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This article is about the main character. For other uses, see Vegeta (disambiguation).

"Fine, Kakarot, you are the mightiest Saiyan, I've admitted that much. At least for now. But don't you dare think that this is over. I won't let you keep me in second place forever, feeding on the scraps of your glory. I will surpass you, and even then I'll keep pushing, I'll surpass every single warrior in the Universe. I won't stop until I'm the ultimate number one!"
— Vegeta in "To the Promised Resort! Vegeta Takes a Family Trip!"


Vegeta (ベジータ Bejīta), more specifically Vegeta IV (ベジータ四世 Bejīta Yonsei),[7] recognized as Prince Vegeta (ベジータ王子 Bejīta Ōji), is the prince of the fallen Saiyan race and the husband of Bulma, the father of Trunks and Bulla, the eldest son of King Vegeta, as well as one of the main characters of the Dragon Ball series.

Regal, egotistical, and full of pride, Vegeta was once a ruthless, cold-blooded warrior and outright killer,[8] but later abandoned his position in the Frieza Force for a peaceful life on Earth. He would repeatedly fight alongside Universe 7's most powerful warriors in order to protect Earth and his family, as well as to surpass Goku in power.[9]

Vegeta's strong character development has received high praise and is regarded as the biggest in the series. He initially debuted as the main antagonist of the Vegeta Saga but progressed into a more anti-heroic tritagonist role for the rest of Dragon Ball Z. Since the Majin Buu Saga and going into Dragon Ball Super, Vegeta has been the main deuteragonist/secondary protagonist behind Goku.

Quick Answers

Who is Vegeta? toggle section
Vegeta, also known as Vegeta IV, is the prince of the fallen Saiyan race and one of the main characters in the Dragon Ball series. He is the husband of Bulma, the father of Trunks and Bulla, and the eldest son of King Vegeta. Vegeta was initially a ruthless and cold-blooded warrior, but later abandoned his position in the Frieza Force for a peaceful life on Earth. He constantly strives to surpass Goku in power and has become one of Universe 7's most powerful warriors.
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What is Vegeta's appearance like? toggle section
Vegeta is a well-built man of below-average stature, standing at 164 centimeters tall. He has black hair that spikes upwards and a prominent widow's peak. He has defined eyes with a consistently stern look. Vegeta is known for donning the traditional Saiyan armor in combat, usually a dark blue, full-bodied jumpsuit with white gloves and boots. He has customized his armor at times to suit his persona. Over the course of the series, Vegeta's physical appearance changes, becoming somewhat taller and more muscular.
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What color is Vegeta's battle armor in various video games? toggle section
Vegeta's battle armor in various video games can have different colors, such as crimson, violet, dark blue, and black.
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What outfit does Vegeta wear in Dragon Ball GT? toggle section
In Dragon Ball GT, Vegeta wears a crimson tank top, violet gloves, dark blue jeans, violet boots, and a black leather vest. He also crops his hair and grows a temporary mustache.
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What armor does Vegeta wear in Dragon Ball Super? toggle section
In Dragon Ball Super, Vegeta wears the same modified battle armor he wore during the Androids/Cell Sagas. He later wears a new armor made by Bulma, which has a grey bodysuit, futuristic-looking boots, and a sleeker design.
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Appearance

Akira Toriyama design sheet

Goku and Vegeta's height difference.

Vegeta is a well-built man of below-average stature, standing at 164 centimeters tall. His hair is black (or dark reddish brown, depending on the media) and spikes upwards. Vegeta has a prominent widow's peak. Like most Saiyans, he possesses defined eyes with a consistently stern look to them. Like other Universe 7 Saiyans, he was born with a prehensile, brown-furred tail, until it was permanently cut off by Yajirobe.

Over the course of the series, Vegeta's physical appearance changes. While originally appearing very short and lean, especially compared to his massive partner, Nappa, he later seems to be somewhat taller and noticeably more muscular. His hair and forehead appear to be shorter and his facial features, which are perpetually in a scowl (in contrast to before he lost his first fight with Goku, when he smiled most of the time), also look more distinct and sharply defined as the series progresses, making him look much older in later sagas compared to what he looked like in his debut.

