Fanfic / Dragon Ball: Superman

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Clark Kent loves a challenge. The feeling of being pushed to his limits, giving it his all until he either succeeds or falls. That's why he loves to wrestle. Not with people though. When you're as powerful as a locomotive, where's the fun in that? That's why Clark riles up the family bull, Babe, even after his Ma tells him not to. For the longest, Clark was content to go to school until he grew old enough to take over the farm.

But fate has other plans for this young powerhouse. Bulma Briefs, the richest teenager in the world, stumbles onto the Kent family farm while fleeing a nefarious robot by the name of Mister Atom. Clark fends the robot off, but learns that she and Atom are after seven mysterious gemstones called "Dragon Balls". When gathered and activated with the magic words, the Dragon Balls summon the godly dragon Shenron to grant nearly any wish you can imagine once a year. Drawn by a desire to help Bulma and a thirst for adventure, Clark joins Bulma on her quest to gather the Dragon Balls and prove herself to her father. So the wheels of destiny turn as Clark leaves his sleepy hometown to discover much and more about the world and himself.

Dragon Ball: Superman is a Dragon Ball/DC Comics Fusion Fic written by Jeck Paradox. It follows Clark Kent in a world where he was born with a tail as he discovers a whole universe packed with wonder, science, and magic. It can be read on Spacebattles, AO3, or Sufficient Velocity.

Dragon Ball: Superman contains examples of:

• Adaptational Badass: Due to training under Son Gohan, Bruce Wayne aka Batman is a genuine superhuman with bulletproof skin, the ability to shatter steel swords with his bare hands, and shoot ki blasts out of his hands. He's also able to pack much, much more into his utility belt thanks to Capsule Corp's miniaturization technology, pulling entire cars out of his belt.
• Adaptation Relationship Overhaul:
  • In Dragon Ball, Son Gohan was responsible for raising Goku as his adoptive grandson, resulting in them having a familial relationship. Here, Clark was raised by the Kents and he only meets Gohan later to train under him. So while Clark is close to Gohan as his first teacher, they don't share the same kind of bond as Gohan did with Goku.
  • On the same token, Master Roshi is one of Goku's first and best teachers who put him on the path to becoming a martial artist in the first place. But in this story, Clark is relatively estranged from Roshi due to his disgust over Roshi's perverted commentary about Bulma, turning down Roshi's offer for mentorship. Not studying under Roshi means that Clark isn't as close to Krillin as Goku was, though they still meet and respect each other as rivals and fellow Turtle School members.
  • Clark never really interacted with Bane either, given Bane's role as a Batman rogue in most continuities. In this story, Clark is pitted against Bane in the Metabrawl, with the two striking up a friendly rivalry before Clark hurls Bane to freedom, allowing Bane to escape Pena Duro and exact his vengeance on the warden early. From then on, Bane considers Clark a friend, and the two greet each other warmly at the next Metabrawl.
• Arbitrary Skepticism: The primary reason why the use of Ki isn't a more widely known practice is the general skepticism people have for it. It's derided as "pseudoscience" even as its practitioners demonstrate superhuman physical prowess and the ability to fire powerful ki blasts from their hands. This is despite the widely known existence of metahumans with supernatural powers like the All-Star Squad. After realizing its medical applications, Bruce becomes determined to make it more widely known to save more lives.
• Brainwashed and Crazy: The Ultra-Humanite brainwashes Bulma into telling him all of Clark's greatest weaknesses and subduing Clark with a powerful noise blaster to trigger Sensory Overload. The Ultra-Humanite is then able to control Clark's perception to make him attack Yamcha, who is only barely able to lure Clark over to Winter's brain to remove the brainwashing before Clark can kill him.
• Boxing Lessons for Superman: Clark gives these to Eel to help him get a handle on his strength. After realizing that Eel's body only works like a human's when it shaped like a human's, Clark coaches Eel on keeping his limbs as a scaled-up human shape for when he wants to pull his punches instead of creating fist-shaped battering rams.
• Calling Parents by Their Name: Clark refers to his biological mother Gine by her name because of how little they know each other after she died years ago in the midst of Krypton's destruction. This only ends during her final parting, when Clark calls her "Ma" just as Death comes to return Gine to the afterlife.
