open the doors of Namekian spacecraft, "Piccolo", which in the Namekian tongue literally means "another world".
He had been given a letter by his father, Katas, instructing him to wait on Earth for their arrival, and so he did. He waited for 20 years, 30 years even, but his father never appeared.

Perhaps this was a formative experience for Piccolo—to know the feeling of being left waiting by one's parents—and may explain why he would always go to pick up Pan from school, as much as he vented his frustrations about it to Gohan.

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Incidentally, fans may have noticed that the throne-like chair inside Piccolo's house seen in the movie bears a resemblance to that of Saichoro and Great Demon King Piccolo, but as you can see above, it also looks quite like the pilot seat of a Namekian spacecraft. Being that Piccolo long resided in a spaceship as a youth, perhaps to him the chair actually adds a homely atmosphere to his abode?

Great Demon King Piccolo

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Great Demon King Piccolo is a being that grew from the evil that the "Son of Katas" expelled from within himself. The "Piccolo" that we know actually hatched from an egg created by Great Demon King Piccolo moments before his demise and also seemed to have naturally inherited all of his memories and malicious will to subjugate the planet.

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After being released upon the world once more, Great Demon King Piccolo immediately set forth a plot to take it over and reign as its tyrannical lord. He used his underlings to dispose of fighters at the Tenkaichi Budokai, spied on his enemies to assemble the Dragon Balls for himself, and even sought to destroy the eternal dragon Shenron himself to ensure that once he got his wish that no one would be able to oppose him. Wicked as he may be, you have to admit that he wielded his power and influence with great efficiency and to terrifying effect!

In SUPER HERO, we saw Piccolo in a role of a leader—from the way he infiltrated the Red Ribbon Army's base single-handedly to his proficiency coordinating his allies. Perhaps his tactical mind and initiative in taking action are also traits inherited from the Demon King?

Nail

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Nail was a warrior with whom Piccolo had a chance encounter and ended up merging with on Planet Namek. It was initially explained that even after merging, Piccolo would retain his original identity, but his expression of grief over the death of Saichoro suggests that Nail's personality may have altered him somewhat.

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Another detail about Nail that we'd like to highlight is the way he was able to convince Piccolo to merge with him. He appears to have a way with words, as he was also able to distract Frieza and buy time for the others.

Before merging with Nail, Piccolo would rarely take a verbal approach in battle, such as when he was given three hours of respite against Vegeta and Nappa but showed no inclination of speaking with them. In SUPER HERO, which of course takes place long after he merged with Nail, Piccolo attempts to persuade Gamma 2 during their duel to accept that he was not the Android's enemy. In fact, it would not be an overstatement to say that a verbal approach in battle is now very much like Piccolo and is representative of his fighting style.

Kami

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After developing as a martial artist, the "Son of Katas" purged the evil from within himself and became the being known as Kami. Many years would pass for him under this name, until eventually he fused once more with Piccolo, giving rise to the "Piccolo" we know now.

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In a slight tangent, Goku's master and mentor in martial arts is generally considered to be Kamesennin, but you may recall that he also trained for three years under Kami. Kami also took Yamcha under his tutelage after competing against him in the 23rd Tenkaichi Budokai while disguised as a human.

Piccolo also had a pupil of his own: Gohan. When Gohan was a young boy, Piccolo employed arduous methods in order to train him to survive. If you compare that period with the comparatively cushy training he is seen performing with Pan during SUPER HERO, one could suggest that his philosophy on mentorship has become closer to that of Kami. He almost seems like a different person when kindly and patiently explaining the concept of Buku-jutsu to Pan compared to his willingness to mercilessly blow his opponents out of the air in real combat!

Just "Piccolo"

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After his many personal transitions through merging and fusion, Piccolo has once even refused the notion that he is "Piccolo" at all! However, during SUPER HERO when Gamma 2 addresses him as "King Piccolo", he responds that these days, he's "just Piccolo".

And although we've talked a lot about merging and fusion in this article, the Piccolo we all know and love today has also been influenced in a great many other ways throughout his life via his relationships with others and the various experiences he's lived through!

Try turning back through the pages of the manga or rewatching the anime in the lead-up to the release of Dragon Ball Super: SUPER HERO on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray, Blu-ray, and DVD on December 7! Perhaps you'll enjoy Piccolo's stunning performance in the movie even more after having gained a deeper understanding of his character!