A major characteristic of Vegeta's is the fact that he is one of the only Saiyans who have continued to don the traditional Saiyan armor in combat. His general look is a blue, full-bodied jumpsuit with white gloves and boots with the said armor on top. He has also been seen wearing alternate forms of the armor, customizing it to better suit his persona. During most of Vegeta's adult life working under the Frieza Force, as well as his appearance in the Saiyan Saga, he wore a white armor, which consisted of yellow shoulder pads, yellow stomach and lower back plates, and yellow skirt pads, that covered his hips and groin. Underneath his armor, he wore a blue bodysuit, where he also wore white gloves and boots, in addition with them. He would often wrap his tail around his armor in a belt-like fashion, and usually wore a red lens scouter (green in the manga) over his left eye. After the Saiyan Saga and during the Namek Saga, he wore a similar outfit to what he wore previously, but replaced his heavily damaged armor with a similar armor that lacked the skirt padding around his waistline. While wearing this outfit, he also no longer possessed his Saiyan tail, due to having it permanently cut by Yajirobe during his battle against the Dragon Team on Earth in the Saiyan Saga. He also briefly wore another scouter, until deeming it unnecessary and destroying it. When his armor and bodysuit were damaged in his battle against Recoome, he replaced his outfit with an older model design, where he wears a navy-blue bodysuit underneath a white armor, that had brown stomach and lower back plates, but lacked shoulder pads like his previous armor. He also wore a new pair of his white boots and gloves from his previous ones, after also being damaged. He collectively wore this outfit during the Captain Ginyu and Frieza Sagas respectively. In the Trunks Saga, he wore a pink short sleeved loose button shirt with the sign "Bad Man" at the back, a white sleeveless undershirt, yellow pants and green shoes with a brown trim. During the Androids/Cell Saga, he wore a similar outfit to what he wore in the Namek Saga, but wore an updated version of his armor and bodysuit, where his armor now has yellow shoulder straps, instead of shoulder guards, and the armor plates now taking on polygonal shapes instead of semi-oval ones, meanwhile, his bodysuit now extends to cover the lower half of his neck. From the Perfect Cell Saga and onwards, Vegeta now regularly wears an updated version of his white boots, where they now show yellow striped tips. During the Buu Saga, to be allowed to fight in the World Martial Arts Tournament, Vegeta sported a sleeveless dark blue tank top tucked into matching sweatpants along with white gloves and boots. He later wore a similar outfit in Dragon Ball Super: Broly and Super Hero but with the color being more of a dark teal blue, and his boots being rounder and having gray soles at the bottom.

During his early cameo, debut, and filler appearances in the Dragon Ball Z anime, Vegeta originally appeared with a totally different color scheme from his usual one, where he was shown with red hair and was wearing an outfit that composed of a battle armor that was khaki green with burnt orange guard pieces (the shoulder and skirt guards), orange gloves, a navy-blue jumpsuit, and boots with orange leg tops and dark brown shoes. This occurred only in the anime, as at the time Vegeta was introduced in the anime, no official colors of Vegeta were released in the Dragon Ball manga for the animators to use for Vegeta, when adapting him into the anime, so Toei Animation guessed his colors. It's not until the anime's depiction of him in his first arrival on Earth, that his color scheme completely changes to become more consistent to his traditional look, once the manga eventually revealed his actual color scheme. This color scheme also appears as an alternate color for his Battle Armor in various video games.

In his initial design as a child in Bardock - The Father of Goku, Vegeta was depicted with bangs, but still maintained his traditional spiky hairstyle. He wore a similar white armor, to the one he was seen wearing as an adult during the Namek Saga, but had a red cape that was attached to the shoulder pads, where the armor also possessed the Saiyan Royal family crest on its left chest plate. Underneath his armor, he also donned a similar sleeveless tanktop and matching sweatpants, to the ones he was seen wearing as an adult during the Buu Saga, while also wearing white gloves and boots. During flashbacks of him as a child in Dragon Ball Z and Dragon Ball Super, Vegeta was constantly shown in this design. However, in his depiction as a child in the Dragon Ball Minus manga chapter, as well as Broly, which adapted parts of the Dragon Ball Minus manga chapter, Vegeta in his childhood is instead seen with his traditional hairstyle that has a widow's peak, instead of bangs. This is to keep it consistent with his prior statement in the Perfect Cell Saga that "a pure-blooded Saiyans hair does not change from the day they are born". Also in this design, he wears a similar armor to the one he wore in his original design as a child, but with the armor being black, rather than white in the original design, and lacking the red cape and Saiyan royal family crest he had on his armor in the original design. Underneath his armor, he wears a blue bodysuit, and also wears white gloves and white boots, where his boots appear to be rounder and has yellow stripes on their tips. In a flashback of him as a child in Battle of Gods, Vegeta is shown with his widow's peak, but wears the same outfit he wore in his design as a child in Bardock - The Father of Goku, where in this depiction of him, his undersuit now extends to cover the lower half of his neck. In all designs of Vegeta as a child, Vegeta would often let his tail hang loose, instead of wrapping it, like he did in his adulthood.

In Dragon Ball GT, Vegeta swaps out his outfit in favor of clothing more characteristic to an Earthling, wearing a crimson tank top, violet gloves, dark blue jeans and violet boots along with a black leather vest. He also cropped his hair, which still spikes upward, and grew a mustache (albeit temporarily, as he immediately shaves it off after Bulla mocks him for it).

In Dragon Ball Super, Vegeta returns to wearing the same outfit he wore in the Androids/Cell Sagas during the God of Destruction Beerus Saga, that becomes his most regularly worn outfit throughout the rest of the series. During the early part of his training under Whis, Vegeta wore a new outfit made by Bulma, which changes to have a grey bodysuit, futuristic-looking versions of his regular boots and gloves, with the boots possessing darker gold striped tips, and a sleeker armor with a narrow chest plate, that possesses a dark gold stomach and lower back plate, along with a dark gold lining on the shoulder area of the armor. Whis also placed his insignia on the left side of the armor's chest without Vegeta noticing when they were training. Vegeta also donned this outfit during the Golden Frieza and Universe 6 Sagas. After the Universe 6 Saga, Vegeta again returns to wearing the same outfit he wore in the Androids/Cell Saga. In Broly, to compensate for the Ice Continent's cold weather, Vegeta wears a light green winter jacket, on top of his outfit, that has a high turtleneck, a long white line on each sleeve of the jacket, and a bold violet "SAB" sign in the left chest of the jacket. Also in the film, the appearance of his outfit was similar to his usual outfit, though his bodysuit was dark teal blue, his armor light gray with white accents rather than pure white, and his boots appeared rounder with gray soles at the bottom, though in the brief Dragon Ball Super manga recap version of the Broly events, Vegeta wears his regular outfit. In the Galactic Patrol Prisoner Saga, while working as a temporary member of the Galactic Patrol, Vegeta receives the Galactic Patrol emblem in the left chest plate of his armor, while donning his regularly worn outfit. He also wears the traditional Yardrat outfit while training on Planet Yardrat. Under Beerus' tutelage and Energy of Destruction training in the Granolah the Survivor Saga, Vegeta returns to his familiar look and wears a golden earpiece on his left ear, just like the Destroyer, as a symbol that he can use Energy of Destruction.

