Commander Red was the commander-in-chief of the most feared, and ruthless militaristic crime organization; the Red Ribbon Army. After discovering that his enemy, Goku, had a much more sophisticated and superior Dragon Radar, he was angered at the fact that he invested so much in his radar and took many wary chances, only to have been contested by a mere child.
Personality[]
Commander Red is shown to be a very terrible leader of the Red Ribbon Army, yet also a very fierce one as well. He is often very sarcastic towards Staff Officer Black, even when the latter makes valid suggestions to Red. He is also very disloyal to his own army, viewing them as nothing more than pawns for his own goals, as evidenced by his desire to get the Dragon Balls as well as his own willingness to destroy his own army to, in Staff Officer Black's own words, "satisfy his own vanity" to wish to become taller.
Commander Red owned a cat, which he frequently used to attack Red Ribbon Army personnel entering his office to test their reflexes, such as Colonel Silver. It is also implied that any soldier who fails to effectively evade the cat (such as one soldier who allegedly lost an eye due to not reacting quick enough) is executed.
Biography[]
Early Life[]
Ever since Elementary School, his friends often made fun of Red's size, calling him "shrimp" and even remarking that even though he is short, he has got an old man's face. This is the reason why Commander Red hated being short and desired to be taller. At some point, he also lost his right eye, necessitating the use of an eyepatch.
Red Ribbon Army Saga[]
Commander Red holds his cat in his arms
Commander Red is first introduced when he summons Colonel Silver to his office. As soon as Silver arrives at his office, he sics his pet cat at Silver, and then congratulates Silver for managing to have the reflexes to dodge the cat, noting that the previous soldier summoned to his office lost his eye when he attempted to dodge his cat, and hinted that the soldier in question was executed. He then gives Silver his mission to retrieve the Dragon Ball located in the Jungle. After Silver had failed his mission, he has Silver brought to his office, and chews Silver out on his failure, also remarking that he will be executed, as there are no second chances in the Red Ribbon Army. He then alerts General White to Goku's arrival. After White fell to Goku, he hires Hasky to steal the Dragon Balls and presumably assassinate Goku.
General Blue Saga[]
Commander Red sharing a rare moment of satisfaction with Staff Officer Black
Shortly after Hasky failed to retrieve the Dragon Balls from Goku, as well as failing to assassinate him, Commander Red decides to give General Blue the mission to kill Goku, along with a report on Goku. Eventually, Commander Red gives Blue orders to retrieve the Dragon Balls after supplying Blue with information on the closest locations of the Dragon Balls via their own Dragon Radar, as well as retrieve Goku's Dragon Radar and to retrieve the creator of the Dragon Radar (then believed to be Master Roshi). During this time, he also had a goat painter paint a mural of him, although he also had the painter try to make him much taller, being even taller than Staff Officer Black while painting the portrait, resulting in him telling off Black when he decides to joke about it. Afterwards, when Goku managed to get to the camp General Blue's unit was occupying, Goku started playing with a communication radio, causing Red to demand attention, and then demand if Goku knows who he is. However, the feedback static as well as their shouting caused both Red and Goku's ears to hurt, with the latter eventually destroying the radio.
Commander Red Saga[]
When the Red
Commander Red
Ribbon Army is having problems with Goku, Commander Red hired a famed contract killer named Mercenary Tao to assassinate Goku and return with the four Dragon Balls that General Blue was unsuccessful at retrieving (and also arranged for General Blue to fight Mercenary Tao that resulted in the latter's death, both to give Blue a chance at surviving execution for failure and to see whether Mercenary Tao was actually the real deal). Tao kills General Blue with only his tongue, shocking Commander Red and Staff Officer Black, Red's personal assistant. After Tao supposedly killed Goku, he calls Red to tell him the job was done, but Tao realises he only found three Dragon Balls instead of four. In the meantime, he played a bit of golf with Officer Black, and later received the Seven-Star Dragon Ball from Colonel Violet. After Mer
Red after getting shot by Black
cenary Tao failed in trying to receive the forth, Goku headed straight for the Red Ribbon Army Headquarters, attacking in its very stronghold to collect the Dragon Balls necessary to resurrect Upa's father, Bora, killed by Tao. Despite Staff Officer Black's constant advice for Red to abandon the Dragon Balls and escape for safety, Red stubbornly refused, putting them both in further danger. When it became clear that Goku had virtually defeated his army, with many escaping from the base, and coming for him, he took the Dragon Balls and ordered his right-hand man, Staff Officer Black to fight him and went into a secret compartment. As they were fighting, Red used one last trick and activated the ceiling to be flattened, in a desperate attempt to kill Goku, believing him and Black to be dead. Black was very lucky as he was knocked outside the window by Goku when the ceiling came down. As Commander Red returned to the room, he gloats at his victory and reveals his wish to become taller. Black overhears this and pleads that the Red Ribbon Army did so much and risked a lot for Red's stupid ambition instead of world conquest, and therefore it was not worth the risk and could lead to their ultimate defeat. When Commander Red does not listen, he is then shot in the head and killed by Black who then renames it the Black Ribbon Army.
Other Appearances[]
The Path to Power[]
Commader Red redesigned for Path to Power
Commander Red appeared in the 10th anniversary remake, Dragon Ball: The Path to Power and had a slight redesign, but to a lesser extent to that of most of the Red Ribbon Army. The way he met his end is also slightly different; although Red was still killed by Staff Officer Black after the latter discovered his true intentions with the Dragon Balls, he fell off a ledge rat after being shot by Black.
Video Game Appearances[]
While he has yet to make a playable appearance, he makes an appearance in Dragon Ball Z: Super Gokuden: Totsugeki-Hen, Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 3, Dragon Ball Z: Infinite World, Dragon Ball Advanced Adventure, Dragon Ball: Revenge of King Piccolo, and Dragon Ball: Origins 2. Commander Red is seen with bandages where he obtained his fatal bullet wound on his forehead in Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 3 on the Dragon Arena screen, and in the video game Infinite World where he is seen in the Fighter's Road mode. Coincidentally, both those two video game modes are secret modes that have to be unlocked.
Dragon Ball Online[]
Commander Red, redesigned as Android 9
In Dragon Ball Online, Commander Red has been rebuilt as an Android known as Android 9. He is apparently the leader of the Red Pants Army as he is the last character to face in the army's dungeon located near Korin Tower. He is also much larger than before. It is also of note that Android 9 bears more similarities to his older design than his revamped design in The Path to Power.
Voice Actors[]
- Japanese Dub: Kenji Utsumi
- FUNimation Dub: Josh Martin
- Portuguese Dub: António Semedo
- Brazilian Dub: Luiz Carlos de Moraes
Trivia[]
- Commander spoke with a Scottish accent through most of his appearences but it later faded for the most part save for a few scenes during Goku's assault on the base where a Scottish accent is present.
- Despite being the primary antagonist of the Red Ribbon Saga, Red never once meets Goku face to face.
- Commander Red and Staff Officer Black look-alikes both reappear as movie makers in Dragon Ball Z (episode 205) during the Great Saiyaman Saga. They are working together on a "Great Saiyaman film" project for Satan TV. The Commander Red look-alike is the director and the Staff Officer Black look-alike seems to be his assistant. The only notable difference between the two is that the director does not possess an eyepatch.
- Despite being shot in the head by Staff Officer Black, Commander Red is not seen among the villains who escaped Hell in Dragon Ball GT or in Dragon Ball Z: Fusion Reborn.