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“ | Vegeta, you come from a strong bloodline and you possess the potential power to join the super elite of all Saiyans. Never forget where you're from and train very hard, my son, because if you've proven yourself worthy, perhaps someday you will become a Super Saiyan. | „ |
~ King Vegeta |
King Vegeta III is one of the two overarching antagonists (alongside King Cold) of the Dragon Ball franchise.
He was the father of Vegeta IV and the tyrannical king of the Saiyan race until he was killed by Frieza. Unlike his son, King Vegeta never redeemed himself and died unrepentant. Despite being dead long before the series' beginning, King Vegeta's actions and villainous legacy led to future antagonists like Dr. Raichi, both versions of Paragus as well as both versions of Broly, and Baby menacing the Z-Fighters.
He was voiced by Banjō Ginga in Japanese and Christopher R. Sabat in English.
Biography[]
King Vegeta was an unusually intelligent Saiyan unlike the rest of his primitive race. When the Saiyans emigrated to Planet Plant and came to coexist with the native Tuffles, a race of people with superior technology, he initially acted cordial with them, while also having a strong appreciation for what they had created.
However, Vegeta saw a chance to gain power. In age 720, Vegeta used his charisma to convince the Saiyans to take the planet from the Tuffles as a scheme to obtain power and technology for themselves. King Vegeta led a genocidal campaign against the Tuffles over ten long years in which women and children were not spared. Though the Tuffles managed to fight back a little, they were no match for the ruthlessness of the Saiyans, and ultimately, were all wiped out without mercy.
After stealing the Tuffle's technology, the Saiyans renamed the planet after him in his honor and made him the sovereign ruler, giving him the title King Vegeta. Eventually came into contact with King Cold and the Planet Trade Organization. King Vegeta would send Saiyans to conquer or destroy planets for Cold to sell to the highest bidder.
In Age 732, King Vegeta's son, Prince Vegeta IV, was born, much to his pride. However, that same year, King Cold passed on his empire to his youngest son Frieza, who was far crueler and more sadistic, much to King Vegeta's fear and anger. Later as King Vegeta is visiting his infant son, he finds another baby named Broly, the son of a Saiyan colonel named Paragus, whose power eclipsed his son's. Believing he might be the Legendary Super Saiyan and he could overthrow him one day, he has Broly banished to the inhospitable world of Vampa, where Paragus also gets stranded trying to rescue his son.
In the Dragon Ball Z movies, these events are depicted slightly different. In age 737, King Vegeta found out that Broly, the son of one of his subjects, Paragus, was the Legendary Super Saiyan born with an incredibly high power level. Fearing Broly would take power himself, King Vegeta ordered the baby's execution, mercilessly ignoring Paragus's pleas. He then shot Paragus with an Execution Beam and then had the baby stabbed by his soldiers, before throwing them both into a pit to die. Unbeknownst to King Vegeta, the two would survive this incident.
Later, Frieza demanded that King Vegeta give him his son Prince Vegeta to recruit in his army. The king had no choice to comply fearing Frieza's power, but he planned to overthrow him when the time is right. Later, King Vegeta discovered that Frieza was planning to destroy Planet Vegeta, and thus formulated his own plans to rule the Planet Trade Organization himself and rescue his son from the emperor's clutches.
King Vegeta formed a small army of Saiyans and tried to kill Frieza himself. After defeating a few of Frieza's soldiers, King Vegeta found himself face-to-face with Frieza, planning to kill him and become the master of the entire galaxy. King Vegeta was too weak however, and Frieza killed him with a single punch before wiping out his men. Due to being unrepentantly evil, King Vegeta was sent to Hell by King Yemma, along with most of the Saiyans who died when Planet Vegeta was destroyed by Frieza's Supernova.
Legacy[]
King Vegeta's cruel actions would end up having disastrous effects on the entire galaxy that would be felt long after his demise.
His cold-blooded genocide of the Tuffle race not only helped further steer the Saiyan race onto the path of evil, but caused the surviving Tuffles near the tail-end of King Vegeta's genocidal war to create dangerous experiments such as the bio-engineered killing machine Baby and the sentient supercomputer Hatchiyack in a desperate attempt to survive. Long after King Vegeta's demise, these surviving experiments would attempt revenge on the surviving Saiyans due to King Vegeta's past atrocities.
His alliance with Frieza led to the Saiyans being used as weapons to depopulate countless worlds, giving the Planet Trade Organization more power.
King Vegeta's betrayal of Paragus led to him seeking revenge against King Vegeta's son, Prince Vegeta. King Vegeta's stabbing of the infant Broly resulted in the Legendary Super Saiyan growing into a violent and murderous sociopath.
His death would later be avenged (indirectly) by his grandson, Trunks after he killed Frieza.
Appearance[]
King Vegeta looks a lot like his eldest son, Vegeta, but he has a beard, brown hair, and is taller. King Vegeta, as a member of Frieza's army, wears the standard Battle Armor with minor adaptations, such as the crimson Vegeta Royal Family Crest on the left side of his armor. He also wears a blue and red cloak identical to the one worn by Prince Vegeta as a youngster. King Vegeta is dressed in a black undersuit and dark blue boots.
King Vegeta debuts in Dragon Ball Super: Broly with a modest change in look and a fresh design. His face now has defined cheekbones, his beard is cut at the top, and he has lengthy sideburns on both sides of his face. His hair color appears to be a deeper shade of brown as well, although some artworks represent his hair color as black with a black to gray tone. His outfit consists of black armor with gold shoulder pads and a crimson cape. Unlike the original design of King Vegeta, this version lacks the Saiyan Royal Family emblem on the left breast plate of his armor. In addition to the red cape and armor he wears, he also sports a dark blue tight suit, a gold necklace with a few blue gems, black wrist guards, white Frieza Force boots, and a white skirt with a red stripe at the bottom that he wraps around his tail.
Personality[]
King Vegeta is a cruel and ruthless king. In fact, he killed one of his own soldiers for not being able to conquer a planet and also ordered Paragus to kill his infant son Broly, giving Paragus a feeling of resentment towards Vegeta and his entire family. King Vegeta also appears in Goku's illusion with Vegeta and Bardock. In Vegeta's flashback, it turns out that once, King Vegeta had served Beerus, the God Of Destruction.
Trivia[]
- King Vegeta himself is the instigator and architect of the Tuffle genocide.
- King Vegeta appears as a playable character in Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3.
External Links[]
- King Vegeta on the Dragon Ball Wiki