Vegeta, arms crossed in his white Saiyan armor with yellow shoulder pads, stares down at the scene, seen from a low angle against a cloudy blue sky.

Vegeta: The Prince of the Saiyans, from Villain to Hero

CharacterSaiyansGoku's Rival

Vegeta is the prince of the Saiyans, the warrior race Goku comes from. He lands on Earth as an enemy at the start of Dragon Ball Z, teams up with his opponents on Namek out of necessity, settles on Earth, starts a family with Bulma and becomes Goku's lifelong rival. His pride pushes him into the worst decisions, all the way to giving himself over to Babidi's magic, before he sacrifices himself against Buu to save his loved ones. Here's a look back at his origins, his battles, his fusions, his latest forms and the English voice that has carried him for more than 25 years.

He comes to Earth to seize the Dragon Balls and ends up defending the planet alongside the very man he wanted to beat. Through it all, Vegeta almost never lets go of his princely pride. Whether you first heard him in the original Ocean dub or discovered him in Dragon Ball Super, here's his journey, from the fall of his planet all the way to Ultra Ego.

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The prince of a fallen people

Vegeta (ベジータ, Bejīta) is the eldest son of King Vegeta, who ruled over the Saiyans. Even while serving Frieza, the tyrant who employs them, he proudly calls himself “the prince of all Saiyans.” His name follows the tradition of his people, whose names almost all come from vegetables: it's a pun on the English word “vegetable.”

At this point, he wears the Saiyan battle armor, white with yellow plates over a blue bodysuit, and a scouter over his left eye, the device that measures an opponent's power.

Planet Vegeta, which bears his name, is destroyed by Frieza, and most of the Saiyans perish with it. In the film Dragon Ball Super: Broly, Vegeta, Raditz and Nappa are away on a mission at the time; an anime-only flashback in Dragon Ball Z, on the other hand, shows him aboard Frieza's ship. It's only much later, on Namek, that Dodoria reveals the truth to him: Frieza himself wiped out his world. The Dragon Ball Super manga adds one last twist: Beerus, the God of Destruction, tells him that Frieza destroyed the planet at his request.

Young Vegeta sitting on a rock with a purple fruit in his hand, next to Raditz, who wears a green scouter, among defeated creatures.
In the film Dragon Ball Super: Broly, young Vegeta and Raditz are away on a mission when Frieza destroys Planet Vegeta.

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Villain on Earth, reluctant ally on Namek

Vegeta first appears in chapter 204 of the manga. After Raditz's death, he sets off for Earth with Nappa, aiming to use the Dragon Balls to gain immortality. When Goku puts Nappa out of the fight, Vegeta finishes off his own comrade, ashamed that he was beaten by a low-class Saiyan.

His first duel against Goku introduces the Galick Gun, which he fires back at the Kamehameha. Since Piccolo has destroyed the Moon, Vegeta launches a Power Ball, an artificial moon, to transform into a Great Ape. It's Yajirobe who slices off his tail with a sword. Exhausted, Vegeta barely escapes, humiliated that Goku asked Krillin to spare him.

On Namek, he takes out many of Frieza's men and ruthlessly destroys a defenseless Namekian village to seize its Dragon Ball. Still, he has to team up with Gohan and Krillin, soon joined by Goku, to face the Ginyu Force, then stand with them and Piccolo against Frieza.

Frieza finally kills him with a beam that pierces his heart. Before dying, Vegeta tells Goku the tragic story of the Saiyans and begs him in tears to avenge their people. He is later brought back to life as an unintended side effect of the wish made with Earth's Dragon Balls to revive the victims of Frieza and his men on Namek.

Vegeta in Saiyan armor, sweating with his mouth wide open, reaching toward a ball of white light in a pink and blue sky.
During his first duel against Goku, Vegeta gets ready to launch the Power Ball, the artificial moon that turns him into a Great Ape (Dragon Ball Z, episode 31).
Figure of Vegeta as a Great Ape, jaws open and fangs showing, gray armor with yellow shoulder pads over a blue bodysuit, on a white background.

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Super Saiyan, androids and Cell: pride put to the test

After Frieza's defeat, Vegeta stays on Earth to wait for Goku's return and settle the score. Living with Bulma, he even gets stuck wearing a pink shirt that says “Bad Man”: quite a change of style for Frieza's former soldier. Later, he and Bulma have a son, Trunks.

In the manga, Vegeta claims he became a Super Saiyan because, like Goku, he has a pure heart… but pure in evil. He reveals his transformation against Android 19, whom he finishes off with the Big Bang Attack, fired for the first time in this fight. Against Android 18, however, he wears himself out and ends up with a broken arm.

After training in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, he reaches a level beyond Super Saiyan and calls himself “Super Vegeta.” Out of pride, he lets Cell absorb Android 18, going as far as striking Future Trunks, his own son, who tries to stop him. Against Perfect Cell, he unleashes the Final Flash, after daring him to take the attack head-on.

When Cell kills Future Trunks, Vegeta, shaken and consumed by guilt, throws himself at him in a fit of rage. In the final showdown, his intervention lets Gohan gain the upper hand. But after the victory, humiliated, he swears he will never fight again.

Super Saiyan Vegeta, golden hair standing on end and mouth open, thrusting his arm forward in his armor, in front of a yellow aura.
Now a Super Saiyan, Vegeta gets ready to fire the Big Bang Attack that finishes off Android 19 (Dragon Ball Z, episode 130).

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Majin Vegeta, his sacrifice and the Vegito fusion

Seven years later, Vegeta lets Babidi's magic take hold of him so he can become strong enough to beat Goku: he becomes Majin Vegeta, with a big “M” on his forehead. To force Goku to fight him, he blows up part of the tournament stands, killing dozens of spectators and nearly killing his own wife.

