Superhero Media: Dragonball Z - Dead Zone

Generally speaking, the DBZ "movies" are not considered to be canonical with the series, due to contradictions and inconsistencies. Dead Zone is a bit funny in that regard, as the series involves the Garlic Jr saga, the direct sequel to this movie. The only real big contradiction between Dead Zone and DBZ is Bulma, Krillin and Master Roshi finding out about Gohan a little early, which I always felt was a smaller issue than not introducing Garlic Jr and is far less egregious than some of the continuity hiccups in the series anyway. Of course, the fan solution is to claim that the Garlic Jr Saga is not canon, which, as I've stated before, I disagree with, because it's one of my favorite adventures. The action starts when the minions of Garlic Jr attack Piccolo and start rounding up the Dragon Balls, capturing Gohan in the process and inadvertently putting Goku, martial arts champion of the world, on their trail. 

Unlike most villains, Garlic Jr is smart enough to make his wish the second he gets all the Dragon Balls together, making himself immortal and preparing for the coming of Kami, the person responsible for locking Garlic Sn in the Dead Zone. One of the best parts of Dead Zone is seeing Kami fight, even if it is a losing battle; fans of Dragon Ball will remember that it was only after the defeat of Piccolo Jr that Kami admitted that Goku had surpassed him, so at this stage of the story, Piccolo, Goku and Kami are all around the same power level. I tend to look at Dead Zone as being the bridging story between the styles of Dragon Ball and DBZ, as much of the action and the setting harkens back, but elements like Gohan's hidden power and a truce between Goku and Piccolo looks forward to what is coming. 

For those who are put off DBZ by the sheer amount of content, these "movies" are a good in, as most are under an hour and feature very little filler, jumping into the action a bit faster. I know there are a few of these that I like to pop in the player from time to time, to get my DBZ fix in a hurry, and Dead Zone is one of them, as I still don't own Dragon Ball and haven't seen it in years at this point. I've already talked about Garlic Jr as a villain years back, so I won't dwell on it here, but I like the idea of an evil force that wants to conquer the planet and can't be killed, and if I ever get my hands on more DBZ miniatures, I'll be sure to have John Constantine and the BPRD battling Garlic Jr and the Spice Boys. Until then, I'll tide myself over with my FuZion format Garlic Jr deck, which is probably my best one at the moment.