In Super Dragon Ball Heroes, when he appears in the Prison Planet Saga, Vegeta is back to wearing the outfit he wore during Resurrection ‘F’ and the Universe 6 Saga, but with the armor having a Capsule Corp logo in place of Whis' symbol. The armor also has small white hip guards and no lines going across the stomach plate. In the latest mission of Super Dragon Ball Heroes, the gray sections of the armor have changed to a bright blue, similar in color to Vegeta's old bodysuit.

Personality

"There's no planet to protect. No people to save. Just me, immersed in battle. My happy place. Just the thing to get a battle-crazed Saiyan's blood pumping."
— Vegeta in "Vegeta Vs. Granolah"

Vegeta is arrogant throughout the series and becomes bitter due to the abuse his race suffered at the hands of Frieza, as well as his injured pride due to repeatedly falling short compared to another Saiyan. Following the destruction of his homeworld Planet Vegeta, his hatred toward Frieza grows. His royalty seems to have bestowed upon him an inflated sense of superiority, holding himself above nearly everyone he encounters. He is immensely proud of his Saiyan heritage and believes his race to be the most powerful in the universe. Despite this, even as an antagonist, he did not act as an ordinary Saiyan, being even crueler and prideful thanks to Frieza's influence.

As the prince of a demolished Planet Vegeta, Vegeta is initially introduced as an unrepentant villain. Judging from his evil intentions before joining the Z Fighters, Vegeta has been consistently characterized as extremely arrogant, vengeful, and at times, sadistic. Many of Vegeta's early heroic acts are because of self-interest or revenge, although he later settles down and mellows out, adjusting to Earth as his home, raising a family with Bulma. Having been born into the upper tier of Saiyan society, Vegeta was fixated on achieving the legendary status of Super Saiyan and becoming the most powerful warrior in the universe. Vegeta is more of a tactical fighter who often rushes in the brawl without hesitation. However, his rage or arrogance often causes him to underestimate his opponent and usually leads to his eventual defeat and sometimes death. His royal blood and intense fighting style have both benefited and harmed him in many battles.

Vegeta has also been shown to be one of the more intelligent characters of the series, as well as one of the most serious, rarely exhibiting humor. When he does so, his humor is often very dry and far darker than his fellow Z Fighters. However, he does delight in mocking his enemies, as demonstrated when he offers to reconstruct Android 18 into a "toaster" or a "washing machine" (Funimation dub only). He also shows his bleak sense of humor towards Goku when he was about to battle him in the World Martial Arts Tournament. Aside from his bleaker sense of humor, he has also at times engaged in more sarcastic humor when gloating. A notable example of this was when fighting Semi-Perfect Cell. When Cell demanded to know how Vegeta was as strong as he was, Vegeta flippantly stated that he got that strong by "doing lots of push-ups and sit-ups, and [drinking] plenty of juice", as well as calling Kid Buu a "gifted speaker" when the latter barely responded at all just before the latter destroyed the Earth. Normally, his massive ego and arrogance overshadow his positive qualities.

Despite his personality flaws, Vegeta is capable of respecting individuals, although he never outright states it often showing his respect nonverbally. By the Majin Buu Saga, it is heavily implied that he and Piccolo were on civil terms and seemed to have mutual respect for one another. He also expressed some grief over Gohan's fate at the hands of Buu himself. Outside of these two instances, his relationship with the rest of the Dragon Team seemed cool at best.

