Dragon Ball 10 Tragedies That Were Prevented By Dumb Luck

There have been some pretty close calls throughout Dragon Ball's history, and sometimes, luck was what ultimately saved the day.

The cast of Dragon Ball has prevented many horrible things before, often due to their impressive skill and awesome power. Yet on more than one occasion, the biggest factor in stopping the unthinkable in Dragon Ball has been luck. Good fortune (not to mention a lot of training) has saved the gang and the entire Earth time and time again - and sometimes even the entire Dragon Ball multiverse.

While many fans remember the epic victories and Kamehamehas, it’s also worth looking at just how many tragic incidents did not come to pass thanks to fortune smiling on the Dragon Team.

10 Goku’s Friends Could Have Been Goners If Yamcha Hadn’t Accidentally Figured Out How To Change Goku Back From Being A Great Ape

The first Dragon Ball arc saw Goku and his friends in a pretty unfortunate situation, as they’d been captured by Emperor Pilaf and trapped in a room they couldn’t escape from - that is, until Goku looked at a full moon and burst free by becoming a Great Ape.

As a Great Ape, however, Goku had no control over his actions, making him extremely dangerous to everyone. Yamcha, however, remembered that touching Goku’s tail weakened him, and told Puar to cut it off. Yamcha couldn’t have known for sure that doing so would turn Goku back to normal, but his hunch was spot-on.

9 Majin Buu Would Have Kept Terrorizing Everyone If Mr. Satan Hadn’t Asked Him To Stop

Mister Satan had tried unsuccessfully to destroy Majin Buu with various weapons, including poisoned chocolate and a bomb hidden in a handheld video game. Essentially out of options, Mister Satan came up with a rather unusual tactic: simply asking Buu to stop destroying things and killing people. When Buu explained that Bibidi and Babidi had told him that destruction was a form of play, Mr. Satan corrected him, explaining that the wizards who told Buu that were evil. Valuing Mr. Satan’s opinion, Buu decided to stop going on destructive rampages period, in what was possibly the easiest Dragon Ball victory ever.

8 Frieza Would Have Destroyed Earth If Whis Hadn’t Checked His Messages

The Oracle Fish living on Beerus’ planet can be an extremely useful ally, given her ability to see the future. Unfortunately (and ironically), she can also be quite forgetful. Thankfully, in Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection ‘F,’ the Oracle Fish remembered something important: that Bulma had left Whis a message. While the message was simply Bulma offering Whis and Beerus dessert, it also led Whis to call Bulma back and learn of Frieza’s invasion.

In Dragon Ball Super, luck also prompted Whis to check the messages in his staff, or rather Beerus’ hunger, as the Destroyer craved more of the pizza Whis had brought from Earth.

7 Universe 7 Would Probably Be History If Goku Didn’t Have The Exact Temperament Zeno Likes

Goku in general has a lot of luck on his side, including when it comes to charming dangerous people. Despite having created the universe, the Omni-King also famously erases things at the slightest provocation, which is why so many deities fear him and treat him with the utmost formality. Goku, however, lacks virtually any sense of etiquette. To his great fortune, his laidback, informal attitude is exactly what Zeno likes, probably because Goku is so upbeat and practically free of ego. So far, Goku hasn’t done anything to annoy Zeno or his future self, which is extremely fortunate, as upsetting either Zeno could cause Goku’s or his universe’s erasure.

6 Beerus Would Have Blown Up Earth If Videl Wasn’t Expecting Pan

Annoyed by not finding the Super Saiyan God and being denied pudding, Beerus had decided to destroy Earth. However, Goku stalled Beerus by convincing him to wait while he investigated the Super Saiyan God matter further.

Goku then summoned Shenron, who explained that the Super Saiyan God was a transformation reached when five noble Saiyans channeled their power into a sixth. At first Goku misunderstood, believing only five Saiyans were needed, but later realized he was a Saiyan short. Enter Videl, who revealed she was pregnant with Pan. Videl thus joined the Super Saiyan God ritual, finally allowing Goku to become a Super Saiyan God himself.

5 The Namekian Dragon Balls Wouldn’t Have Brought Back Earth & Its Kinder Inhabitants If Their Rules Hadn’t Changed

During the final fight with Kid Buu, Vegeta asked the Supreme Kai, Old Kai, and Dende to wish back the Earth with the Namekian Dragon Balls, along with all the good people Kid Buu had killed. The three deities arrived on New Namek to find that its people were expecting them and had already gathered their Dragon Balls.

However, Dende pointed out that Porunga could only revive one person per wish. Yet Moori, who had replaced Guru as the Namek connected to Porunga, revealed that a Namekian Dragon Ball wish could now bring back many people, likely because Moori was more powerful than Guru.

4 If Piccolo Hadn’t Found Nail, He Would Have Lost Against Frieza, Thus Dooming Everyone

Had Piccolo taken any other path to reach Gohan, Krillin, and Vegeta, he might not have sensed Nail’s energy, which had been severely weakened from a brutal fight with Frieza. Fusing with Nail allowed Piccolo to easily handle Frieza’s second form and withstand attacks from Frieza’s third stage that might’ve probably killed him previously. If Piccolo had never found Nail, Frieza would have probably killed him virtually effortlessly, thus deactivating Earth’s Dragon Balls and preventing Shenron from resurrecting the Frieza Force’s victims. Nearly the entire Namekian race would have stayed dead, and Porunga wouldn’t have teleported everyone on Namek to Earth before the planet’s explosion.

3 Goku Routinely Shows Up To Stop Menaces Just In The Nick Of Time

Goku’s timing isn’t always perfect, but it keeps improving. In the Saiyan Saga, he reached Earth in time to save Gohan and Krillin from Nappa but sadly wasn’t able to save his other friends who’d already been killed. On Namek, Goku was extremely fortunate to have recovered in time to stop Frieza from killing his friends, but could not save Vegeta.

The next few times, though, Goku perfected the art of the nick-of-time save. He arrived just as Super Buu was about to destroy Earth, teleported to Earth moments after Beerus defeated Vegeta, and did so again when the “Z Fighters” started fighting Frieza directly in Resurrection 'F.'

2 Zamasu Would Have Won (& Conquered Time Itself In The Anime) If Goku Hadn’t Reached For A Senzu Bean & Found Zeno’s Button Instead

When Trunks sliced Zamasu’s body in two, destroying it in the anime, Zamasu’s essence subsequently melded with Earth and continued expanding across all reality. He even began extending to the timeline Goku, Vegeta and Bulma were from.

Circumstances were slightly different in the manga, where Zamasu’s body (which been split in two, but not destroyed) began multiplying endlessly. In both versions, however, Goku, by pure luck, found the button for summoning Zeno while looking for a Senzu Bean. Luckier still, it could summon Future Zeno, despite Goku receiving it from present-day Zeno. The Future Omni-King instantly stopped Zamasu, although Trunks’ universe was unfortunately destroyed in the process.

1 Every Universe Would Have Been Erased if Android 17 Hadn’t Made The Right Wish

Android 17 had seemed pretty set on asking Super Shenron for a cruise trip. When he actually won the Tournament of Power, however, he made a completely different wish, asking that the dragon restore all the universes eliminated during the tournament.

17’s change of heart was extremely fortuitous in both the anime and the manga, as no one else had mentioned plans to make the same wish if they had won. In the anime, however, 17’s wish also saved his universe, along with those exempt from the competition, as a selfish wish would have convinced the Zenos to erase everything present-day Zeno created.