What happened to Icarus in ‘Dragon Ball Z’?

Dragon Ball Z has gone down in history as one of the best anime series ever, serving as many people’s first introduction to anime and other Japanese media. Despite its iconic status, and like any other long-running show, Dragon Ball Z is full of plot holes that lead to numerous questions. One of these is the issue of the character Icarus, the Hire Dragon?

Who is Icarus, the forgotten Dragon Ball Z character?

Icarus is an anime-only character that was introduced in the Tree of Might movie. Like many anime adaptations, the Dragon Ball Z movies largely have original stories and feature characters that do not exist in the manga. Essentially, the bulk of them are not recognized as canon events. 

When he was first introduced, Icarus was a young, light purple dragon with green eyes and tiny wings. We first meet Icarus when Gohan saves him from a falling tree in the Tree of Might movie. When the forest that Icarus lived in was burning, Gohan used the Dragon Balls to save it, and after this, Icarus and Gohan immediately bonded. When Goku saw how close his son was to the dragon, he made a home for Icarus in a cave so the two could play together as much as they wanted. 

After the movie, Icarus was seen again in a few filler arcs and anime movies. He was by Gohan’s side in the Lord Slug and Cooler’s Revenge movies, and featured in the Garlic Jr. Saga as well as the Trunks Saga. His appearance in the Trunks Saga was in a fan-favorite filler episode which featured Goku and Piccolo learning how to drive. However, this was the last time we saw Icarus in the anime. 

What happened to the beloved dragon Icarus?

Like many questions fans have had about Dragon Ball Z over the years, the question of Icarus’s whereabouts has largely gone unanswered. The last possible mention of the dragon was in the Great Saiyaman Saga when Goten mentioned that a dinosaur he was playing with reminded him of Icarus. This means that Icarus was alive and well long enough for Gohan to introduce him to his younger brother. 

The most common assumption about Icarus is that he is living his own life elsewhere, and both he and Gohan remember each other fondly. Icarus’ final time on screen in the canon universe was in an illustration for Dragon Ball Super done by Toyatarou. It is the first time Icarus is featured in the manga, and the drawing includes Gohan patting a fully-grown Icarus on the head. In Toyotarou’s notes on the illustration, he said that he hoped the dragon was living well on Mount Paozu.