Initially, Vegeta was extremely aggressive and cold-blooded. Since his childhood, Vegeta had proven himself to be a ruthless killer, merciless like most Saiyans. During the Namek Saga, however, he began to exhibit changes; rather than killing Krillin or Gohan as he promised in the previous saga, he instead forges an alliance with them. Throughout the first half of the Frieza Saga, whomever he defeated, he killed without mercy. His first sign of mercy was sparing Krillin and Bulma's lives in exchange for the Namekian Dragon Ball they were carrying when he could have easily killed them and taken it. Another sign of mercy came when he encounters Gohan a short time later and knees him in the stomach instead of killing him, and again when he let Namekian Frog Captain Ginyu live, taking delight at the notion of Ginyu's being stuck in the frog's body as punishment enough and not wanting to get frog guts all over his boots. After his defeat at the hands of Frieza, Vegeta tearfully explains to Goku that Frieza forced him to be ruthless and that he never had the chance to be anything else (implying that he could have been kinder and more merciful were it not for Frieza). He used to have egocentric, condescending views towards races of what he believed inferior or not of a warrior class or whatever he had little use for, considered physical and emotional attachments to be meaningless, and admittedly had little care or use for children, though he would at times acknowledge Gohan's impressive power during the boy's childhood. However, all these changes when he falls in love with Bulma and she bears him two half-Saiyan children. After settling on Earth, Vegeta softened up and began to exhibit compassion for his family. As a result of his love for Bulma and the birth of his children, Vegeta started to feel content settling down with a loving family while being a competitive warrior. However, Vegeta secretly felt ashamed for sacrificing his goal of becoming the strongest warrior in the universe for the sake of his family and came to believe it was his attachment to them and the planet that rendered him weak compared to Goku, though he kept those thoughts hidden for a time. On a similar note, largely because of his more cold-blooded and aggression, he initially had very little interest in avenging his race even after being made aware of rumors of Frieza having blown up their planet, even going as far as to say they deserved it due to being too weak, which notably shocked Nappa and Raditz when he admitted it. Even after receiving confirmation via Dodoria about Frieza's involvement in the genocide, his main motivation in avenging himself against Frieza afterward was less the Saiyan genocide itself and more being placed under forced servitude by Frieza for most of his life as a result. He seemed to have changed his tune later in life, as when confronting a revived Frieza, he makes clear that Frieza's genocide against his race is a major factor in why he refuses to rejoin him, and notably proceeded to attack Beerus in a rage after the latter admitted his role in causing the genocide to happen in the first place.

It was not until the Majin Buu Saga that Vegeta began to act upon his concealed feelings, first sparked by hearing of Goku's temporary return to the living world. His obsession with overtaking and defeating Goku was once again ignited, but the repeated setbacks during the World Tournament by Shin and Babidi's conflict made him irritated that his fight was being unceremoniously postponed. In addition, upon witnessing Goku's Super Saiyan 2 during his fight against Yakon, Vegeta's hopes were further dashed as he realized how useless his own tireless training was. Desperation eventually consumes him to the point where he willingly allows Babidi to transform him into a Majin, claiming it is a return of his old "evil" self, though this was a desperate, failed ploy to restore his former wickedness, believing it to have been the source of his true power. Goku believes Vegeta is bluffing, and correctly so; Vegeta demonstrates his prevailing softness in hugging Trunks for the first time and telling him that he is proud to be his father, before performing a sacrificial Final Explosion against Majin Buu. It is when his family falls victim to Majin Buu that Vegeta finally understands the pain of losing a loved one and fully grasps the harm he has caused to so many people, and he comes to regret his many transgressions. Since then, he has refrained from killing his opponents unless necessary and tries to be cautious of situations.

"But that's the thrill... don't you wanna see this power he keeps talking about?"
— Vegeta to his son about not letting Cell achieve his perfect form in "The Last Defense".

Majin vegeta 3

Majin Vegeta

From the beginning of the series to near the end, Vegeta is shown to be exceptionally vain and egotistical. A prime example of this is in his fight with Semi-Perfect Cell. Though he could have easily destroyed this weaker form of Cell, his arrogance bested him, and he purposely let Cell absorb Android 18 just to have a challenge in Cell through which to test his power. However, it should be noted that Cell used trickery and had knowledge of Saiyans due to their cells composing his structure. While fighting Super Buu, as well as while fighting Janemba on a different occasion,[10] Vegeta vehemently opposed fusion with Goku due to his pride, but Goku managed to persuade him. Later, Vegeta becomes more willing to fuse, going so far as to propose it himself in the battle against Omega Shenron in Dragon Ball GT. On several occasions, Vegeta conceitedly underestimates his opponents; in the cases of Perfect Cell and Kid Buu, Vegeta was fooled by their diminutive appearances, believing that they had only "shrunk", which is somewhat ironic, given his own short stature, yet large power. While Vegeta lives for battling powerful foes, in some instances he has been seen too afraid of opponents for their tremendous power; such as the Legendary Super Saiyan Broly,[11] the God of Destruction Beerus (he does everything he possibly can to ensure that the God of Destruction is not angered when the latter arrives at Bulma's birthday party),[12] and Frieza. However, against Broly and Beerus he visibly had a change of heart, displayed his pride, and took to the fight. Despite his lust for fighting against powerful foes, Vegeta's arrogance has a flipside too. It's debatable that stronger the foe, the more aggressive Vegeta's fighting style becomes and vice versa. He often recklessly throws himself into the fray against foes that are drastically more powerful than he is, while he barely bothers to touch significantly weaker enemies like Pui Pui for example. It could be argued that this attitude is a Saiyan trait instead of a personal quirk of his since there have been occasions when Goku shares this mentality, albeit to a somewhat lesser extent. Where Goku might see a potential learning experience in sparring with a weaker foe while keeping his own power level down to make it fair, it's likely that Vegeta refuses to dirty his hands with such menial tasks altogether.

"The boy doesn't mean any harm, Zarbon. He just hasn't learned how to control his passion. Give him the hardest assignment that you have, and Vegeta... do come back alive."
Frieza when responding the young Vegeta's plea for another combat assignment in Dragon Ball Z: Bardock - The Father of Goku.

