6 Techniques That Rival Piccolo’s Special Beam Cannon

Piccolo has had his fair share of amazing moments throughout Dragon Ball. From his fight against Goku during the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament, to him saving Gohan from Nappa’s Bomber DX, and of course, him and Goku taking down Raditz, Piccolo has done some memorable things despite falling into a reduced role as the series went on.

Speaking of the battle against Raditz, that’s when Piccolo debuted his now iconic Special Beam Cannon. It left a mark on fans right from the start, not only taking down Raditz, but shocking everyone by simultaneously taking down Goku as well. Since then, we haven’t seen the technique used as often as you’d expect given its incredible power. While the Special Beam Cannon is one-of-a-kind, here are some other moves in the series that rival it.

Gamma Blaster

Gamma 1 and Gamma 2 were great additions to Super Hero, joining the ranks of Androids 16, 17, 18, and Cell as some of the most formidable Androids in the series. Though they couldn’t hold a candle to the movie’s true villain, Cell Max, the Gammas proved to be a solid challenge for Piccolo and Gohan to a point.

The Gamma Blaster is one of the more notable weapon-based attacks and proves to be every bit as effective as some of the more traditional ki techniques. The attack is charged up by the Gammas via their blaster, letting out a massive energy wave that’s comparable to a Kamehameha in power.

Neo Tri-Beam

Tien didn’t get many chances to shine in Z, but one moment that fans will always consider his best is when he used his Neo Tri-Beam to hold off Semi-Perfect Cell and stop him from absorbing Android 18. Though the Bio-Android would ultimately achieve his perfect form, Tien’s selfless act at the very least showed off just how powerful the move could be.

The attack hits opponents with a barrage of energy waves, with Tien using his life force to power the move. It’s a pretty big drawback, and even though it didn’t do much damage to Semi-Perfect Cell, who at that point had well surpassed Tien, it was strong enough to overwhelm him and keep him in one spot for a long period of time.

Photon Flash

Android 17 & 18, though still fairly powerful currently, were absolute menaces early on, especially in Future Trunks’ timeline. We see the Androids use all kinds of interesting techniques when they fight, with Android 17’s Photon Flash standing as one of the most deadly attacks we’ve seen the Androids use.

Future Android 17 used the attack quite often and to great effect. Not only was it great for environmental damage, but we see Future Android 17 take out the future versions of Yamcha, Vegeta, and Krillin with it. It’s a potentially deadly technique that, although simple, stands as one of the more deadly energy waves we saw in Z.

Galick Gun

From Piccolo’s most iconic move to Vegeta’s, the Galick Gun may no longer be the most powerful technique in Vegeta’s arsenal, but it’s still one of his most recognizable. Vegeta still uses the technique every so often, though to varying degrees of success.

The Galick Gun is a massive energy wave that Vegeta charges up with an immense amount of ki, sporting a distinguishable purple hue. It can be a really devastating attack, causing major damage to whoever it’s aimed at and leveling their surroundings. It can even be used as a planet-destroyer if enough power is put into it.

Death Bullet

Frieza is one of the series’ most iconic villains, and one thing fans associate with him the most are his various Death Beams. Though many characters use Finger Beam techniques, none do it as well as Frieza does. The vanilla Death Beam might be his best-known move, but his Death Bullet is a much stronger variation.

The move itself varies, with one version coming in the form of an overwhelming barrage of Death Beams that can deal major damage, and the other a more straightforward finger flick that shoots out a deadly beam capable of destroying an enemy in one shot. We even see Cell use a supercharged version of the attack once he achieves his Perfect Form.

Destructo Disc

Next to the Special Beam Cannon, the Destructo Disc is another deadly move that fans think isn’t used enough. The Special Beam Cannon’s long charge time is one of the main reasons why it’s not a practical technique in most situations. The Destricto Disc’s reason for being so rarely used is much different.

As effective as it may seem, the Destructo Disc can be really easy to dodge. It also isn’t guaranteed to take out an opponent, especially a stronger one. Still, it’s been shown to have tons of potential and can be deadly if overlooked. It just isn’t as consistent as you’d want it to be.