Vegeta

For the condiment of the same name, see Vegeta (food).

Template:DB Character Vegeta or Prince Vegeta is a fictional character, villain, anti-hero and later hero in the manga and anime Dragon Ball Z and Dragon Ball GT. He is the prince of the fallen Saiyan race, archrival to Son Goku and a powerful warrior.

His name can be considered a pun on either vegetable or the condiment vegeta.

Appearance

File:The super elite saiyan.JPG

Vegeta as he first appears in Dragonball Z

Vegeta's build when he first appears in Dragon Ball Z is short and stocky, standing at about 5 feet 3 inches in comparison with Goku (5 feet 7 inches). His hair firmly stands upwards, and has a huge widow's peak. As he ascends to different Super Saiyan levels, his hair becomes much spikier than before. Vegeta wore many outfits during Dragon Ball Z and GT, but he is most commonly seen wearing traditional Saiyan armor, even as casual wear. He usually is seen wearing white gloves (Except in GT, where he wears black finger-cut gloves), and white light-weight boots. His general clothing is dark blue for most of the Dragon Ball Z series.

Vegeta's hair color is usually said to be black even though its shade has changed over the course of the anime. This is accepted because later in the series, it is stated that all Saiyans have black hair. Despite this, in his first appearance in Dragon Ball Z (Dragon Ball Z Episode 6) it is clearly a dark auburn. When he first comes to Earth a few episodes later, it appears black with brown highlights and stays that for the rest of the series (It changes to yellow with Super Saiyan transformations).

Vegeta's regular skin color is a medium shade of Tan, or more caramel in color. Vegeta's upper body is noticeably more muscular then Goku's when in his normal state. His shoulders are much rounder and his arms are thicker. Vegeta's hair (Like all other pure blooded Saiyans) never grows from birth. The length always stays the same, excluding transformations. As a full-blooded Saiyan, Vegeta once had a monkey-like tail that was usually seen wrapped around his waist like a belt. After his first battle with Goku and his friends it was cut off by Yajirobe.

If observed closely, Vegeta actually changes physically in appearance over the course of Dragon Ball Z, the reason being that Toriyama didn't expect fans to take the liking to Vegeta that they did, so he never intended Vegeta to be an important character. Originally, Vegeta was drawn to appear short and stocky, completely opposite of Goku who was tall and slender. However by the end of Dragon Ball Z he appears to be much more slender than his earlier version, his hair length having been shortened, though in the Manga, he is still roughly the same height as he was in his original appearance.

History

Behind the childhood

File:Vegetaprince.jpg

Young Prince Vegeta in the Bardock Movie Special, The Father of Goku.

Vegeta is seen in his youth in the Bardock Movie Special. Vegeta easily destroyed 5-6 Saibamen in this movie, showing his immense ability at a young age. The movie also shows a little about Vegeta's father, King Vegeta, the ruler of the Saiyan race. But he, along with Vegeta himself, was under the rule of the planetary warlord, Freeza. However, Freeza, out of fear of an impending uprising, kills King Vegeta and destroys the Saiyan home, Planet Vegeta, along with all Saiyans except for 7 (four canon, three non-canon), four of whom appear in Dragonball Z and the other three, in movies. Goku, Raditz, Vegeta, Nappa, Tullece, Paragus, and Broly were the only survivors. Only Goku, Raditz, Vegeta, and Nappa appeared in the manga and are the only ones considered canon by many fans. Freeza kept Nappa and Vegeta as slaves, usually to destroy planets and instill fear, much as he had used the Saiyan race. While it seems that Raditz was also associated with Vegeta and Nappa at the time of arriving on Earth, it is unknown if they were all enslaved by Freeza, or if Vegeta and Nappa found him later like they did Goku, or even if they knew him prior to escaping Freeza or not. Meanwhile, unknown to Freeza, Goku had been sent to Earth to wipe out the humans and prepare it for sale. Because Vegeta was the son of King Vegeta, he prides himself as being "The Prince of all Saiyans", which he later uses to try to feel superior to Goku, even when Goku surpasses Vegeta in strength.

Behind the Prince

As the Royal Prince of the demolished Planet Vegeta, Vegeta was initially introduced as an unrepentant villain. Because of his evil intentions before he joined the Z Fighters, Vegeta has been typically characterized as extremely arrogant, prideful, and cold-hearted. This also makes him a very distinguishable fighter on the Z team. Many early examples of his unintentional heroism were due to arrogance, his love of fighting, or his desire to prove himself better than Goku. In order to do so, Vegeta fights enemies that are considered evil and threats to Goku as well as him. Vegeta later settles down and grows fond of Earth as his home; he even raises a family with Bulma. His opinion of Goku always being one step ahead of him, even though Goku is a lower class Saiyan, runs the gamut from contempt to rivalry, and later to grudging respect. However, Goku always takes an optimistic opinion about him, always encouraging him to train and become strong. Vegeta is a very tactical fighter, but often, his rage or arrogance blinds him during battles, especially when he is ahead of his opponent. His royal blood and power have both benefited and harmed him in many battles. Vegeta's age is of considerable debate amongst fans, however according to the timeline on DBZGT Legacy, he is about five years older than Goku, and thus was approximately five when the events of Bardock: The Father of Goku took place.

