Staff Officer Black
ブラック参謀 Burakku Sanbō
Anime name	Staff Officer Black
Alternate names	Adjutant Black Assistant Black Officer Black Commander Black[1] General Black
Debut	Manga: "The Dragon Ball Scramble" Anime:
Appears in
Race	Human
Gender	Male
Date of death	Age 750 Age 749 (The Path to Power)
Address	Red Ribbon Army Headquarters
Occupation	Military
Allegiance	Red Ribbon Army
Family	Commander Red (former boss)

Staff Officer Black (ブラック参謀) is an antagonist in the Dragon Ball manga, and in the anime Dragon Ball, also making short appearances in Dragon Ball GT. He is an assistant of Commander Red, and is not given much of a role until the near end of the Commander Red Saga. He is a tall, soft-spoken and quick-witted person. Black carries out Commander Red's orders and informs Commander Red of the current situations with the remaining Red Ribbon Army officers.

PersonalityEdit

Staff Officer Black is an extremely loyal person, both to Commander Red and the Red Ribbon Army itself. He always obeys Red's orders, from handing him cigars to even when it involves getting himself into extreme danger to protect Red. Black however is not a drone of Red and does have limits on how far he will obey someone, as he refused to serve Red any longer after knowing of Red's selfish wish to make himself taller and then takes the army into his own hands. If faced in great danger from a different force, Black will attempt to trick his opponent with civil discussion into forming an alliance, before carrying on with his original plans if they refuse.

BiographyEdit

Dragon BallEdit

Throughout Commander Red's mission to acquire all seven Dragon Balls, Black assists him with small things, such as handing Red his cigars or complimenting his intelligence, while getting insulted by Red constantly, mainly when Black stands too close to Red, as Red does not wish to feel like a child due to his height. When Commander Red hires Mercenary Tao to eliminate Goku for interfering with the Red Ribbon Army's plans, Black has doubts about Tao when he first sees him. When Tao kills General Blue, an officer who Black said had not done well for the Red Ribbon Army before, with just his tongue, Black is in shock. When Tao has supposedly killed Goku, he informs Red and Black that he will return with the Dragon Balls in three days. In the meantime, Black continues to assist Red, and they also have a golf match together. After Goku defeats Tao, the assassin hired by Black's Boss, Commander Red, and promises Upa that he will get the Dragon Balls to resurrect his dead father, Goku storms the Red Ribbon Army Headquarters to get the Dragon Balls that Tao had previously stolen from him. Black repeatedly attempts to persuade Commander Red to evacuate the fortress to a much safer and secure location, but Commander Red refuses. Black ends up having to fight Goku by himself, but loses outright. Goku actually ends up unwittingly saving Black's life, as the final punch Goku delivered made Staff Officer Black crash through a window. When a trap door ceiling fell down on Goku, Staff Officer Black survived, because he was hanging onto the windowsill. Overhearing Commander Red's joyful speech about becoming a taller person, Black was appalled, saying that his mad ambition has cost the Army dearly as shown in Goku's invasion, and may eventually lead to its defeat.

Commander Red replies that it doesn't matter how many soldiers he risks as long as he reaches his goal, and makes it clear that he is just an expendable lackey, as is the rest of the Red Ribbon Army. Angered, Black shoots Commander Red between his eyes with his pistol, killing him instantly. Goku survives the falling ceiling, and finds Black, who offers him a position in Black's new army - the Black Ribbon Army, which Goku refuses. The two battle again, and Goku is predictably too powerful for him to fight.

Black then enters a super-powered robotic suit called "Battle Jacket," and the tables suddenly turn against Goku. The fight continues outside, and Black in the suit throws Goku onto the ground. He attempts to finish him off with a Full Power Energy Wave, but Goku quickly recovers and proves too nimble and has him attack himself. Black then snaps and fires a rocket to destroy Goku, threatening even his soldiers and staff, but Goku kicks the rocket away. After realizing the boy is too powerful, Black tries to escape from Goku but the young warrior sufficed and double punched straight through the Battle Jacket, which exploded, with Black trapped in it as the one thing not installed in the Battle Jacket was a parachute.

The Path to PowerEdit

In the film Dragon Ball: The Path to Power, Black has a similar role as Commander Red's right-hand man. Similar to the main anime/manga, Black kills his boss by shooting him after discovering the latter's true intentions with the Dragon Balls. He also renamed the organization the Black Ribbon Army, and got ready for a battle with Goku in his Battle Jacket. He was ultimately defeated by Goku's Kamehameha after Black destroyed Android 8. It is implied that the revelation that the Red Ribbon Army's motives were false drove Black partially insane, as he ended up immediately attempting to destroy Goku and endangering the base in his attempt to do so.