• The Cameo: Death of the Endless appears at the end of the Red Ribbon Saga to guide Gine, Clark's biological mother back to the afterlife.
• Can't Catch Up: Discussed. Yamcha worries that he simply can't keep up with the others after watching Clark's abilities grow in leaps and bounds. Rather than give up on martial arts, Yamcha instead asks Master Roshi to train him as Gohan did for Clark in order to subvert this. This is subverted entirely when he drinks the immortal elixir and is struck by lightning in the process, becoming the new Flash and the Fastest Man Alive.
• Compelling Voice: The King of the World, King Furry, possesses a supernatural charisma created by the Dragon Balls that makes anyone inclined to listen to him and follow his commands. This ability is given to all who become the King of the World, letting them convince nearly anyone to follow their commands without question. Learning that King Furry has this ability kicks Bruce's paranoia into overdrive and convinces him to start plotting to remove said ability via the Dragon Balls.
• Composite Character: Everyone in the story has traits of two or more Dragon Ball and DC Comics characters.
• Cover-Blowing Superpower: Bruce attends his second Metabrawl in his civilian identity rather than as Chirottero or as Batman. While he initially plans to be eliminated early on, his choice to represent Wildcat's school of boxing complicates things when he progresses further than he intended. He can't use the superhuman strength, durability, or speed he developed with Gohan without blowing his cover, something that proves extra difficult when he runs up against the story's equivalent of Chiaotzu a member of the Crane School and the League of Assassins trained in the use of ki.
• CPR: Clean, Pretty, Reliable: Downplayed. Ariel manages to use CPR to recusitate Clark after his heart stops from drowning and being electrocuted by Octo. However, it only works because Ariel is using her superhuman strength to essentially beat his similarly tough ribcage, something Clark compares to being punched by Bane over and over.
• Demoted to Extra: Chie Scandal, the story's equivalent of Che-Che, barely knows or interacts with Clark, meaning that they never develop the level of attraction that Goku and Che-Che do.
• Didn't Think This Through: Clark tries to blow away the Bacterian's stench and freeze his bacteria with super breath. Unfortunately, the Bacterian's bacteria had already started eating into ceiling. Freezing the water inside the bacterial masses causes it to rapidly expand, breaking up the concrete above and causing the ceiling to collapse, endangering people driving above.
• Disappointed by the Motive: Staff Officer Gold, or rather Lex Luthor, is thoroughly disappointed when he learns that his boss, Commander Red, plans to use the Dragon Balls just to make himself taller when he could wish for so many more impactful wishes. This leads Gold to turn on Red and eventually shoot him dead before moving transfer Red Ribbon Corp's assets to himself.
• The Dog Bites Back: Colonel Silver keeps Red Tornado in line by threatening to destroy the android with a Self-Destruct Sequence as an Explosive Leash. Once Clark destroys Silver's remote switch, Red Tornado wastes no time making Silver pay for his evil and constant abuse and for murdering Bozo, sucking all the air out of Silver's lungs. Unbeknownst to Clark, Red Tornado murdered Silver in retribution rather than knocking him out.
• The Dreaded: Piccolo was feared as the Demon King for his vast physical and magical powers. In this story, he's a Lord of Chaos who hunted down gods, magicians, martial artists, and others with supernatural power to considate power as the undisputed ruler of Earth. Most gods chose to flee to the Other World rather than face his wrath, while magic and ki has fallen into obscurity and myth as a result of his purges.
• Eat the Bomb: Due to his Nigh-Invulnerability, Eel deals with the bomb removed from Vic by eating it and going somewhere empty in order to contain the blast. Eel complains that he's going to melt and about how much it's going to hurt, but he's otherwise unharmed by this.
• Energy Absorption: Ebi Fries, the story's equivalent of Mr. Freeze, is able to sap the heat from surroundings to bolster his own ki with his Frozen Fist, increasing his strength and toughness in the process while freezing anything he uses his technique on. It can also be used to hamper the effectiveness of other ki attacks, as the Frozen Fist can sap the ki from them to replenish the user's own. His student, the superhero Glacier, is also able to use this technique. Clark studies under Glacier for a while to learn the attack before the next Metabrawl.
