The Unique DBZ Villain NOBODY Cares About

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Explore the captivating history of Dr. Wheelo, one of the most overlooked villains in the Dragon Ball universe. In this deep dive, we'll take you back to the classic era, unraveling the character's creation, intentions, and how he broke the mold of DBZ villains:
Dr. Wheelo's Origins: Uncover the story of his debut in 1990 and how he predates Dr. Gero's concept. The Brain and the Machine: Analyze Wheelo's unique design as a brain in a jar, and his sinister plans to control the world. The Connection to Other Characters: Learn about his assistant Dr. Kochin and the bio-warriors they created, along with the links to other villains. Wheelo in Super Dragon Ball Heroes: Discover his reimagined look and how he stands out in recent sagas.
A Classic Revisited: Understand why "World's Strongest" is a fan-favorite and how Dr. Wheelo's legacy still impacts Dragon Ball today.
Join us for a nostalgic journey, filled with surprising details, and learn why Dr. Wheelo is a fascinating piece of Dragon Ball history. Subscribe and hit the notification bell to never miss out on more Dragon Ball insights!
The Non Ripoff DBZ Movie Villain NOBODY Cares About
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• The Unique DBZ Villain...
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[@Eric-gp3hi]

Dr.Wheelo was such a interesting villain. His research in human modification is intriguing and his backstory of being in suspended animation for 50 years was fascinating.

[@justinarzola4584]

Worlds strongest was very underrated.

[@matteste]

For me what really sold him to me was Per Sandborghs superb performance as Wheelo in the Swedish dub. The guy just went wild with the character. And this from a dub that is otherwise pretty bad.

[@hitkid2456]

@@justinarzola4584 Mhm, this and 13 were my favs (ok the action in the latter left some to be desired tbh, such as Gohan's showing, but I really did like the story it was very unique and original for a DBZ film)

[@ObiClon]

I didn't know that Wheelio got a resurgence in recent media. Not to mention look at that glow-up from his appearance in World's Strongest to Heroes. Very nice!

[@hattoripool1533]

I hope the dbz movie continuity comes back one day. I mean it’s interesting to see the z fighters go on extra adventures. Those movies felt like lost episodes

[@LucidPhoton]

When are you gonna do "What if Dr. Wheelo turned good?" Lol Wheelo V Gero when? Lol Wheelo is definitely fascinating, he kinda predicted future archs and World strongest has the best uses of the Kaioken in the series. Thanks for doing this analysis Masako~

[@MagicCardboardBox]

That would be really cool

[@kit-san4846]

I'd prefer if there was a "What if he was ALWAYS Good?" like in the Abridged Version.

[@BertoxolusThePuzzled]

You've gotta love the clear and obvious implication via Gero, Wheelo, and even Bulma that the DB world is just chock full of various mad scientists and their secret labs. It might even explain all the dinosaurs and talking humanoid animals...

[@Bezaliel13]

The Kakarot game retconned the furries as having used a drug that I forgot the name of.

[@johnnygyro2295]

​@Bezaliel13 Even better. Someone had to be brilliant and/or mad to create a drug that turns people in anthros.

[@Bezaliel13]

@@johnnygyro2295 True

[@johnnygyro2295]

@Bezaliel13 Also, the drug's name is Animorphaline, if I remember right.

[@Bezaliel13]

@@johnnygyro2295 Ah, tnx.

[@private_c]

Dr Wheelo is just forgotten. Wow I’m surprised no one has mentioned him at all in the DB community, at least from what I’ve seen

[@justinarzola4584]

I'm guessing because he's a scientist guy( brain) in a suit, not a bulked up alien or demon as is common in dragon ball.

[@solidskullz5736]

When I was a kid I thought dr wheelo was awesome. A giant robot with a brain who wanted to steal goku’s body sounded cool. I always thought it was weird how overlooked he was

[@nicksorenson940]

The World's Strongest is one of the early DBZ movies that's always had some nostalgia for me from even before I could really say that I was into the whole Dragon Ball franchise yet as I could remember seeing the Ocean dub of the movie being aired on Toonami, along with a lot of the footage from it being used for the 90s "Rock the Dragon" intro of the English dub at the time. Would be nice to see if they're still going to include Dr. Wheelo in Budokai Tenkaichi 4 as I know he was in the previous games.

