Vegeta
Dragon Ball character
Vegeta by Akira Toriyama
First appearance	Dragon Ball chapter 204 (Dragon Ball Z chapter 10) Dragon Ball Z episode 4
Last appearance	Manga Vol. 42 Dragon Ball GT episode 63
Voiced by	Japanese Ryo Horikawa English Brian Drummond (Ocean Group) Christopher Sabat (FUNimation)
Profile
Age	unknown
Date of death	many times but brought back to life
Known relatives	King Vegeta (father) Bulma (wife) Dr. Briefs (father-in-law) Trunks (son) Future Trunks (son, alternate timeline) Bra (daughter) Mrs. Briefs (mother-in-law) Vegeta Jr. (descendant)
Information
Japanese name	ベジータ
Romaji	Bejīta
Anime name	Vegeta
Manga name	Vegeta
Alternate names	Prince Vegeta Super Vegeta Majin Vegeta Vegita Bezita (Malaysian dub)

Prince Vegeta (ベジータ, Bejīta^?) is a fictional character in the Dragon Ball franchise created by manga artist Akira Toriyama. Vegeta first appeared in the manga series in volume 17, or Dragon Ball Z, episode 6 of the anime adaptation as the series' primary antagonist. In the series, Vegeta was born on the fictional planet also called Vegeta, and is the prince to a nearly extinct extraterrestrial warrior race called the Saiyans. Being evil at his introduction, Vegeta soon finds refuge on Earth and reluctantly assists the series' protagonists in saving the Earth from threats. Vegeta's role for most of the series is primarily to be a rival of the series' main protagonist Son Goku, however later becomes one of Goku's allies and friends.

Appearance

Not intending Vegeta to be a major character, Toriyama introduced Vegeta in the series as very short and slightly stocky, with upright standing hair and a defined widow's peak. Upon his introduction, Vegeta is seen to be arrogant and sadistic, which was intended to contrast Goku's selflessness and kindness. Due to the manga's success after introducing Vegeta, Toriyama continued with Vegeta as a primary character, and changed his appearance; gradually making him more lean like a hero as opposed to a villain.

Development and origin

Following a common name trend that Toriyama developed in Dragon Ball, Vegeta's name is derived from the word for vegetable, being that he is the prince of the Saiyans, who are all named after vegetables. When he first appears in the series, Vegeta is arrogant and selfish; having a fierce desire for immortality and galactic rule. He is also vicious and cares for none other than himself, shown when he dispatched of his comrade Nappa when he failed to defeat Goku. Vegeta's plans are quickly thwarted by Goku. Because of Vegeta's overwhelming pride and ego, being defeated by someone who he considered inferior, transforms his character into a jealous and vengeful anti-hero. By the end of the series, Vegeta's bitter rivalry with Goku softens when he comes to respect Goku as an ally and even a friend.

One of Vegeta's distinguishable characteristics was the fact that he was the only living Saiyan whom still wore the traditional Saiyan armor on a regular basis. Over the course of the Dragon Ball Z series, he's worn different incarnations of the suit, though later on in the series (and subsequently the Dragon Ball GT series) he abandons the Saiyan armor completely for "Earth-like" clothing. He once memorably wore a pink shirt after he took a shower at Bulma's house, much to his dismay.

Vegeta's priorities can be seen to gradually change as the series progresses, and his rivalry with Goku is fueled by Goku's ability to stay ahead of Vegeta in power. Because of this, Vegeta is seen to pursue an insane desire to surpass Goku in strength, but whenever he seems to train harder than Goku ever does, he can never close the difference between him and Goku. As the series continues, Vegeta develops into a hero instead of a villain.

When Vegeta finds a home on Earth, he is pursued romantically by the character Bulma, and starts a family with her. Even though he doesn't show it often, Vegeta is proud of his son, and is also overprotective to his daughter (in fact, his daughter is the only one that Vegeta may answer to- at one stage, he shaved his mustache after learning of her disapproval of it). However, Vegeta sometimes prioritizes his rivalry with Goku over his relationship with his new family. Nevertheless, Vegeta proves his love for his family once and for all by sacrificing himself for them during the fight with Majin Buu.

Character overview

Main articles: Saiyan Saga, Freeza Saga, Cell Saga, and Buu Saga

Vegeta is an elite member of a fictional race of extraterrestrials called the Saiyans. Vegeta was the son of the Saiyan king also named Vegeta. Before Vegeta's birth, the Saiyans had fallen under the rule of the galactic overlord named Freeza, and upon his birth, Vegeta was taken by Freeza as "insurance" for Freeza that the king would remain loyal to him. After several years in Freeza's captivity, the king attempted to rescue his son, however he was killed by Freeza in the attempt. The Saiyan home world is destroyed soon after by Freeza, however, Freeza claimed that it was destroyed by an asteroid. Vegeta remained under Freeza's command for years until he defied Freeza and traveled to Earth in an attempt to gain immortality and galactic rule from using the Dragon Balls. Vegeta's plan was thwarted by a mislead Saiyan named Kakarrot (Goku's birth name), and Vegeta is forced to retreat back to Freeza. Freeza had learned of the Dragon Balls and travels to another planet called Namek in order to use theirs for the same reason that Vegeta wanted to. During this time, Vegeta learns the truth that Freeza had exterminated the Saiyans in fear of their growing power. Vegeta is killed by Freeza during the fight on Planet Namek, but is revived with the Earth Dragon Balls.