Dragon Ball GTEdit

Red Ribbon Army members, including Black, who appear in Dragon Ball GT are drawn in a style based on their appearance in the original Dragon Ball, not in the "redesigned" forms that appear in the 10th anniversary special. Black has brief appearances in the Super 17 Saga. After he and several other Red Ribbon Army members are sent back to Hell by Pan, he is seen speaking to General Blue in the Check-In Station. As King Yemma is busy stamping villains back into the dimension, the work load is heavily packed as all the villains are on a long line extending out of Yemma's domain, and General Blue and Staff Officer Black are chatting while in line. Staff Officer Black declares that it did not take long for all of them to be defeated and sent straight back to Hell, referring to everyone in line as "losers". General Blue responds by reminding him that he is also in line with all those losers; all awaiting to meet their fate together. Later, Black is seen in Hell approaching Piccolo alongside Blue, Major Metallitron and Nappa.

Powers and abilitiesEdit

Staff Officer Black seems to be a more clever strategist than Commander Red, as he has thought up many tactics in his tenure as second-in-command. He is also proficient with firearms, as seen with his gun usage. Black is also a capable hand-to-hand combatant and managed to put up a good fight against a young Goku. Although his strength might be above that of a regular human, Black fights mainly with the use of a Battle Jacket.

Video game appearancesEdit

Staff Officer Black is a boss in Dragon Ball Z: Super Gokuden: Totsugeki-Hen. He is a boss in his Battle Jacket in Dragon Ball 3: Gokuden and Super Gokuden: Totsugeki-Hen. Staff Officer Black is both a boss and playable character using the Battle Jacket in Dragon Ball: Advanced Adventure. Using the Battle Jacket, he is also the last boss of the Red Ribbon Army Saga in Dragon Ball: Revenge of King Piccolo and in Dragon Ball: Origins 2.

Staff Officer Black appears in cutscenes in Dragon Ball Z: Idainaru Son Goku Densetsu, and he is seen with other members of the Red Ribbon Army in the background of the RRA Headquarters battle stage in the arcade game Dragon Ball Z 2: Super Battle.

Voice actorsEdit

• Japanese Dub: Masaharu Satō
• FUNimation Dub: Christopher R. Sabat
• Portuguese Dub: Ricardo Spínola
• Brazilian Dub: Nestor Chiesse

TriviaEdit

• In Dragon Ball Z, the baseball player Pepper Johnson resembles Staff Officer Black, except he has more hair. During the Great Saiyaman Saga, a man who closely resembles Black is seen working as a producer of some sort for a Great Saiyaman film in "I'll Fight Too!", along with a director who closely resembles Commander Red.
• In the FUNimation Dub of Dragon Ball GT, Black claims he was not killed by a girl saying "at least I didn't get beaten by a girl." However, he was in fact seen in his robot suit when it is destroyed by Pan. In the original, he just comments on how easily they were defeated.

GalleryEdit

Staff Officer Black Officer Black with Commander Red Commander Red and Staff Officer Black in the manga Black advises Red to leave the base Staff Officer Black Staff Officer Black Goku punches Black in the gut Staff Officer Black kills Commander Red Staff Officer Black holds the Dragon Balls after executing Red Black after getting hit by Goku Moments before death Black redesigned by Akira Toriyama (Supplemental Daizenshuu) Black goes mad from the knowledge of Red's deceit Officer Black in The Path to Power Add a photo to this galleryAdd a photo to this gallery

See alsoEdit

• Staff Officer Black (Collectibles)

ReferencesEdit

Red Ribbon Army
Members	Buyon • Captain Dark • Captain Yellow • Colonel Silver • Colonel Violet • Commander Red • Dr. Gero • General Blue • General Copper • General White • Major Metallitron • Murasaki Brothers • Ninja Murasaki • Staff Officer Black
Red Ribbon Androids	Prototype Android • Super Prototype Android • Blue Android • Android 8 • Android 9 • Android 13 • Android 14 • Android 15 • Android 16 • Android 17/Future Android 17 • Android 18/Future Android 18 • Android 19 • Android 20/Future Android 20 • Present Cell/Cell/Future Cell
Associates	Dr. Flappe • Hasky • Hasky's followers • Mercenary Tao • King Nikochan • King Nikochan's servant
Bases	Colonel Silver's Camp • Dr. Gero's Lab • General Blue's Camp • Muscle Tower • Red Ribbon Army Headquarters
Technology and Vehicles	Airplanes • Battle Jacket • Boats • Cars • Hovercars • Tanks • Red Ribbon Robot • Remote tracking device • Submarines
Related articles	Red Ribbon Army war • Android conflict • Red Pants Army