History Characters / DragonBallBardock

[[center:[-[[Characters/DragonBall Main Character Index]] | [[Characters/DragonBallMainCharacters Main Characters]] | [[Characters/DragonBallSonGoku Son Goku]] ([[Characters/DragonBallSonGokuTropesAToC A-C]], [[Characters/DragonBallSonGokuTropesDToH D-H]], [[Characters/DragonBallSonGokuTropesIToO I-O]], [[Characters/DragonBallSonGokuTropesPToZ P-Z]]) | [[Characters/DragonBallBulma Bulma]] | [[Characters/DragonBallKrillin Krillin]] | [[Characters/DragonBallPiccolo Piccolo]] | [[Characters/DragonBallSonGohan Son Gohan]] | [[Characters/DragonBallVegeta Vegeta]] | [[Characters/DragonBallFutureTrunks Future Trunks]] | [[Characters/DragonBallMajorSupportingCast Major Supporting Cast]] ([[Characters/DragonBallAndroids17And18 Androids 17 and 18]] | [[Characters/DragonBallTrunksAndSonGoten Trunks and Son Goten]] | [[Characters/DragonBallFusionCast Fusions]]) | [[Characters/DragonBallSupportingCast Supporting Cast]] | [[Characters/DragonBallZGTSupportingCast Z/GT Supporting Cast]] | [[Characters/DragonBallTournamentCharacters Tournament Characters]] | [[Characters/DragonBallFutureTrunksTimeline Future Trunks' Timeline]] | [[Characters/DragonBallOthers Other Characters]] ([[Characters/DragonBallSaiyans Saiyans]] ['''Bardock''']) | [[Characters/DragonBallOriginalSeriesVillains Original Series Villains]] | [[Characters/DragonBallZVillains DBZ Villains]] ([[Characters/DragonBallFrieza Freeza/Frieza]] [[[Characters/DragonBallFriezasEmpire Frieza's Empire]]] | [[Characters/DragonBallCell Cell]] | [[Characters/DragonBallMajinBuu Majin Buu]]) | [[Characters/DragonBallZMovieVillains DBZ Movie Villains]] ([[Characters/DragonBallBroly Broly]] | [[Characters/DragonBallCooler Cooler]]) | [[Characters/DragonBallGTVillains GT Villains]] | [[Characters/DragonBallSuper Super]] | [[Characters/DragonBallUniverse7 Universe 7]] ([[Characters/DragonBallBeerus Beerus]]) | [[Characters/DragonBallUniverse2 Universe 2]] | [[Characters/DragonBallUniverse3 Universe 3]] | [[Characters/DragonBallUniverse4 Universe 4]] | [[Characters/DragonBallUniverse6 Universe 6]] ([[Characters/DragonBallUniverse6MajorCharacters Major Characters]]) | [[Characters/DragonBallUniverse9 Universe 9]] | [[Characters/DragonBallUniverse10 Universe 10]] | [[Characters/DragonBallUniverse11 Universe 11]] ([[Characters/DragonBallJiren Jiren]]) | [[Characters/DragonBallZeno Zeno]] | [[Characters/DragonBallGokuBlack Goku Black]] | [[Characters/DragonBallZamasu Zamasu]] | [[Characters/DragonBallHeroes Heroes]] | [[Characters/DragonBallHeroesVillains DBH Villains]] | [[Characters/DragonBallGalacticPatrolAndPrisoners Galactic Patrol and Prisoners]] | [[Characters/DragonBallXenoverse Xenoverse]] | [[Characters/DragonballFighterZ FighterZ]] ([[Characters/DragonBallAndroid21 Android 21]] | [[Characters/DragonBallFighterzBaseRoster Base Roster]]) | [[Characters/DragonBallLegends Legends]]-]]]

** Bardock, for all the hope he puts in Goku/Kakarot, never thinks of Raditz, even in his dying moments.

* AbusiveAlienParents: Even by Saiyan standards. He dismisses his comrades when they say he should visit his son, Kakarot, because he regards him as a weakling and disappointment. He takes no issue with sending him off to a likely death on a hostile world either. For bonus points, he never even mentions Raditz (though video games indicate he was no better to his older son).

