#paparoni

No one at all:

I just finished watching Episode 120, which appears to contradict those reports.   But I have to admit, I was sort of worried the whole time that Paproni might try to mind control 17 and 18 at any moment, so it added to the suspense. 

At the same time, though, I thought about whether that would be a good idea or not, and I realized that it would be kind of dumb, at least in a setting like this.  

First off, let’s not forget that Dr. Gero couldn’t get 17 and 18 to obey him, and he’s the one who turned them into cyborgs in the first place.    I don’t know if he programmed them or what, but obedience to him was supposed to be part of their design, and it still didn’t work.   If Gero couldn’t control them, I don’t think Paparoni or anyone else is going to be able to figure it out on the fly. 

(To be fair, Gero had better luck in Dragon Ball GT, but he had plenty of time to work on the problem, and Dr. Myuu to help him.  But Super 17 still turned on them in the end.)

Second, it doesn’t change the numbers game.   Flipping two of U7′s fighters over to U3′s side doesn’t give U3 two extra members.  It gives U3 some extra muscle, and they need it, but the tournament ends in ten minutes, and they’d need 17 and 18′s help for all ten of those minutes.   When the buzzer sounds, 17 and 18 will still be counted as members of Universe 7′s team, which could only work against U3.   

Third, 17 and 18 don’t contribute that much extra muscle.  I feel weird saying that, since they’ve been the workhorses of this team, protecting Goku, taking out stubborn nusiances left and right, and using their double-team moves and unlimited stamina to frustrate their opponents.  But 18′s got a bad ankle, and I’m reasonably sure she’s the weakest member of the team.   17′s probably the second-weakest, though we really don’t have a clear handle on how strong either of them really are.  They might be able to take out Goku while he’s tired, but not Vegeta, Gohan, or Frieza, and certainly not all three of them at once.  And then they’d have to save Universe 3 from the Pride Troopers, and I can promise you 17 and 18 are no match for Jiren.  This wouldn’t have been an issue back when U3 had more fighters in play, but things have changed...

Finally, if Paparoni had this ability, then it was stupid to have him enter the tournament as a competitor.   If he used his power from the stands, no one could do anything about it, unless the King of Everything decided it was illegal.  But on the stage, all U7 has to do is send one of their guys after Paparoni while the others keep 17 and 18 busy.  Frieza sneaks up on him, snaps his cane in half, and he’s back to square one. 

The more I think about it, mind control seems like a pretty useless tactic in the Tournament of Power.  I was about to suggest that it would have done more good to use it early into the game, except 17 and 18 were already helping U3 indirectly by eliminating their mutual competition.   You could command them to walk off the stage and eliminate themselves, but that would make things easier for the other teams as well as your own.  You could have them turn on their own teammates, except U3 has sort of been relying on them as well.   Think about how well U3 would have fared against Kefla or Universe 2′s big guns.  They didn’t have to sweat those battles because Goku, 17, and 18 fought them instead.  Paparoni was already benefiting from their efforts, even without mind control. And now, at the end, I’m not sure it would do him any good to use it.