VegetaNappaRaditzEp104

Vegeta along with Raditz and Nappa, after conquering Planet Shikk

Arguably, his most defining trait is his rivalry with Goku and his obsession to surpass him in power. In Dragon Ball Z: Fusion Reborn, he goes so far as to break down in tears over his inability to surpass Goku. However, this obsession has led him to save Goku's life on several occasions, insisting that only he will defeat Goku. When Goku sacrifices himself to save the Earth from being destroyed by Cell, Vegeta is devastated to the point that he vows never to fight again. Indeed, it would seem that Vegeta's most unique relationship is with his fellow Saiyan. Since their first battle, 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 respect and friendship. After the defeat of Kid Buu, he has a change of heart and his angry grudge against Goku becomes a friendly rivalry, though he will always get annoyed and even infuriated when someone openly refers to him as second-best to Goku, such as Whis and Top. Vegeta also maintains a hint of envy and fury whenever Goku reaches a new height, such as Kaiō-Ken X10 or Ultra Instinct (though in the case of the latter, he ultimately accepted that that was one power unique to only Goku himself). He'll even jump at the chance to see Goku beaten by his hand even if the circumstances are technical, such as when he rooted for his copy-version to defeat Goku and opted to fight Goku Black just because he looked like Goku himself. Even so, Vegeta expressed his disdain for Black's shameless theft of his Saiyan brother's vessel, pummeling him as he reveals that Goku worked hard his whole life to achieve his strength and that regardless of his resemblance, he will never compare to the original. Despite his respect and friendship with Goku, he still gets highly annoyed with his immature tendencies and is shocked and even a bit disgusted by the fact that despite having a wife (and two sons), Goku has no concept of romance (never having kissed Chi-Chi apparently) and therefore finds it hard to believe that he is still married. Naturally, Goku almost always takes an optimistic opinion about Vegeta and openly admits to liking him but does occasionally criticize him for his brutality and not informing him when he is about to train. Possibly as a means of reminding him of his heritage despite his upbringing on Earth, Vegeta will nearly always refer to Goku by his birth name Kakarot, scarcely referring to him by his Earth name otherwise. In addition, particularly later on in the series, Vegeta will consistently agree with Goku during moments where he is mature, decisive, and perceptive, such as when he demanded that Trunks obey Goku's order to help resurrect Piccolo, when Goku pointed out the dangers of Future Zamusu still being around despite Whis' efforts, and especially when Goku expressed disdain at the idea of avoiding single combat during the Tournament of Power, which Vegeta translates as meaning their blood won't allow them to act primarily as a unit. As a perhaps ultimate symbol of his friendship and trust in Goku, Vegeta gave him the rest of his energy and an impassioned speech that proved instrumental in allowing him to complete Ultra Instinct during his battle with Jiren, earlier even mocking Belmod for his stance concerning Goku's potential. In the manga, Pan calls him "Uncle Vegeta", even though they are not blood-related, signifying a meaningful bond between Vegeta's family and Goku's.

Because of his arrogance, attitude and past wrongdoing, Vegeta gains much disdain from those around him, particularly Piccolo, Krillin, and Tien, who continually admonished him for his brutality. However, after his plan to defeat Kid Buu and save the Earth is a success, Vegeta is recognized as one of the most reliable and strongest warriors known, and this allows him to not only reconcile with all the Z Fighters but to accept them as genuine comrades. Though they grew up apart, Vegeta does care about his younger brother Tarble, though he is highly disappointed with Tarble's extreme lack of fighting power despite the fact he comes from the powerful royal bloodline.

After the Kid Buu Saga, Vegeta is much more relaxed. He is often seen smiling and cracking jokes, such as when he forced Trunks to enter the 28th World Martial Arts Tournament, threatening to "cut his allowance" if he did not enter the competition. Often being more caring and kinder to his family, especially his daughter, Bulla, Vegeta admittedly has a kinder side, per his adjustment to Earthling life. His attitude towards fighting also changed; instead of training to surpass Goku, he is simply training because he is curious about what his own limits are. He does still retain his rivalry with Goku but following his revelation at the end of the Buu Saga, Vegeta only wants to beat Goku purely to test himself rather than prove superiority. Vegeta later developed a strong age crisis, such as ignoring a group of teenagers flirting with his daughter until they called him a "geezer" and when Dr. Myuu criticized Vegeta for continuing to voice his pride as a Saiyan prince despite how much he had aged. During Dragon Ball Super, however, Vegeta has been shown to retain his arrogance and competitive mood, but he is more open to teamwork with the Z Fighters and is willing to help others in need. He has grown protective of the planet as he refers to it as his home and doesn't want to bear the burden of losing another home planet as he did with Planet Vegeta. He also develops strong morals, as he rejected Whis’ offer to become the next Universe 7 God of Destruction and refused to rejoin forces with Frieza.

