Introduction
"Are you ready now to witness a power not seen for thousands of years?"
Welcome! You have somehow stumbled across Retribution, a small site dedicated to Vegeta of Dragonball fame. Second to none and prideful to a fault, Vegeta is easily my favorite character from the series. This site hopes to bring understanding to his character and convince doubters that he is more than meets the eye.If you have not read or watched the series, please be aware that there are unmarked spoilers lurking about in every section. Note that there is a heavy emphasis on the anime version of Dragonball as opposed to the manga version. I hope you enjoy your stay!
Omnipotent, the Vegeta fanlisting
The Rise of a Warrior
"I am the Hope of the Universe...I am the Answer to all Living Things that cry out for Peace...
I am Protector of the Innocent...I am the Light in the Darkness...I am Truth."
By the beginning of Dragonball Z, we find out the reason for Goku's super human strength; although a resident of Earth, he is not at all human. Originally born on the alien planet Vegeta, Goku is a Saiyan sent to Earth as a baby on a mission to destroy it. However, his pod crashes upon entry into the atmosphere, resulting in memory loss. Goku was then able to grow up on Earth like any other child, adopted by a kindly couple.
Vegeta's first introduction in the series is as the cold and ruthless Saiyan prince who travels to Earth in a personal quest, becoming one of Goku's powerful adversaries.
The Fall of a Prince
"I can only heal those who have a good heart.
You, your heart is black from those you have hurt."
Anger continuously occupies his heart, and revenge occupies his mind. He has no love for the creature that destroyed his home planet, but yet he cannot rebel as Frieza is much stronger than him. However, he earns a reputation amongst Frieza's galactic army as the ultimate warrior -- powerful and cold-hearted. Despite the fate that his own planet experienced, Vegeta gives no second thought as he obliterates others.
"My heart is pure. Make no mistake, it's pure evil!"It is in this mindset that we first meet Vegeta. To me, it seems as though he hides behind a mask of a monster: while he may at some level thrive on death and conflict, it's his home planet that he truly misses. He has lost his home, his people, his family, and his title all in one blow. Forced to follow the commands of Frieza and to mask himself from any hurt that he would never admit to, he blindly follows the orders to exterminate other races, as if the loss of their planets would compensate for the loss of his.
Understandably, Vegeta has matured to become an extremely bitter person. His loss has made him angry, and his growing power makes him arrogant. With only two factors driving him, he is a formidable force.
"You can take control of my mind and my body, but there is one thing a Saiyan always keeps...his PRIDE!"It's his pride he keeps and his strength he cherises. It seems he never forgets about his ancestry or the planet which he came from; he always dons Saiyan armor, a relic of his proud race. Even upon meeting Goku, Vegeta never calls him by his Earth name, but rather by his Saiyan name -- Kakkarot. Never do we see him with another outfit until years later, when he is situated on Earth. But before that happens, Vegeta learns of 7 magical balls that have the ability to grant any wish. He travels to Earth in hopes of recovering these balls; little does he know, it was a journey that would change the rest of his life.
"Your puny mind never could understand! I am Frieza, the most powerful
being in the universe, and you are nothing but a monkey!"
Before the destruction of the planet Vegeta, the Saiyans entered an uneasy partnership with the galactic dictator Frieza. In exchange for their power, to be used in exterminating other planets or forcing Frieza's rule over their people, Frieza would provide money and protection. As a little boy, Vegeta himself was sent to Frieza by his father to train with Frieza as part of this force, becoming a personal pawn whom Frieza took advantage of. Frieza controlled Vegeta by a promise -- a promise to never hurt Vegeta's father if he accomplished everything that Frieza wanted him to do.
Unfortunately, Frieza began to see the Saiyan race as a powerful threat to his empire and destroyed the planet, along with its people, effectively breaking the agreement between Vegeta and himself. Vegeta is not even a teenager at this point, and he is told that his home planet fell victim to a particularly devastating asteroid. Frieza then forces him under his control, along with two other surviving Saiyans. Recalling back on this period of his life, Vegeta claims that he was "worked like a slave" and was treated rather cruelly. For at least the next twenty years of his life, Vegeta learns what it means to be controlled by another being.
"Meaningless, huh? Spend most of your life ruled by another, watch your race dwindle to a handful, and then tell me what has more meaning than your own strength!"Of course, hot-headed Vegeta is not one to take this control lightly. There is no doubt in my mind that he had been constantly conspiring against his overlord during the years under Frieza's control. He trains constantly in an attempt to approach Frieza's power level so that he may defeat him, but Frieza's true power is unknown to nearly all of his military force. The search for the dragonballs takes Vegeta to the planets Earth and Namek, and along the way, Vegeta learns the truth about his planet's demise from one of Frieza's henchmen, Dodoria: instead of falling victim to an asteroid, Frieza had destroyed his home planet. Vegeta realizes there is no honor in the creature, and becomes even more angered and driven. A series of events leads him to finally challenge Frieza, but unfortunately, Vegeta's power is still no match for Frieza's -- the evil overlord only tortures him, not taking the fight seriously.