• Expy Coexistence: Bruce's relationship with Clark as a fellow pupil and peer makes Bruce an Expy of Krillin. But Krillin himself shows up as a student of Master Roshi competing against Clark in the Metabrawl.
• Evil Parents Want Good Kids: Although Clark's biological mother Gine is a remorseless killer and a member of a Proud Warrior Race, she's proud of the selfless and hopeful person he's grown up to be, thanking Martha for raising him into such a person.
• False Reassurance: Red Tornado assures Clark that it has very good control of his powers when Clark asks if Silver is okay following Red Tornado's revenge for years of abuse. Red Tornado was lying and had in fact murdered Silver in retribution, a fact Clark only learns when Silver's daughter, Rose, reveals this to him.
• Fantasy Kitchen Sink: The story takes place on Earth in the 1990s, with aliens, gods, magic, ki-powered martial arts, demons, and other creatures all existing. Turtle implies that the God worshiped by Christianity and Judaism exists, while an extended period is spent dealing with mankind's rediscovery of Atlantis and the political ramifications of this.
• Fastball Special: While chasing Rose, Vic manages to use his football training and restored tactile sensation to hurl Clark as a projectile after her. Although caught off guard by Vic's decision, Clark catches up to her hoverbike and wrecks it before knocking out Rose to retrieve the Dragon Balls she stole.
  Clark: Nice throw!
  Vice: [grinning] Nice catch.
• Gosh Dang It to Heck!: Eel instinctively censors himself around Clark, who protests as he's only four years younger than Eel and knows what the "f-word" is. But Eel says it would feel weird to cuss in front of him. Subverted not long after, as Clark shouts, "Crap!" after catching an active bomb that Eel winds up eating.
• Harmless Freezing: After developing his super breath, Clark tries to stop Gine from murdering Sivana by freezing her inside an iceberg. This is only a temporary measure, as she breaks out not long afterward with no injuries to show for it.
• Heavier than It Looks: Gohan's uniforms look like ordinary cloth at a glance, but they're weighted to impede his students as a form of Imposed Handicap Training. When they take the clothes off, their strength and speed has improved so much that Clark is able to leap hundreds of feet into the air even while carrying someone.
• Henshin Hero: Billy Batson transforms into Captain Marvel by saying the name of Shazon, the Lord of Order who gave him his powers. During this time, Billy is granted the wisdom of Shenron, the stamina of Haze, the strength of Ankoku, the courage of Zalama, the power of Oto, and the speed of Nuovo, making him a Lightning Bruiser with vast magical powers while giving him an Older Alter Ego.
• Hey, Catch!: Rose tosses Clark the bomb removed from Vic's body after activating it. Clark was too distracted by his My God, What Have I Done? reaction to Colonel Silver's death to stop her and instinctively catches the bomb, leading him to have an Oh, Crap! moment before Eel takes the bomb from him to eat it and get away from the others.
• Human Alien: Clark is a Saiyan/Kryptonian hybrid, but the only visual indication that he's anything other than a human is his monkey-like tail once he regrows it. Even then, he seamlessly passes as a powerful metahuman until he learns the truth from his biological mother when she's temporarily revived from the dead.
• I Have Many Names: Master Roshi is known by many names across many languages. His most famous epithet is "Legendary Old Master" for his advanced age and reputation as the most powerful warrior known to man. He's also known as the "Turtle Hermit".
• Imposed Handicap Training: The reason why Gohan does all of his students' laundry is because he's secretly replacing their uniforms with increasingly heavy weighted clothing.
• Internal Reveal: Anyone familiar with Superman or Dragon Ball will know that Clark isn't merely a metahuman, but a super powerful alien from another world. But Clark isn't aware of this because his parents kept him in the dark about it because they know he's part-Saiyan and to give him a normal, loving childhood (or as normal as one can be with his powers).
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Bruce always means well and has a strong sense of honor and justice. But between his trauma, paranoia, and overly serious nature, he can be incredibly insensitive and manipulative of others. He abuses his friendship with Clark to exploit all his weaknesses in the Metabrawl while repeatedly grasping at Clark's tail until it snaps off. He also vanished for months in the middle of a joint project between him and Bulma to apply ki medically on a large scale after realizing King Furry's Compelling Voice powers. This angers Bulma and leaves all of his friends worried about him suddenly vanishing off the grid.