Vegeta and Bulma

Vegeta and Bulma initially meet on planet Namek but neither of them actually showed signs of affection for the other. In fact, they didn't even associate with each other. It is not until after everyone is wished back to Planet Earth (and Vegeta wished back to life) that Bulma asked him if he wants to stay at Capsule Corp because he has no other home. Vegeta can stay with Bulma on the one condition that he doesn't touch her.

Bulma starts to show affection for Vegeta after Vegeta rockets into space to try to find Goku, who has been missing since Planet Namek exploded. Bulma mentions that she had a dream about Vegeta, and simultaneously Mrs. Briefs tells Bulma that Vegeta's spaceship was going to run out of fuel soon. Vegeta returns to Earth, unable to locate Goku in space. Shortly after Goku returns to Earth, Vegeta demands that he have a gravity machine that will heighten the gravity in his training room to 300 times Earth's Gravity and later to 450 times, as stated when he first showed the Z Warriors he could become a Super Saiyan. Vegeta, on his relentless quest to ascend Goku, pushes his body well past the limit and injures himself when he accidentally destroys his training room. Bulma stays by his side while he sleeps and even falls asleep next to him when Vegeta has a bad dream. Vegeta awakens and continues training, still injured and only partially recovered. Bulma pleads with Vegeta to stop training and get some rest, but Vegeta snaps at her to leave him alone. While it is never shown onscreen, it is during this pre-android period that they eventually get together and have a baby named Trunks.

After an incident in which Bulma's plane is destroyed, Vegeta tells Future Trunks that he does not care about either Bulma or his son, a disgraceful attitude in his son's eyes. It is only after Trunks is killed by Cell that Vegeta's love for his son is evident, as he goes into a berserk rage against the much more powerful android.

In fact, Vegeta does care about Bulma and Trunks, although he only admits it reluctantly. It was his love for Bulma and Trunks that made him regret serving Babidi, causing him to seek atonement. Before sacrificing himself in his attempt to kill Majin Buu, he hugs young Trunks, this is the first time he has done this, and tells him he is proud of him and that he loves him and his mother. Before he blows up, he says: "Goodbye Bulma, Trunks, and even you Kakarot."

Dragon Ball Z

Saiyan Saga to the Freeza saga

Vegeta is introduced to Dragon Ball Z aged twenty-nine as a slave for Freeza, although his true intentions are to make a wish with the dragon balls, which he learned about from Raditz's report, so that he can use the wish to become immortal and then defeat Freeza. When Vegeta and Nappa arrive on Earth, they are confronted by Z Fighters. Vegeta sits back and relaxes while Nappa easily dominates all of them. Goku eventually arrives before Nappa can kill Gohan. Goku beats Nappa, and because of his failure to defeat a low class Saiyan like Goku, Vegeta kills him.

Goku and Vegeta decide to move to a cursed area for their battle. After a long battle with Vegeta being overpowered by Goku's Kaioken, hit by a Genki Dama, losing his tail to Yajirobe's sword, and crushed by Gohan in his Oozaru form, he barely escapes with his life. Even then, Goku has to tell Kuririn not to kill him. Vegeta then departs for Namek, and his space pod takes him to one of the planets controlled by Freeza. With his extreme arrogance, he cannot understand how a low-class Saiyan like Goku could have defeated him.

After recovering, Vegeta makes his way to Planet Namek, now planning to make a wish with the Namek Dragon Balls. During his search, he confronts Kuririn and Gohan several times. He also deals with Kiwi, Dodoria and Zarbon. After a short battle, he kills Kiwi and Dodoria but is brutally beaten by Zarbon when he transforms. However, Vegeta becomes stronger after being healed and he also kills Zarbon. In the process, he ended up with six Dragon Balls with one being his own and five stolen from Freeza. They are soon stolen by the Ginyu Force who fought Vegeta, Kuririn, and Gohan after they had teamed with the purpose of fighting them. After some fighting, Goku showed up to help.

However, after Goku had beaten Reacoom(Recoome in the English anime) and Butta(Burter in the English anime), Vegeta stomped and broke Butta's neck, then destroyed Reacoom with a Ki blast. Goku was upset by Vegeta's actions, saying that Reacoom and Butta deserved the mercy that Vegeta recieved. During the battle with Captain Ginyu, Vegeta shows the same attitude with Jheese(Jeice in the English anime) that he did with Gurd(Guldo in the English anime), Butta, and Reacoom; blowing him to bits.

After the Ginyu Force was dealt with, Goku was left badly injured, but Vegeta decided to help him recover, so he could help with Freeza. Freeza showed up abruptly to stop Gohan and Kuririn from wishing on the Dragon Balls, something Vegeta had no idea about. Vegeta and the rest fought, but Freeza was just playing with them. Freeza then decided to torture Vegeta to show him that he really wasn't a Super Saiyan as he had made himself believe.

He was completely dominating Vegeta, but Goku arrived just then to save him. With tears in his eyes he spent his last few moments of life telling Goku about what really happened to Planet Vegeta, what Freeza was responsible for, and even mocking Freeza, for he believed that Goku could beat the alien tyrant. Freeza finished him off with a single energy beam from his finger. Vegeta was later revived by the Dragon Balls, and transported to Earth. He then left to train in the hopes of surpassing Goku.

