Most fights in Dragon Ball Z were decided by who was the strongest, but it wasn't always like that. There was a time when all the Z-Fighters were strong enough to at least damage an enemy. Back then, everyone was welcome to join in on a fight and contribute to a win. Later on, however, only the strongest could face off against an overwhelmingly powerful opponent and hope to make a difference. If they tried to so much as help, they would only put themselves at risk of getting one-shotted. The rapid power creep outpaced all of them, so they were forced to stay out of the major fights.
However, DBZ fights were never as cut and dry as fans remember. Even with all the power creep, there were always weaker fighters willing to step up and fight for what was right; that's part of what made them so compelling. Because of this, they would at least try to play supporting roles until the end of the series. This makes it difficult to say when DBZ gave way to power creep or even whether it ever did. The best way to figure this out would be to look over the major fights and see how they contributed to the series' power creep.
When Did Power Creep Start in Dragon Ball Z?
Raditz set a lot of standards for defining power creep. When he first appeared, Goku and Piccolo were the only ones who could stand up to him—and it was only because of Piccolo's new attack, the Special Beam Cannon. Any Z-Fighter who fought this battle alone would have lost. This can all be taken to mean that a fighter who is weaker but has some power or technique that can influence a fight is not a victim of power creep (for the time being).
At first, Nappa seems like a prime example of power creep. Chiaotzu couldn't do anything to him, and Tien, Krillin, Gohan, and Piccolo could only rough him up. The only one strong enough to beat him was Goku, or so it seemed. The others could have won without Goku if things had gone smoothly, as evidenced when Krillin and Piccolo both nearly kill Nappa.
Similarly, having everyone would have made beating Vegeta much easier. Goku was necessary to weaken the Saiyan Prince, but after that, even Yajirobe could lend a helping hand. Krillin would have delivered the killing blow if Goku hadn't stopped him. In this sense, all of them survived the power creep.
The Namek and Ginyu Sagas were mixed bags for Krillin and Gohan. They were virtually powerless against Dodoria, Zarbon, and Recoome. However, they were also effective against Guldo and Captain Ginyu in Goku's body. Vegeta and Goku grew stronger than all their opponents through Zenkai boosts and training. It's easy to assume that the full-blooded Saiyans were the only ones who could do anything, but Krillin and Gohan always managed to keep up. On another note, the other Z Fighters were portrayed as strong enough to fight the Ginyu Force, albeit in filler episodes.
How Did Dragon Ball Z Power Creep Develop?
Frieza was an unusual case of power creep because of his transformations. Vegeta was confident that he, Krillin, and Gohan could beat the galactic tyrant's form. Unfortunately, no one will ever know because Vegeta goaded him into transforming before they could try. After that, Krillin's Destructo Disc was the only thing they had that would work and Piccolo was the only one who could fight Frieza's second form. With that said, this fight proved Krillin could have made power gaps irrelevant with his cut-through-anything attack. With Frieza's final forms, even Goku couldn't keep up. The only things truly strong enough to kill Frieza were Goku's Super Saiyan form and maybe the Spirit Bomb. The others could only stall him at the most, but that still counts as helping.
The Androids and Cell were a lot stricter about who could challenge them. Only Piccolo and the (Ascended) Super Saiyans could ever put up a fight against them. Tien, however, was able to stall Semi-Perfect Cell. Additionally, Android 16 could have killed Perfect Cell by self-destructing if his bomb weren't removed. Krillin and Mr. Satan also deserve credit for their contributions, even if they weren't on the battlefield. Unfortunately, human fighters like Yamcha and Chiaotzu did give way to the power creep and were forced into retirement.
The Saiyans also dominated the Buu Saga's battles, but a few others were able to deliver some stand-out performances. Piccolo nearly killed Babidi and helped with Goten and Trunks' training. Tien managed to save Gohan from Super Buu after the latter absorbed Gotenks and Piccolo. In the anime, Yamcha beat fighters in the Otherworld strong enough to manhandle Cell. They couldn't do much to Majin Buu, but they all found ways to remain relevant.
Mr. Satan, despite being an ordinary human, made several contributions both on and off the battlefield. He's proof that power gaps should never have stopped the Z-Fighters from pitching in. Even if he was only ever in supporting roles, he was integral to the destroyer of worlds' defeat.
How Is Power Creep Defined?
There are a few ways to define power creep and whether characters gave way to it. One is when the characters can't do anything to damage their opponent and are forced into supporting roles. By this definition, however, Goku could be called a victim of power creep in his fight with Raditz; he could only hold the Saiyan invader down as Piccolo fired the killing shot. Looking at matters like this, power creep has been a part of DBZ.
Power creep can also be quantified by all the sidelining. Several parts of the series saw fighters like Goku and Piccolo insist on fighting alone. Part of it was pride, but it was also because they were the only ones who could battle the enemies on equal footing. This power creep started with Goku's fights against Nappa and Vegeta.
There was also power creep that forced those who couldn't keep up into retiring. It started with Chiaotzu in the Android Saga, and Yamcha followed soon after. Krillin also quit fighting, but he eventually came back. This definition of power creep is the most accurate, but it also offers the smallest sample size. Looking at power creep like this, it doesn't seem to be the big issue with DBZ that everyone made it out to be.
The best way to look at power creep might be by combing these definitions. It's not just one problem but rather an amalgam of issues throughout the series. This understanding would make power creep out to be the exact problem even hardcore DBZ fans have to acknowledge.
At the same time, DBZ's power creep did have plenty of moments that allowed weaker characters to shine. It might have been cool to see the humans going toe-to-toe with the Androids and Majin Buu, but they were always part of the fighting. Power creep was always a problem, but it was also manageable.