• Just Toying with Them: Clark faces King Chappa in his second Metabrawl and allows Chappa to execute his strategy to throw a superhumanly strong person out of the ring up until the last second, when Clark grabs Chappa and easily hurls him out of bounds. After the fight, Chappa accuses Clark of holding back, which Clark admits to mostly because he thought it'd be more fun to see the fight to the end rather than finishing it immediately.
  Chappa: [accusatory] You were holding back.
  Clark: Of course I was.
  Chappa: [incredulous] You were holding back against me? You just let me walk you through my plan, why? Were you playing with me?
  Clark: [blushing, embarrassed]' I mean… a little bit? The tournament is supposed to be fun. I was interested in seeing where you were going with it.
• Know When to Fold 'Em: Bane realizes just how much more powerful Bruce is than him when they face each other in the Metabrawl. Bruce effortlessly dodges all of Bane's attacks while feigning weakness due to using his civilian identity rather than facing him as Batman. At the end of the minute, Bane forfeits, allowing Bruce to move ahead in the tournament.
• Laser-Guided Amnesia: At the end of the Red Ribbon Saga, it's revealed that a baby Clark had his memories erased for the safety of everyone on Earth. If the Galactic Patrol hadn't taken this measure, Clark's Saiyan programming would have made him an existential threat to all life on the planet.
• Make It Look Like an Accident: In Clark's second Metabrawl, the Crane School wants to kill Clark as revenge for pushing Ra's al Ghul to the point of death. So the Crane School pits its finest students Tien Shiva and Chiaotzu against Clark while conspiring to attack him in ways that would give him fatal wounds that would leave him agony without killing him immediately to avoid being disqualified from the tournament.
• Mama Bear: Gine, Clark's biological mother, immediately goes on a Roaring Rampage of Revenge and flies off to kill Sivana after learning that Sivana's goons had burned off the end of her son's tail. If not for Clark's immediate intervention and choice to embrace his Kryptonian powers, however painful it was, Gine would have murdered Sivana with ease.
• Man of Kryptonite: While Eel is normally impervious to permanent harm, the microbes under the Bacterian's control are able to eat the plastic-like substance that makes up Eel's body, making the Bacterian one of the only people capable of potentially killing Eel.
• Maou the Demon King: Demon King Piccolo was once the most feared and powerful being on Earth. As a Lord of Chaos representing the deadly sin of Pride, he moved to conquer all of Earth by wiping out anyone who would oppose him. He was defeated long ago by the previous champion of Shazon, Mutaito, who sealed away the other six members of the Seven Deadly Enemies of Man before losing his life in battle with Piccolo, who is presumed dead. Unbeknownst to everyone save Dr. Sivana, Piccolo escaped his fate by transferring his mind into that of a bookworm chewing on the pages of the books held by the Lords of Order. He is summoned back to Earth when Sivana wishes for the most recent copy of the Book of Destiny and works with Sivana for their mutual benefit.
• My God, What Have I Done?:
  • Clark is horrified when he realizes that he attacked his friends while Brainwashed and Crazy courtesy of the Ultra-Humanite. He apologizes profusely for this even though his friends all assure him that they're not holding it against him given the circumstances.
  • Exploited by Rose, who reveals the death of Colonel Silver aka Deathstroke to him to see Clark's horrified reaction and feelings of guilt. This distracts him long enough for her to escape and pull a Hey, Catch! manuever on him, leaving Clark holding a ticking bomb that Eel has to dispose of.
• Not So Invincible After All: Due to only discovering his Kryptonian abilities recently, Clark is completely unaware of the limits of his Nigh-Invulnerability or magic's ability to bypass it. This bites him in the ass when fighting against Nanaue aka King Shark, whose This Is a Drill magic water spell nearly punches a hole through Clark, forcing Ariel to rescue Clark. Even then, Clark would be dead if not for Nanaue choosing to show Clark mercy.
• Only Known by Their Nickname: Eel's real name is Patrick O'Brien, but he's not especially attached to his name and prefers his nickname. So most people wind up calling him Eel, with the last mention of "Patrick" being the last chapter of the Westward Saga.