Soon enough, Goku enters the battle. Even though seriously injured, Vegeta taunts Frieza as he realizes the extent of Goku's power and the chance to finally rid the universe of Frieza. Facing his own imminent death, Vegeta makes a desperate plea to Goku; it is one of the very few times we ever get to see Vegeta shed tears. The true extent of Frieza's influence on him is made clear during the last few minutes of his life.
"Kakkarot...please...destroy Frieza. He made me what I am...don't let him do it to anyone else. Whatever it takes...stop him...please..."The extent of Vegeta's pain at losing his home and people are evident in his speech about Frieza's destruction of planet Vegeta. His anger at Frieza's betrayal of their agreement is clear, and his hope for Goku to defeat the being that has acted as a constant shadow is made known. Once Vegeta dies, Goku gives him a proper burial before continuing his fight with Frieza, but not before forgiving Vegeta for his actions -- Goku finally understands the drive behind the powerful force that is Vegeta.
"You weren't grieving over your own death, or because our home planet was destroyed. You were grieving because he turned you into what he wanted you to be. You never had a chance to be anything else."And indeed Vegeta never did: Frieza's control has made him angry, scorned, and distrustful of anyone he meets. Stripped of his freedom at a very young age, he was never able to grow up normally -- or as normally as a Saiyan could grow up -- and instead only knows destruction and the strength of power.
The Realization of a Brotherhood
"Nobody destroys Kakkarot while I’m around. Destiny has reserved that luxury for me."
The person that has the largest, if not one of the largest, roles in shaping Vegeta's psyche post-Frieza is undoubtedly Son Goku, the protagonist of the series. From Vegeta's viewpoint, his relationship with Goku can be defined in three words: a bitter rivalry. Vegeta is forced to acknowledge Goku, as he is the only other full-blooded Saiyan in the universe after the deaths of Raditz and Nappa, Vegeta's henchmen.As Vegeta's foil, Goku is the antithesis of everything that defines him. Whereas Vegeta is prideful, arrogant, and caustic, Goku is humble, cheerful, and always ready to lend a helping hand. Vegeta takes immense pride in his Saiyan heritage as their prince, but Goku was raised by humans and had no idea of his alien descent. Even Saiyan class order identifies them as polar opposites: Vegeta is part of the royal sect, whereas Bardock, Goku's father, and subsequently his two sons were third-class Saiyans.
The immense differences between them only serves to fuel Vegeta's anger at Goku's stronger power. How could a third class Saiyan attain the level of Super Saiyan, when he himself -- the Prince of all Saiyans -- could not?
"Curse you Kakkarot, always one step ahead of me. No matter how much I progress, you always seem to surpass me. You were always there, laughing in my face. Why won't you leave me alone?"Goku's constant superiority in power is the reason why Vegeta is constantly training. He somehow believes that if he is constantly training, constantly making himself stronger, he would be able to surpass Goku's power. However, even with all his strength, it seems that Goku is effortlessly stronger. Strength and power seem to come to Goku easily -- we never see Goku truly train in the same sense that Vegeta does to reach Super Saiyan or any of its higher levels.
Naturally, this angers Vegeta. He has matured thinking that he was the strongest warrior in the universe -- imagine his surprise when a third-class Saiyan first defeats him in battle. Imagine again, when Goku is able to reach the level of Super Saiyan -- something not done for thousands of years -- and defeat Frieza, the destructor of his people. Vegeta takes this offense personally; as the Prince of the Saiyans, he felt that he was the one who should have avenged his people. Believing himself to be the strongest warrior, he felt that he should have been the first Saiyan in many millenia to ascend to Super Saiyan.
"Why wasn’t I able to obtain what Kakkarot had obtained? It didn’t make any sense. It was infuriating…and it was my fury that kept me alive."It was Vegeta's jealousy of Goku's power that sent him back into outerspace with one of Bulma's spacepods to train, but his anger at having been constantly trumped by a lower-class Saiyan indirectly helps him finally attain the level of the legendary Super Saiyan.
I believe the core of Vegeta's feelings for Goku was the fact that Goku's model of success through kindness and altruism went against everything Vegeta was taught under his father and Frieza. Instead of using fear and hatred to fuel power, Vegeta saw that Goku obtained power through acts of compassion and generousity.
"You were unraveling my reality from the inside out...I changed because of you, Kakkarot. You showed me that ruthlessness was not the key to acquiring power."Lost and confused, Vegeta did everything he could to deny the example Goku set forth. However, his final attempt at resurfacing his more evil nature only resulted in an act that had characteristics of Goku -- desperate to save his family, Vegeta gave up the ultimate sacrifice: his life. His drastic change in demeanor only serves to emphasize one point: despite his denial, Goku has had an effect on him and his warrior's philosophy.
