Akira Toriyama’s Dragon Ball Z has become a foundational shonen series thanks to its incredible fight sequences, compelling themes, and exceptional transformations. None of this would mean anything without a strong cast of characters, many of whom are Saiyans. Vegeta is a Saiyan who immediately resonated with audiences and has impressively evolved from a vicious villain into one of Earth’s greatest defenders. Vegeta has been guided by his rigid beliefs on what a Saiyan is supposed to represent.
Vegeta has learned that a Saiyan doesn’t need to be such a limited representation of a warrior and many of his original opinions were first preached by his powerful father, King Vegeta. King Vegeta is a significant figure who ruled over the entire Saiyan race and is Planet Vegeta’s namesake. Despite King Vegeta’s importance, he’s a fairly fringe figure who’s been limited to minor flashback appearances. It’s easy to dismiss King Vegeta as an outdated Saiyan relic of the past, but there’s much more to him than Dragon Ball fans realize.
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10 Ways The Saiyans Changed Between Dragon Ball Z & Super
With new forms and hybrid characters, Saiyans have gone through several changes from Dragon Ball Z to Super.10King Vegeta Never Appears In The Original Dragon Ball Manga
While Not Being a Canonical Character, King Vegeta Serves a Great Purpose
Dragon Ball is known to have a fairly meticulous audience who can be quick to debate which characters and events are proper canon and which are anime-exclusive additions. King Vegeta is undeniably a canonical Dragon Ball character who serves a significant role in the series. However, King Vegeta curiously never actually appears in the original Dragon Ball manga. King Vegeta gets mentioned a few times by Vegeta and Frieza during the manga’s Frieza Saga, but he’s never depicted in the manga.
King Vegeta is seen for the first time in Dragon Ball Z’s anime, but all of his flashback appearances are technically filler events, despite the character’s existence. This means that Dragon Ball Z’s anime is responsible for establishing the character’s look. King Vegeta has gone on to appear in Dragon Ball Super’s manga, first in Chapter 3, “Beerus’ Wrath,” and later the Broly-centric Bonus Story chapter. King Vegeta also plays an important role in Dragon Ball Super: Broly’s prologue, which is also all canon.
9King Vegeta Can Transform Into A Great Ape
King Vegeta Had Complete Control Over This Heightened State
The Saiyans’ Great Ape transformation was prevalent back during the original Dragon Ball as well as Dragon Ball Z’s introductory Saiyan Saga. That being said, it’s now become an obsolete battle strategy that can’t compete with the power of Super Saiyan strength. The Great Ape transformation was a vital tool in the Saiyans’ destruction and conquest of other planets, and King Vegeta was someone who proudly made use of this metamorphosis. King Vegeta didn’t limit his lower Saiyan subjects to this more renegade battle tactic. In fact, he would assert his authority over other alien races by intimidating them through his Great Ape form, which was one of the strongest tools in his arsenal.
As a Saiyan Elite, King Vegeta had complete control over himself while in this heightened state and there were even specific techniques that he could only execute while he was a Great Ape Vegeta. King Vegeta’s Great Ape exploits were highlighted in Dragon Ball GT and Dragon Ball: Plan to Eradicate the Saiyans. However, Great Ape King Vegeta also receives prominent representation in Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3, Dragon Ball Heroes, and Super Dragon Ball Heroes: World Mission.
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The Saiyans are already Dragon Ball’s strongest characters in-canon, and the overwhelm transformations just give them even more of an advantage.8King Vegeta Has Been Depicted With Both Brown & Black Hair
King Vegeta is One of Many Characters Who Went Through Design Revisions
There have been some innocuous character design revisions throughout Dragon Ball’s history, which is to be expected when a black-and-white manga gets adapted into an anime. Many of these changes relate to coloration, particularly to a character’s hair color, which is why people like Bulma and Trunks have fluctuated between blue and purple hair over the years. King Vegeta has been illustrated with both brown and black hair, although brown is the more popular design for his character. King Vegeta has black hair in a flashback that’s shown during the Androids Saga and Dragon Ball Z’s eighth feature film, Broly – The Legendary Super Saiyan.
