Spopovich

Spopovich
Vital statistics
Names	Spopovich, スポポビッチ, Supopobitchi, Spopovitch
Gender	Male
Race	Human
Occupation	Martial Artist, Henchmen (Organization of Babidi)
Origin	Dragon Ball Chapter 438 (DBZ 244) "The Finalists are Chosen!" (対たい戦せん相あい手て決けっ定ていす！ Taisen Aite Ketteisu!, lit. "The Match-Ups Are Decided!") September 14, 1993 (Weekly Shōnen Jump 1993 #41)
Alignment	Evil
Age	Not Stated
Created By	Akira Toriyama
Height	1.95m (6ft 5in)
Weight	Not Stated

Spopovich (スポポビッチ Supopobitchi) is a formidable competitor in multiple World Martial Arts Tournaments, a long-time rival of Mr. Satan, and one of the two Earthlings brought under the control of the wizard Babidi.

Appearance

Before falling under Babidi's influence, Spopovich was characterized by his light brown hair that reached his shoulders and his immense muscular build, which made him notably larger than many other competitors in both height and width. After being possessed by Babidi, he loses his hair and becomes even more muscular, with pronounced veins bulging across his skin due to his increased muscle mass.

Personality

Spopovich is known for his extreme aggression and bloodlust. He takes every opportunity to brutally beat his opponents, often to the brink of death or beyond, even when such brutality isn't required for his missions. His temper is easily provoked, with even minor insults driving him into fits of rage. He also processes thoughts slowly and often confuses words, as seen when he mistakenly mixes "baby" and "candy" while commenting on the ease of his task to steal Gohan's energy. Despite his violent tendencies, he shows some ability to follow instructions, as he heeds the orders of his comrade Yamu, who reminds him of their mission. This suggests that Spopovich retains a small fragment of his humanity, as indicated by his compliance with Yamu's commands in the Japanese version.

Biography

Background

Before being ensnared by Babidi's mind control, Spopovich is briefly mentioned in the manga and shown in flashbacks in the anime. He participated in the 24th World Martial Arts Tournament, where he defeated Killa in the second round before advancing to the finals against Mr. Satan. However, Spopovich was easily defeated by Mr. Satan in that match.

Dragon Ball Z - Majin Buu Saga

In the 25th World Martial Arts Tournament, Spopovich returns with a drastically altered appearance. His once brown hair is gone, his skin has turned a pale gray, and his muscle mass has increased significantly. A new distinguishing feature is the dark "M" symbol on his forehead, a mark of his possession by the evil wizard Babidi. Spopovich is accompanied by Yamu, his ally, who shares a similarly ghoulish appearance.

Shin and Kibito, mysterious figures observing the tournament, quickly sense that something is wrong with Spopovich and Yamu. Even Mr. Satan, who remembers Spopovich from the previous tournament, feels uneasy about his drastic transformation.

In the first round of the tournament, Spopovich is matched against Videl, Mr. Satan's daughter. Confident in her abilities, Mr. Satan believes Videl will easily win. Despite her strong start and even managing to seemingly "break" Spopovich's neck, he proves to be nearly immune to her attacks, displaying a power far superior to hers. Driven by his desire for revenge against Mr. Satan, Spopovich unleashes a brutal assault on Videl. He continues his relentless attack until Yamu orders him to stop and focus on their mission. Spopovich finally knocks Videl out of the ring.

Later in the tournament, Spopovich helps Yamu subdue a fully powered-up Gohan with the aid of Shin’s divine restraint, allowing Yamu to drain Gohan’s ki. After completing their task, Spopovich and Yamu fly off, prompting Shin and the Dragon Team to pursue them.

Shin, later revealed to be the Supreme Kai, explains that Spopovich and Yamu are under Babidi's control and are being used to gather enough energy to resurrect Majin Buu, the most powerful creation of Bibidi, Babidi's former self. When Spopovich and Yamu reach Babidi's spaceship, they are greeted by Pui Pui, Dabura, and Babidi himself. After taking the energy from them, Babidi quickly disposes of Spopovich, causing him to expand and explode.

Super Dragon Ball Heroes - Supreme Kai of Time Saga

An incarnation of Spopovich appears as a competitor in the Super Space-Time Tournament, alongside Dabura, Pui Pui, Yamu, Yakon, and two unknown members. In the manga, Spopovich, Yamu, and Yakon join forces with Commander Zeeun, Wings, Angila, Recoome, Jeice, and Guldo to fight against Yamcha. However, Jiren defeats all of them with a single blow. As a result of their failure to advance to the second round, Spopovich and his space-time are erased.

Dokkan Battle

Quest Mode

In Dokkan Battle, Spopovich and Yamu are under Babidi's control, tasked with gathering energy to revive Pure Majin Buu in the dimensionally distorted Age ???. Due to this distortion, Grand Supreme Kai and South Supreme Kai were never absorbed into this timeline. Spopovich and Yamu attack Future Trunks and his unseen Time Patroller partner (the player) while they are en route to Dr. Gero's Lab but are defeated and forced to retreat.