• The Paralyzer: One of the magical spells taught to Thaddeus by Mister Mind throws magic slime that freezes anything it touches in place. Clark can't budge with it on him even with his Kryptonian powers. It's only removed with the help of Captain Marvel as Shazon's champion with the power and wisdom of the gods.
• Please Put Some Clothes On: Clark feels embarrassed and suffers a Luminescent Blush when he realizes that Ariel isn't wearing anything below the waist due to being a mermaid. She eventually agrees to put more clothes on despite not having "much to cover up down there". He only relaxes once she dons a dress.
• Posthumous Character:
  • Zenibaba Zatara is Zatanna's long-dead great-great-grandmother as well as a seer and a necromancer. Gaining access to her orb to scry the location of the last Dragon Ball needed to make a wish to undo some of the harm the Red Ribbon Army caused becomes the focus of the plot. Unfortunately, she locked it inside Shadowcrest, pitting the heroes against magical fighters of all kinds to gain access to it.
  • Clark's biological parents were killed not long after Clark's birth when Planet Vegeta (formerly Krypton) was destroyed. Clark meets his biological mother Gine with the help of Jason Blood and Zenibaba's crystal ball, giving him much needed perspective on his true origins and the nature of his powers. However, his father was a believer in reincarnation and had already moved on from the afterlife to become something new, ensuring that he's Deader than Dead.
• Power Parasite: The Bacterian's powers allow him to absorb ki used against him, becoming larger and stronger the more he absorbs.
• Prongs of Poseidon: The Trident of Poseidon is an immensely powerful Atlantean artifact held by the Ocean Master. The Atlantean wielding it has greatly increased control of magic, particularly over water and lightning, enabling them to move billions of gallons of water as an extension of themselves to crush their foes and electrocute anyone who approaches them. But it's broken by Octo, reducing it to a bident with none of its magical powers intact until it's reforged again after Ariel reclaims the position of Ocean Master and becomes Aquawoman.
• Punch Catch: Death of the Endless effortlessly catches Clark's biological mother Gine's punch when Death arrives to escort her charge to the afterlife, who decided to go out swinging. As powerful as a Saiyan warrior is, they're no match for a metaphysical constant of reality like Death.
• Removed Achilles' Heel: Clark's ability to absorb sunlight to power his Kryptonian abilities is tied to his tail. So he can be rendered vulnerable by removing his tail before he can power up from watching the sun or the moon. But if his "Superman mode" is active, said tail becomes as invulnerable as the rest of him, making it nearly impossible to remove.
• Renowned Selective Mentor: Son Gohan is considered a living national treasure in Japan and possibly the greatest mortal martial artist alive. He only takes a handful of students each year who have recieved a recommendation from another martial arts master after years of study. Most of these students willingly leave due to unable to bear his Training from Hell. But those who stick around learn the secrets of ki and the ability to break past their mortal limits. After learning that Clark managed to use a Kamehameha after watching Gohan perform it once, he makes an exception for Clark due to his overwhelming innate talent and invites him to study the following spring.
• Related in the Adaptation: In this story, the Zataras are descended from Zenibaba Zatara, the story's equivalent of Fortuneteller Baba. While she's long deceased by the start of the story, gaining access to her crystal ball becomes a critical part of tracking down the last of the Dragon Balls needed to make a wish to undo much of the harm the Red Ribbon Army caused.
• Roaring Rampage of Revenge: Clark is enraged when Colonel Silver destroys Nimbus with a rocket launcher. The boy becomes uncharacteristically angry and swing the Nyoibo hard enough to smash Silver's weapons to pieces with a single blow.
• Rogues' Gallery Transplant: Dr. Sivana is traditionally the Arch-Enemy of Captain Marvel/Shazam, but he's the Big Bad of the Westward Saga, taking up the role that Pilaf did in Dragon Ball. This means Sivana has far more of a grudge against the future Superboy than he does against Billy Batson.
• Sacred First Kiss: Discussed. Clark is saved from drowning when Ariel gives him CPR. Years later, he wonders if it counted as his first kiss and he blushes just thinking about it, showing that he does have feelings for her beyond friendship.