Due to his initial lack of sentiment, Vegeta regarded familial bonds as inferior. Vegeta showed little to no interest in fatherhood when Trunks was born and viewed him as only Bulma's child because Vegeta never wanted to have children. But Vegeta gradually came to understand the gratitude of having a family and home to return to. He even cited being able to teach Trunks everything he knows as a priority to be a father. He will often decline to participate in family activities in favor of training, which he justifies on the grounds of enhancing his strength to protect the world. Vegeta is aware this affects his family, but he nevertheless strongly hints his appreciation for his family, as the Tournament of Power was being arranged, Vegeta initially turned down participating to witness the birth of his daughter. Vegeta also desires for Trunks to follow in his footsteps as a warrior but not so with Bulla, whom he dotes on, and gradually accepts if his children choose different paths as long as they are happy and safe. He is shown to be protective of his family, as it is shown Vegeta is unable to see his wife and children in pain or danger, which later serves as motivation for him to boost his capabilities in battle. Also, despite being nervous upon learning Bulma's second pregnancy, Vegeta was happy to learn he was having a daughter and enjoyed taking care of Bulla. However, he raised Trunks with a combination of respect and discipline, to where Trunks avoids misbehaving in his father's presence. Even more, he is willing to go to extreme methods to protect his family, including humiliation on his part for the sake of their well-being, and he is offended when he learns Goku would prefer training rather than spend time with his children. He is also proud of Future Trunks giving everything he had to protect his world from Zamasu and even protected Future Trunks from one of Fused Zamasu's attacks. His care for Future Trunks was further established in Super Dragon Ball Heroes where seeing Future Trunks' life was in danger by the hand of Cumber, he chose to willingly put on the Potara earring to fuse with Goku, something he was not willing to do before. In Bojack Unbound, he also willingly went to confront Bojack after seeing his son in danger from his men on TV and even made sure to bring Future Trunks' sword along to supply it to him, when earlier he was unwilling to participate in or ever watch the Intergalactic Tournament due to losing the will to fight as a result of Goku's death. On a similar note, after Piccolo accidentally reveals that the boy who defeated Frieza earlier was actually a future version of his then-newborn son, Vegeta privately expresses pride that his son would grow to become that strong, a stark contrast to the period between Frieza's death and the Androids' ambush, where he felt threatened by the boy's ability to become Super Saiyan.

In the anime, Vegeta is shown to have a fear of worms, as when the small roundworms appear behind a larger one when inside Buu, Vegeta bolts behind Goku.[13] On a similar note, he apparently wasn't fond of vulgar elements, which was best evidenced after the events of the Majin Buu Saga where he didn't join in laughter over Chi-Chi chasing Gotenks after Goku forced him out of an outdoor bath and coldly stated it was vulgar (this was changed in the English dub to him breaking the fourth wall by asking what the viewer was looking at).[14] He apparently was also not fond of wearing apparently feminine clothing, as evidenced by his shocked and horrified reaction when he realized Bulma provided him with a pink shirt after he showered upon his return to Earth.

In addition to his wife and children, it is implied that on some level Vegeta cared and looked up to his father, despite his claims to the contrary. His father was one of the greatest influences on young Vegeta, instilling in him his strong Saiyan pride as well as his early elitist views. Vegeta also tried to defend his father from Beerus showing that he indeed cared for him which is also supported by his assertion that he followed Frieza when he was younger cause Frieza had threatened his father. While Vegeta coldly seemed to care little for his father when Frieza mentioned killing him, it is likely he kept his true feelings towards his father to himself as such emotions were considered a sign of weakness among the Saiyans. In addition to his father, Vegeta has a positive relationship with his younger brother which is ironically in contrast to Goku and Raditz's relationship. Though Vegeta is ashamed of his brother's weakness like his father as he gets along well with him despite this though this may be due to Tarble looking up to Vegeta and even letting his brother believe he was responsible for defeating Frieza. It is unknown how they got along when they were younger as Vegeta had mellowed when it came to his family by the time, they in Dragon Ball: The Return of Son Goku and Friends! though he apparently chose not to reveal he had a brother even to his own wife and children until Tarble appeared on Earth. It is also implied that his comrades (with the potential exception of Nappa who may have kept quiet about it out of respect for the royal family and not to upset Vegeta) were unaware of Tarble as Raditz never mentioned Tarble or any other Saiyan survivors indicating that he was unaware that Vegeta had a younger brother. However, it is possible that Vegeta may have secretly wished to protect the gentle Tarble from Frieza in addition to protecting the reputation of the Saiyan royal family.

Vegeta tends to be hotheaded and quick-tempered during battles, especially ones not in his favor. According to Whis, the Saiyan Prince is too tense during fights and thinks too much before acting, putting a limit on his speed. Whis recommended that Vegeta needs to relax once in a while and not be so focused on training constantly since it is too intense for him to concentrate.

During the beginning of the Tournament of Destroyers, Vegeta shows a great interest in the Saiyans from Universe 6, asking Cabba what the name of their homeworld is, and asking Cabba if he could learn more about the Saiyans of Universe 6, which is very uncanny of Vegeta as he rarely questions about the affairs of other people or planets. This shows that he has a deep-seeded passion and even curiosity about his race. Vegeta takes an instant interest in Cabba similar to a teacher-student relationship, going as far as to teach Cabba how to transform into Super Saiyan, expressing sadness when Cabba and Universe 6 are erased by the Zenos, and vowing to resurrect Cabba and his universe with the Super Dragon Balls.

Vegeta has often been shown to have a deep dislike for fighters who use unfair methods for a fight, which shows that he is someone who prefers to fight with dignity. An example of this was during the Tournament of Power, when Universe 2 warrior Prum acted as a sniper and tried to eliminate Vegeta (only managing to cut his cheek), the Saiyan Prince furiously insulted him, calling him a dishonorable coward and a shameless worm. He also shows contempt for those who abandon their own values and code as Top, who in Vegeta's eyes was only a loser who cannot even protect his own pride. He also views Moro with disgust, stating how he takes the power of others and does not give a fair fight and the reason he does this is because his true power is extremely weak.

