Dragon Ball Z had numerous iconic storylines, with much of the series' mythology being established in the earlier Saiyan and Frieza story arcs. Frieza was a deadly, conquering ruler who had killed many Saiyans and Namekians, making him one of the most pivotal villains in the series.
His muscle, the Ginyu Force, were a bit different though. While still a potent threat against their opponents, they had a much more lackadaisical and silly approach to villainy. A prime example is the Ginyu Force's giant red-haired member, Recoome. Yet despite being dim-witted and not particularly serious, it turns out Recoome was actually hiding quite a bit of potential underneath his facade of foolishness. Here's how the Ginyu Force's dumbest member may have actually been its strongest.
Recoome, It Rhymes With Doom
Recoome is an enormous, muscular redheaded soldier, as well as the most human-looking of the Ginyu Force. He's the team's best example of their showmanship and ridiculous antics, striking poses and engaging in questionable behavior more often than any of his teammates. This lack of seriousness is shown in his betting on fights with candy bars and other such silliness. Ironically, some of his agility and fighting prowess stemmed from practicing ballet and other less traditionally masculine forms of dance as a child -- complete with a tutu.
He has immense power befitting his size, taking several strikes from Vegeta with only his armor damaged afterward. Recoome's ensuing battles included several times where he could have easily killed Vegeta, Gohan and Krillin. It's only Goku's arrival that saves his son and allies, with the Saiyan amazingly being able to knock Recoome out with one strike. A fully regenerated Vegeta later kills Recoome while he's unconscious. As impressive as most of his battles were, it was apparently only a fraction of the threat that Recoome truly possessed.
Recoome's Hidden Potential
Daizenshuu 7, one of several official Dragon Ball Z guidebooks/encyclopedias, gave new light to Recoome and illustrated how easily the Z Fighters got off when they faced him. According to the book, Recoome never takes his battles completely seriously, explaining why he acts even sillier than the rest of the Ginyu Force. This hidden potential is evident in Recoome's training in his early years. Though his dancing was played up for laughs in the series, this is actually a training technique for real-life boxers to keep them limber and give them hard-hitting speed.
If Recoome's fights were never taken fully seriously, then the same could likely be said for his training as well. Thus, being lax in his technique and foundation would have made him a sloppier fighter who would eventually run into problems against better-trained opponents. Considering the absolute slaughter that he nearly performed on the very well trained Vegeta, Krillin and Gohan, the idea that this was the performance of a slacker speaks volumes.
Recoome relying solely on his strength and physical size also relates to his defeat at Goku's hands. When he finally faced an opponent who hit as hard (and likely harder) than him, he physically wasn't used to it and collapsed from the pain. If Recoome had trained himself more seriously to fight opponents from all backgrounds, he likely would have shrugged off Goku's attack as he had done with Vegeta's earlier attempts.
When combined with his size and already great power level, this probably would have made Recoome the strongest member of the Ginyu Force, trumping even his leader in raw strength. Unfortunately he cared more about cheap giggles than being a truly accomplished warrior, turning what could have been a ferocious fiend into one of Dragon Ball Z's goofiest gag characters.
