ComicBook has published a feature making the argument plenty of longtime Dragon Ball fans have muttered for decades: the franchise's mid-card fighters deserve more screen time.

The piece points back to the series' roots, noting that the Dragon Ball universe didn't always run on power levels blasting out of the stratosphere. The entire first anime operated on a far more grounded scale, where martial artists like Tien — featured prominently in the article's imagery — could credibly share a stage with the protagonist.

It's a tension baked into the franchise's DNA. As Goku and Vegeta climbed through Super Saiyan tiers and into godhood, the human and non-Saiyan cast that defined the early tournaments got squeezed into cameo duty. The feature lands at a moment when fans are actively relitigating what the series' supporting roster should look like going forward — and the argument that the undercard made early Dragon Ball special is an easy one to get behind.