During the Galactic Patrol Prisoner Saga, Vegeta reflected on his last visit to Planet Namek, expressed guilt over what he had done to the Namekians, and vowed to protect them and New Namek from Moro as a form of atonement.[15][16] Piccolo also notes on this sense of atonement from Vegeta, amazed by how much Vegeta has grown as a person and how he is now fighting for the planet in an attempt to make up for his past and wipe the slate clean by defeating Moro. Vegeta has also come to accept the sins of his past, stating that when he dies, he will surely go to Hell because he is a villain and has come to accept the consequences for his actions, but still fights for the planet in his attempt to make up for those actions, demonstrating his significant change of character. This change of character is also shown after Moro's invasion: while conversing with Beerus on his world, Vegeta shows deep shame in the Saiyans' past of bloodshed and domination, fully accepting their crimes while also admitting Frieza wasn't responsible for their crimes.[17] During the Granolah the Survivor Saga, after acquiring Ultra Ego and his training with Beerus, Vegeta noted that unlike the past, he could not throw away his morality to utilize the form to it's full potential. This shows that Vegeta's morality, despite being more ruthless than Goku's, has developed to the point where he cannot return fully to the brutal and cold warrior he once was.

Relationship with Bulma

"Servant woman, bring me a drying cloth at once!"
— Vegeta ordering Bulma to bring him a towel after a shower in "Frieza's Counterattack"

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Bulma suggests that Vegeta takes a bath

Vegeta and Bulma initially met on planet Namek, but neither actually talked to the other; Bulma was scared of Vegeta, and he did not care, especially when his main concern was to find the Dragon Balls. However, their first interaction with each other was prior to his rematch with Zarbon, to which Vegeta threatened to kill both Bulma and Krillin. The first time any affection is displayed between them is in "Immortality Denied", in which Vegeta, during a conversation with Gohan, refers to Bulma as a "Gorgeous Girl" in the Ocean Group dubs. The first hint of Bulma's attraction to Vegeta is right after Goku's battle with Frieza and Planet Namek's destruction, in which Bulma told Vegeta she thought he was cute and that he should lighten up a bit, much to his bafflement.

Despite their rocky start, Bulma was more than willing to put up with Vegeta, even if he scared her. Upon his resurrection after being killed by Frieza, and then being teleported to Earth, Bulma invites Vegeta to live at Capsule Corporation as he has nowhere to go on the condition that he does not touch her. Vegeta reluctantly accepts her offer, but quickly leaves Earth in search of Goku after he discovers his unwillingness to return to Earth from Porunga. During his absence on Earth, Bulma begins to slowly but surely show signs of affection towards the Saiyan Prince, after having a dream about him; she also shows a deep concern for him after being informed that his ship is about to run out of fuel soon. Her then-boyfriend Yamcha not only begins to get jealous but also shows resentment towards Vegeta, who has no idea about Bulma's feelings towards him. When Vegeta returns to Earth, he becomes irritated at her for her domineering attitude and criticism towards his rude behavior, but he often ends up submitting to her demands, much to everyone's amazement of how much Bulma can keep Vegeta under control.

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Bulma showing affection towards Vegeta after he was injured during his training

At one time, Vegeta is seriously injured after his training capsule explodes while he tries to train under 300 times Earth's gravity. Bulma shows immense concern for Vegeta and tries to convince him to stop training and to rest. Vegeta defiantly attempts to return to his training but collapses, and Bulma then takes him to Capsule Corp to nurse him back to health. Later, Vegeta awakes to find Bulma asleep beside him, and wonders why she's there (having no idea of Bulma's feelings for him). When Bulma sees Vegeta return to training, she firmly tells him to stop because of his injuries, but Vegeta refuses to listen and shouts at her to leave him alone. This leaves Bulma feeling very bitter about Vegeta and his stubbornness for a while afterward.

After approximately a year after Future Trunks' warning about the Androids, Bulma breaks up with Yamcha and has an affair with Vegeta, ultimately leading to the conception of Trunks, though this event is never expanded upon. However, even the birth of their son was not enough to bring the two together, since at that time, Vegeta prioritized his rivalry with Goku before anything else, even his relationship with Bulma. In the Japanese version, Future Trunks states that his birth was the result of a one-night stand, whereas in the Funimation dub, it was said to have been simply a short-lived affair. Arguments were common between the two, with Bulma often calling Vegeta a "jerk" and Vegeta showing little to no care or emotion for either his son or his future wife; this was demonstrated during an incident in which Bulma's plane is destroyed and their lives are at risk. When Future Trunks saves the two and questions Vegeta as to why he did not try to save them, Vegeta responds that he has "more important things to worry about than that foolish woman and her blasted child." Bulma later humiliates Vegeta in front of everyone when she says that every time, he sticks his "Ugly Mug" up to Trunks, it makes Trunks cry, much to Krillin and Gohan's amusement and Vegeta's anger.[18]

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Vegeta with his family

Vegeta's and Bulma exhibited indifference towards each other throughout the Androids and Cell Games Saga, which puzzled everyone, considering the two had a child together. Future Trunks states to Goku that in his timeline, even though Bulma fell in love with Vegeta, they did not stay together very long because their attraction was solely based on passion and loneliness, and with Vegeta's goals and priorities not concerning Bulma, they had no reason to continue the relationship.[19] Also, in the alternate timeline, Future Vegeta was killed by the Androids soon after Trunks was born, so his relationship with Bulma did not have a chance to progress in that timeline.