"But, perhaps it is my anger that has made me blind to the truth for so long. I see it now, this day has made it all too clear. You're better than me, Kakkarot. You are the best."By the end of the series, Vegeta finally acknowledges Goku as the better Saiyan. After having the opportunity to live a peaceful life on Earth and create a family, Vegeta finally understands the drive that Goku thrives on and accepts it. Perhaps the strength that comes from the protection of your family and loved ones is more powerful that the strength that comes from fear and hatred.
The Woman Who Would Change Him
"Unwind a little and see what life has to offer you. You're actually kind of cute."
Bulma Briefs is a headstrong, ingenious inventor who has been Son Goku's oldest friend. Vegeta and Bulma's first encounter did not elude to any type of future relationship (in fact, Bulma went to Namek in order to gather the dragonballs to wish back her then boyfriend, Yamcha). In his quest to gather the Namekian dragonballs, Vegeta follows one of the Z fighters, Krillin, to where Bulma is hiding with their dragonball. Vegeta in turn is being followed by one of Frieza's henchmen, Zarbon, who is on a mission to kill him. In the end, Vegeta defeats Zarbon and negotiates for the dragonball in exchange for sparing Krillin's and Bulma's lives.Later on, Vegeta chances upon Goku's son Gohan, who notices the dragonball that Vegeta is carrying. When asked, Vegeta answers that he obtained the dragonball from Krillin and "that gorgeous girl," which is the first indication that Vegeta at the very least finds Bulma attractive (in the English dub, anyways). After Goku defeats Frieza on Namek, Vegeta is wished back from the dead, along with everyone else who Frieza has killed.
At this point, Vegeta has no where to go and no one to follow now that the most prominent figure in his life has died. Bulma, realizing this, offers Vegeta a place to stay -- at her house, Capsule Corp...but not before giving Vegeta a rather comical jab, making fun of his uptight nature:
"Hey Homeboy! Hey, why don't you drop the arrogant tough guy act and just relax? Let it all go, take a vacation for goodness sake."We can easily see that Bulma is not at all intimidated by Vegeta as she once was on Namek. By offering him a place to stay, she was the first person to extend an offer of some kind of friendship -- but of course, Vegeta is not at all used to kindness. Once there, he immediately orders Dr. Briefs, Bulma's father, to create a gravity chamber that is capable of simulating environments several times Earth's gravity in order to train. During this period, Bulma is still involved with Yamcha, but an accident involving the explosion of the gravity chamber gives hints to Bulma and Vegeta's future relationship. With Vegeta seriously injured, Bulma nurses him back to health, staying at his bedside the whole time. When Vegeta regains consciousness, he notices her beside him.
Sadly, that's the most we ever get to see of Vegeta/Bulma canon during those 3 years. The actual romantic relationship between Vegeta and Bulma is completely skipped over, but we do know how it ends -- a break-up between Bulma and Yamcha and the birth of baby Trunks. There is never a hint of how important Bulma (or Trunks) is to Vegeta, until we see his actions during the Buu saga.
We also see Bulma's understanding of Vegeta's intense rivalry with Goku during Dragonball GT. Seeing that Vegeta has once again trumped by Goku, who has attained the level of Super Saiyan 4, Bulma creates a device that will enable Vegeta to also reach that level. She even goes so far as to suggest that with her device, Vegeta might be able to reach Super Saiyan 5 -- a level that even Goku had never reached. Vegeta, shocked, asks her if she really believes that he could surpass his rival, and she responds, "Well, you are the Prince of all Saiyans, right?" She gives him hope -- hope that he'll be able to obtain his dream.
"If you're a prince, that makes me a princess, right?"Even if he'll never voice it, Bulma is exactly that: his princess. She understands him, created a family with him, and made evident his more human side. There's no doubt about it -- Bulma, the one constant presence after the death of Frieza, is the one who changed him from the bitter, angry Saiyan, to a man who would do anything for his family.
"But still, deep down, your heart beats like mine does.
I'm your son and I will always love you."
Vegeta's first meeting with his son is not when he is a tiny, lavendar haired baby, but rather as a powerful teenager from the future. In Future Trunks' timeline, his world is devastated and destroyed by powerful androids; everyone dies trying to fight off the superweapons, except for Gohan, Bulma, and Trunks himself. Not wanting that kind of lifestyle and hoping to change the future, Future Trunks travels to the past to warn Goku and co. about the threat that is the androids 3 years in advance. This is the time that Future Trunks sees his father for the first time -- understandably, all he wants is his father's recognition. Future Trunks' quest for acceptance is soon met with disgust as he learns about his father's uncaring attitude towards his mother and present time counterpart.
