Mr. Satan, with a black afro and mustache, in a burgundy gi, white cape, and champion's belt, arms spread wide next to a reporter holding a microphone.

Mr. Satan: Dragon Ball's World Champion

CharacterHumansBuu Saga

Mr. Satan, or Mister Satan, is Dragon Ball's world martial arts champion and Videl's father. At the Cell Games, Cell brushes him aside; he then takes credit for Gohan's victory and becomes Earth's official savior. During the Buu Saga, he wins Majin Buu's friendship and pushes Earthlings to give their energy to the Spirit Bomb. Here's a look back at his big moments, his family, his appearances in Super and GT, his ring name, and his voice actors.

He never beat Cell, but the whole world believes he did: Mr. Satan owes his status as savior to other people's feats. Here's the story of this self-proclaimed hero who, after becoming Majin Buu's friend, ends up genuinely helping to save the Earth.

Contents

The World Champion Who “Beat” Cell

In the public's eyes, Mr. Satan is the protector of the Earth. Created by Akira Toriyama, he first appears in chapter 393 of the manga, published on October 6, 1992; in the anime, in episode 173 of Dragon Ball Z, which aired in Japan on February 3, 1993. Only anime-exclusive flashbacks show a few of his fights at the 24th World Martial Arts Tournament, which he won; the manga simply presents him as the world champion.

On TV, he announces that he'll beat Cell: according to him, the army getting wiped out was just a trick done with explosive powder. In the Cell Games ring (chapter 396), he stacks fifteen tiles and breaks fourteen of them with his bare hands as the whole world cheers. In the manga, he's the first to challenge Cell; in the anime, his two students, Caroni and Piroshiki, go before him.

His blows have no effect: an exasperated Cell swats him away with a backhand that sends him crashing into a mountain, and he survives. In chapter 407, urged on by Android 16's head, which begs him to bring it to Gohan, he throws it near the boy; Cell crushes the head right in front of Gohan, who then unleashes his rage.

Once Cell is destroyed and the fighters have left, Mr. Satan claims he defeated him single-handedly, and the reporter tells the world that Earth was saved thanks to him (chapter 417). Seven years later, he's regarded as the savior of the world, and a city bears his name: Satan City.

Cell, with his black-spotted green carapace, arm outstretched; in midair, Mr. Satan flies upside down over an ocher rock spire.
At the Cell Games, Mr. Satan's blows have no effect: an exasperated Cell swats him away with a backhand that sends him crashing into a mountain.

🧱 Of Mr. Satan's fifteen tiles, only one survives the edge of his hand; to do some stacking of your own without breaking anything, check out our Dragon Ball building blocks.

Majin Buu's Friend, Savior of the World in Spite of Himself

In chapter 483, Mr. Satan gets ready to blow up Majin Buu's house, but gives up when he sees Buu playing with a puppy. He explains to him that killing and destroying are wrong, and Buu promises him he'll stop. The puppy, named Bee, becomes Mr. Satan's Labrador, and Good Buu's too.

When a gunman wounds the puppy and then fires a rocket at the house, a furious Mr. Satan beats the attacker to a pulp. The gunman gets back up and shoots Mr. Satan; Buu heals his friend, but his rage gives off steam that forms a giant cloud, from which Evil Buu will emerge (chapter 484).

When Super Buu wipes out Earth's population, Mr. Satan survives because Buu doesn't target him. Later, in the fight against Kid Buu, most Earthlings, brought back to life by the Dragon Balls, refuse to give their energy to the Spirit Bomb; fed up, Mr. Satan yells at them to join in. Recognizing his voice, they wonder whether he's the one fighting Buu; he claims he is, and they all raise their hands (chapter 515). In the next chapter, he carries Vegeta off on his shoulder, and Goku tells him he truly is “the savior of the world.”

After Kid Buu is gone, Mr. Satan begs Vegeta to spare Fat Buu and offers to take him in; Goku backs him up (chapter 517). Good Buu moves in with Mr. Satan and Bee the dog, and takes the name Mister Buu.