However, the seven years of peace that came after the conclusion of the Cell Games would suggest that the two settled their differences and began to have a much better relationship than previously, as they were already married by the time the Majin Buu conflict took place. Initially choosing to remain on Earth and marry Bulma because he wanted to be there for Trunks, Vegeta eventually became fond of his family and it became apparent that he had fallen deeply in love with Bulma by the time of the Majin Buu Saga but was ashamed of himself for doing so and for sacrificing his warrior lifestyle for the sake of his family, wanting to be the cold-hearted prince he once was. He attempted to return to his former self by allowing Babidi take control of him and denouncing his ties to Bulma and Trunks, but Goku deduced that Vegeta was bluffing when Vegeta admitted he felt torn between his desire to be evil again to get stronger versus his growing love for his family and the contentment of living on Earth. Nonetheless, Vegeta eventually realizes what is really important in his life, and he feels remorse for betraying his family just to fulfill an empty goal he knows he can't achieve. He ultimately sacrifices himself to save his family and Earth when fighting Majin Buu, although it was in vain. When he learns his family has been killed or absorbed by Majin Buu, Vegeta is overcome with sadness and rage that he lost his wife and son, and is even willing to fuse with Goku, even if permanently, because he wants to avenge his family. After Majin Buu's defeat, Vegeta's accomplishment in saving the Earth was enough for Bulma to forgive him, and from then onward, their relationship became more content and happier, as Vegeta acknowledged he truly wishes to remain on Earth with his family.

By the start of the Kid Buu Saga, Vegeta shows a comical jealous side in his love for Bulma, such as his angry reaction when he finds out that Goku promised Old Kai that he could kiss her (in the original version, Goku promised to show Old Kai some sexy pictures of Bulma), causing Vegeta to throw a fit, yelling to Goku "Let him kiss your woman!", to which Goku's replies "Your wife is prettier than mine!" (In the original version, Vegeta yells at Goku to show the Old Kai pictures of Chi-Chi, to which Goku responds "But Chi-Chi would kill me!"). Vegeta sometimes shows jealousy towards other men who are around Bulma, such as ordering Jaco to not try anything "suspicious" with her. Vegeta was also seen completely shocked and embarrassed when Goku is at his house with Bulma when she is wearing only a towel, and his face turns red when Goku notes that Bulma's breasts are sagging.

"How dare you... THAT'S MY BULMA!!"
— Vegeta to Beerus after the latter slapped Bulma in Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods

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Vegeta's rage after Bulma was hit by Beerus

By his own admission, Vegeta's respect for and attraction to Bulma is known to be partially due to her somewhat overbearing and willful personality, as it has been noted in the past that such qualities were much sought after in mates by Saiyan males (including Goku). Her ability to intimidate her overwhelmingly- strong husband is both a source of irritation as well as attraction to Vegeta, as his often quietly menacing body language and expressions are known to terrify most humans with no effort.

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Vegeta taking back his rude comment towards Bulma

In Dragon Ball Super, Vegeta's relationship with Bulma has grown to be a very loving one. When Beerus slapped her despite Vegeta's pleas to not hurt her, Vegeta flew into a heated rage and attacked Beerus, whom he was initially afraid of; Master Roshi and Goku note that Vegeta's power surpassed the latter's in that moment of anger.[12] He has also grown to fear Bulma's temper and tries to avoid angering her, such as when he mentioned Trunks and Goten wouldn't have left with Monaka if Bulma hadn't ordered the supplies and she accused him of blaming her, and he took back what he said. He has grown to be protective of her and proud of her, often praising her inventions and will do anything she says even if he doesn't want to. When Future Trunks arrived in the past and informed him of the events in his timeline, Vegeta secretly felt sad that Future Bulma was killed and vowed to never forgive Goku Black when he was alone. This showed that regardless of the difference in the timelines that Vegeta cares deeply about his wife, and that no matter the incarnation, Bulma is Bulma to him. He did, however, express silent, extreme annoyance when Bulma told Goten and Trunks that Goku is the best chance they have against Goku Black and Zamusu, not once mentioning him despite the fact that the future they are fighting for is their (which means, also his) son's and starts to yell at her before Gohan and Chi-Chi arrive. When Bulma was pregnant with their daughter Bulla, Vegeta not only chose against training for Zeno's tournament so that he could be by his wife's side during the birth, but he dropped training altogether to take care of her throughout the pregnancy. Vegeta was displeased when Bulma named their daughter without his consultation, as he wanted to give their daughter a Saiyan name out of respect for his heritage, but he quickly accepted the name. Although Vegeta refused to cooperate with Frieza in the Tournament of Power, Vegeta was willing to set aside this resentment because he wanted to save his wife and children from erasure if their universe loses. As he was losing against Jiren, Vegeta thought of Bulma and their children, giving him the desire to protect them. When Vegeta ultimately lost, he felt guilty for failing to protect his family and shed tears as he apologized to Bulma.

References

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