In the middle of the fight against Majin Buu, he hugs Trunks for the first time since the boy was a baby and tells him how proud he is. Then he blows himself up to take Buu with him, hoping to destroy him so completely that he can't regenerate. This Final Explosion is in vain.

Sent back to Earth while still dead, he reluctantly agrees to fuse with Goku using the Potara earrings: together they form Vegito, called Vegerot in Viz's English edition of the manga, who dominates Buu. Against the original Buu, it's Vegeta who comes up with the idea of a Spirit Bomb powered by the energy of every Earthling.

During this fight, he finally acknowledges Goku as both his superior and his friend. A sign of his redemption: his halo disappears, because his heart is no longer evil.

Another fusion unites him with Goku: Gogeta, born from the Fusion Dance. He first appears in the film Fusion Reborn (1995), returns as a Super Saiyan 4 in Dragon Ball GT, then makes his canon debut in the film Dragon Ball Super: Broly.

Super Saiyan Majin Vegeta, with the “M” on his forehead, his face and chest covered in wounds, surrounded by a sparkling golden aura.
Majin Vegeta, with Babidi's “M” on his forehead and his body covered in wounds, as he attempts the Final Explosion to take Majin Buu down with him.

From Dragon Ball Super to Daima: father and rival

In the film Battle of Gods, when Beerus slaps Bulma, Vegeta's rage briefly lets him surpass Goku. Vegeta first appears as a Super Saiyan Blue in Resurrection 'F', when he takes over from the injured Goku against Golden Frieza.

In the Dragon Ball Super series, eliminated by Jiren two minutes before the end of the Tournament of Power, he passes his last strength to Goku in tears. When his daughter was born, he wanted to give her a strong Saiyan name; in the end, it's Bulma who names her Bulla.

The Dragon Ball Super manga goes further. During the Granolah arc, Vegeta trains with Beerus to master Hakai, the gods' power of destruction. It leads him to Ultra Ego, a form that makes him stronger the more hits he takes.

The other series give him new forms too. In Dragon Ball GT, he becomes a Super Saiyan 4 artificially, thanks to Bulma's scientific genius. And in Dragon Ball Daima, which takes place before Super, he uses Super Saiyan 3.

Mini-Vegeta as a Super Saiyan 3, with long golden hair and a stern blue gaze, wearing his armor in front of a bright yellow background.
In Dragon Ball Daima, Vegeta, in the form of mini-Vegeta, goes Super Saiyan 3 (episode 12).

Creation, popularity and English voices

Akira Toriyama originally designed Vegeta as a passing antagonist, a secondary character with little influence on the story. Surprised by his popularity, he explained that he never imagined a character with that kind of hairstyle could be so well liked. In Weekly Shōnen Jump reader polls, Vegeta ranked fourth in 1993, then second in 1995.

The name of one of his signature techniques keeps the vegetable pun going: Galick Gun comes from the English word “garlic.” In Japanese, Vegeta is voiced by Ryō Horikawa in every work, with one exception: mini-Vegeta in Dragon Ball Daima, voiced by Yūdai Mino.

In English, Vegeta has been voiced since 1999 by Christopher Sabat, from Funimation's in-house dub of Dragon Ball Z all the way to the adult Vegeta in Dragon Ball Daima; he also voices Yamcha, Piccolo and Shenron. In Dragon Ball Z, Kai and Super, he shares Vegito's voice with Sean Schemmel, the voice of Goku. Before him, the early episodes of Dragon Ball Z were dubbed by Ocean, with Brian Drummond as Vegeta: that's the dub that gave fans the legendary “It's over 9000!” Dragon Ball GT, for its part, also got a second English dub, by Blue Water, with Roger Rhodes as Vegeta.

Vegeta at a glance

Key fact Vegeta
Japanese name ベジータ Bejīta
Title Prince of the Saiyans, eldest son of King Vegeta
First appearance Chapter 204 of the Dragon Ball manga
Family Bulma (wife), Trunks and Bulla (children)
Techniques Galick Gun, Big Bang Attack, Final Flash, Final Explosion
Fusions with Goku Vegito (Potara earrings), Gogeta (Fusion Dance)
Voices Ryō Horikawa (Japanese); Christopher Sabat (English)

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Where does the name Vegeta come from?
    Almost all Saiyan names come from vegetables, and Vegeta is a pun on the English word “vegetable.” The name of one of his techniques, the Galick Gun, keeps the joke going: it comes from “garlic.”
  • Who destroyed Vegeta's planet?
    Frieza. Vegeta learns it on Namek, from Dodoria. In the Dragon Ball Super manga, Beerus later reveals to him that he himself asked Frieza to destroy the planet.
  • How does Vegeta become a Super Saiyan?
    In the manga, he explains that he became a Super Saiyan because, like Goku, he has a pure heart, but pure in evil. He reveals his transformation against Android 19. The meteor shower scene in space is anime-only.
  • What's the difference between Vegito and Gogeta?
    They're both fusions of Goku and Vegeta. Vegito is born from the Potara earrings, in the manga, during the Buu Saga. Gogeta is born from the Fusion Dance in the film Fusion Reborn (1995), then makes his canon debut in the film Dragon Ball Super: Broly.
  • Who voices Vegeta in English?
    Christopher Sabat, who has voiced him in the Funimation dub since 1999, from Dragon Ball Z to Dragon Ball Super and Dragon Ball Daima, and who is also the voice of Yamcha. In Japanese, Vegeta is voiced by Ryō Horikawa.
  • Does Vegeta have children?
    Yes, two, with Bulma: Trunks, born after Frieza's defeat, and Bulla, born during Dragon Ball Super. In the Dragon Ball Super anime, Vegeta wanted to give his daughter a strong Saiyan name, but it was Bulma who named her.

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