Cell Saga

Main article: Cell Saga

A year after the events on planet Namek, Vegeta returned to Earth, not having found Goku. After calling off his search, he began to live with Bulma and her family in Capsule Corp (after Bulma had offered for him to do so). After the ordeal with Freeza, Vegeta became fueled to become Super Saiyan because after seeing Future Trunks and Goku as Super Saiyans, and learning about the Androids, he felt weak.

Three years passed, and a child named Trunks was born to Vegeta and Bulma, and the Androids showed up as Future Trunks had said. After Goku failed to beat Android 19, Vegeta surprised everyone by transforming into a Super Saiyan. He easily killed 19 with his new technique - the Big Bang Attack. After Gero had released the rest of his androids, Vegeta faced and was badly beaten by Android 18. After being out classed once again, Vegeta enters the Room of Spirit and Time at Kami's Lookout and trains for a whole day (a year while inside) with Trunks in hopes of surpassing the level of a Super Saiyan. During that time, Cell had started his search to for the androids. He was successful in absorbing Android 17.

Vegeta and Trunks emerge from the Room of Spirit and Time, to confront Semi-Perfect Cell. After powering up into Ascended Super Saiyan form, Vegeta completely dominated Cell, and even made the evil android beg him to allow him to absorb Android 18, in order to become complete, and make the fight more interesting. Vegeta allowed this. After Cell absorbed 18, he easily beat Vegeta. After the Cell games were set up, Vegeta entered the Room of Spirit and Time once again, but he was unable to achieve the level of power that Goku had.

Vegeta watched the Cell games from the sideline. The only things he did were fight a Cell Jr., attack Cell in a fit of rage after Future Trunks had been killed by him, and distract Cell long enough for Gohan to gather his power. With the battle over, Vegeta began to finally realize his good side (as he, like Piccolo before him, had now grown to care for others), and began to settle down on Earth, becoming quite fond of it, and begins to care about his family, acknowledging Future Trunks as a worthy warrior and son before he returns to his own time.

Buu Saga

Main article: Buu Saga

Seven years pass since the Cell Games, and the World Martial Arts Tournament is reinstated. Now that Goku is gone, Vegeta's goal is no longer to become stronger than him, but it is now to make Trunks stronger than Gohan. He is first seen emerging from a gravity room after training with Chibi Trunks (his son), when Gohan comes to have fun with Trunks. While Gohan greets Vegeta kindly, Vegeta gives Gohan a cold look and tells him that he should continue training, even in peacetime. Upon hearing from Gohan that Goku will be coming to Earth for 24 hours to fight in the World Tournament, Vegeta boasts and claims that he will beat Gohan, Goten (Goku's second son who was born shortly after Cell's death) and Goku in the Tournament.

Vegeta is eager to fight Goku in this tournament to prove that he was the stronger one. Goku meets his son Goten and the tournament starts. When Trunks defeats Goten in the final round of the kids division, Vegeta says kindly to Goku to cheer up and there is always next time. Soon, East Kaioshin (Shin) and Kibito appear and tell Goku that a wizard named Babidi is about to unleash an evil monster named Majin Buu on the world, and they must help stop him. Buu needs energy from fighters so he can be freed from the shell he is trapped inside. Goku prepares to go with Shin but Vegeta is enraged - he was scheduled to fight Goku, and thinks Goku is trying to wiggle out of it. He joins Goku, Gohan, Videl (Gohan's girlfriend), Piccolo and Kuririn. They follow Shin to Babidi's ship. However, the gang is ambushed, and Piccolo and Kuririn are turned to stone statues by Dabura, one of Babidi's henchmen. Videl returns to the tournament, advised that the fight against Babidi might be too dangerous for her as she is inexperienced. Goku, Gohan, Vegeta and Shin enter Babidi's ship.

They fight their way down the levels, encountering a different Majin (Babidi's fighters) at each level - Vegeta was the first character to fight. He fought Pui Pui and easily dominated him. Goku was up next, and he fought a pet creature of Babidi known as Yakon. At first, Yakon was troublesome, seeing as though he has the ability to see in dark, and Goku didn't. However, Goku manages to defeat to creatures from him absorbing too much of his energy. At this point, Vegeta realizes that even though he has trained for seven years, he has not even closed the gap between his and Goku's power. Then Gohan begins to fight Dabura. During the fight between Gohan and Dabura, Vegeta and Goku had an argument about how to best handle the Babidi/Buu threat. Vegeta says Gohan is weak and wants to finish Dabura himself. Dabura retreats, saying that there is a different fighter who is more powerful. They are confused - Shin says that Dabura is the most powerful Majin. Suddenly, Vegeta begins acting strangely, claiming that something invisible is attacking him. Shin informs the others that Babidi is trying to take over Vegeta's mind, and they encourage him to fight back: but it is too late. Vegeta is overwhelmed by Babidi, and is transformed into a much more powerful stage, Majin Vegeta. Babidi orders his new apprentice, Majin Vegeta, to destroy Goku, Gohan and Shin, but he refuses. He says he will only fight Goku.

