Yamcha and Krillin didn't even start out as "weak joke characters".

Krillin was more or less equal to Goku when they first met, though Goku was a little tougher because of his adventure with the dragon balls and "Emperor" Pilaf. What really changed their dynamic was when Goku started learning chi power crap, plus the fact that every time a Saiyan gets beat down, it gets stronger and tougher by nature.

Yamcha was Goku's first legit threat, and he nearly killed Goku in their first fight (iirc, it's been a little while).But neither one of them knew about the Saiyan mechanic I just mentioned, which is how Goku was able to come back and beat Yamcha's ass. The same went for Oolong, though he's a shapeshifting perv, rather than a strongman/fighter.

It's just that between being a Saiyan (and getting his ass kicked a LOT as a kid), Goku started to outstrip the rest of them pretty fast even before he went away for formal training (before the fight with Piccolo.)

It was only in Z they became jokes because by then, well, they were, compared to even a Goku who has yet to really become an insanely OP sub-god.

Yamcha and Krillin didn't even start out as "weak joke characters".

Krillin was more or less equal to Goku when they first met, though Goku was a little tougher because of his adventure with the dragon balls and "Emperor" Pilaf. What really changed their dynamic was when Goku started learning chi power crap, plus the fact that every time a Saiyan gets beat down, it gets stronger and tougher by nature.

Yamcha was Goku's first legit threat, and he nearly killed Goku in their first fight (iirc, it's been a little while).But neither one of them knew about the Saiyan mechanic I just mentioned, which is how Goku was able to come back and beat Yamcha's ass. The same went for Oolong, though he's a shapeshifting perv, rather than a strongman/fighter.

It's just that between being a Saiyan (and getting his ass kicked a LOT as a kid), Goku started to outstrip the rest of them pretty fast even before he went away for formal training (before the fight with Piccolo.)

It was only in Z they became jokes because by then, well, they were compared to even a Goku who has yet to really become an insanely OP sub-god.