* SpeakOfTheDevil: After Bardock arrives at Planet Vegeta after suffering a heavy beating from Dodoria, he learns that his son Kakarot was shipped to Earth. He briefly forsaw this in his premonition dreams, and then comes to the conclusion that, if Kakarot is being sent to Earth was true, that must also mean that Frieza's attack on Planet Vegeta, and its destruction, is also true as well.
* StableTimeLoop: [[spoiler: ''[[Anime/DragonBallEpisodeOfBardock Episode of Bardock]]'' is one. He ends up being the Saiyan that inspired the Super Saiyan legend after he defeats Chilled, who then passes down the paranoia of the Saiyans to his descendants. Which leads to Frieza eventually blowing up Planet Vegeta, which leads to Bardock ending up in the past, which leads to... oh, you get the point.]]

* TooDumbToLive: There's Bardock, who knows far in advance that Frieza is going to destroy his home planet. What does he do? Thanks to a double dose of both HonorBeforeReason and RevengeBeforeReason he decides to take on Frieza in a bid to stop him from destroying Planet Vegeta, instead of getting in the nearest pod and getting the hell out of dodge and maybe coming back when he did stand a chance. Though admittedly, any Saiyan's pride wouldn't let them take that route, he was doomed from the start.

* AdaptationalIntelligence: In ''Bardock: The Father of Goku'', Bardock, like the rest of the Saiyans, was utterly oblivious to Frieza's desire to exterminate them. He only found out because his team was attacked beforehand by Dodoria. Here, he instead figures it out all on his own by picking out all the warning signs (Frieza calling all the Saiyans back to one place, Frieza's interest in the Super Saiyan legend, etc). It turns out his hunch formed after invading planet Cereal and realising Freeza wouldn't hesitate to wipe out the Saiyans as easilay as he made them wipe out the Cerealians.
* AdaptationalNiceGuy: Downplayed; in ''Bardock: The Father of Goku'', he only started caring about Kakarot just before his death, and even then, just because he thought Kakarot would get strong and beat Frieza. In ''Dragon Ball Minus'', he showed genuine love for baby Kakarot from the start, although Gine says it is a new trait Bardock developed.

* AntiVillain: Slightly more than his Toei counterpart, but in this case he shows a care for his family that Toei's never showed.

* CerebusRetcon: Inverted in ''Dragon Ball Minus'', where Bardock is still a battle-hungry drone of Frieza, but is also a kindly family man. He and his wife Gine send Kakarot to Earth not to conquer it, but to keep him safe from Frieza, with plans to take him from the worthless planet should they survive Frieza but with knowledge he'll have plenty of food and few strong enemies if Frieza kills them.

** According to ''VideoGame/DragonBallOnline'', Mira went back in time, snatched Bardock just as he was being disintegrated by Frieza's Death Ball, and ends up brainwashing him to be one of his minions. Eventually, he breaks free of it and presumably kills him in a kamikaze attack, although he himself survives somehow. This ''might'' be how he ended up in the past in ''[[Anime/DragonBallEpisodeOfBardock Episode of Bardock]]''.

** His fate after breaking away from Mira's control is left quite open. While a mentor Bardock exists, he doesn't appear to be the same Bardock that was being controlled as the Masked Saiyan.

* TooDumbToLive: There's Bardock, who knows far in advance that Frieza is going to destroy his home planet. What does he do? Thanks to a double dose of both HonorBeforeReason and RevengeBeforeReason he decides to take on Frieza in a bid to stop him from destroying Planet Vegeta, instead of getting in the nearest pod and getting the hell out of dodge and maybe coming back when he did stand a chance.

* TokenHeroicOrc: Despite enjoying violence just as much as any other Saiyan, Bardock can't help but feel compassion for families and children, going as far as to break ranks just to protect Granolah and his mother. Compare this to his eldest son Raditz, who didn't hestiate to beat up a 4-year-old Gohan.