Babidi is surprised by Vegeta's ability to fight his mind control, but obediently transports the three fighters and Shin back to the World Martial Arts Tournament. Vegeta eager to fight Goku, blows up part of the spectator stands to convince Goku to fight him. Goku eventually agrees. East Kaioshin tries to get in the way of the 2 Saiyan feud, but backs down when Goku threatens to blast him if he gets in the way. Goku and Vegeta then are teleported to a secluded mountain area, and fight. Vegeta revealed to Goku that he deliberately let Babidi take control of him in order to allow his evilness to resurface again because his powers draw on his desires to crush his enemies. Goku and Vegeta fight furiously, with each fighter having their glorious moment. They both were perfectly even. Throughout the battle, Babidi is drawing off the energy spent by Goku and Vegeta and using it to try and revive the sleeping Buu. Eventually, Goku calls a halt to the fight, as he senses Buu's extraordinary power, and knows he has been released. When Goku turns his back to get out the last senzu bean and split it between him and Vegeta to stop Buu, Vegeta attacks and knocks him out. Vegeta takes the senzu bean and goes to fight Buu by himself: he feels that he owes Goku for the destruction wrecked during the Cell Games, as it was his fault Cell absorbed #18. Vegeta wants to repay his debt by saving the Earth.

Vegeta fights Buu, but cannot win. He attempts many blows on Buu, but the pink monster seems invincible. In the end, Vegeta uses a self-destruct technique and kills himself in an attempt to kill Buu in a kame kazi explosion. This technique fails, as Buu regenerates from the pieces of him that are left. Everyone finds out about Vegeta's sacrifice, and mourns on the Saiyan Prince's demise. Later on in the series, Vegeta is given the chance of another shot at Buu by King Yemma. Vegeta accepted, but not before destroying a large portion of King Yemma's office due to the fact that despite his best efforts he couldn't defeat Buu (Note: There was no mention of Vegeta destroying King Yemna's office in the manga). He returns to Earth - unfortunately, he's still dead. He finds Goku (now brought back to life, thanks to one of Shin's ancestors) who tells him that everyone has been killed or absorbed by Buu. Buu was now far more powerful than when Vegeta first fought him. As a result, Goku asks Vegeta to put on one of the Potara earrings so that they can permanently fuse their bodies and minds together and fight as one. Vegeta denies Goku's offer, and tells him that he knows about Goku again surpassing him, furious at the fact he has found and reached the new Super Saiyan 3 stage. Vegeta got angry with Goku for holding back in their fight before, and it got in the way of him accepting his offer. The new Buu, now called Super Buu w/Gohan, confronted Goku and Vegeta.

At Super Saiyan, Goku and Vegeta were absolutely no match for him. They were both being completely dominated. As Buu was coming down with a finisher, Goku mentions the fact that Bulma has been killed, and Trunks has been absorbed. Vegeta decides to go along with the plan even if it means being stuck with Goku forever, because he wants to avenge his family's death, and to stop Buu. Vegeta then agrees with Goku, and they fuse to become Vegetto. Vegetto fights Super Buu w/Gohan absorbed. The fused Saiyan is far stronger than even the mass-absorbed Buu, easily able to beat him even after being turned to coffee-flavored jawbreaker. However, Vegetto realizes that he cannot destroy Buu because his friends and family have been absorbed into Buu's body and allows himself to be purposely absorbed after putting up a barrier. The strange circumstances within Buu cause the fusion to separate and Goku and Vegeta find themselves back in their own bodies. Not entirely, though: they are still telepathically linked. Goku and Vegeta fight their way through Buu's body to the brain, where they not only find Gohan, Goten, Trunks and Piccolo but also the original fat form of Buu!

They deduce from reading Fat Buu's mind that at some time in the past, Buu split into his good and evil sides. (Note: There was no telepathic link and no reading of Buu's mind in the manga.) The evil side absorbed the good side, Mr. Buu. Goku and Vegeta fight a "thought-form" of Super Buu inside the brain, and get badly beaten. Buu's power had tremendously been decreased in comparison to when he fought Vegetto. However, he was still stronger than both Goku and Vegeta. Buu was about to destroy Goku when Vegeta distracts him by threatening to tear Fat Buu out of the pod he was trapped inside. Buu gets really scared and frightened at what Vegeta is about to do, and begs the Saiyan prince to stop. Vegeta then pulls the pod, then he and Goku escape. They take their sons, and Piccolo with them. Once outside, they see that Buu's form is changing again. He morphs back into Kid Buu, his original form before he absorbed Dai Kaioshin, the benevolent leader of the Kaioshin. The new Buu, Kid Buu, was the original, said-to-be pure form of Majin Buu; a form that is nothing but pure evil.