Mr. Satan, with his afro and mustache, laughs with his mouth wide open, a bead of sweat on his forehead, next to a grinning pink Fat Majin Buu, purple cape around his neck.
Mr. Satan and Majin Buu laugh side by side: Buu promised his friend he'd stop killing and destroying, and will later come to live with him and Bee the dog.

Videl, Pan, and a Well-Guarded Championship Title

In chapter 421, on his first day of high school, Gohan finds out that his classmate Videl is Mr. Satan's daughter. At the 25th World Martial Arts Tournament, Mr. Satan has to fight an exhibition match against Trunks, winner of the junior tournament: the little tap he'd agreed on with the kid sends him flying into a wall, and he makes the crowd believe he lost on purpose. Later, in the final of the same tournament, Android 18 offers to let him win if he pays her 20 million zeni.

Ten years after Kid Buu's defeat (chapter 518), we learn that he keeps his title thanks to a well-rehearsed arrangement: as in previous tournaments, Buu is supposed to knock out the challengers, then lose to him on purpose in the final. In the same chapter, he's thrilled to see his granddaughter Pan arrive, Gohan and Videl's daughter. His wife is never named in the series; Toriyama reportedly suggested she was a singer called Miguel.

In chapter 1 of the Dragon Ball Super manga, he explains that he received the “World Peace Prize,” worth 100 million zeni, and offers the money to Goku. In the first episode of the anime, which aired on July 5, 2015, feeling guilty for taking credit for the victory over Buu, he brings the money to Goku's family in a limousine driven by his manager, Miss Piiza.

Young Trunks with lavender hair, fists clenched, facing Mr. Satan, who leans toward him in the ring, in front of packed stands.
At the 25th World Martial Arts Tournament, Mr. Satan faces Trunks, winner of the junior tournament, in an exhibition match; he'll make the crowd believe he lost on purpose.

💰 The peace prize is worth 100 million zeni, enough to fill a lot of pockets; to hold your own cash, pick one of our Dragon Ball wallets and coin purses.

In Dragon Ball Super, GT, the Movies, and Daima

Episode 15 of the Dragon Ball Super anime, which aired on October 18, 2015, is named after him. In it, he tells the press that he beat the God of Destruction, whom he calls “Bibisu,” by becoming a god himself: this is “Super Mr. Satan,” an imaginary form with golden hair and a golden mustache. When Galbi, the champion of an alien race, challenges him, he's saved by his dog Bee: Galbi is afraid of dogs.

In episode 79, during the Zeno Expo exhibition match, Mr. Satan accompanies Buu, who takes on Basil of Universe 9. Hit by a stray shot, he asks Buu to keep going before passing out, and a furious Buu overpowers Basil. In the Dragon Ball Super manga (chapter 42), Galactic Patrol agents come to Mr. Satan's house to take away Buu while he's asleep, and Mr. Satan tries in vain to stop them.

In Dragon Ball GT, he's the one tasked with telling the whole Earth that the planet is about to explode, because people believe him; his portrait even appears on the 10,000-zeni bill. On the big screen, in Bojack Unbound, with the cameras damaged, he's once again credited with Gohan's victory, this time over Bojack.

Dragon Ball Daima opens with an episode that aired on October 11, 2024, in which Mr. Satan, at Capsule Corporation for Trunks's ninth birthday, is turned back into a child by Gomah's wish. He keeps his afro, though shorter, but loses his mustache, so Vegeta and the others don't recognize him.

Mr. Satan as “Super Mr. Satan,” with spiky golden hair, a golden mustache, a blue gi, a red cape, and a champion's belt, against yellow lines.
In episode 15 of Dragon Ball Super, Mr. Satan brags that he became a god: “Super Mr. Satan,” an imaginary form with golden hair and a golden mustache.

A Ring Name, an Afro, and Several Voices

Akira Toriyama explained that “Mr. Satan” is a ring name, like those of pro wrestlers; in an interview, he revealed his real name, Mark, a loose anagram of akuma, Japanese for “demon.” His daughter's name, Videl, is an anagram too, of the English word devil. The name “Hercule” comes from the first French dub of Dragon Ball Z, as a nod to the Greek hero; the edited American version and Viz's translation of the manga later picked it up.