* TheGift: All versions, despite being born lower-class Saiyans, managed to achieve incredible levels of power. In ''Bardock: Father of Goku'', he died with a {{Power Level|s}} of around 10,000, rivaling that of King Vegeta himself and surpassing most of the elite class supposedly far above him [[spoiler:and achieved Super Saiyan in ''Episode of Bardock''.]] His game incarnations have all achieved various levels of Super Saiyan transformation and gone to blows with god-like beings. Even his ''Minus'' and ''Broly'' incarnation, while the weakest of the bunch, is still stated to be a cut above the average Saiyan and managed to face off against Frieza and his Supernova attack.

* AdaptationalWimp: For years fans argued over whether he was as strong in the manga as in the Bardock special. Now the Dragon Ball Minus special (written by Toriyama himself) confirms that while he was solidly a cut above the average Saiyan, he lacks the power to reach Middle-Class Saiyan (although he's stated by Toriyama to at least be among the upper class of Saiyan peasantry). In contrast to how he was stronger than Nappa in the special.

* AdaptationalIntelligence: In ''Bardock: The Father of Goku'', Bardock, like the rest of the Saiyans, was utterly oblivious to Frieza's desire to exterminate them. He only found out because his team was attacked beforehand by Dodoria. Here, he instead figures it out all on his own by picking out all the warning signs (Frieza calling all the Saiyans back to one place, Frieza's interest in the Super Saiyan legend, etc).

* DemotedToExtra: He has very little screen time in this canon compared to his ''Z'' counterpart, and he's destroyed along with Planet Vegeta very early on in the movie.

* AdaptationalHeroism: According to Monaito, it was Bardock who [[prevented the Cerealians from going completely extinct.]]

* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: Despite being being a ruthless hitman, Bardock does love his wife and comes to care for his sons. He sends Kakarot off-world to great risk to himself.

* AdaptationalNiceGuy: Downplayed in ''Bardock: The Father of Goku'', he only started caring about Kakarot just before his death, and even then, just because he thought Kakarot would get strong and beat Frieza. In ''Dragon Ball Minus'', he showed genuine love for baby Kakarot from the start, although Gine says it is a new trait Bardock developed.

* AntiVillain: slightly more than his Toei counterpart, but in this case he shows a care for his family that Toei's never showed.

[[center:[-[[Characters/DragonBall Main Character Index]] | [[Characters/DragonBallMainCharacters Main Characters]] | [[Characters/DragonBallSonGoku Son Goku]] ([[Characters/DragonBallSonGokuTropesAToC A-C]], [[Characters/DragonBallSonGokuTropesDToH D-H]], [[Characters/DragonBallSonGokuTropesIToO I-O]], [[Characters/DragonBallSonGokuTropesPToZ P-Z]]) | [[Characters/DragonBallBulma Bulma]] | [[Characters/DragonBallKrillin Krillin]] | [[Characters/DragonBallPiccolo Piccolo]] | [[Characters/DragonBallSonGohan Son Gohan]] | [[Characters/DragonBallVegeta Vegeta]] | [[Characters/DragonBallFutureTrunks Future Trunks]] | [[Characters/DragonBallMajorSupportingCast Major Supporting Cast]] ([[Characters/DragonBallAndroids17And18 Androids 17 and 18]] | [[Characters/DragonBallTrunksAndSonGoten Trunks and Son Goten]] | [[Characters/DragonBallFusionCast Fusions]]) | [[Characters/DragonBallSupportingCast Supporting Cast]] | [[Characters/DragonBallZGTSupportingCast Z/GT Supporting Cast]] | [[Characters/DragonBallTournamentCharacters Tournament Characters]] | [[Characters/DragonBallOthers Other Characters]] ([[Characters/DragonBallSaiyans Saiyans]] ['''Bardock''']) | [[Characters/DragonBallOriginalSeriesVillains Original Series Villains]] | [[Characters/DragonBallZVillains DBZ Villains]] ([[Characters/DragonBallFrieza Freeza/Frieza]] [[[Characters/DragonBallFriezasEmpire Frieza's Empire]]] | [[Characters/DragonBallCell Cell]] | [[Characters/DragonBallMajinBuu Majin Buu]]) | [[Characters/DragonBallZMovieVillains DBZ Movie Villains]] ([[Characters/DragonBallBroly Broly]] | [[Characters/DragonBallCooler Cooler]]) | [[Characters/DragonBallGTVillains GT Villains]] | [[Characters/DragonBallSuper Super]] | [[Characters/DragonBallUniverse7 Universe 7]] ([[Characters/DragonBallBeerus Beerus]]) | [[Characters/DragonBallUniverse2 Universe 2]] | [[Characters/DragonBallUniverse3 Universe 3]] | [[Characters/DragonBallUniverse4 Universe 4]] | [[Characters/DragonBallUniverse6 Universe 6]] ([[Characters/DragonBallUniverse6MajorCharacters Major Characters]]) | [[Characters/DragonBallUniverse9 Universe 9]] | [[Characters/DragonBallUniverse10 Universe 10]] | [[Characters/DragonBallUniverse11 Universe 11]] ([[Characters/DragonBallJiren Jiren]]) | [[Characters/DragonBallZeno Zeno]] | [[Characters/DragonBallGokuBlack Goku Black]] | [[Characters/DragonBallZamasu Zamasu]] | [[Characters/DragonBallHeroes Heroes]] | [[Characters/DragonBallHeroesVillains DBH Villains]] | [[Characters/DragonBallGalacticPatrolAndPrisoners Galactic Patrol and Prisoners]] | [[Characters/DragonBallXenoverse Xenoverse]] | [[Characters/DragonballFighterZ FighterZ]] ([[Characters/DragonBallAndroid21 Android 21]] | [[Characters/DragonBallFighterzBaseRoster Base Roster]]) | [[Characters/DragonBallLegends Legends]]-]]]