• Samaritan Syndrome: Discussed. In "Nineteen Ninety-Three 2", Clark turns down an appointment to the Titans, the world's preeminent superheroes after the All-Star Squad retires. Vic, who also turned down the appointment due to being unwilling to leave his civilian life behind, is confused by Clark's unwillingness to be a superhero full-time given Clark's love of helping people and his strong sense of justice. But Clark explains that when he reawakened his Kryptonian abilities, he began doing nothing but helping people with their problems, even forgetting to eat while Sensory Overload kept him from sleeping. Clark doesn't stop until his father catches him and forces him to realize that he needs to take care of himself before he's able to care for others. As a child who hasn't even finished high school, he has things he needs to do care for himself before he can fully commit to serving others. Until then, he'll still be available for when there's a job only Superboy can handle.
  Clark: I couldn't be everywhere, and I was going to run myself ragged trying and not be of help to anybody. He told me I have to put on my own life jacket before I help everyone else put on theirs. That there was nothing wrong with helping people, but I wouldn't be able to do it for long unless I took care of myself sometimes too. For me, part of that is that I'm helping people on my own terms. Fixing things where I am, handling the problems right in front of me. And if the Titans, or the King, have a job for Superboy, that nobody else but me could fix, they'll know they can ask me, and I'll drop everything and fly to the rescue as quickly as I can.[smiles and nudges Vic] If there's a job for Cyborg, they know where to find you, and in the meantime… do what feels right.
  Vic: That doesn't sound too bad.
• Samus Is a Girl: Red Tornado is originally referred to with male pronouns due to having a masculine physique. But when the heroes wish to undo the harm that the Red Ribbon Army caused, Tornado is revealed to be Abby, the Cyclone and a member of the All-Star Squad.
• Sheep in Sheep's Clothing: On the surface, King Furry is The Good King who always tries to mediate issues fairly while sending the King's Guard to apprehend superpowered criminals and prevent them from hurting anyone else. But Bruce is horrified to learn that Furry possesses a supernatural charisma granted by the Dragon Balls that makes it nearly impossible to resist his commands. Bruce becomes so worried that Furry's mind control powers make him a threat to all of the heroes of the world, spurring Bruce to plot to remove Furry's powers via the Dragon Balls. When the heroes confront Furry with the benefit of telepathic protection from Winter, they learn that Furry hates his abilities and would be glad to be rid of them, showing that Bruce's worries that Furry is secretly a scheming tyrant are completely unfounded.
• Ship Tease: Clark and Ariel meet when she saves him from drowning via CPR, thus taking his Sacred First Kiss in the process. After he gets over his initial embarrassment, the two become fast friends. A few years later, both of them feel like they're "more than friends", but neither of them have taken things beyond hugging, holding hands, and leaning on one another despite their friends' encouragement.
• Sins of Our Fathers: Subverted. Bane notes that his mother, a revolutionary in Santa Prisca, was imprisoned in Pena Duro after kidnapping Thomas Wayne and holding him hostage. This led to Bane being born in that prison and suffering under the warden's thumb for most of his life. But Bane assures Bruce that he doesn't have any belief in that "sins of the father" mierda while facing Bruce in the Metabrawl, only finding it interesting how fate has brought them together.
• Spared by the Adaptation:
  • In Dragon Ball, Son Gohan was killed by Goku, who transformed into an Oozaru and went on a rampage. Here, Clark doesn't have an Oozaru transformation and was raised by the Kents. So Gohan is alive and well as a living national treasure of Japan for his skill at martial arts and reputation as a Renowned Selective Mentor.
  • In most continuities, Billy Batson's parents were killed, leaving him an orphan. In this story, both of Billy's parents are alive and well as archaeologists working in Kahndaq. This is subverted when they're killed by Ra's al Ghul as part of his contract with Commander Red. But it's Double Subverted when the Batsons are brought back to life by Bulma's and Billy's wish on the Dragon Balls.
• Speed, Smarts and Strength: For the Westward Saga, Eel, Bulma, and Clark form this dynamic.
  • Eel is speed due to his shapeshifting powers allowing him to strike from unexpected angles and strange ways.
  • Bulma is the smartest of the trio as a Teen Genius and Gadgeteer Genius who develops the team's equipment and thinks her way out of problems.
