Triclops
RaceAn ancient alien race of three-eyed beings from which Tien Shinhan descends. Also known as the Three-Eyed People, no pure members have ever been seen in the series. Their third eye is said to grant godlike perception and powers, though their most famous descendant lost access to these abilities due to his upbringing under the Crane School.
The Third Eye Sees All
The Triclops, or Three-Eyed People (Mitsume-jin), are an ancient alien species whose defining characteristic is the third eye centered on the forehead. According to Akira Toriyama himself, beings with this third eye are considered godlike and possess the power of "true seeing," a form of perception that transcends ordinary vision.
In terms of physical build, Triclops descendants appear similar to average Earthlings in height and general body structure. Their diet is omnivorous. What truly sets them apart is their unique physical composition, documented in Daizenshuu 4, which describes their biology as fundamentally different from standard human physiology.
Extraordinary Anatomy
The Triclops body is capable of feats that no pure Earthling can replicate. Members of the race can grow additional arms from their back, as demonstrated by the Four Witches Technique. They can split their body into multiple independent copies through the Multi-Form technique. Each of their eyes can move independently, allowing them to look in multiple directions simultaneously, an ability that enhances rather than compromises their vision.
Not all descendants inherit every ability equally. Jajee, a Triclops descendant appearing in Dragon Ball Fusions, is noted for being shortsighted with poor eyesight, suggesting that the race's enhanced visual capabilities can be diluted through hybridization with other species.
Tien Shinhan and the Lost Heritage
The most significant revelation about Tien Shinhan is not something discovered during a battle or through any dramatic plot twist. It comes from supplementary material: the Daizenshuu books and the Dragon Ball Z DVD booklets, which quietly confirm that Tien is a "descendant of the Three-Eyed People." His own voice actor, Hirotaka Suzuoki, noted in an interview that Tien was not an Earthling.
This alien heritage explains many of Tien's most distinctive abilities. The Four Witches Technique, the Multi-Form, his capacity to see through afterimage techniques, all of these stem from his Triclops biology rather than any training method. Toriyama noted that Tien's third eye should have granted him access to a whole range of powers for good purposes, but his upbringing under the evil Master Shen corrupted this potential.
The Question of Purity
No pure Triclops has ever appeared in the Dragon Ball series. Tien is a hybrid, an Earthling with Triclops ancestry. The anime does show a three-eyed woman in an Other World cafe, credited in the Funimation dub as "Tien's Mom," and a three-eyed fighter training under King Kai. These brief glimpses are the closest the series comes to showing individuals who might have stronger Triclops heritage.
In Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2, Jaco encounters Tien and remarks on his unusual three eyes, completely unaware of the Triclops race. Tien's response, calling Jaco odd in return, captures the quiet humor of a character who has never fully explored his own alien ancestry.
Genetic Echoes Across the Franchise
Tien's cells have found their way into several other beings throughout the franchise. Cell and the Cell Juniors possess Tien's genetic material, making them technically part Triclops despite lacking a visible third eye. Android 21 may also carry this heritage through the same cellular lineage, though this is never explicitly confirmed.
The Dragon Ball Fusions game introduced additional Triclops content: Jajee, a three-eyed descendant; fusion warriors like Tiencha (Tien plus Yamcha) and Chiaohan (Chiaotzu plus Tien); and even Mabon, an Earthling who drew a fake third eye on his forehead with permanent marker out of admiration for Tien.
Cultural Inspiration
Tien's design draws from multiple sources. The three-eyed motif echoes the Hindu god Shiva, whose third eye represents enlightenment. The character Sharaku from Osamu Tezuka's 1974 manga The Three-Eyed One, another descendant of ancient three-eyed humans, served as a more direct influence. Toriyama also drew from Erlang Shen, the three-eyed character from Journey to the West, the same source material that inspired the Dragon Ball manga itself.
The Triclops race remains one of Dragon Ball's most intriguing mysteries: an entire alien civilization whose existence is confirmed but whose history, homeworld, and culture remain completely unknown. Everything we know about them comes through a single descendant who spent most of his life unaware of what made him different.
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