Kid Buu decides to destroy Earth in his wake. Vegeta and Goku have a small conversation afterwards, with Vegeta making fun of Goku because he was so worried but he just shrank. Goku and Vegeta cannot stop Buu's horrible power, and the two Saiyans fly quickly to try and reach the now-free absorption victims, but Goku makes a detour and picks up Hercule, the young Namekian healer Dende, and Hercule's pet Labrador puppy, Bee. There is no time to save Gohan, Goten, Trunks or Piccolo and Goku uses Shunkan Ido to transport himself, Vegeta, and the three others, to the Kaioshin Kai (the sacred homeworld of the Kaioshin). Vegeta blames Goku for the needless death of their sons. They watch through a crystal ball and see that Kid Buu is destroying planet after planet in search of them. Kid Buu was aware they escaped, and as result decided to hunt them down. Goku and Vegeta decide it can't go on, and power up to entice him to come to the sacred planet to fight them. Kid Buu answered their call, and quickly made himself visible at the planet.

After playing a quick game of Jan Ken Pon to decide who faces Kid Buu first, Goku gets to fight first. He powers up to a Super Saiyan 2, and is easily dominated. He then powers up to a Super Saiyan 3, and evenly fights the psychotic demon. However, Kid Buu seems to have a slight advantage over Goku. Goku fights in his Super Saiyan 3 stage for a while, and as a result loses a colossal amount of energy. He starts losing so much power he eventually collapses when he tries to fire the powerful Kamehameha attack. Vegeta steps in and fights for a short time, but is no match for Kid Buu. Goku recovers in the nick of time and begins fighting again at his full strength. Vegeta goes through a long flashback sequence, remembering how he met Goku and everything that's happened since then - he thinks about their different attitudes to their families, about Goku's friends, and most of all about their strength. He finally comes to terms with Goku's greater power and acknowledges him as the best, "number one" - it is Goku who will defeat Kid Buu, and is the legend his race has been waiting for.

Meanwhile, Goku gradually began losing power despite being in Super Saiyan 3 form, and since Kid Buu maintained his full strength even after multiple powerful attacks from Goku, the Saiyan warrior began to panic. Vegeta realized that Goku couldn't defeat Kid Buu by using his power alone, and devised a plan for Goku to create a massive Spirit Bomb (or "Genki Dama"), with energy given by all the people on Earth in order to destroy Buu. Communicating with King Kai, he coordinated the search for the seven Dragon Balls of New Namek and had the Nameks use them to make three wishes: The first being the restoration of the destroyed planet Earth,

The second wish affirms the sincerity of Vegeta's newfound humanity, as it entails the revival of everyone who had died since the arrival of Babidi who do not possess an evil heart, so that they can give their energy to the Spirit Bomb. When asked by Goku why the wish was worded so, he reasoned that to wish otherwise would revive Dabura and Babidi, and those whom he murdered at the tournament would stay dead. Surely enough, his own halo disappears, indicating that his heart was no longer an evil one.

This last wish, returns Goku to full strength allowing him to destroy Kid Buu. The fighters return to Earth and Vegeta goes on to father a second child, his daughter, Bra. Vegeta finally accepts Goku as a friend, but there is still a rivalry between them, this time more friendly. Then, years later, Goku, Vegeta, and others enter the next Tenkaichi Budokai. Vegeta hopes to fight Goku (again) and Goku hopes to find the reincarnated version of Buu (Uub).

In an extra ending written in the Manga, Vegeta once again swears to himself that he will become stronger than Goku and fight him again, but, unfortunately for him, Dragon Ball Z ends.

Dragon Ball GT

Bebi Saga

Main article: Bebi Saga

In the time between Dragon Ball Z and Dragon Ball GT, Vegeta has got a haircut, and grown a moustache. However, he shaves it off, shortly after his daughter, Bra, tells him how much she hates it. In this saga, Bebi, an artificially-created Tsufurujin (called "Tuffles" in the FUNimation dub, which may be a pun for "truffles". The word "Tsufuru" is a sort of spoonerism for "furutsu", in the vein of "Saiya", "Yasai", "Vegetable". ) came to Earth. These people were the race that used to live on the Saiyan's homeworld before being wiped out by the stronger race. He possessed people, including Gohan and Goten, to find Vegeta. Vegeta fought both Goten and Gohan, and beat them, but Bebi entered Vegeta's body through a cut and proceeded to control him completely. Bebi Vegeta spread his control, taking over the minds of everyone on Earth using special seeds, save those with special protection (i.e. Mr. Buu's ability to control his body in any way he wishes protected him from the seeds). After creating a new Tsufurujin homeworld with the Black Star Dragon Balls, he began moving the people of Earth there bit-by-bit, proclaiming himself ruler. After a battle with Goku, who managed to reach Super Saiyan 4, Bebi-Vegeta transformed to a Golden Oozaru (giant ape) form. The two battled and Goku eventually won by slicing off Vegeta's tail. Bebi fled Vegeta's body and was blasted into the Sun by Goku.

Super 17 Saga

Main article: Super 17 Saga

After Goku gets trapped in Hell and is forced to fight Freeza and Cell, Vegeta claims that he is the Earth's protector in the case of Goku's absence and is determined to win the battle against Super 17 (the fusion of Android 17 from the Cell Saga and a newer version of 17). He even uses his Final Shine Attack, however this proves futile, as Super 17 simply absorbs the attack. But then Goku comes back and with some help from #18 he destroys him with his Super Dragon Fist attack.