  • Clark is Strength, thanks to his superhuman physical prowess and innate fighting skills.
• Superhero Speciation: After Billy becomes the Champion of Shazon, he possesses similar powers to Clark between being a Lightning Bruiser with Super-Strength, Super-Speed, and Nigh-Invulnerability as well as the ability to fly on Nimbus. But while Clark's powers are tied to his training and alien biology, Billy's powers are magical, making him better equipped to deal with magical threats than Clark is.
• Take a Third Option: In the Metabrawl, Clark learns of Bane's desire for freedom from the warden of Pena Duro's clutches. Bane can either cling to his ideals and continue to languish in prison or renounce them and the prize money from the Metabrawl to win his freedom. Clark decides to help Bane by giving him another option: he hurls Bane as far away as he can so the warden's goons can't catch up to Bane, thereby "freeing" Bane. Despite the insanity of this and the risk of dying on impact, Bane survives and manages to go on the run before the military police of Santa Prisca can seize him. He would later return, destroy Pena Duro, and kickstart positive change in Santa Prisca.
• Training from Hell: Gohan's training for his students starts with having them lug 100 kg spears and back up a mountain from miles away. Given how arduous this is, most of his students choose to bow out rather than risk having their bodies break down under the strain. Then it only gets more difficult with him hurling metal balls at his students while they try to dodge while having them wear weighted clothing for Imposed Handicap Training.
• Undignified Death: General Blue meets his end not by Clark's hands or any of the people he hurt, but by having a booger thrown through his head like a bullet by an annoyed Ra's al Ghul. This last humiliation sticks with Blue when he's inadvertently brought back by Bulma's wish to bring everyone the Red Ribbon Army has ever hurt back to life. He screams about it while fighting Ariel, considering the indignation he suffered from failing and dying in such a way worse than dying itself.
• Unholy Matrimony: In this story, Lex Luthor and Mercy Graves are married and even had a child named Arlena. Lex and Mercy are both devoted to one another and co-conspirators in crime, with Mercy doing much more of the hands-on part of their villainy while Lex is the planner.
• Virtuous Character Copy: King Maxwell Furry is an expy of Maxwell Lord, a recurring foe of the Justice League known for his powerful telepathic abilities that compel others to do as the says. King Furry possesses a supernatural charisma that makes others inclined to do what he says as King of the World. However, he's only ever used this to mediate conflict and try to rule justly. However, Bruce is understandably wary of Furry, who could easily cover up any crimes and control anyone who agrees to work with him. Furry hates his abilities and leaps at the first chance he gets to be rid of them via a wish on the Dragon Balls.
• Wake-Up Call Boss: Although she isn't out to hurt the heroes, Gine, Clark's biological mother, is this for the story. While she doesn't have the vast array of magic and techniques that made Piccolo so dangerous, her ki and physical prowess dwarf his. Clark is forced to embrace his Kryptonian powers to have a snowball's chance in hell at stopping her even while she's trying to avoid hurting him. The fact that Gine is considered a weakling by the standards of her species terrifies everyone who reflects on this, as they realize that the universe is full of entities just as, if not more deadly than Piccolo.
• Weaponized Stench: The Bacterian debilitates anyone who tries to stop him with his horrific stench from never bathing or brushing his teeth as well as the gasses produced by the bacteria he controls. Vic and Eel are gagging just from smelling the guy's breath
• Willfully Weak: Despite it being legal, Clark refuses to use his Kryptonian abilities like Nigh-Invulnerability in the Metabrawl. Unlike his natural strength and the abilities he honed through his own training, he feels that his sunlight-based powers are cheating as a "quirk of his body" rather than something he worked for. To him, using these powers defeats the point of testing himself against others who've honed their bodies, minds, and techniques. That's why he refuses to remove his goggles and use his full powers despite knowing of Tien Shiva's and Chiaotzu's plans to discreetly murder him during the tournament.
• Wouldn't Hurt a Child: Red Tornado refuses to do serious harm to Clark and only attacks him at all due to the Explosive Leash that Silver has. It isn't long before Tornado starts feeding Clark and conspires to free him and give Silver his just desserts for years of abuse and for killing Red Ferro.