Written by. Lydia Aaron Edited by. Sarah Carter

Vegeta is the prince of all Saiyans,[1] and give him the chance, he will prove his mighty power and prowess. He is one of the more well-known Reformed Heroes featured in the Japanese manga and television series known as Dragon Ball series[2].

Vegeta’s pride as a “Saiyan Warrior” is portrayed as one of his most pronounced characteristics and is ironically the primary reason he ends up becoming a Reformed Hero. His pronounced “Saiyan Warrior” pride also contributes to his transformation into a villain later on in the series.

Vegeta first appears in the Dragon Ball series as one of the evil Saiyans that comes to Earth in search of the mystical, grant-wishing dragon balls. Vegeta proves how evil he can be when he kills his partner, Nappa, for no real reason other than to show how weak he is compared to the martial artist Son Goku, the main protagonist of the Dragon Ball series. After being severely injured by the teamwork of Goku, Krillin, and Gohan (Goku’s best friend and son respectively), he leaves Earth to recuperate.

Vegeta continues to play the role of a villain well into the next storyline up until he makes a truce with the other Z Warriors in order to defeat the forces of Frieza, a notorious alien who is the leader of an army of aliens that Vegeta was once a part of. However, the primary reason why he wants to stop Frieza is far from heroic. At first, Vegeta goes against Frieza because he distrusts him and does not want him to be able to use the dragon balls to his advantage. When he finds out Frieza was behind the destruction of his home planet as well as the death of his father, Vegeta’s hatred against Frieza culminates into a personal vendetta against him. While his reasons for opposing Frieza are not ideally heroic, this truce with the Z Warriors brings about Vegeta’s transformation into a Reformed Hero.

Vegeta’s transformation into a Reformed Hero is also attributed to the relationships he forms with the protagonists as well as the fact that he eventually loses any motivation he once had to destroy the Earth. With Goku absent, Vegeta’s goal of defeating him is put on hold for the time being. During the battle with Frieza, Vegeta is killed, and during his dying moments, he asks Goku to avenge the Saiyan race and defeat Frieza. Considering Vegeta’s hubris,[3] this is a very humbling moment for him and is the first true sign of Vegeta’s radical transformation. While living on Earth, Vegeta establishes a relationship with the genius inventor, Bulma. His relationship with Bulma  (as well as the birth of their son, Trunks), eventually grows to become an indispensable part of his life and one of the main reasons he continues to pursue heroic deeds. It should be noted, however, that the strong bonds he develops with Bulma and Trunks take years to fully develop and were not considered strong motivating factors during his transitory period into a Reformed Hero.

Vegeta’s record as a hero easily casts him as being an anti-hero with his contradicting goals that sometimes portray him as practically betraying or abandoning the other heroes. Vegeta was not fully trusted by several of the Z Warriors[4] when he first started helping them and his loyalty was questioned throughout most of the Dragon Ball series. However, the main problem between the Z Warriors and Vegeta has more to do with Vegeta’s very arrogant and brutally honest attitude. For example, in one particular scene, Vegeta permits the evil android, Cell, to absorb another android (Android 18) in order to reach his strongest form, Perfect Cell. Trunks, Vegeta’s son,[5] actually ends up fighting Vegeta in order to stop Cell from absorbing the android. The reason Vegeta was willing to allow Cell to become stronger was solely so he could prove to Cell that he could defeat him even when Cell was at his strongest. This decision ended up putting the entire world at risk for ultimate destruction. The defining moment where Vegeta truly distinguishes himself as a part of the Z Warriors occurs during the final fight with Cell. Vegeta actually apologizes to Gohan for his arrogant attempt in trying to defeat Cell—an attempt which resulted in Gohan shielding Vegeta from what would have been a fatal blow. Vegeta even helps Gohan by distracting Cell, allowing Gohan a chance to finally destroy Cell. His admittance of his mistake as well as helping Gohan showed that Vegeta had made major improvements toward humbling himself and his willingness to work with the other Z Warriors.

Vegeta’s internal battle of right and wrong becomes a prominent plot device in the Majin Buu saga of the series. When Vegeta finally integrates into Earth life, he is very different from the evil villain who desired to destroy the Earth and obtain immortality. Even while his arrogance and pride subsided, they still remained and would heavily influence Vegeta’s decision to betray the others. The evil sorcerer Babidi tries to take over Vegeta’s mind and forces him to fight his friends in order to gain enough energy to revive Babidi’s strongest minion, Majin Buu. It turns out that Vegeta actually allowed Babidi to take over his mind simply so he could gain the strength needed to finally defeat Goku. When he confronts Goku, he explains that the reason he couldn’t become stronger than Goku was because he had thrown away his Saiyan pride for a family, therefore becoming a weaker version of himself. After knocking Goku out, Vegeta decides to stop Majin Buu. During the battle against Majin Buu, Vegeta gives up his life in an attempt to take Majin Buu with him. This sacrifice makes Vegeta a Savior-Martyr. Part of the reason he sacrifices his life is to atone for all of the evil he has committed as well as for all of the mistakes he has made (in particular, allowing Cell to reach his strongest form, leading to the near destruction of Earth and the death of Goku). Vegeta’s sacrifice represents the moment when he has finally resolved the internal battle within himself (ultimately a battle of pride). With this resolved, Vegeta becomes an exceptional hero and is given credit for saving the world and destroying Kid Buu.[6]

Vegeta’s story is one of battling against hubris and arrogance; this battle sometimes proves to be a much greater challenge than fighting an actual enemy. Vegeta is also a modern example of how self-destructive hubris can consistently contribute to destruction and loss. Realizing this, Vegeta is then able to humble himself and acknowledge that Goku is the better man. By finally letting go of his pride and arrogance, Vegeta can live a life of peace where he can fully dedicate himself to protecting his family and friends. Considering how evil he was when he was first introduced in the Dragon Ball series, Vegeta can also be considered a good example of how it is possible for anyone, no matter how evil, to reform and become a more righteous individual.