Zarbon

"Ever hear the old saying beauty is only skin deep? Well, right now, all you can see the beauty."

- Zarbon

Zarbon (ザーボン) is Frieza's right-hand man and highest ranking elite commander in Dragonball Z, and Dragonball Z Kai series. In contrast to Dodoria, he is quite handsome, with blue skin, long green hair, and an Australian accent (in the redub, this is changed to a voice that greatly resembles that of King Cold or Caroni). He can transform into a stronger, yet extremely hideous form.

Past
Zarbon was a member of Frieza's elite warriors. He along with Dodoria witnessed Frieza destroying Planet Vegeta with delight.

Searching for the Dragon Balls
Zarbon and Dodoria accompanied Frieza to Planet Namek to find the seven Dragonballs. Zarbon's scouter was broken from Vegeta's power level as he battled Cui. At the fifth Namekian village they attacked, Zarbon killed two of the three oldest Nameks there, as well as one of Frieza's henchmen; when one of the stronger Nameks knocked the soldier toward Zarbon, he kicked him into the lake.

After Dodoria was separated from them by Krillin and Son Gohan, and killed by Vegeta, and Frieza returned to his spaceship, Zarbon set out in search of Namek villages and Dragonballs, with a few henchmen like Appule also searching for villages.

Confronting Vegeta
Zarbon soon encountered Vegeta, and fought him. Zarbon was initially at a disadvantage, but transformed into his monstrous form and defeated Vegeta, knocking him into the water. Resuming his original form, Zarbon returned to Frieza, who was furious that Zarbon did not make sure Vegeta was dead. Upon finding out from another of his henchmen that Vegeta attacked a Namek village and hid a Dragon Ball, Frieza sent Zarbon to bring Vegeta to him and make him say where the Dragonball was.

Zarbon brought Vegeta back and put him in the rejuvenation tank. However, while Zarbon was out of the room, Vegeta, after finishing his recovery, broke free, killing Appule and stealing Frieza's Dragon Balls. Enraged, Frieza gave Zarbon one hour to find Vegeta and the Dragonballs.

Rematch with Vegeta
Zarbon soon found Vegeta, and Krillin with Guru's Dragonball, and followed them to Bulma's cave where he fought Vegeta again. Though he transformed again, Zarbon was at a disadvantage to Vegeta this time. When Zarbon demanded to know why this was, the Saiyan prince revealed a Saiyan's ability to dramatically increase their power after they are badly hurt. Vegeta brutally slammed his fist clean through Zarbon's stomach. Zarbon tried to convince Vegeta to spare his life, but Vegeta ruthlessly killed him with an energy wave through the chest, sending him flying into the Namekian sea to a watery grave.

Powers and Abilities
Like nearly every villain in the Dragon Ball Series, Zarbon can fly, generate multiple Ki Blast attacks and possesses super human abilities such as speed and strength. He also has an alternate form, were he has an ugly, reptilian form. In this form, Zarbon's Power Level increases which also increases his speed and strength.

His base form has a power of 23,000 but when he transforms into Monster form it multiplies by 1.3 to become 30,000.

Trivia

 * In an issue of Beckett Anime, a Beckett magazine publication, Zarbon was voted as one of the top five greatest henchmen of all anime, and was the only character from Dragon Ball Z on the list.
 * Zarbon is confirmed to be a prince among Frieza's men due to two separate indications. The first comes from the Frieza saga, when it is mentioned that when Frieza wiped out an entire species or planet, he kept the strongest warrior from each planet alive. The other instance is noted in the battle mode in the video game Tenkaichi Tag Team, where Zarbon and Vegeta are both entitled as "Prince of Another Planet" on a stage select title.
 * His voice in the games greatly differs from his voice in the English dubs of the anime. The original FUNimation dub, first seen in Frieza's flashback to King Vegeta's rebellion against him, has Zarbon's voice sound similar to the Ocean dub. In later versions of the FUNimation dub, his voice was changed so it resembled King Cold's or Caroni's (similar to how later versions made Vegeta's voice deeper than it did in the original FUNimation).
 * In the Ocean dub, when Zarbon's scouter breaks, Dodoria says "Zarbon, what was that?". But, in the flashback Dodoria has while he encounters Vegeta, he says "What was that, Zarbon?".
 * Zarbon is the first villain in the entire series who is shown to be able to transform at will. Vegeta needed to use a Power Ball to transform and was an antagonist, but never remained a villain.
 * In the manga, Zarbon informs Vegeta about Frieza's ability to transform. This was removed from the anime, but Vegeta still tells to Frieza that it is Zarbon who told him about his ability to transform. This presumably happened offscreen, possibly at a point during their battle on Namek.
 * Due to the fact that Vegeta still survived and escaped with his last breath from his battle against Goku, Krillin, and Gohan, Zarbon is the first character to actually defeat Vegeta in a battle. Krillin had proceeded to kill Vegeta, but Goku told Krillin not to, thus ending the battle in a draw. However, after Zarbon had transformed, he easily dominated Vegeta, toying with him and coming out completely victorious. As Vegeta's battered and unconscious body was later recovered by Zarbon, this proves that Zarbon was the first character to defeat Vegeta in a battle.
 * When Zarbon arrived for his second confrontation with Vegeta, Bulma fell in love with him at first sight (though he did not seem to notice) and thought he was a handsome hero that was there to rescue her. Ironically, she later marries Vegeta, who killed Zarbon.
 * A mistake regarding Zarbon's armor was made during the scene where Vegeta kills him. At the beginning of this scene, Zarbon's armor is already battle-damaged and his cape is gone. While they are fighting, however, his armor and cape are completely intact, as the animators used a clip from a previous Vegeta vs. Zarbon scene. This is fixed in DBZ Kai.
 * Zarbon and Dodoria are the first and final villains to appear onscreen in the history of all Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z and Dragon Ball GT. When looking at the timeline chronologically, the first movie to take place is the Bardock - The father of Goku TV Special, where Zarbon and Dodoria appear first (not counting Vegeta, who switches sides). In the final episode of Dragon Ball GT (episode 64), Zarbon and Dodoria are the final villains to appear onscreen when Goku remembers all the villains who escaped from Hell.
 * According to Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3, Chi-Chi has mixed feelings about Zarbon's appearance. If you listen to her commentary about Zarbon in his base form, she will say "It's a face that superficial Bulma would like" (which was true since Bulma did find Zarbon highly attractive), but if you listen to her commentary on Monster Zarbon, she will say "Eek! For that good-looking face to become so dreadful!".
 * The Potara earrings greatly resemble Zarbon's earrings and the charm on his headpiece.
 * Zarbon has a close resemblance to Orgodemir, a blue-skinned villain worried about beauty and also has a hideous, more powerful form. Both villains were drawn by Akira Toriyama.