Vegeta


Vegeta, also known as Prince Vegeta or Vegeta IV, is a fictional character in the Dragon Ball franchise created by Akira Toriyama. Vegeta first appears in chapter #204 Sayonara, Son Goku, published in Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine on November 7, 1988, seeking the wish-granting Dragon Balls to gain immortality.
Vegeta is the Prince of an extraterrestrial warrior race known as the Saiyans. He is extremely arrogant, proud and hardworking; constantly referring to his heritage and royal status throughout the series. He believed he should be regarded as the strongest fighter in the Universe and becomes obsessed with surpassing Goku after losing his first battle with him. Nevertheless, he is a man of principles and a true believer of the Saiyans religion. Indeed, Vegeta believes in the "Legendary Saiyan", nowadays known as the "Super Saiyan". However, the term of "Legendary Saiyan" is not clear and his identity is disputable. As shown in the Namek Arc, powerless in front of Frieza, Vegeta swallowed his pride and begged Goku for help. This shows us that besides being proud and arrogant, he bears in his heart an impregnable belief for his clan's legacy. At this point, the Super Saiyan was shown for the very first time after Goku's transformation, and it ended with Frieza's death, Vegeta later unites with the heroes to thwart greater threats to the universe, such as Cell and Majin Buu. Vegeta's religious aspect was also shown in a Dragon Ball movie, introducing for the first time Broly, nicknamed as the "Legendary Saiyan". During the battle between the Z warriors and Broly, Vegeta did not fight and a rare scene of a scared Vegeta was shown. This is related to his religious heart, he was not afraid of Broly's power, but scared of the "Legendary Saiyan" name. Henceforth, fans have been arguing about the true identity of the "Legendary Saiyan" whether it was Broly or the Super Saiyan transformation. Dragon Ball Super did not help in this debate, it rather brought more discord with the new Super Saiyans God transformations. Throughout the series, Vegeta's role changes from villain to antihero and later as one of the heroes, while remaining a rival to Goku.
The character received positive reactions. Vegeta's actions, and particularly his antiheroic trait, were well received. He is one of the Dragon Ball franchise's most popular characters, and his first confrontation with Goku is considered to be one of the manga and anime's most iconic battles. His character development from a cold-hearted warrior to a caring husband of Bulma, responsible father of Trunks and Bulla, and a reliable companion of Goku is regarded as one of the best character developments in the history of anime by the fans.

Creation

Following the trend that names of members of the Saiyan race are puns on vegetables, Vegeta's name is a pun of the word vegetable itself. Toriyama stated that when he received a lot of fan mail telling him not to kill Vegeta, he purposely did just that. After the release of , Toriyama expressed interest in having Vegeta be the lead in the event of another animated feature, though he insisted this was only his intent and no decision had been made.

Appearances

''Dragon Ball Z''