[@joshuabeatty7371]

Imagine if Gero and Wheelo teamed up.

[@BBBHuey]

Dr. Wheelo is basically a combination of Adjutant Black's Battle Jacket with Dr. Gero's brain ^^

[@crisisamonginfinitedarthsa4220]

Petition for what if Launch was a Z Fighter for December 2023.

[@Japple_Junior]

I suggest reading the fan fic “Launch Time” on Archive of Our Own.

[@pippogriffthegreat7003]

I'd sign that!

[@Omar-72]

Nah

[@Nickle_King]

I loved Dr. Wheelo’s armor in the movie. Big, intimidating, imposing. Kinda wish he got more love in the series. But, then again, he was the one who made me realize how much Toriyama recycled ideas. It just kinda seemed like the creators went through fads of what they thought was cool, and shoved them into the show as long as they were interested. Once I recognized that, Dragon Ball lost a lot of luster.

[@TheWarmachine375]

At least Dr Wheelo was sympathetic and had a body back. Shame he forgot to wish his brain to be on a more manageable size.

[@D_C763]

I don’t think I’ve seen anyone else like dr wheelo besides me and my friend for one reason, this movie was one of our first dbz movies and this was our first villains ever. Besides that idk anyone else💀

[@BryantStevenson-z6y]

Ahh the underrated but diabolical Dr. Wheelo. Those were different times.😁 I think I had a head cannon where Red Ribbon wanted him to be their head scientist but they couldn't find him on the account of the whole frozen lab thing, so they had to go with Dr. Gero instead. Hmm... now I'm imagining a whole scenario where Goku had to fight off waves of RR grunts, killer robots and monster men. Anyway, awesome video as always.

[@EvilTomba42]

Honestly some kind of Dr Wheelo what if is something I'd read. Maybe something for Halloween this year? Disembodied evil brains and mad scientists are classic horror fare!

[@lucasvandecasteele9904]

Funny that without TFS i would never have know the movie existed

[@duskbringer4583]

WHeelo was interesting, and really was fond of his new, sleeker frame.

[@Santoryu90]

The World's Strongest kinda feels like a rough draft to the Androids Saga. Also I think it’s is only movie pre Resurrection ‘F’ where Roshi has a major role.

[@mikegates8993]

He tries to do a little against Broly, but that's the only other one I can think of.

[@andrewgarrett1356]

Ever since Dragon Ball Super: Broly came out years ago, I started to think up ways in which to reintroduce the classic DBZ movie villains into canon via newer movie releases with updated stories and the like. I actually came up with two different ideas for Dr. Wheelo that I think are pretty good. The first one was also meant to serve as a way to bring back Androids 13, 14 and, 15. Basically, Dr. Wheelo's grandson finds Wheelo's lair and wakes him up. He then finds and uses the dragon balls to bring back Gero so that he and Wheelo can create the perfect body for Wheelo. I thought about making Android 13 as the base of the body, but I think the design for Dr. W in Super Heroes is better. I also intended for 17 and 18 to be the heroes of this particular story seeing as it's an Android/Mad Scientist type story. Plus, who wouldn't want to see the Androids shine every now and then? The second idea I had revolves around Dr. Wheelo coming into contact with the Big Gete Star from the Meta Cooler movie. I wasn't crazy about that movie to be honest, even though Meta Cooler is pretty awesome in his own right. I'd much rather Cooler be brought back in his Fifth form glory at some point in the future. Anyway, the story goes as follows. Wheelo leaves Earth using his robot body way back during the Buu Saga just as Kid Buu is about to destroy the planet. Believing he has nothing to go back to, Wheelo travels through space in the hopes of finding another planet to settle on. He eventually runs into the Big Gete Star and merges with it like Cooler did, and begins his new plan to conquer the cosmos. The idea of a super genius who made use of sick robotics and biotech combining with a sentient planet sized computer just screams storytelling potential if you ask me. I honestly can't decide which story I like better between the two.

[@ArcherBro]

Wheelo is one of my favorite special villains. I hope they make him canon one day. Maybe make him a Red Ribbon scientist?