As the series continues, his primary focus shifts from a quest for immortality, to a relentless quest to become a Super Saiyan. Vegeta soon becomes a Super Saiyan, but his power is constantly rivaled by Goku, and later is ascended by Goku's son named Son Gohan. Seeing this, Vegeta accepts defeat and trains for seven years while Goku is in the afterlife. Seven years later, Goku returns to Earth for a single day, and an evil alien wizard named Babidi emerges in hopes of resurrecting his deceased father's pet monster named Majin Buu. Wanting to regain his status as the strongest Saiyan, Vegeta allows himself to fall under Babidi's evil spell, in order to awaken his evil nature again and hopefully match Goku. In order to redeem himself, Vegeta defies the wizard and attempts to defeat Majin Buu by releasing all of his energy in one final suicidal attack; this ultimately fails. Vegeta is resurrected several days later in order to help Goku defeat Majin Buu, and discovers that even with his increase that he'd received from Babidi's spell prior to his death, Goku was still stronger than him. It is at this point that Vegeta admits that Goku is the best, and their rivalry is ended. Vegeta teams up with Goku and devises the plan to resurrect the Earth and it's population to use their energy to make a gigantic Genki Dama to defeat Buu once and for all. His plan succeeds with the help of Goku, Mr. Satan, and the Namekians.

Abilities

Main articles: Oozaru and Super Saiyan

As a member of the Saiyan race, Vegeta has the ability to manipulate his ki energy to create and enhance attacks. Like most other primary characters in Dragon Ball, Vegeta has the ability to use the Bukujutsu (lit. "lighter than air skill"), which enables him to levitate and fly. Constant training and his Saiyan heritage have given him superhuman strength and he can move at superhuman speeds. Vegeta is one of the few characters in the series that shouts the name of his attack when using it. His most referenced technique is the Garlic Cannon or in the English dubs, the Galick Gun, which he's only seen to use once in the manga in his attempt to destroy the planet and defeat Goku when he first arrived on Earth. Though he only uses it one more time in the series during his battle with Freeza (without calling it by name however), it is usually one of his most common techniques in the Dragon Ball Z video games. Other powerful techniques that he develops later in the series are the Big Bang Attack and the Final Flash. For unknown reasons, in the original Japanese dialogue, Vegeta can be heard using English for the names of some of his attacks. Vegeta also uses an ability called the Final Explosion against Buu. This move involves Vegeta sacrificing his own life. Another attack that Vegeta is famous for is "Rapid Fire" aka "Enegy dan" when he fires lots of ki very fast (first time used against Cell when Trunks died)

Vegeta also possesses several transformations that enhance his abilities to varying degrees. Early in the series, he has the ability to become an Oozaru, so long as he still has his tail, which increases his strength tenfold. He eventually gains the ability to transform into a Super Saiyan and, through training, can further transform into advanced states of Super Saiyan; in Dragon Ball GT, he reaches Super Saiyan 4. Also in Dragon Ball GT he displays a new attack entitling it the Final Shine.

Appearances in other media

Video games

Vegeta has appeared in many Dragon Ball Z and Dragon Ball GT-related video games as both a playable character and boss. Often, he is playable in several different forms, such as his Super Saiyan transformations, Super Saiyan 2 and even Majin Vegeta and Oozaru. Baby Vegeta (not to be confused with a child form of Vegeta) is also often a playable character and boss in GT-related games.

In Dragon Ball GT: Final Bout, Vegeta was voiced by Milton James.

Crossovers

Vegeta has been a representative of the series in various crossover pieces of media. These include video games, such as Battle Stadium D.O.N and Jump Super Stars; Akira Toriyama's Dragon Ball self parody Neko Majin; and Cross Epoch, a Dragon Ball and One Piece crossover manga.

References

Bibliography

• Dragon Ball Z manga, Volume 12 — ISBN 1-56931-985-5
• Dragon Ball Z manga, Volume 13 — ISBN 1-56931-986-3
• Dragon Ball Z manga, Volume 16 — ISBN 978-1-59116-328-2
• Dragon Ball Z manga, Volume 22 — ISBN 978-1-4215-0051-5
• Dragon Ball Z manga, Volume 23 — ISBN 978-1-4215-0148-2

Dragon Ball characters
Saiyans	Son Goku · Son Gohan · Vegeta · Future Trunks · Son Goten · Trunks · Pan
Humans	Bulma · Muten Roshi · Yamucha · Kuririn · Tenshinhan
Aliens	Piccolo · Freeza · Majin Buu · Baby
Gero's Experiments	No. 18 · Cell
Character lists	Saiyans · Earthlings · Extraterrestrials · Supernatural beings

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Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Vegeta"