Vegeta is introduced as the proud prince of the Saiyan race and the first major antagonist of the Dragon Ball Z series. He travels to Earth with his comrade Nappa to use the Dragon Balls to wish for immortality. Nappa easily fights off Earth's heroes and kills Tenshinhan, Chaozu, and Piccolo in the process. Goku then arrives after completing his training with Kaiō-sama. Goku easily defeats Nappa who is then killed by Vegeta, for the shame of being defeated by a low class Saiyan such as Goku. Vegeta fights and beats Goku in a very close fight after resorting to his Ozaru form, but is unable to beat the rest of the heroes due to his sustained injuries. Exhausted and being consistently harassed by Gohan, Krillin and Yajirobe, he barely escapes with his life and is humiliated by the fact that Goku pleaded with Krillin to spare his life. Vegeta travels to planet Namek in an attempt to wish for immortality using that planet's Dragon Balls, cutting the tyrant Frieza off from making the same wish in the process. Upon arrival, Vegeta manages to kill many of Frieza's henchmen and also mercilessly destroys a whole defenseless Namekian village for their Dragon Ball. Later on Vegeta is forced to team up with Gohan, Goku, Piccolo, and Krillin so they can fight off Frieza. He also kills most members of the Ginyu Force. Ultimately, he is defeated and subsequently killed by Frieza while asking Goku to avenge him and all the other Saiyans. Vegeta is unintentionally revived with a wish from the Dragon Balls from Earth.
After Frieza's final defeat, Vegeta chooses to stay on Earth and has a son named Trunks with Bulma. Three years later, Vegeta finally becomes a Super Saiyan and easily destroys Android 19, sent by Dr. Gero to kill Goku. However, even as a Super Saiyan, he is easily defeated by Android 18. Afterwards, Vegeta ascends beyond the Super Saiyan level while training with Trunks from an alternate dimension in the Room of Spirit and Time and pummels the artificial life form Cell, who has absorbed Android 17. Vegeta's overconfidence leads him to allow Cell to absorb Android 18, upon which Cell achieves his "perfect" form. After Vegeta fails to defeat Perfect Cell, he is forced to participate in Cell's martial arts tournament known as the Cell Games, in which he makes a crucial intervention so Gohan can overpower and defeat Cell in his perfect form.
Seven years later, Vegeta allows himself to be consumed by Bobbidi's evil power for his own desire to become powerful enough to fight and defeat Goku. He then goes on an indiscriminate killing spree to provoke Goku to fight him. However, when the monster Majin Buu is revived as a result of the energy released from their fight, Vegeta knocks out Goku from behind after deceiving Goku by feigning a truce. Vegeta then faces Majin Buu alone and ends up sacrificing himself in an attempt to defeat Buu, dedicating his sacrifice to Bulma, Trunks, and Goku. With all other fighters dead or absorbed, Vegeta is allowed to recover his body and returns to Earth to help Goku, the last warrior remaining, against the threat of Boo. He reluctantly combines bodies with Goku using the Potara earrings, to create the fused warrior Vegito, who completely overwhelms Boo with his strength. Eventually, Vegito allows himself to be absorbed into Boo's body to free the other heroes absorbed by Buu, but this leads to the splitting of the fusion. Goku and Vegeta manage to free their allies who have been absorbed by Buu, causing him to undergo a new transformation, which results in his return to his original Kid Boo form. On the Kaiō-shin's planet, Vegeta battles Buu again to buy time for Goku to gather energy for the Genki Dama, which he uses to defeat Majin Buu once and for all. It is during this fight that Vegeta finally admits Goku as both his superior and friend.

In Toriyama's films, ''Dragon Ball Super'', and ''Dragon Ball GT''

In addition, Vegeta appears in eight of the Dragon Ball Z movies; in the, Vegeta comes to Goku's aid against Cooler, foiling his attempt at powering the Big Gete Star with their energy by overloading it; in the, Vegeta appears to aid the others in combating a new wave of androids, destroying Android 15; in the, Vegeta shows hesitation in fighting Broly due to his immense strength though he overcomes it in time to supply Goku with his energy, contributing to Broly's defeat; in the, Vegeta withdraws from attending a tournament, disillusioned by Goku's death, but comes to help Trunks when believing he is in danger; in the, after having a difficult time with Janemba, Vegeta fuses with Goku to form Gogeta who defeats Janemba easily; in the, Vegeta fights Hirudegarn after he steps on his home; in the, Vegeta tries appeasing Beerus so that he will not destroy the Earth and surpasses Goku briefly following a power boost of rage brought on by Beerus slapping Bulma; and lastly, in the, Vegeta trains off planet with Whis and returns to Earth to combat the resurrected Freeza, being killed by him when he destroys the Earth.
After the latter two films and anime adaptation in Dragonball Super, Vegeta participates in a tournament where he defeats Frost, Magetta, and Cabba, but is defeated by the assassin Hit. He travels to Planet Potaufeu to retrieve Goten and Trunks, where he fights a copy of himself. He is then reunited with Future Trunks and begins training to fight Goku Black, also training Trunks for the fight. Vegeta travels to the future to counter Goku Black, but is defeated and returns to the past. Vegeta heals and returns to the future for a rematch. Failing to defeat Goku Black before traveling to the present, where he trains, giving him enough strength to best Goku Black in their next encounter. Vegeta and Goku then meet their match against Zamasu's fused form, forcing them to once again fuse into Vegito, who defuses from overusing his energy. Vegeta later aids Trunks in defeating Zamasu. Vegeta loses a battle to Arale, and later declines training with Goku due to Bulma's pregnancy. When his daughter, Bulla, is born, Vegeta develops a strong attachment to her and becomes very protective over her wellbeing.
Vegeta decides to enter in the Tournament of Power in order to protect his family. During the tournament Vegeta is successful in knocking out numerous fighters. He knocks out Toppo, who achieved the power of a Hakaishin or God of Destruction, and then aids Goku in fighting the last remaining member of Universe 11, Jiren. It is during his fight with Jiren and Toppo that Vegeta breaks the limits of his Super Saiyan Blue form, achieving a higher power and form known as 'Super Saiyan Blue Evolution'. With 2 minutes remaining in the tournament, Jiren knocks Vegeta out, who then sends the last of his remaining power to Goku. In the film , Vegeta and Goku battle Freeza's newest recruit, the Saiyan Broly, but he proves too powerful for either of them. Left with no other options, Vegeta learns the fusion dance and fuses with Goku, becoming Gogeta and stopping Broly's rampage.
In Dragonball GT, set after the events of Super, Vegeta is confronted by a Baby-possessed Gohan. Baby possessed Vegeta during their battle despite strong resistance by Vegeta, and the resulting Baby/Vegeta fusion battles Goku. Vegeta is later split from Baby's body before Baby is destroyed. Later, he fights Super Android #17, but again, he is knocked out and nearly killed. When Omega Shenron wreaks havoc, he fights with Goku as a Super Saiyan 4 but the two eventually revert to normal. Afterwards, Vegeta says a farewell to Goku, who leaves the duty of protecting Earth in Vegeta's hands before he flies off into the sky on Shenron.