[@Tareltonlives]

Didn't know about his later appearances! Glad he came back. It's a simple idea for a villain, but it's a pretty good one and it gave us a good film.

[@Skelter_Radio578]

in my personal opinion, i think Dr. Wheelo's version in DBZA is better than the one in the actual movie.

[@podracer35]

I recently watched the DBZA version of the movie and thought it was really fun that Dr. Wheelo was actually a good guy in that

[@Lightspeeds]

He just wanted a body but lost much of his creations thanks to his evilly incompetent assistant. With his last breath, he cursed Cohchin.

[@joecook1662]

Hi Masakox, I love your videos. I just can't get enough of them. I'm a massive fan of your channel, I've had this desire for a while, so I was wondering if it was possible when you do the 750k special. Could goku be the ship, aka lover please

[@ModHaterHD2003]

Just heard about him yesterday for the first time it was a bit of a shock to me as a long Dragonball Fan

[@Merennulli]

I know HAL9000 was an early example of the glowing red robot eye but it's kind of out of the middle with the trope at least going back to the 1940s. The way it's implemented in Wheelo reminds me more of the Zaku from Gundam. Mass produced enemy mechs with 1 glowing, sometimes red, eye. Wheelo looks like a hodge podge of Gundam enemies with a giant brain slapped on top. I am honestly surprised to hear 2010 isn't that well known by those who know 2001 since they're so often paired. It also has a book series that carries it further. I read it and have since completely forgotten it, so I can't exactly recommend it, heh.

[@agediho6009]

Hey I do like Wheelo, I used to play as him in Budokai Tenkaichi 3 all the time

[@darkshadow99-ny2ct]

He's meta in Sparking Zero now.

[@crisisamonginfinitedarthsa4220]

Dr. Wilo needs some more love.

[@danielsantiagourtado3430]

Loved that movie! The concept was great, wheelo was so cool🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉❤❤❤❤

[@ryudragon7]

Worlds Strongest was the First DBZ movie I ever saw. So it kinda holds a special place in my mind. Plus, I love mecha. So that robo-body really got me wanting to watch it in action. As for Super Dragonball Heroes. I didn't know he came back. Mostly because the episodes are so short, half their runtime is the OP, ED, and recap. And the fact that they come out so infrequently. I fell of the bandwagon ages ago. If someone could make a supercut of all the episodes together, minus the half-the-time filling bullcrap mentioned above. I'd watch it and catch up.

[@paytonyoder6937]

This movie and villain was my first ever dragon ball thing I ever saw same with tree of might

[@smugsneasel]

Ah yes, General Rildo-er I mean, Dr. Wheelo!...Yep. That's who I meant.

[@PrideBornAmadi]

He’s easily one of my favorite characters in Dragon Ball period. I have a fan fiction about him I’m going to put into Sparking Zero with that cutscene editor. I’m going to give him his own entire Saga.

[@Sailor11Sedna]

Might be nice for his backup backup to boot up and kick some bio butt. Or an existing character like Carmine could find his notes. I don’t think the legacy of Drs Wheelo and Kochien should disappear completely. When I saw that video title, I thought it was gonna be about the two fake Namekians.

[@kirinbobarcana]

No one except you and team four star. Side note, thank you so much for giving wheelo a redemption arc.

[@johnnyd3158]

I still remember watching your old abridged parody of the World Strongest with Vegeta3986, Lanipator, and itouchedyusuke back during the early years of KZbin. Good times, 😏.

[@noobthetoob]

Oh remember that guy , he cured cancer and made robots to give hugs right ?

[@TheWarmachine375]

Dr. Wheelo in Super Dragon Ball Heroes looks like Rayleigh in a lab coat working with Dr. Vegapunk.

[@matti.8465]

Wheelo is basically Dr. Gero but a lot cooler. Usually with the movie versions of main villains it's the opposite

[@saphcal]

Freezas brother is also....Cooler.

[@MarcBienenfeld]

II's Kochin and the brain, yes Kochin and the brain, each is a genius but one is insane!

[@UndernetBroker]

One of my fav movies.

