Not only does Dragon Ball have a ton of manga chapters and anime episodes, but it covers a lengthy period of time. The characters grow up, get married, and have children. The series has seen multiple generations with parents from all walks of life. Sadly, not all of these are up to snuff.
The Dragon Ball franchise has many parents who have no business raising kids. Most of these are villains and, thus, don't really love their offspring. After all, what better way to get audiences to root against them? More so than that, fans feel sorry for the kids to be saddled with such cold carers.
6 King Cold
At first glance, King Cold seems to be a dependable dad. He seeks out his son, Frieza, after the tyrant is defeated and left on an exploding planet. He then restores the villain's body using advanced machinery. Unfortunately, he only does this to further his own dynasty and, by extension, his own power. He proves that when Trunks destroys Frieza. Without missing a beat, Cold disregards his son and offers his killer a place at his side. That shows just how much he values his child.
He looks even worse if fans consider Frieza's brother, Cooler. Granted, his movies aren't part of Dragon Ball's official canon, but they still track with Cold's previous behavior. Here, fans learn that he ignored his elder son and spoiled his younger one. Such favoritism explains why Cooler is on his own and never mentioned. It also justifies Cold seeking out Frieza and rebuilding him. Again, though, this action had nothing to do with love. That's just too much to ask of this family.
5 Goku
As the series' main protagonist, Goku has a lot of redeeming factors. There's not a malicious bone in his body, and he truly loves his family and friends. They're his greatest priority when he's there, as he does everything to protect them from harm. The problem is that he's rarely actually there.
Goku always leaves to train in the wilderness or on another planet. Most notorious is at the end of DBZ, where he abandons his family to mentor Uub – a kid he's just met. Such habits only worsen in Dragon Ball Super, where the writing makes him more infantile. As a result, many fans see Piccolo as a better father to Gohan. He bonds with Goku's son during their training, and he has the boy's back from then on. That's more than one can say for his real dad.
4 Dr. Gero
This mad doctor may be stretching the definition of fatherhood, but he's no less despicable. Gero is a scientist who builds androids for the maniacal Red Ribbon Army. For some reason, he installs sentience and emotion in these robots yet still expects them to blindly follow orders. It's not the last time he makes that mistake.
He crafts more killer cyborgs in Dragon Ball Z to aid in his revenge against Goku. Once again, though, he gives them emotions. It's like a cruel joke, and it's crueler still when fans realize that Androids 17 and 18 are teenagers whom he turned into mechanized murderers. Underlying all of this is a sadistic failsafe as
Gero places a bomb in each android. He or his allies can detonate these guys if they step out of line. Their whole bodies are weapons, whether they like it or not. To steal freedom on such a fundamental level takes someone colder than any machine.
3 Paragus
To be fair, Paragus initially seems more protective of his son than most Saiyans. When Baby Broly displays an unnerving level of power, his father tries to prevent his termination. The higher-ups then maroon them on a hostile planet. It's here that Paragus displays his true colors.
The frightened father soon becomes oppressively controlling. He sticks Broly with a device that shocks him into submission whenever the kid flies into a rage. He also prevents his son from experiencing basic happiness. For instance, after Broly makes friends with an animal, Paragus attacks that animal. He wants his son to focus strictly on training. In essence, he's not helping the boy develop, but forging him into a tool for vengeance. People who put personal vendettas over their own children aren't fit to be parents.
2 Bibidi
Dragon Ball Z doesn't reveal too much about this wizard, but what it does show isn't good. Using vague mysticism, Bibidi creates a monster named Majin Buu. He then lets the creature loose to wreak havoc on the universe and the Supreme Kais watching over it. The malicious gremlin delights in watching his abomination kill on a grand scale, but he berates and throws fits when Buu doesn't obey. It's hardly surprising, then, that he eventually turns on his creation.
When Buu gets too difficult to control, Bibidi seals him in a ball. Like other villains, he only sees his offspring as a means to an end. Though he doesn't kill his kid, he does pawn him off on someone else (namely future generations). He wants all the benefits of a tough child without any responsibility.
1 Demon King Piccolo
Considering Piccolo's own father, it is amazing he turns out to be a good surrogate parent. Demon King Piccolo is a warlord who delights in crushing his enemies and strives to conquer the Earth. He spawns a slew of reptilian thugs to carry out that mission, but he has no attachment to these minions. As such, he doesn't bat an eye when the heroes defeat them. He can just make more, so they're just pawns in his game.
That lack of value could even extend to his killing of Shenron: the titular dragon of the Dragon Balls. Kami created these mystical orbs, and King Piccolo is the evil half of Kami. From that perspective, one can surmise that he slays his own son. He does so for no other reason than to secure his power, and things don't get more despotic than that. That's obviously not the attitude one wants in a parent.