In other media

In filler episodes of Dragon Ball Z, set during the Saiyan arc, Vegeta and Nappa travel to Arlia while in space, being hailed as a hero after saving the people there. After leaving, Vegeta destroys the planet from space. After the Namek arc, Vegeta travels across space in an ultimately unsuccessful attempt at finding Goku, defeating remnants of Freeza's army. After the Boo arc, Vegeta attends a gathering with the other heroes.
Vegeta has appeared in many video games related to the Dragon Ball franchise as both a playable character and boss. In several games, Vegeta is capable of transforming into a Super Saiyan 3, first introduced in Dragon Ball Z: Raging Blast. In the 2003 game Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 2, Vegeta can be absorbed by Boo as one of the alternate forms exclusive to the game. In the 2010 arcade game Dragon Ball: Heroes, Vegeta bests Super 17 before and after he merges with Android 18. A Time Breaker-possessed version of Vegeta also appears in the game. In the 2015 game ', Vegeta serves as a mentor to the player character, teaching Galic Gun, Final Barrage, Shine Shot and Final Flash. He has also appeared in other non Dragon Ball-related video games, such as Jump Super Stars, Jump Ultimate Stars, and even in the Dragon Ball Z/One Piece/Naruto crossover game Battle Stadium D.O.N.
Vegeta has made several appearances in other manga, one of which is in Akira Toriyama's Dragon Ball self-parody Neko Majin, where he battles the titular character. In the Dragon Ball and One Piece crossover, Cross Epoch, Vegeta is re-imagined as a captain of a crew of air pirates which includes Trunks, Usopp, and Nico Robin. On September 15, 2006, Vegeta made a guest appearance in a chapter of the Kochira Katsushika-ku Kameari Kōen-mae Hashutsujo manga, Super Kochikame, entitled Kochira Namek-Sei Dragon Kōen-mae Hashutsujo. Vegeta appears in the Karate Shoukoushi Kohinata Minoru manga in Chapter 178. Two characters go to a restaurant that features live Muay Thai boxing and Vegeta is in the background cheering. He also makes a single panel appearance in Toriyama's 2014 ' special.
Vegeta has also been the victim of parody: the Weekly Shōnen Jump Gag Special 2005 issue released on November 12, 2004 featured a Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo one-shot Dragon Ball parody manga. The manga was a humorous retelling of the battle between Goku and Vegeta initial battle; Jelly Jiggler was Goku and Don Patch was Vegeta.
Vegeta has made two contributions to music: in the eighth installment of Hit Song Collection series entitled , Vegeta sings the song "Vegeta-sama no Oryori Jigoku!!". The song focuses of Vegeta cooking a special Okonomiyaki, and in Dragon Ball Kai: Song Collection he sings the song "Saiyan Blood", which he brags about how great he is. Other Dragon Ball-related songs that center around Vegeta are "Koi no Nazonazo" by Kuko and Tricky Shirai which focuses on his and Bulma's relationship and "Ai wa Ballad no Yō ni~Vegeta no Theme~" by Shin Oya which represents Vegeta's reflections on his life and then current family.