These black-haired changes likely occurred because of Vegeta’s statement that true Saiyans always have black hair and that it doesn’t demonstrably grow. Dragon Ball has loosened up on this “rule” and it’s no longer the case, which is also why King Vegeta has returned to his original brown hair look in any of his more recent appearances, like in Dragon Ball Super: Broly. Curiously, Vegeta also goes through this same process and he’s originally shown with brown hair during the anime’s earliest filler episodes before he actually arrives on Earth.
7King Vegeta Was A Particularly Brilliant Strategist
King Vegeta’s Intelligence Puts Saiyans to Shame
Saiyans are an alien warrior race who are primarily known for their brute strength and killer instinct. King Vegeta retains these traits, but he’s also revealed to be a rather prolific strategist, which can be more of a rarity for Saiyans. The Dragon Ball GT: Perfect File guidebook indicates that King Vegeta is a brilliant strategist who puts most Saiyans to shame. The Dragon Ball: Plan to Eradicate the Saiyans OVA also states that King Vegeta’s brain is on par with the Tuffles, who are a technologically advanced race who are famous for their intelligence.
King Vegeta’s intelligence and strategic skills likely helped him maintain control as Planet Vegeta’s ruler. That being said, these talents still weren’t enough to recognize Frieza’s nefarious agenda and prevent his people’s execution. King Vegeta could apply these strategic skills to battle, but they are apparently lacking when it comes to seeing the bigger picture and understanding the Saiyans’ role in the broader context of the galaxy.
6King Vegeta Was Once The Strongest Saiyan
King Vegeta is Strong Enough That He Can Destroy Planet
Dragon Ball’s Saiyans have gone on to reach incredible milestones that put them on par with Gods. A standard Super Saiyan transformation has now become the expected baseline and characters continue to tap into new reservoirs of power. Back before Planet Vegeta’s destruction, King Vegeta was considered to be the strongest Saiyan of the lot. The Daizenshuu 7 guidebook indicates that King Vegeta was the most powerful of his people up to the point of Frieza’s genocidal act against the Saiyans.
King Vegeta is shown to be strong enough that he’s capable of destroying three planets with a single ki blast. King Vegeta’s exact power level is never revealed, but it’s implied that it’s slightly lower than 18,000, which is what Vegeta’s power level is when he arrives on Earth. Additionally, Great Ape King Vegeta’s power level is over 100,000, but less than 180,000. This means that King Vegeta was stronger than Frieza’s right-hand men, Zarbon and Dodoria, as well as most of the Ginyu Force.
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5King Vegeta Is The Originator Of Vegeta’s Galick Gun Attack
King Vegeta Has Powerful Energy Techniques
Vegeta is an extremely resilient Dragon Ball character who boasts impressive physical strength and a fiery rage and determination that aid him in battle. However, he also possesses some formidable energy techniques that have helped him execute many of his opponents. Vegeta goes on to add the Big Bang Attack, Final Flash, and Final Explosion to his arsenal, but one of his first major moves is his destructive Galick Gun. An unforgettable energy beam struggle plays out between Vegeta’s Galick Gun and Goku’s Kamehameha during the Saiyans’ first battle on Earth.
King Vegeta also has many original techniques, but it appears that the Galick Gun is something that Vegeta learned from his father. King Vegeta can perform a Super Galick Gun attack as a Great Ape in Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3. This indicates that King Vegeta passed this devastating maneuver to his son, rather than the other way around. Additionally, King Vegeta also knows the Power Ball technique that facilitates an artificial moon for Great Ape purposes. However, this technique is also known by other random Saiyans, like Turles, which makes it seem like a more generic skill that’s shared between Saiyans.
4King Vegeta Is Responsible For Broly’s Exile From Planet Vegeta
King Vegeta Plays a Crucial Role in Broly’s Journey
King Vegeta has always been interested in the self-preservation of his people, which makes the Saiyans’ fate all the more tragic in retrospect. King Vegeta plays an interesting role regarding Broly, a Saiyan anomaly who is born with a power level of 10,000 because of his Legendary Super Saiyan status. In Broly – The Legendary Super Saiyan, King Vegeta orders Broly’s execution and in Dragon Ball Super: Broly this gets revised to the Saiyan’s exile from Planet Vegeta to Planet Vampa. A warrior with Broly’s strength would be a genuine asset to the Saiyan people.
