The fact that the market has become so starved for more superhero movies that they actually want to make a film about the Great Saiyaman is actually a pretty brilliant idea for an episode. The difficulty is that Gohan’s blundering alter ego is typically seen as a weak spot from Dragon Ball Z’s later years. The comedic character doesn’t always receive the best reception from the audience, so telling a story that revolves around him (that’s a two-parter, no less) means that you really need to make sure that the character properly comes into focus and is as strong as possible. Otherwise people are immediately going to jump ship.

Something that certainly makes all of this more palatable is the fact that the episode doesn’t shy away from mocking the Great Saiyaman whenever the opportunity arises.

As if a Great Saiyaman film going into production wasn’t enough, it turns out that this film is also a vanity project for Mr. Satan that’s titled, “Great Saiyaman vs. Mister Satan!” As ludicrous as all of that might sound, the film’s generated considerable buzz and it still looks like the misguided superhero pair-up film is tracking to perform better than Batman v Superman. Out of morbid curiosity, Gohan, Videl, and Pan all go to the set of the film to see how production is going and if Gohan can offer up any constructive dance moves for the character. You know, the important stuff.

As it turns out, Videl is actually much more of the focus here than Gohan and the film’s star, Barry Kahn, immediately sets his sights on her. Barry Kahn very publicly hits on Videl and her rejection of him is even more brazen. Gohan and Videl tend to operate within this certain bubble of innocence, so it’s quite the shock when Barry basically makes it his mission in life to destroy Gohan and his happy marriage with his wife.

Furthermore, while all of the commentary on superhero cinema is still very much present, this underlying theme of revenge and blackmail is certainly a little unusual, but not exactly out of place in the world of cinema. It doeshowever feel a little awkward in a Dragon Ball episode.