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Mr. Satan was a professional martial artist. Surely, he was also a buffoon, but from what we've seen he is definitely very strong and skilled by the standards of someone who was never trained by someone like Kami or Kaioshin. In Dragon Ball series, he would probably be a decent opponent for Goku or Tien.

He also wasn't completely stupid - you don't become champion, millionaire and world star by not knowing what are doing.

In the real world, it takes a mixture of raw talent, hard work, and passion to achieve such level, and we have no reason to assume that it's any different in Dragon Ball universe.

Now, to finally get to the point:

  • How come that he never came across stories about people like Master Roshi?
  • How come he didn't watch 21st, 22nd and 23rd Tournaments, where flying, Kamehamehas, disappearing and other strange techniques were common?
  • How come he had no idea about Tien (who won 22nd Tournament)?

Satan must have been a young boy or teenager, and if he had the passion for martial arts, people like Tournament Winners should be like Gods to him. And yet, after these Tournaments, Mr. Satan doesn't recognize Goku, Piccolo or the other Z-Fighters.

Mind that I'm not questioning why he kept on insisting that everything that happened during Cell Games was a "trick" - he wouldn't want to admit that he was outclassed - but why was he actually and genuinely surprised.

Aki Tanaka
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Darth Hunterix
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    I think the real question is: With so many awesome fighters and their flashy techniques (some being able to shatter the arena), how come it's *Satan* who becomes world famous? Even the announcer knew the tournament was about to become much more interesting, when the Z warriors attended. It's like everybody except the Z warriors and the announcer died and got replaced by a bunch of other random humans. I believe it's just poor writing. – Nolonar Apr 23 '15 at 13:41
  • related: http://anime.stackexchange.com/questions/3304/why-didnt-anybody-recognize-the-z-fighters-at-the-cell-games – Sam I am says Reinstate Monica Apr 23 '15 at 15:26
  • @Nolonar: That's easy to explain: Satan became world famous because that was his goal. Z Warriors never cared for fame (good example: Goku didn't even introduced himself to World's Leader Blue Dog after defeating Piccolo Sr) and without the media hype common people forgot about them rather quickly. Satan would do everything for attention so he had it. – Darth Hunterix Apr 23 '15 at 22:12
  • @Nolonar, I think it was *only* the announcer who recognized them; the others mostly seemed utterly clueless, perhaps the tournaments were cycling through spectators at such a rate that each crowd were mostly comprised of n00bs each time? Even if not, it's possible that the crowds didn't really know **what** on earth they were experiencing each time - loud explosions, bright flashes of light, probably extremely disorienting. Add to that the fact that the Z fighter, and especially Piccolo, were deliberately trying to remain unknown and undocumented – Meir Illumination Aug 16 '15 at 00:08

2 Answers2

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The answer to your question lies in the fact that there was a large time gap between the 23rd and 24th World Martial Arts Tournament.

Also, keeping in mind the fact that no one other than King Furry in DBZ remembers the King Piccolo Saga, it's safe to say that everyone has forgotten about the previous tournaments. This can also be said due to the fact that Tambourine had taken the records of the previous tournaments and the participants, thus there being no written history of them left.

Therefore, it can be concluded that even if Mr. Satan might have witnessed the tournaments, he has forgotten about them.

Gao
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Pratyush Manocha
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Mr. Satan wasn't stupid. He just took credit for everything the Z fighters did like Cell, Buu, etc.. His fame was gained mostly by winning martial art tournaments after Goku and co. stopped entering them after he was a world legend. Although, after taking credit for the defeat of Cell, he became a world savior.

And to answer the question, he has seen abilities like this, although he just thought of them as magic tricks. This is explained in the fight with Cell.

Aki Tanaka
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Kieren Ada
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  • I doubt he believed his own words. He seemed genuinely surprised but for the sake of his fame he had to come up with explanation very fast, so he kept saying "tricks", but if he really believed it he wouldn't be so scared. – Darth Hunterix Apr 23 '15 at 22:15