Summary
Dragon Ballas a series introduce Bardock during a time when it was unclear who Son Goku’s Saiyan father was. In fact, a lot of people wondered who that was, and so we were introduced to a version of Bardock who was more Saiyan-like. Rough, merciless, and yet completely loyal and willing to fight for his allies and race; the Bardock from Dragon Ball Z was a force of willpower who was unlucky to have died. However,Dragon Ballintroduced a new special manga one-shot that introduced a different Bardock. This Bardock is the one used in recent materials. However, there is a noticeable difference.
That being said, there is a clear question about which of these two is the better version of Bardock, despite what canon may say. Is the original Bardock more interesting because of his Saiyan-like behavior, or was the change necessary for his character later in the series?
Early Bardock
And His Loyal Brutality
One major difference to highlight between the Early Bardock and the New Bardock, is that the early Bardock had a lot more brutality and Saiyan-like behavior going for him. We first see him working alongside other Saiyans while they destroy another innocent planet and conquer it,much like how Freezasends the Saiyans to do, although Bardock simply talks about it as if it was just another job. This serves to highlight the fact that while Bardock is loyal to his Saiyan Squad, Bardock also doesn’t have the same moral sensibilities as that of his son Goku, making him incredibly brutal in his actions. This shows especially during the final few moments against Bardock in his fight against the Freeza soldiers, where he brutalizes them on his way to confront the Tyrant Freeza.
This is for all the people that we’ve killed in your name! - Bardock
Even with this brutality, a major part of what made this Bardock iconic to many fans is that he doesn’t follow the archetype that was popular at the time. A genius scientist sending his alien son to earth, Bardock isn’t. In fact, this Bardock was just a simple warrior who had premonitions and fought for his race when he realized he, along with his race, were going to be wiped out on a whim. However, there was a simple sense of pride that Bardock had for his son Kakarot, especially when the final vision showed Goku facing off Freeza, which put a smirk on Bardock’s face even as he died. This simple approach to his backstory and character made Bardockvery iconic to a huge portionof the fanbase, and it let them connect to him when they realized he was less of a paragon of virtue compared to Goku, allowing to portray the message that sons may be very different from their own fathers. One that is proven and popular among many fans ofDragon Ball.
New Bardock
The Appeal Of Change
However, there is a good point to be made as well when considering the Bardock we have now in Super, who wasfirst introduced inDragon Ball Minus.This Bardock may still be a lower-class warrior, as well as have a different design and perspective, although he seems to be much more of a family-man to his wife Gine, and especially his son Kakarot. In fact, the major difference between this Bardock and the other one, is that New Bardock sent his son away personally to Earth, watching him and wishing him to be in good health and safe from Freeza’s clutches. This is highly reminiscent to Super Man’s origin story, and a lot of people seemed to take issue with that approach. However, at the same time, many people enjoyed this version of Bardock due to his empathy and remaining rebellious and attempting to fight Freeza all the same.
Maybe it’s because I’m constantly fighting, destroying, that I’d actually like to save something for once. - Bardock
There are a lot of people who sometimes think that the parallels with Super Man’s backstory make Bardock a bit less interesting, as well as too typical and not as unique. While that may not be wrong, New Bardock has a lot of advantages that the old Bardock doesn’t have. For one, a canon backstory, as well as a more family presence considering his care for his son and wife Gine. However, at the same time, Old Bardockhas his own advantagesin this case. He is more memorable, has had the longest exposure to the fanbase, and is generally in a lot more fights and had a close dynamic with his allies that we don’t see often inDragon Ball.It’s possible that the New Bardock may be a better change in the long run, and considering he is canon at the moment,Dragon Ballmight be better off for it as a result of the story. After all, New Bardock is also the only Bardock where Goku has a reference and learns his heritage even more.
