Hercule/Mr. Satan was one of those surprise characters you think would just be there for a moment, but he actually becomes a major-ish part of the cast. In Japan, he has always been known as Mr. Satan, but for the English dub, due to the name’s connection to the biblical devil, they decided on a name change. Which I assume was inspired by the Greek/Roman demigod Hercules. In some ways, you could even think of him as Hercule Satan.

While he is silly and cheesy for most of his time on screen, he is actually a fairly competent martial artist. For a normal human who knows nothing about ki energy, he is one of the best. Even so, Kid Goku could have beaten him, so when Mr. Satan goes up against Cell, it is extremely embarrassing. Still, I have to give him credit for being the one who threw Android 16’s head near Gohan so the message could be relayed. That moment directly led to the emotional trigger that awakened Super Saiyan 2 in the young half-Saiyan.

I never really expected him to show up during the Majin Buu saga, but in hindsight it made sense. He took credit for defeating Cell, which initially made me hate him. It ended up making him incredibly famous, rich, and beloved. I will give him even more credit for going off on his own to try to stop Majin Buu. Surprisingly, it almost worked, just not in the way you would expect. He becomes Majin Buu’s best friend and comes very close to reforming the pink alien demon, until the darkness inside Buu takes over and completely changes his form.

He even plays a role in keeping everyone alive during the final battle against Kid Buu, technically standing up to the little monster even after Fat Buu is separated from him. That separation also makes Mr. Satan a possible target, since Buu no longer has the memories that made him reluctant to hurt him.

In the end, he becomes Earth’s hero once again, and most people on the blue marble never realize how much of a fraud he technically was. By the end of the series, he is a grandfather, and while Pan is clearly very attached to her other grandfather, Goku, you can still see how strong her bond with Mr. Satan is as well.