Later, Future Trunks and his partner learn that Grand Supreme Kai has arrived on Earth to seek help from the Dragon Team and King Kai's Time Patrol (a group formed at King Kai's request to investigate the dimensional distortion) to prevent the revival of Kid Buu. Eventually, they track down Spopovich and Yamu and follow them back to Babidi's spaceship, where they face off against Spopovich, Yamu, and Pui Pui. Although they manage to defeat them, Kid Buu is revived and absorbs Grand Supreme Kai, transforming into a weaker version of Innocent Buu.

Go Forth! Hero of Justice

In the Story Event Go Forth! Hero of Justice, the dimensional distortion in Age ??? causes various villains, including Spopovich and Yamu, to invade Satan City as part of the Organization of Babidi. Fortunately, the Saiya Squad, consisting of Adult Gohan and Videl as their superhero alter-egos, Great Saiyaman 1 and 2, intervene to protect Mr. Satan from Spopovich and Yamu. Unlike their encounters in the main series, Gohan and Videl manage to defeat the pair. After their defeat, Mr. Satan acknowledges Great Saiyaman's strength but humorously claims that Great Saiyaman is still weaker than himself to save face.

Powers and Statistics

Tier: At least 9-B

Powers and Abilities: Superhuman Physical Characteristics, Acrobatics, Knowledge in Martial Arts, Ki Manipulation (Advanced Level), Shockwaves Generation, Flight, Regeneration (Mid-Low), Berserk Mode, Energy/Ki Absorption (Via Energy-Suction Device)

Attack Potency: At least Wall level (Stronger than Videl)

Speed: At least Transonic combat speed (Superior to Videl)

Lifting Strength: At least Class 5

Striking Strength: At least Wall level

Durability: At least Wall level (Tanked Videl's attacks)

Stamina: Very high (Was able to take a lot of damage from Videl)

Standard Equipment: Energy-Suction Device

Range: Standard melee range, higher with ki attacks.

Intelligence: Below Average (Usually angry, does not talk much, mixed up his words by saying "taking baby from a candy")

Weaknesses: Prone to violent rage and has relatively low intellect.

Attacks/Techniques

• Flight – After being put under Babidi's spell, Spopovich is able to fly using ki.
• Ki Blast – The most basic form of energy blast. Used in Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3 and World Mission.
• Continuous Energy Bullet - A barrage of Ki Blasts. Used by Villainous Mode Spopovich during his and Yamu's assault on Hero Town.
• Kiai – Used against Videl in the manga only. In the anime, he uses the Crash Launcher.
• Berserker Crash – Spopovich holds his elbow with his fist and then charges fast at the enemy inflicting a great deal of damage. Used in Budokai Tenkaichi 3.

• Crash Launcher – A purple energy wave. Used against Videl in the anime, while in the manga he used a Kiai. Named in Dragon Ball Heroes. Named Majin Blast in the Dragon Ball Z Collectible Card Game.
• Mad Banquet – A rush attack used by Spopovich in Budokai Tenkaichi 3. He used part of this attack against Videl.
• Majin Buu Resurrection – Spopovich knocks the opponent away, and Yamu appears next to him. Spopovich grabs the opponent, and Yamu proceeds to absorb their energy. Used on Gohan in the 25th World Tournament, and was named in Budokai Tenkaichi 3. Also used by Villainous Mode Spopovich and Villainous Mode Yamu on Great Saiyaman 3 in World Mission.
• Minion's Latent Energy – Spopovich charges up, with both his defense and power increasing at the cost of his ki charge becoming slower. It is one of Spopovich's Blast 1's in Budokai Tenkaichi 3.
• Mad Warrior – One of Spopovich's Blast 1 in Budokai Tenkaichi 3.

• Superhuman Durability - As a Majin, Spopovich possesses the ability to survive injuries that would kill a normal human or martial artist, such as having his neck snapped. This is shown when Videl's First Strike snapped his neck during the 25th World Tournament, which almost resulted in Videl being disqualified for killing, were it not for this ability and Spopovich snapping his neck back into place.

Trivia

• Spopovich's name is likely a pun on "Popovich," a common European surname, which in katakana is rendered as ポポビッチ (popobitchi).
• Spopovich and Yamu share several similarities with Nappa and Vegeta. Both Nappa and Spopovich are bald, large, muscular fighters who enjoy tormenting their opponents; for example, Spopovich toys with Videl during their match in a manner similar to how Nappa taunts the Z Fighters. Similarly, Yamu tries to calm his partner down during fights, much like Vegeta does with Nappa. Yamu stops Spopovich from killing Videl at the tournament, just as Vegeta allowed the Z Fighters time to wait for Goku. Additionally, like Vegeta, Yamu appears to be the stronger fighter of the pair, while also being smaller in stature. Interestingly, in the Ocean dub, Yamu and Spopovich are voiced by Brian Drummond and Michael Dobson, who also voiced Vegeta and Nappa, respectively.
• Despite being human, Spopovich has purple blood, which may be a result of Babidi's control.
• Spopovich's brutal attack on Videl in the tournament is indirectly referenced in Dragon Ball Z: Broly - Second Coming, where Videl, upon regaining consciousness after being beaten by Broly, remarks, "Why do I always get the big, dumb, ugly ones?!" before flying off.
• One of the members of Caulifla's gang bears a resemblance to Spopovich.