His distinguishing features: a black afro, a mustache, neatly trimmed sideburns, and a cleft chin. He usually wears either a gi open at the chest, topped off with a red or white cape (which he takes off before facing Cell), or a fitted suit.

In Japan, he was voiced by Daisuke Gōri until the actor's death in 2010, then by Unshō Ishizuka until 2018; Masashi Ebara voices him today, except in Dragon Ball Daima, where mini Mr. Satan is voiced by Tōru Sakurai. In English, Chris Rager voices him in Funimation's dubs of Dragon Ball Z, GT, Kai, and Super, as well as in several movies, including Bojack Unbound; he plays him under both names, Hercule in Dragon Ball Z and Mr. Satan in Dragon Ball Z Kai. Don Brown voices him in the alternate Ocean/Westwood dub of Dragon Ball Z, Dave Pettitt in Blue Water's dub of Dragon Ball GT, and Cory J. Phillips voices mini Mr. Satan in Crunchyroll's English dub of Dragon Ball Daima. In 1993, he ranked seventh in a popularity poll of Weekly Shōnen Jump readers.

Mr. Satan, with his black afro, in a red jacket and striped pants, strikes a fighting pose in front of a golden bust and two spotlights.
Black afro, mustache, and sideburns: Mr. Satan's distinguishing features, seen here in a suit in the first episode of Dragon Ball Super.
White cap with black mesh and visor, with a patch showing a panicked Mr. Satan, hand on his afro, under the words MR SATAN.

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Mr. Satan at a Glance

Key fact Mr. Satan
Japanese name ミスター・サタン Misutā Satan
Real name Mark, revealed by Akira Toriyama
Family Videl (daughter), Gohan (son-in-law), Pan (granddaughter)
First appearance Chapter 393 of the manga; episode 173 of Dragon Ball Z, February 3, 1993
Companions Majin Buu and Bee the dog
Voices Daisuke Gōri, Unshō Ishizuka, Masashi Ebara, and Tōru Sakurai as mini Mr. Satan in Daima (Japanese); Chris Rager, Don Brown, Dave Pettitt, and Cory J. Phillips as mini Mr. Satan in Daima (English)

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Who is Mr. Satan?
    He's Dragon Ball's world martial arts champion and Videl's father, and the public believes he's Earth's savior.
  • Did Mr. Satan really beat Cell?
    No. Cell swats him aside with a backhand; it's Gohan who destroys him. Mr. Satan then takes credit for the victory in front of the cameras.
  • Why is Mr. Satan called Hercule?
    “Hercule” is the name chosen by the first French dub of Dragon Ball Z, as a nod to the Greek hero, so Mr. Satan wouldn't be confused with “Satan Petit Cœur,” the French name for the demon King Piccolo; the edited American version picked it up. In English, he's Hercule in Funimation's dub of Dragon Ball Z (and GT) and in Viz's Dragon Ball Z manga (volume 24 is titled “Hercule to the Rescue”), while the Dragon Ball Z Kai dub restores his original name, Mr. Satan. In Japanese, he's called Mister Satan.
  • What is Mr. Satan's real name?
    Mark, according to an interview with Akira Toriyama: “Mr. Satan” is just a ring name, like the ones wrestlers use.
  • What's the connection between Mr. Satan and Majin Buu?
    Mr. Satan wins Fat Buu's friendship, teaches him that killing is wrong, and takes him in, along with Bee the dog, after Kid Buu's defeat.
  • Who voices Mr. Satan in English?
    Chris Rager in Funimation's dubs of Dragon Ball Z (as Hercule), GT, Kai, and Super; Don Brown in the alternate Ocean/Westwood dub of Dragon Ball Z, Dave Pettitt in Blue Water's dub of Dragon Ball GT, and Cory J. Phillips as mini Mr. Satan in Dragon Ball Daima.

👔 Mr. Satan doesn't only wear his gi: he also shows up in a fitted suit; to finish off your own suit, knot one of our Dragon Ball ties.

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