[@nood1le]

Ive always live the lightheartedness of the original Dragon Ball

[@Elyseon]

I don't know where that bit about Gero wanting to improve humanity came from, but he's not that different from Wheelo. Also, if Kochin could get the Dragon Balls to thaw the lab, why not also ask tge dragon to restore Wheelo's bodu?

[@geekforeverpixelgamingsurl5007]

"He could be stronger than Raditz". Well, I think it’s pretty easy to assume he was at least on Vegeta’s level. Sorry, had to mention that because that Raditz conclusion just seemed odd.

[@Blutwind]

Is it just me or is his Robot body from the movie very heavily inspired by the xenomorph from Alien(s)

[@retroreptar9702]

I still need to watch all the movies yet to do that.

[@berrie-nice-to-meet-you]

I think this movie was my introduction to the franchise, but it's all a bit blurry. At the very least it has such a unique feeling that most of the series doesn't really recapture

[@SkibbityDibbityDibbityDibbityD]

What exactly was Kochin doing for 50 years? When he does actually find the Dragon Balls, he gets them all very quickly. So, why did it take him so long before?

[@ilikecookies9796]

Maybe he figured out how to make a dragon ball radar?

[@spider59er35]

I still like how Dr. Wheelo looks like a xenomorph that armor

[@TheWarmachine375]

One of the best Dragon Ball Z movie villains ever.

[@____________838]

I’m surprised you haven’t used him in more What Ifs…

[@Bezaliel13]

I like how inhuman he looked, more alien than the aliens ngl.

[@daytonchris8351]

i never knew that was dr wheelo in heroes. that's cool.

[@Starman_Dx]

"Aahhh, if it isn't Son Goku. Only I have the brains to rule Earth." Professor Andr, er, I mean Dr. Wheelo.

[@R3SerialDreams2]

Hm, this brings up an interesting question. Having been frozen in time for 50 years, that would imply that Dr. Wheelo was frozen maybe 20 years give or take before even the original Dragon Ball happened. So the question is, did Dr. Wheelo's research inspire Dr. Gero's later research into the same field? Also, just wanted to bring this idea up again, but, What If Cell was the Final Boss? Or, more specifically, what if the Android Saga was the final Saga of Z? How would that affect the Majin Saga? How would the data collected of everyone during the Majin Saga consequentially affect the androids?

[@qr5393]

Dr. Wheelo reminded me of Darth Vader and he had a world ending attack early on in Z. Pretty badass if you ask me.

[@rp9772]

It's funny how many people wanted Goku's body and the one person to never get it, was the best of the three in my opinion.... I know I know nobody actually told Ginyu

[@Japple_Junior]

According to the movie pamphlet for The World’s Strongest, Dr. Wheelo’s power level is 39,000 which is apparently higher than Vegeta’s during the Saiyan Saga!

[@saphcal]

significantly higher. vegeta was 18,000! its more than double vegetas! its more than KKx4 Gokus from that same fight!

[@ImInLoveWithBulla]

Bulla is the ultimate villain. Toriyama said she has the highest potential of anyone. Vegeta would never fight her. Neither could Goku. She would gladly destroy entire galaxies in order to find the perfect cute skirt.

[@coreyroe8544]

havent watched it in over 20 years 32 now always enjoyed the movies when they were still airing on toonami XD

[@srs419]

There was a sequel to 2001. There was also two books beyond it that never got made into movies.

[@8ball180]

Really?, what were their names

[@trise2033]

Dr Wily... i mean Wheelo, is definitely an interesting villain.

[@Mrnegative2nd]

You should make a what if about him

[@gerardorodriguez7500]

The movie villains that deserve to be Rebooted and canon are Turles, Bojack, Zangya, Cooler and Android 13

[@bcrunch4232]

He’s a fave of mine.

[@devintheundertalefan5611]

Im curious, if DBZ Kakarot were to get a sequel, would you want it to be DBS themed, or OG DB themed?

[@simbadas1234]

i like his voicelines in bt3

[@dragonjames4500]

I always found this movie fun to watch

[@silvianbruno7512]

I only saw the DBZA version so I keep forgetting he's actually evil and not just kind of tragic.

