Death Saucer

The Death Saucer is Frieza's personal evolution of the Destructo Disc concept. Like Krillin's original, it produces razor-sharp energy discs capable of slicing through virtually anything. The critical upgrade is remote control: Frieza uses his telekinetic abilities to guide the discs through the air after throwing them, allowing them to track and pursue dodging targets. As long as Frieza maintains concentration and eye contact, the Death Saucers will relentlessly chase their quarry.

This tracking capability comes with a weakness. If Frieza loses concentration or breaks eye contact with the discs, they revert to unguided projectiles, flying in whatever direction they were last aimed. This seemingly minor detail becomes the technique's undoing in its most famous appearance.

The Death Saucer's most memorable moment is also its most humiliating. During the final stages of his battle with Super Saiyan Goku on the dying planet Namek, a desperate Frieza launches the Death Saucers as one of his last-ditch attacks. Goku attempts to trick Frieza by flying directly at him and pulling up at the last second, but Frieza anticipates the maneuver and redirects the disc.

Frieza then throws a pair of Death Saucers, and Goku repeats the baiting tactic while firing a ki blast to create a dust cloud that forces Frieza to dodge his own attack. Goku follows up by elbowing Frieza in the skull and slapping him around. Enraged beyond reason, Frieza charges at Goku, completely forgetting about his still-flying, now-unguided Death Saucer behind him. Goku warns him to stay down, but Frieza ignores him. The disc cleaves through Frieza's midsection, severing his body in half and taking his left arm with it. It is one of the most iconic moments of karmic justice in anime history.

Cell uses the Death Saucer technique during his fight with Goku at the Cell Games, leveraging Frieza's genetic contribution to steer the discs with telekinesis. King Kai, watching from Other World, recognizes the technique as Frieza's and chastises Dr. Gero for creating a monster with access to such dangerous abilities. Goku evades Cell's version by leaving afterimages to bait the discs.

In Dragon Ball GT, Frieza tries the Death Saucer again against Goku in Hell, only to have it backfire once more with even less effort from Goku. Krillin eventually develops his own homing Destructo Disc in Dragon Ball Super, closing the gap between his original technique and Frieza's upgraded version. During the Tournament of Power, even Goku employs homing disc tactics against Jiren, proving that good ideas in Dragon Ball eventually spread to everyone.