Shadow Dragon Saga

Main article: Shadow Dragon Saga

As Goku continues to have trouble against the One Star Dragon, Omega Shenron, Vegeta comes to his aid. Transforming into a Golden Oozaru, due to the Blutz Wave Generator (a device invented by Bulma), Vegeta proceeded to become a Super Saiyan 4 after gaining control over the Oozaru form. When even this form failed to stop the Shadow Dragon, Goku and Vegeta fused to become Super Saiyan 4 Gogeta. Gogeta overwhelmed Omega Shenron in power almost bringing the heroes to victory, but the fusion time ran out before they could deliver the final blow. Vegeta then suggests using a Genki Dama to take out the creature and buys Goku some time to form it while he holds the dragon back. Eventually, thanks to the people of the Earth and of the entire universe, Goku gains a big enough Spirit Bomb to destroy Omega Shenron. Before leaving forever, Goku tells Vegeta that the lives of everyone are now in his hands, passing the role of protector of the Earth and anyone in need of help, to Vegeta.

Forms and transformations

As a member of the Saiyan race, Vegeta possesses a large number of transformations that enhance his abilities to varying degrees and drastically alter his physical appearance. These forms are listed in the order they were attained.

Normal
This is Vegeta's normal form (See Appearance). His appearance remains the same over the course of the entire series (his hair changes in GT), though his basic level of power greatly increases from training and injury as time progresses. This in turn boosts the power potential for all his transformations. When any transformation is cancelled due to unconsciousness, depletion of energy, death or self-reversion, Vegeta returns to this form.

File:Ōzaru Vegeta.jpg

Oozaru Vegeta

Oozaru
This is Vegeta's least used transformation. He was only seen within this form twice in the series. The first time Vegeta transformed into this huge ape like monster, he used a power ball resembling similar effects of the moon. The second time when he transformed, was in Dragonball GT when Bulma used the "Blutz Waves" ("Bruits Waves" in the original version) that she created for him, because he was missing his tail. His size is paramount, his ears are keen enough to hear a pin drop from a mile away. His eyes are big and red. He has sharp teeth, and a large "U" shaped mouth. Unlike Goku and Gohan, Vegeta retains his rationality when transformed (It is never shown how he obtained this ability, but it is assumed it is due to his training) . He is much more powerful than his normal form when transformed, and easily crushed Goku. Vegeta claimed that the power of Oozaru form equals to ten times of the normal form for every Saiyan.

Super Saiyan
The legendary warrior of the Saiyan race. This form occurs when a Saiyan who has reached his natural limit loses himself to a moment of uncontrolled rage or desperation. Though it was only a Saiyan legend, Vegeta was fascinated with this transformation and obsessed over obtaining it so that he could avenge his race by having the power to defeat Freeza. Goku achieved the state prior to Vegeta however, and seeing Future Trunks make the transformation and defeat Freeza only fuelled his desire to unlock the potential hidden within him. Vegeta first achieved Super Saiyan while training in outer space in preparation for the Androids, and first showed it off while he was fighting Android 19.

Adopting the moniker Super Vegeta, his power greatly increases from his regular state. His hair turns blond, the irises of his eyes become green, and he acquires a golden aura. He gains a slight muscle increase as well. Vegeta mastered this level by the Buu Saga and became much more powerful than when he first became a Super Saiyan.

Ascended Super Saiyan/Super Saiyan 2nd Grade
This form wields much greater power than his Super Saiyan level. He has the same basic golden features of his Super Saiyan level, only now his muscles are much larger. His hair also is longer, finer and more of a light yellow color. This form heightens his aggression as well. Due to Vegeta's muscle mass increase, he is much stronger than in his Super Saiyan form and his speed and agility remains the same unlike Ultra Super Saiyan, which decreases in speed. Vegeta went through this transformation inside the Room of Spirit and Time, but first displayed this ability when he fought Imperfect Cell.

Ultra Super Saiyan/Super Saiyan 3rd Grade
Though Vegeta never physically took this form, it is implied that he was capable of it but chose not to. The excessive power of an Ultra Super Saiyan did not outweigh the large decrease in speed that would make him unable to compete with Perfect Cell. While it is not confirmed that he could reach this stage, Trunks believed Vegeta may have been capable of it but recognized the form's flaw.

File:Majin vegeta.jpg

Majin Vegeta

Majin Vegeta
Vegeta became a Majin, a follower of Babidi, when Babidi attempted to magically take control of him. Babidi invaded Vegeta's mind, something he could only achieve because of the hidden components of evil lurking within his heart, in an effort to use him against the other Z-Fighters. It is revealed that Vegeta could have stopped his possession but willingly chose to let Babidi take control of his body, knowing that Babidi's possession would increase his power substantially, and with Goku going back the Otherworld by the end of that day, Vegeta would never again get the chance for a rematch with him.

Majin Vegeta, in appearance, looks exactly like Vegeta in Super Saiyan form except his hair is now more defined and bolts of blue electricity form around his body since he was using Super Saiyan 2. The major difference to Vegeta however is that the black underlining/outline of his eyes is much darker and thicker than before, and the "M" symbol on his forehead (the mark of the Majin) indicated he is now a servant of Babidi.

As a Majin, he is never seen in anything but the Super Saiyan 2 form despite the length of time he spends transformed.