** His characterization in Toriyama's 2014 one shot ''[[Manga/JacoTheGalacticPatrolman Dragon Ball Minus]]'' is wildly different to his original appearance in the 1990 ''Bardock: The Father of Goku'' TV special (which Toriyama had no involvement in except for character design), Naho Ooishi's 2011 ''[[Anime/DragonBallEpisodeOfBardock Episode of Bardock]]'' had a characterization closer to the TV special, but portrayed as more of an AntiVillain than a straight VillainProtagonist like he originally was.

* AntiVillain: Even ''more'' than his previous counterpart. He is only working for Frieza because he is simply doing his job and carrying out his orders. He's also very paternal.
* BlueAndOrangeMorality: A downplayed example compared to the Saiyan {{White Sheep}}s, but, unlike most Saiyans finding mates simply for reproductive purposes, he and Gine were HappilyMarried.

* TokenGoodTeammate: While not to the extent of Gine, he is this among the Saiyans due to being AFatherToHisMen, a trait unusual for a Saiyan.

* AdaptationalNiceGuy: In ''Bardock: The Father of Goku'', he only started caring about Kakarot just before his death, and even then, just because he thought Kakarot would get strong and beat Frieza. In ''Dragon Ball Minus'', he showed genuine love for baby Kakarot from the start, although Gine says it is a new trait Bardock developed.

