Contains spoilers for Dragon Ball Super chapter 87
With his return in Dragon Ball Super chapter 87, the once prolific tyrant Frieza has come to reclaim his throne as Dragon Ball's most sadistic villain by dispatching a pair of major characters. His arrival marks the end of a very short-lived group of antagonists and the beginning of a new reign of terror within the Dragon Ball universe.
The beginning of Dragon Ball Super chapter 87 picks up on the battle between Gas, Goku, Vegeta, and Granolah. Gas' body has begun to fall apart in a state of extreme degradation after being hit by so many powerful attacks continuously. Even with his body deteriorating, Gas' power level remains well above Goku, Vegeta, and Granolah. With his power so high, it seems like the Saiyans and Granolah don't stand a chance, but then comes the unthinkable. Elec's plan to summon Frieza to Planet Cereal and have Gas kill him backfires completely.
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Though Gas is supposedly the universe's strongest warrior, he is eviscerated in a moment as Frieza arrives on the battlefield and tears through him, leaving nothing but bones left in the wake of his attack. It seems as though the two of them share some kind of history as Frieza remembers who he is, as well as the general power level among all the Heeters. In his new bid for complete control over the universe, Frieza spares no threat to his power and taunts Elec about his weak power level in front of the other Heeters before utterly vaporizing him. In a twisted turn of events, Frieza then invites Oil and Macki to work as his minions aboard his spaceship. Frieza's ruthlessness is perfectly illustrated in this quick series of events where he kills two central characters with zero hesitation then forces others to work underneath him.
Frieza has always been one of Dragon Ball's most sadistic villains and Dragon Ball Super proves the tyrant is just as cruel as ever in its latest chapter. One of Frieza's most pivotal character moments was ordering the death of elder Namekians and even killing a Namekian child the first time he's ever on panel. Even when compared to other cruel major villains like King Piccolo or Majin Buu, Frieza's complete and utter disregard for anything that stands in his way defines his character more than any other trait. It's interesting that Frieza, with all of his newfound power, chooses to spare Goku and Vegeta in this chapter - the two people he hates more than anyone else in the universe. The simple truth may be that while he considers Elec's information gathering to be a threat, he no longer considers Goku or Vegeta to be worth dealing with because of his new physical prowess as Black Frieza.
Dragon Ball Super as a whole has often been criticized for its lack of brutal fight scenes like the original Dragon Ball seemed to possess so many of. Clearly, things are beginning to change in Dragon Ball Super as Frieza demonstrates just how horrific the full extent of his power really is.
Dragon Ball Super chapter 87 is available now from Viz Media.