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Dead Vegeta in SSJ2 Form

Super Saiyan 2
This is Vegeta's Super Saiyan 2 form. There are some hints in the manga that it was acquired prior to his being placed under the Majin enchantment, but it is never specifically stated. The first time he displays this form is actually as Majin Vegeta, but he first uses this particular form when he helps Goku fight Buu during the Buu Saga.

Bebi Vegeta
Like Majin Vegeta, this is a form outside the normal Saiyan transformations. This was achieved when Vegeta was cut and then infected with the Bebi alien. Though for some reason Vegeta could not fight this hostile takeover off as with his Majin mind control. Vegeta slowly mutated over the Bebi saga, his hair slowly turning gray and his eyes turning red, with no eyebrows. His skin turned a bluish hue and he gained a black suit with golden shoulder pads. His power was slightly augmented but not to a massive degree, it looked similar to Vegeta being in Super Saiyan 2 state permanently.

Golden Oozaru
Vegeta first attained this form whilst not under control of his own body. The entity known as Bebi had infested his body and taken control of Vegeta. Due to Bebi-possessed Bulma's application of wave surges called "Blutz Waves" ("Bruits Waves" in the original version), Bebi was transformed into a Golden Oozaru in order to compete with Super Saiyan 4 Goku. In this state, Bebi Vegeta was able to compete with the powerful Saiyan foe. After his tail was severed, Bebi Vegeta reverted to Vegeta's normal state and Bebi fled. This process was necessary for Vegeta to later attain Super Saiyan 4. It is unknown why Bebi could not condense the Oozaru energy of Vegeta in order to become a Super Saiyan 4 Bebi Vegeta before the tail was severed, though Vegeta speculates later on that it could be because of the Tuffle invading his Saiyan body.

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Vegeta in Super Saiyan 4 form

Super Saiyan 4
This transformation was only seen within Dragon Ball GT. Vegeta could not achieve this form by himself because Yajirobe cut off his tail. He was aided with the help of Bulma, using Blutz Waves. These waves ran through Vegeta's veins, forcing his tail to grow back, allowing him to transform into an Oozaru. His great power allowed him to transform into a Golden Oozaru, and then, upon gaining control of himself, Super Saiyan 4. Vegeta's features are quite different from his previous forms. He has red fur on his arms, and the sides of his chest, and his hairstyle changes, becoming longer and wilder. His hair becomes dark brown, and extends to his shoulders and his eyes are aqua-colored. His power is incredible at Super Saiyan 4, and is Vegeta's strongest transformation. With this form, Goku and Vegeta are equal in power at the end of Dragon Ball GT, which is why they were able to perform Fusion and become Gogeta (see below).

Fusions

• Gogeta - In Dragon Ball Z Movie 12, Vegeta and Goku fuse to become Gogeta.
• Vegetto - Vegetto is the result of Fusion between Goku and Vegeta using the Potara Earings.
• Veku - Result of a failed Fusion Dance, Vegeta and Goku become a fat version of Gogeta.

Techniques and special abilities

Atomic Blast

A devastating special attack used only by Majin Vegeta in the Buu Saga. He extends his right arm towards his opponent. He then carefully targets which part of the enemy his wishes to fire the blast by extending out his index finger and middle, while carefully limiting the space of his thumb. Each of these fingers determines which area the blast will fire. An extremely powerful attack that would easily kill any unwary foe. The attack appeared but once in the series when it was used to attack Majin Buu.

Big Bang Attack

His signature attack. Vegeta extends his arm and opens his palm and turns his hand up at a 90-degree angle (as if to signal "Stop") and starts to charge up. He then fires a sphere of Ki, a large energy ball or comet-like energy projectile. This attack is either yellow or white in color and creates an enormous explosion upon contact. This move is reminiscent of the supposed Japanese obsession with nuclear explosions as Big Bang Attack leaves a mushroom cloud like an atomic bomb in its wake. Basic versions of this attack can be seen as early as the Freeza saga (e.g.: When he destroyed Reacoom), but he officially uses it first against Android 19 during the same battle that he first fought as a Super Saiyan. The attack's name and state is also reminiscent of the Big Bang Theory of Existence.

Bukujutsu

The power of flight. It literally means "lighter than air skill" or "Air Dance". Most warriors in the Dragon Ball universe can perform this.

Kienzan

The Kienzan is a razor sharp disk of energy that can slice through nearly any opponent. Its main drawback is its lack of accuracy. It was used by Vegeta only once in a desperate attempt to cut off Gohan's tail (who had transformed into an Oozaru as a result of looking at Vegeta's "Moon Burst", after his tail had regrown from the effects of Vegeta's Moon Burst). Vegeta's attack did succeed in hitting Gohan's tail, however before Gohan could fully return to normal size, he fell on Vegeta as an Oozaru, and Vegeta was unable to dodge in his wounded state. This was Vegeta final attack during his first battle on Earth. In the Manga, Vegeta does not call the move by name, but it is most likely it is the same move used by Kuririn. Vegeta saw Kuririn perform this technique twice, the first was when Kuririn tried to kill Nappa with it (who dodged it after he was warned by Vegeta to stay clear) and the second was when Kuririn tried to cut Oozaru Vegeta's tail in a sneak attack (ironically Kuririn's Kienzan attack on "Oozaru Vegeta" failed, but Vegeta's Kienzan attack on "Oozaru Gohan" succeeded, partially). Thus Vegeta learned this attack from watching Kuririn use it. This attack is called Destructo Disc in the English series. Some fighters use this kind of attack, like Freeza and Cell (because Freeza's Cells are in him).