[[center:[-[[Characters/DragonBall Main Character Index]] | [[Characters/DragonBallMainCharacters Main Characters]] | [[Characters/DragonBallSonGoku Son Goku]] ([[Characters/DragonBallSonGokuTropesAToC A-C]], [[Characters/DragonBallSonGokuTropesDToH D-H]], [[Characters/DragonBallSonGokuTropesIToO I-O]], [[Characters/DragonBallSonGokuTropesPToZ P-Z]]) | [[Characters/DragonBallBulma Bulma]] | [[Characters/DragonBallKrillin Krillin]] | [[Characters/DragonBallPiccolo Piccolo]] | [[Characters/DragonBallSonGohan Son Gohan]] | [[Characters/DragonBallVegeta Vegeta]] | [[Characters/DragonBallFutureTrunks Future Trunks]] | [[Characters/DragonBallMajorSupportingCast Major Supporting Cast]] ([[Characters/DragonBallAndroids17And18 Androids 17 and 18]] | [[Characters/DragonBallTrunksAndSonGoten Trunks and Son Goten]] | [[Characters/DragonBallFusionCast Fusions]]) | [[Characters/DragonBallSupportingCast Supporting Cast]] | [[Characters/DragonBallZGTSupportingCast Z/GT Supporting Cast]] | [[Characters/DragonBallTournamentCharacters Tournament Characters]] | [[Characters/DragonBallOthers Other Characters]] ([[Characters/DragonBallSaiyans Saiyans]] ['''Bardock''']) | [[Characters/DragonBallOriginalSeriesVillains Original Series Villains]] | [[Characters/DragonBallZVillains DBZ Villains]] ([[Characters/DragonBallFrieza Freeza/Frieza]] [[[Characters/DragonBallFriezasEmpire Frieza's Empire]]] | [[Characters/DragonBallCell Cell]] | [[Characters/DragonBallMajinBuu Majin Buu]]) | [[Characters/DragonBallZMovieVillains DBZ Movie Villains]] ([[Characters/DragonBallBroly Broly]] | [[Characters/DragonBallCooler Cooler]]) | [[Characters/DragonBallGTVillains GT Villains]] | [[Characters/DragonBallSuper Super]] | [[Characters/DragonBallUniverse7 Universe 7]] | [[Characters/DragonBallUniverse2 Universe 2]] | [[Characters/DragonBallUniverse3 Universe 3]] | [[Characters/DragonBallUniverse4 Universe 4]] | [[Characters/DragonBallUniverse6 Universe 6]] ([[Characters/DragonBallUniverse6MajorCharacters Major Characters]]) | [[Characters/DragonBallUniverse9 Universe 9]] | [[Characters/DragonBallUniverse10 Universe 10]] | [[Characters/DragonBallUniverse11 Universe 11]] ([[Characters/DragonBallJiren Jiren]]) | [[Characters/DragonBallZeno Zeno]] | [[Characters/DragonBallGokuBlack Goku Black]] | [[Characters/DragonBallZamasu Zamasu]] | [[Characters/DragonBallHeroes Heroes]] | [[Characters/DragonBallHeroesVillains DBH Villains]] | [[Characters/DragonBallGalacticPatrolAndPrisoners Galactic Patrol and Prisoners]] | [[Characters/DragonBallXenoverse Xenoverse]] | [[Characters/DragonballFighterZ FighterZ]] ([[Characters/DragonBallAndroid21 Android 21]] | [[Characters/DragonBallFighterzBaseRoster Base Roster]]) | [[Characters/DragonBallLegends Legends]]-]]]

** Despite appearing only in a few pages in the original manga, Bardock got his own TV special and more scenes in the anime mostly because he is Goku's biological father, but then he started to earn a status of his own, apart from being just Goku's father Bardock got more exposition in games for the franchise, particularly ''Online'' by Netmarble and the ''Xenoverse'' games, where he has a side story and is brainwashed by Towa and Mira under the alias of the Masked Saiyan.

* CombatPragmatist: A lot of Bardock's initial retaliation of Frieza's mooks is less plowing though them with pure strength and using diversion techniques to confuse and distract them, even causing friendly fire and using human shields. His last charge towards Frieza however, is just blitzing opponents and trying to get to the tyrant as fast as possible.

* ActionDad: Typical for a Saiyan. In ''Minus'', he didn't see his son in three years since he was busy conquering worlds.

* TheUnchosenOne: After foreseeing Planet Vegeta's destruction at the hands of Frieza, he decides to ScrewDestiny and challenges Frieza to save his world. [[ForegoneConclusion He utterly fails]] and is killed by Frieza's Death Ball along with his planet. On the bright side, before his death he foresees his youngest child beating Frieza.
* TranquilFury: [[spoiler:In the 2011 version, after Chilled attacks a Plant child and the rest of the Plant people, he proceeds to go Super Saiyan, and gives Chilled the beatdown of his life. Chilled doesn't survive the encounter.]]