Abilities

Up until his tail was cut off, Vegeta could turn into a gigantic monkey-like creature called an Ōzaru by looking at a full moon, an ability common of all Saiyans with tails. Vegeta has the ability to create and enhance attacks with the use of ki. He also has the ability to use Bukū-jutsu, which enables him to fly. Constant training and his Saiyan heritage have given him vast superhuman strength, durability, speed, and reflexes. Vegeta can increase his strength, speed, stamina, invulnerability, and flight speed many fold if he directs ki into them.
Vegeta is known to give names for his various energy attacks. In his early appearance, Vegeta is seen to use attacks similar to several of the protagonists of the series, such as a Ki Disk Razor, a laser-like disk capable of cutting through solid objects, and a ki wave similar to Goku's Kamehameha. One of his better known attacks is the Galick Gun, although he uses it only once in the series proper; during his battle against Goku in an attempt to destroy the Earth. He later develops the Big Bang Attack and the Final Flash techniques, which are much more powerful than his older energy attacks. One of Vegeta's most commonly used tactics in the series is when he bombards an opponent with an array of small ki blasts. He is not known to have an official name for this attack, but it is occasionally called Rapid-Fire Energy Balls. In Dragon Ball GT, Vegeta displays a powerful new attack, entitling it the Final Shine Attack, where he uses his left hand to fire off a massive beam of green ki that widens with distance. Because of his immense strength and power, Vegeta, along with few other characters from the Dragon Ball franchise, can destroy entire planets if not star systems with single attacks if he intends to.
Vegeta also possesses several transformations that greatly enhance his abilities to varying degrees. He gains the ability to transform into a Super Saiyan and, through training, can further transform into advanced states of Super Saiyan as the series continues. Vegeta later achieved the immensely powerful Super Saiyan Blue transformation under Whis's tutelage. During his fight with Jiren, a mortal stronger than a destroyer, Vegeta unlocks a transformation called Super Saiyan Blue Evolution by breaking his very utmost limits. Vegeta can also fuse with Goku and create a warrior who has the combined power and skills of both. One method is by using the Potara earrings, presented to Goku by the Old Kaiō-shin. This results in a 'potara fusion' creating Vegito, who, in his reappearance in Dragon Ball Super, can also transform into a Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan. The other method, appearing only in the anime, is by performing the 'Metamorese Fusion Dance', which creates Gogeta.

Voice actors

In the original Japanese version of the anime and all other media, Vegeta is voiced by Ryō Horikawa.
In the Ocean Productions English dub, Vegeta was voiced by Brian Drummond. Drummond returned in the Funimation dub of Dragon Ball Super to voice Vegeta's Duplicate.
In Funimation's in house dub, Christopher Sabat has voiced Vegeta in all Dragon Ball media, including video games. While Sabat continued to dub Vegeta's adult incarnation in Dragon Ball Z Kai, Laura Bailey voiced Vegeta's child incarnation in Dragon Ball Z Kai and Justin Briner voiced Vegeta's child incarnation in Dragon Ball Super.

