There are so many iconic villains out there in films and television, from some of the best villains in horror movies to the ones that we sometimes cheer for in Marvel movies. Another type of villain that we consistently see in mass media are anime villains, some of which end up being our most complex characters. A great example of that would be the Dragon Ball series, and their latest antagonist, Dr. Hedo, featured in Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero.
The series has been going on for years, emerging in the eighties and beloved by fans everywhere, with Z Fighters and villains alike becoming household names, such as Goku, Piccolo and more. And in the latest film, a new villain, named Dr. Hedo was featured as the main antagonist. A young scientist, and the grandson of Dr. Gero (another big villain in Dragon Ball), he’s roped in by Magenta for the new Red Ribbon Army in order to create weapons for them for their domination. This includes the new android superheroes, Gamma 1 and Gamma 2, and a new version of Cell, called Cell Max.
However, Dr. Hedo isn’t exactly like many other antagonists within the Dragon Ball franchise. In the end, he made a very important decision about what to do with his work after he finds out the true nature of Magenta and the Red Ribbon Army, and Gamma 2’s sacrifice after Cell Max begins to kill everyone once Magenta activates him.
Cinemablend sat down with Dr. Hedo’s Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero’s English dub voice actor, Zach Aguilar, and how Dr. Hedo isn’t like many other antagonists in Dragon Ball, as all he really wants to do is create - and this is what gets the young scientist into trouble.
Dr. Hedo, even at the beginning of the movie, all he really wants to do is continue his research. He truly is that mad scientist kind of guy. He just wants to keep creating things, and that was part of the reason why he got put in prison, because he made some androids and he’s always just been about furthering his research.
Aguilar went on to say that he doesn’t think Dr. Hedo “wants or means to do evil things,” and it’s really because all Dr. Hedo is so focused on continuing his research and moving forward that he doesn’t realize what he’s doing is bad.
But at the end of Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero, Dr. Hedo discovers the horrors of the Red Ribbon Army after being manipulated and tries to help the Z Fighters in order to stop Cell Max - and in the end, one of his creations, Gamma 2, sacrifices himself so that the others have a chance of defeating Max.
In the end, he and Gamma 1 decide to work for Capsule Corporation, and help them move forward. Aguilar hopes that it’s the beginning of a new chapter for Dr. Hedo.
I would just love to see him be more involved as a scientist - create new technology. I’ve always been fascinated by Capsule Corp and I feel like there’s a lot of stuff that they could do with that.
Dr. Hedo always had a fascination with superheroes, as shown in the movie. Aguilar said that while Dr. Hedo had the chance to sort of “be the hero” when it came to creating Gamma 1 and 2 for the Red Ribbon Army (under the guise of Red Pharmaceuticals), he’ll really get the opportunity now as a scientist for Capsule Corporation.
I thought it was cool, though, that he gets a chance to be a hero because I think that’s what he saw. That was one of the main lines in the trailer, like “this world needs a hero,” and that’s kind of what he did with the droids. He kind of designed them after superheroes, and he genuinely thought “oh, this is a problem, let’s solve this problem, I am a scientist.” And I think now he will actually have a chance to be on the good guy side, and not get all wrapped and twisted up in somebody else’s agenda.
Dr. Hedo certainly has an interesting future ahead of him, and while I can understand his love of superheroes (I am a Marvel fan, after all), I can’t wait to see what he does next in the Dragon Ball universe - and how he himself just might become the hero (and scientist) he truly wants to be.