Vegeta's affection for Trunks isn't seen until Cell, another powerful monster, kills Trunks. This act causes a drastic change in Vegeta, who becomes enraged that someone who cared about him has been killed.
"Trunks...my son...how could I let this happen to my son? He has sacrificed everything for me, and I have done nothing but ignore him! There is still time to change things."Vegeta gives his everything while combating Cell. After being wished back by the dragonballs, Trunks is shocked to learn how Vegeta reacted to his death and becomes proud of him. When Vegeta finally acknowledges Trunks, he returns back to his timeline to exact revenge on the androids.
Trunks in the present timeline is drastically different from Future Trunks. Since he has the presence of his father, Trunks has developed a cocky attitude. We can tell he idolizes his father, believing him to be stronger than Goku. He regularly trains with his father, and he even reaches Super Saiyan at the age of 8. Vegeta's reaction to this is of shock and surprise -- is the level of Super Saiyan so now easily attainable? However, his shock is erased as soon as he finds out that his son is still stronger than Goku's second son, Goten, who has also reached Super Saiyan.
When Vegeta allows himself to be controlled by Babidi during the Buu saga, we find that Trunks, in a way, saves Vegeta from himself. In order for his son to live a peaceful future, he sacrificed himself in an attempt to kill Buu because all he could think about was his son.
"There is one thing I'd like to know. Tell me,
will I meet that clown Kakkarot in the other world?"
"I tried to be good like you, but the Saiyan in me would not die. I wanted my old edge back, my killer instinct..."Vegeta voluntarily allows himself to be mind controlled by Babidi, who unlocks hidden power within Vegeta. In addition, his prior evil nature has resurfaced -- Majin Vegeta sends a ki blast to a crowd of spectators in order to convince Goku to fight him at this new state. Their subsequent fight I feel strangely lacked the expectation Vegeta held, as they still both seem evenly matched. Eventually, Majin Vegeta knocks out Goku to fight Buu by himself. Harboring a feeling of debt ever since the conclusion of the Cell saga, Vegeta felt he owed Goku repayment for his arrogance against Cell, which had caused the monster's more powerful formation and subsequent destruction of Earth.
Even with his new strength, he could not beat Buu. In a final and desperate attempt to kill the monster, Vegeta decides to sacrifice himself in a massive display of energy. Before that happens, he asks Piccolo, one of the Z fighters, a question: will he see Goku in the afterlife?
"You, on the other hand, have spent your life in pursuit of your own selfish desires. You've caused too much pain. When you die, you will not receive the same reward."Even with the knowledge that his afterlife would not be desirable, Vegeta still decides to go through with the act. Thinking only about the future of his family, he gives an emotional speech, as if his family could hear him.
"Bulma, Trunks. This is for you."Unfortunately, his sacrifice was in vain: Buu still lived. However, events after Buu was defeated gave light on Vegeta's newfound humanity. When wishing everyone back with the dragonballs, it was worded that everyone who had died since the arrival of Babidi on Earth who did not possess an evil heart would be revived. Surprisingly (or not so surprisingly), Vegeta's halo disappears, and he returns from the dead: it seems that Vegeta's heart is no longer truly evil anymore.
The New Place Called Home
"While I was with you guys, I became more human."
In Dragonball GT, Vegeta and Bulma have another child -- a daughter named Bra. An exact replica of her mother, Bra looks nothing like her father; however, that doesn't stop him from spoiling her. In fact, Bra's comments about his "stupid" mustache cause him to later shave it off; Vegeta even accompanies her on a shopping trip to the mall. During this time of his life, we can see that Vegeta is happily (or as noticeably happy as Vegeta can get) situated on Earth."I even have a family and started to like living on Earth."We find during a conversation with Goku that Vegeta even considers Earth to be his new home. It's clearly evident that this is true when Goku leaves Earth at the end of Dragonball GT and entrusts the position as Earth's protector to Vegeta. Interestingly enough, his new mission in life is completely opposite of what he had been originally sent to Earth to do. During the last episode of Dragonball GT, we see that Vegeta accomplished this task -- Vegeta Jr. a descendant of Vegeta himself fights Goku Jr., a descendant of Goku, in a World Tournament many years later.
The End of a Journey
"It's over NINE THOUSAAAAAAAAAND!"
Retribution was brought about as part of Amassment's One Page Shrine marathon. Although I had always planned some sort of tribute to my favorite Dragonball character, I never got the push I needed. Now that I have completed the backbone of what I envision it to be, I hope to one day expand it further.Unfortunately, Dragonball-related shrines are few and far in between. If you have one, please don't hesitate to ask for a link exchange!
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Retribution is merely a fansite and is no way affiliated with Akira Toriyama or Shueisha.
No infringement is intended.