* FaustianRebellion: As he himself mentions, one mission in ''VideoGame/DragonBallXenoverse2'' has him beat the crap out of Mira with the power he and Towa granted Bardock.
** In the ''Heroes'' manga, he feels ashamed of having to use the Dark Legion's powers again in order to fight the Dark King Saiyan [[spoiler:Vegeta]], but has no other choice.
* {{Foil}}: In the ''Heroes'' manga, to the Dark King Saiyan. King Vegeta [[GenerationXerox sold his soul to the Dark Legion]] [[WellIntentionedExtremist in order to have revenge on Frieza and Beerus]] and clashes with Bardock who tried to save the Saiyans but was ignored and has to use the power he was brainwashed with to fight him.

* AdaptationalWimp: For years fans argued over whether he was as strong in the manga as in the Bardock special. Now the Dragon Ball Minus special (written by Toriyama himself) confirms that while he was solidly a cut above the average Saiyan, he lacks the power to reach Middle-Class Saiyan as Nappa (although he's stated by Toriyama to at least be among the upper class of Saiyan peasantry). In contrast to how he was stronger than Nappa in the special.

* AntiHero: NomimalHero. But for all the bad things he's done, Bardock is a BenevolentBoss who truly does care about his squadron and is devastated when they are killed. He realizes Frieza intends to do the same thing to his entire people and resorts to making a LastStand against the tyrant and his army rather than flee, essentially making it a HeroicSacrifice. While he may lack the moral cleanliness, Bardock died a hero in the truest sense of the word.

* AntiHero: Zigzags between NomimalHero and UnscrupulousHero. For all the bad things he's done, Bardock is a BenevolentBoss who truly does care about his squadron and is devastated when they are killed. He realizes Frieza intends to do the same thing to his entire people and resorts to making a LastStand against the tyrant and his army rather than flee, essentially making it a HeroicSacrifice. While he may lack the moral cleanliness, Bardock died a hero in the truest sense of the word.

* NominalHero: In his original special, particularly in the Japanese version. He's not really any better than any other Saiyans, aside from his sense of camaraderie, and doesn't show any real regrets over his actions as an agent of genocide; he only rebelled upon realizing that Frieza was going to kill everyone, including him. As Creator/TeamFourStar put it, "Bardock isn't a good person; he's just the protagonist."

* HeelFaceTurn: Can be considered a heel until he learns that Frieza betrayed his friends and plans to destroy Planet Vegeta. Even then he's still a NobleDemon. [[spoiler: He completes his face turn in ''[[Anime/DragonBallEpisodeOfBardock Episode of Bardock]]'']].

* AdaptationalHeroism: In ''Bardock: The Father of Goku'', he only started caring about Kakarot just before his death, and even then, just because he thought Kakarot would get strong and beat Frieza. In ''Dragon Ball Minus'', he showed genuine love for baby Kakarot from the start, although Gine says it is a new trait Bardock developed.

* AdaptationalHeroism: The Funimation dub has him experience a HeelRealization upon hearing the voice of the Kanassan Toolo telling him he's no better than Frieza and seeing an illusion of an adult Goku telling him it's not too late to change. During his speech to Frieza, he makes it clear that in addition to avenging his team, he also wants to avenge those he killed. He also tells Frieza that he's freeing all of Friezas soldiers, telling him "we quit, all of us". After his death, his spirit tells baby Goku that he was right and it wasn't too late to change.

* TooDumbToLive: There's Bardock, who knows far in advance that Frieza is going to destroy his home planet. What does he do? Thanks to a double dose of both HonorBeforeReason and RevengeBeforeReason he decides to take on Frieza in a bid to stop him from destroying Planet Vegeta, despite knowing perfectly well that he was FAR too weak to stand a chance in hell against Frieza instead of getting in the nearest pod and getting the hell out of dodge and maybe coming back when he did stand a chance.

* AdaptationalWimp: For years fan argued over whether he was as strong in the manga as in the Bardock special. Now the Dragon Ball Minus special (written by Toriyama himself) confirms that while he was solidly a cut above the average Saiyan, he lacks the power to reach Middle-Class Saiyan as Nappa (although he's stated by Toriyama to at least be among the upper class of Saiyan peasantry). In contrast to how he was stronger than Nappa in the special.

* GoOutWithASmile: Upon seeing that his son would be the one to beat Frieza.