Reception

Vegeta has generally received praise by various reviewers from manga, anime and other media. Theron Martin from Anime News Network noted Vegeta's pride as being partially responsible for the success of the series. His fight against Goku during the final story arc was also commented to be very entertaining, despite its length as well as Goku and Vegeta's fighting styles, which Martin considered to have become stale. In another review, Theron noted Vegeta's overcoming his pride to help defeat Cell as the best scene from the fight against said antagonist due to how it creates the climax of the scene. Todd Douglass Jr. from DVD Talk commented on Vegeta's skills and anger, noting them to be a good combination for any fight even though it is a one-sided battle due to how powerful he is. Douglass called his reveal as a villain during the appearance of Bobbidi, "the real meat" of the story. Carlos Ross from Them Anime Reviews found Vegeta and Bulma's relationship to have too much comic potential and comments that such characterization was lost.
Vegeta is an extremely popular character in the series, placing fourth in the 1993 Dragon Ball character popularity poll voted on by Weekly Shōnen Jump readers, and moved up to second in the 1995 one. In 2004, fans of the series voted him the second most popular character for a poll in the book Dragon Ball Forever.
There has also been multiple criticism to his relationship with Bulma with writers finding it forced. In About.com "Top 8 Anime Love Stories", Vegeta and Bulma's relationship ranked second with Katherine Luther commenting that such a relationship was unpredictable by fans. Japanese voice actor Toru Furuya expressed shock Trunks was Bulma's and Vegeta's child from the future despite the fact that Yamcha and Bulma were often in a relationship and Yamcha was turned into a cheater to cause such change. Hiromi Tsuru, Bulma's first Japanese actress, was also shocked by this change, believing her character would end with Yamcha. Bulma's voice actress joked that it was difficult for her to love Vegeta, having thought Bulma would end up with Yamcha.Mania Entertainment writer Briana Lawerence listed Vegeta 9th in the article 10 Male Headaches of Anime, criticizing his personality and his repeated desire to surpass Goku's power.
Vegeta has appeared in the Anime Grand Prix poll taking high places in the category "best male character" in the 1991 poll and 1992 poll. Vegeta was placed twenty-first in IGN's 2009 top anime character of all-time list, calling him "the original unmitigated bastard" that preceded Light Yagami and Lelouch Lamperouge, and in the tenth spot in 2014. Vegeta came third on IGN's 2014 Top 10 Anime Villains list, stating, "The most famous bad-guy-turned-not-so-bad in all of anime. Vegeta started out as an alien punk with a sadistic streak and an inferiority complex, but over time he became one of Goku's friends, and every now and then, if he was feeling nice that day, he'd help save the world." A Biglobe poll conducted in 2012 listed Vegeta at number 16 of Japanese fans' favorite tsundere characters, the highest among male characters on that list, and a Thai magazine about anime characters also listed him among male tsunderes.

In popular culture

Vegeta's quote "It's Over 9000!" has become an Internet meme and a popular catchphrase referring to a large number or great quantity. The line originates from the 21st episode of the Ocean Productions English dub, "The Return of Goku".
The costume worn by the antagonist Killmonger in the 2018 film Black Panther is strikingly similar to Vegeta's costume. Killmonger is portrayed by Michael B. Jordan, who is known to be a fan of Dragon Ball. Jordan said Killmonger's battle armor may have been inspired by Vegeta's battle armor.

Music

Rapper Soulja Boy has two songs, titled “Anime” and “Goku”, which reference Vegeta in the lyrics.
In the song entitled "Christ Conscious" by Joey Badass, the song's lyrics include the following line: Got dragon balls, like my name was Vegeta.
The demo version of the song from "First Impressions" by Thrice has a sample of Vegeta in the intro from the original Ocean dub: No way! How? It can't be! Kakkorot a Super Saiyan? But he's a low-class soldier, it doesn't make any sense!.
The third album released by the musical-comedy group Starbomb features a song titled "Vegeta's Serenade". The song centers around Vegeta trying to write a love song for Bulma, but keeps getting distracted by his hatred for Goku.

Professional sports

American UFC fighter Marcus Brimage is an avid fan of Dragon Ball Z, even citing the series as one of his inspirations for taking up mixed-martial arts. He names the first fight between Goku and Vegeta as one of his favorite battles in the series.
WWE Superstars such as Ronda Rousey and The New Day have worn Vegeta-inspired attire; the former wore a singlet referencing Vegeta and the 'It's Over 9000!' meme at Wrestlemania 31, the latter appeared in full costumes patterned after Vegeta's signature Saiyan Armor at WrestleMania 32 as a part of their grand entrance for their match against The League of Nations.
Boca Juniors player Eduardo Salvio often celebrates his goals with a Dragon Ball Z reference, and he has performed the Big Bang Attack and the Fusion Dance.