"Final Explosion"

Majin Vegeta uses this attack against Majin Buu. He engulfs himself in fiery energy and charges up for a while and when he gathers all of the energy in his body, he cuts loose and releases a titanic burst of energy in the shape of an orb/dome and keeps expanding until Vegeta is out of energy vaporizing Buu but killing himself in the process. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to defeat Majin Buu. Sometimes called 'Ultimate Sacrifice' by fans. It was also called "Suicide" in the video game "Dragon Ball Z: Legendary Super Warriors" and called Final Explosion in the Budokai series. It is bright yellow with a reddish orange glow in color. This attack is Vegeta's most powerful attack since it uses up every ounce of Vegeta's energy. As a result his body becomes completely lifeless, turning stone-like and eventually crumbling to dust.

Final Flash

Vegeta's energy beam attack. He performs it by extending his arms outwards from the sides of his body, then placing the base of his hands together directly forward and releasing a colossal, devastating Ki beam that consumes everything in its path. This enormous wave of pure energy can deal serious harm to even fighters much stronger than himself; however, it requires some time to "power up". He challenges Perfect Cell to take the full force of it, only to have the Bio-Android feign critical injury before regenerating laughing in the Saiyan's face. He uses the attack again several times but without charging up as long. It ultimately replaces Galic Gun as his primary beam attack. He uses it when fighting Goku as Majin Vegeta during the Buu saga in a beam struggle.

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Galick Gun

Galick Gun

A beam similar to the Kamehameha. Vegeta charges the attack similarly to the Kamehameha, but Vegeta releases it with both hands faced open (while the Kamehameha requires the fingers to be curled). The result is a concentrated, fuchsia-colored energy beam from his hands and body. Vegeta uses this against Goku in their first fight during the Saiyan Saga. When Goku countered the Galick Gun by Kamehameha, Vegeta noted that the two skills are very similar. Translated as Garlic Gun or Galick Gun. In keeping with the Saiyan pun on vegetables, it is named after the vegetable "garlic" (note that "ga-rikku" is the Japanese way of saying garlic). Capable of destroying small planets if enough power is put into it.

Energy Rings

Vegeta creates five energy rings which he then uses to pin his opponent by binding their limbs and neck. He used this ability in his fight with Goku during the Buu Saga. In the Original Japanese Vegeta intended to quarter Goku with this attack gruesomely pulling his head and limbs from his body, as noted when he sentenced him to "Death by Dismemberment". This attack does not appear in the manga.

Final Shine

Seen only in Dragon Ball GT, this is a powerful and quick charge attack that Vegeta launched at Super 17. It is very powerful, but had little effect, only due to 17 using a barrier right before impact. (17's condescending reply to it was "What a sad attack.") The concentrated explosive beam is green. Later on he uses this attack again against Yi Xing Long but again it has no effect. This time he shot it like a Final Flash. Vegeta also uses this attack on Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 3 as a Super Saiyan 4 (and shoots it like the Final Flash again).

Voice actors

Toei Animation

• Ryo Horikawa

Funimation

• Christopher Sabat

Ocean Group

• Brian Drummond

Blue Water

• Roger Rhoges

Dragon Ball movies

Vegeta appears in the following Dragon Ball Movies and Specials:

• Return of Cooler
• Super Android 13!
• Broly: The Legendary Super Saiyan
• Bojack Unbound
• Fusion Reborn
• Wrath of the Dragon
• Bardock - The Father of Goku
• The History of Trunks
• Plan to Eradicate the Saiyans

Appearances in other media

Video game appearances

Vegeta has been a playable character in most of the Dragon Ball Z and GT video games. Depending on the timeline of the game, he'll range from just a villain to both a villain and a hero character.

In most of the fighting games like the Budokai, Vegeta is a playable character in the regular mode, and both a villain and hero during different parts of the story. In some of the others, he just acts as a playable character like in Dragon Ball Z: Taiketsu. He has also represented Dragon Ball in the Jump Superstars series and Battle Stadium D.O.N.

In the RPGs, he also varies depending on the storyline as in the The Legacy of Goku series. In the first, he's just a boss and NPC. In the second and third, he took on his role as a main character.

The different series have also made what-if scenarios. In Budokai 1, it had him kill Goku and ask Yajirobe to be his subordinate because of the amount of guts it took for him to try kill Vegeta. Yajirobe declined after seeing what he did to Nappa. This caused Vegeta to become a Super Saiyan. In the secret ending of Dragon Ball Z: Legend of the Super Saiyan, Vegeta turned Super Saiyan on Namek, and faced Goku who had no choice but to kill him.

Manga

Vegeta appears as a cameo character in Neko Majin Z 3 by Akira Toriyama.

See also

• Saiyans
• King Vegeta
• Freeza
• Vegetto
• Gogeta
• Gotenks
• Nappa
• Future Trunks
• Chibi Trunks
• Broly