[@gonzaloegonzalez8106]

I kinda tired people think Wheelo is original when he's just edgy 90's red ribbon army. People are impressed because it happened before Dr gero but really took a lot of the elements there. One of the Androids , the one with elastic body is exactly the same as the monster in the Muscle Tower (don't ignore the freezing scenario too) that Goku defeated as a kid. The robotic body of Dr Wheelo is simmilar to Black mecha. And instead of wishing being more higher, what about wishing a new stronger body. That's literally it.

[@DynastyZwarrior90]

Well he is original at least compared to the movie villains that came after him (minus Bojack).

[@johanstenfelt1206]

Hm, interesting. Say, what is your Top 10 Movie Villains who you want to be Canon?

[@genkaiba15]

Does anyone ever wonder what would happen if Cell absorbed Gero like 17 and 18? I mean, we got to see a what if where Cell absorbed Krillin, for God's sake. I like to think he'd get the energy absorbers on his hands and look old, like a bug version of Moro. Maybe a brain jar crown for good measure. :p

[@Dig_Duke_SFM]

Why did i first think Monster Carrot

[@ImInLoveWithBulla]

The robot body was originally meant to share more of the original human organs? LIKE A PE

[@MagicCardboardBox]

I really wouldnt mind if some of these guys got re-cannoned like broly, janemba, in particular, but also now wheelo

[@Gzilla313]

What is Emperor Pilaf? Like, what species is he?

[@finnthebeefyhuman2174]

What if Pilaf was Garlic Júnior son? Or perhaps brother

[@danielsantiagourtado3430]

Wheelo sure has a lot of brain. Shame his wish didnt make it more compact 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@arturmical]

Fun fact, I only ever watched 2010 and never the Space Odyssey in full. The sequel was constant on TCM which was another chanell that replaced Cartoon Network after 20:00 in polish television until 06:00. In retrospect when I know the original one, the sequel is better.

[@arturmical]

Which reminds me of one of the moments when a robot villain made me cry At the start of the movie, HAL's other model, SAL 9000 asks their creator, DR Chandra, will she have dreams when he removes parts of her to later reactivate HAL with them. He answers that "Yes. All sentient beings have dreams". HAL 9000 later asks Chandra the same question as he is about to be sacrificed so that the astronauts can live. And Dr Chandra answers: "I don't know". "Thank you for your honesty, Dr Chandra".

[@MasakoX]

In fact, I dropped a mention of SAL 9000 in Revelation F. She's Shiraz's role model.

[@SsjkidsSaveCosmo08]

Garlic jr is literally Raditz but he's from Piccolos past instead of Goku s

[@alexinfinite7142]

Yes my boy dr wheelo! Woo!

[@XxstrawmanxX]

What if gohan stole giro research and studies androids and robotics and opens his own company focused on robots and prosthetics

[@deterlanglytone]

Garlic Jr is also very much like Piccolo.

[@0hadd]

At least he has a cool ost on dokkan

[@SupremeLordBruv]

CRAB ROBOT GO BRR

[@Wixvhen]

Do you think Wheelo accidentally inspired Gero?

[@MasakoX]

Indeed we do. Wheelo is a very rare example of the MOVIES inspiring the series perhaps.

[@JordyKj]

What if Goku never listened to Android 8

[@DrmCom2003]

I know a lot of people who hated Dr. Wheelo. I never understood why. I thought he was a cool villian.

[@someones_out_there2668]

Big brain wheelo

[@michealwilson5788]

will you masakox make about dbs raditz ssj4 vs dbs broly today now yes are no

[@SuperbeastOR]

🤷🏼‍♂️Sorry but Garlic jr is just Picolo jr but irredeemably evil and maybe some Pilaf thrown in.

[@deadlyfaster7347]

I actually love the World's Strongest

[@danielsantiagourtado3430]

Suggestion masako: What if the elder kai unlocked gohan's beast form in the buu saga?

[@dejinnthedjinn5311]

It would be interesting if the movie is cannon. Also, nice reference to abridged.

[@alcatrazvongola]

CANE LASER!!!

[@gliscaradu1424]

I really like genemba

[@Gypsygeekfreak17]

hey mosako

[@MrSHADOWANGEL999]

I wouldn't say no one cares It's just that he only had a movie to play with