However, King Vegeta is so interested in cutting Broly out of the equation because he views him as a threat to his own son’s reputation. Broly’s prolific power runs the risk of overshadowing Prince Vegeta’s impressive strength, which is why King Vegeta orders his exile. Of course, Vegeta and Broly eventually meet and fight each other, albeit decades later. It’s interesting to hypothesize how Dragon Ball history might have been different if Broly was allowed to stay on Planet Vegeta.
3King Vegeta Is First Playable In Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3
It’s Unclear if Dragon Ball: SPARKING! Zero Will Include King Vegeta
Dragon Ball Z has made waves as an anime and manga series, but it’s also left an undeniable mark on the video game industry. There are dozens of celebrated Dragon Ball video games, many of which have extremely bloated character rosters that celebrate some of the franchise’s more obscure figures. It’s currently unclear if King Vegeta will make the cut in 2024’s upcoming Dragon Ball: SPARKING! Zero, but the character at least has a history in previous Dragon Ball fighting titles.
King Vegeta was first featured in Dragon Ball Z Side Story: True Plan to Eradicate the Saiyans – Space Saga, but he wasn’t playable until Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3, where he’s available in both his regular and Great Ape forms. King Vegeta has also appeared in Dragon Ball Heroes and Super Dragon Ball Heroes: World Mission, as well as IC Carddass Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z: Dokkan Battle. That’s fairly impressive for a character who’s already dead when Dragon Ball begins.
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Goku is Dragon Ball Z’s permanent protagonist, but there’s a strong case to be made for why Vegeta should actually be the anime’s main character.2King Vegeta Is Not The First King Vegeta
It’s no surprise to Dragon Ball fans that Vegeta’s namesake comes from his father. However, this title is actually a longstanding tradition that’s passed through various generations of their family. Dragon Ball reveals that King Vegeta is, in fact, King Vegeta III. This means that his son is Prince Vegeta IV, but it also indicates that there were two generations of King Vegeta before the one who’s introduced in the series. This may seem somewhat superfluous, but it further demonstrates how the Vegeta family had a stranglehold on the Saiyan race for multiple generations and that there’s considerable respect and opulence that’s carried through the name.
This makes it a bit of a surprise that Vegeta is willing to name his children Trunks and Bulla – a naming convention that respects Bulma’s family, rather than his own — and end this tradition. Admittedly, it’d be a little silly and more confusing if there were two characters named Vegeta in Dragon Ball. That being said, this tradition does appear to restore itself in Dragon Ball GT’s distant flash-forward to the future where Vegeta’s distant descendant is named Vegeta Jr.
1King Vegeta Is Technically Responsible For His Own Planet’s Destruction
King Vegeta Succumbs to Beerus’ Wrath
One of the most important events in Dragon Ball’s universe is Planet Vegeta’s destruction and the corresponding Saiyan genocide that occurs as a result of this vicious act. Planet Vegeta’s destruction effectively finishes off the Saiyan population, but King Vegeta himself is ultimately responsible for his own people’s undoing through a roundabout series of actions. Lord Beerus tasks King Vegeta with being given the most comfortable pillow in Universe 7, only for King Vegeta to disgrace the God of Destruction by keeping the best one for himself and giving Beerus the runner-up. Beerus proceeds to seriously humble King Vegeta, which is also why Vegeta is initially so terrified of this figure.
King Vegeta submits to Beerus’ wrath to spare his people from a greater punishment. However, this event becomes the catalyst in Beerus’ suggestion that Frieza should destroy Planet Vegeta. King Vegeta doesn’t realize it, but his selfishness and pride seals the Saiyans’ fate. Additionally, King Vegeta is forced to pledge allegiance to the Frieza Force after he’s annexed by King Cold’s Army. King Vegeta is left with no choice but to broker a deal with them. He believes that he’s still in control due to how he’s allowed to continue to rule over his people, but this also leads to the Saiyans’ eventual execution.
