Ruthless, cold, bloodthirsty, cruel. These characteristics were part of the personality of Prince Vegeta when this character was introduced in the story of Dragon Ball (and Dragon Ball Z in the anime). When we first saw him, we would never have imagined that he would become a man whose priority today is to protect his family.
How did this happen? Vegeta is undoubtedly the most developed character in this story by Akira Toriyama. The magic of this transformation is that the prince of the Saiyans remains, in essence, the same; simply his perspective has changed, he has matured and his priorities are different, he lives not only for himself and his cravings for power, but to protect those he loves. This evolution has taken many years, from his first appearance in the anime in 1989 to the present day, as this character continues to develop through the manga of Dragon Ball Super.
Here we will see his evolution during the different Dragon Ball Z sagas, the film Battle of Gods and Dragon Ball Super.
Saiyan Saga
In this saga, the Saiyans were introduced as an alien race of warriors who worked in the service of Emperor Frieza conquering planets to sell them. Thanks to Raditz, the first one to appear, we learned that Goku was his younger brother, so he was really a Saiyan and for this reason as a child he had a tail that allowed him to become a giant monkey (Oozaru) if he looked at the full moon. We also discovered Goku's real name: Kakarrot.
The planet of the Saiyans, called Vegeta like its king, was destroyed by Frieza, who despised this warrior race and was always afraid of the legend of the Super Saiyan, who could destroy him. The only survivors were Raditz, Nappa, Prince Vegeta, his younger brother Tarble, Broly and his father Paragus and, of course, Kakarrot, because these were on other planets at the time of the destruction of the native planet of the Saiyans.
However, Frieza lied to Raditz, Nappa and Vegeta, and made them believe that a "meteorite" would have destroyed their planet. However, they knew of the emperor's hatred for their race and wished to have enough strength to destroy him, meanwhile they were forced to work for him.
In this way, we know Prince Vegeta IV, who could never qualify for the title of king due to the destruction of his planet. He is the smallest in stature of the three Saiyans, but the most feared and powerful. This is evidenced in the obedience and fear shown by Raditz and Nappa towards their prince. He is a proud man who enjoys killing; we observe the Saiyans destroying worlds solely for pleasure or disinterest.
When Raditz is assassinated by Piccolo and Goku, Vegeta and Nappa go to Earth with the intention of invading it and obtaining the Dragon Balls, which can fulfill any desire.
A year later, they arrive and destroy an entire city and confront Goku's friends, killing everyone but Krillin and Gohan. When Goku revives and comes to save them, he easily defeats Nappa. It is at this point that we learn that Vegeta feels no loyalty or attachment to anyone, as he kills Nappa in cold blood by considering him a disgrace to his race, being defeated by a lower-class warrior.
Vegeta and Goku face off in a great battle that is very even, and with the use of the Kaio-ken technique Goku manages to gain the advantage over Vegeta, who cannot accept the fact that he is being defeated by a lower-class Saiyan, who by his low power was not destined for any greatness. While he, who was born with a high fighting power, was destined to be the most powerful of all.
The prince of all Saiyans creates a false satellite and transforms himself into Oozaru, so he almost kills Goku, until Yajirobe cuts off his tail and he returns to his human form. Vegeta is finally defeated because Gohan sees the same satellite and also transforms into Oozaru. When Krillin is about to kill Vegeta with Yajirobe's sword, Goku stops him, asking Krillin to let the prince live.
Badly wounded, Vegeta escapes in his ship into outer space.
Frieza Saga
In this saga, Vegeta has a very clear objective: to defeat Goku, who is now his eternal rival. He wants to overcome his powers, so he goes to the planet Namek to look for the Dragon Balls there, to ask for the desire to be immortal.
As Emperor Frieza, Goku and his friends have knowledge of these Dragon Balls, they are heading for the same planet. Frieza to be immortal, and Goku and his friends to revive all those who were killed by the Saiyans.
During this saga, the Saiyan prince learns that one of the qualities of his race is to increase their fighting power once they have agonized and then recovered. He also learned from the earthlings the ability to feel the "ki" of others, so he no longer needs the tracker he used in the previous saga, on which Frieza and all his henchmen depend.
We observe that Vegeta has the same thirst for blood, since when he arrives in Namek in search of the Dragon Balls, he kills many innocent people without mercy.
Various events oblige him to cooperate with Krillin and Gohan in order to confront Frieza's soldiers, because he is the "greater evil." Vegeta and the others want to prevent Frieza from getting the Dragon Balls at all costs, because that would mean their downfall. They confront the soldiers of the Ginyu Force, Vegeta kills Guldo, but the rest surpasses him in strength. At that moment Goku, who after recovering traveled in a Capsule Corp ship training with increased gravity, arrives at Namek and easily defeats Recoome.
This leaves Vegeta shocked, and for the first time he thinks that Goku could be the Super Saiyan spoken of in legends. Much of this saga revolves around this idea and the prince tries to convince himself that he can become that legendary warrior. However, in the battle against Frieza, Vegeta is killed by the emperor when he uses his final transformation.
Between tears of helplessness, anger and humiliation, before dying Vegeta asks Goku to honor his Saiyan blood and defeat Frieza in revenge, who was the cause of the destruction of their planet. This awakens empathy on Goku's part and he buries the Saiyan prince, and he decides to keep his word.
After an arduous battle between Frieza and Goku, where Goku finally becomes Super Saiyan when the emperor kills Krillin, the Saiyan wins the victory and decides, once again, to give his enemy a chance and leave him alive. All the people killed by Frieza, including Vegeta, are revived with the Dragon Balls of Namek and transferred to Earth.
It is here that the first interaction between Vegeta and Bulma takes place; she offers her house as a refuge for the inhabitants of Namek and also offers shelter to the prince, warning him to "Don't fall in love with her, even if he finds her attractive." Having no alternative, Vegeta ends up staying at Bulma's house, which would become his new home.
Cell Saga
At the beginning of this saga, a time traveler kills Frieza, who had come to Earth to take revenge from Goku and destroy his planet. This mysterious warrior can transform into Super Saiyan, which upsets Vegeta enormously as there were now two people who exceeded his powers. Later we would discover that this young man is Trunks, the future son of Vegeta and Bulma, who had traveled to the past to warn Goku that he would die of a disease, and all would be defeated by androids built by Dr. Gero.
In the world of Trunks one cannot revive, as Piccolo is dead and there are no Dragon Balls. The only survivors were Gohan, who trained Trunks until he was killed by the androids, himself and Bulma, who built the time machine. Trunks asks Goku to keep the secret of his origin, as it could alter the facts and prevent him from being born. Goku informs everyone about the android situation and fulfills his promise to the young man.
They all train hard for 3 years. In this time Vegeta managed to become Super Saiyan, Bulma becomes pregnant and gives birth to Trunks. How the relationship between the two arose, beyond the scenes provided by the anime, is something that Toriyama leaves to the imagination because he confesses that "he is not good at writing romantic situations." However, in his own words, this is what the author has to say about the relationship between Vegeta and Bulma:
Vegeta, whose pride had been deeply wounded, sought help from Bulma, and little by little, his ruthless personality changed. Nowadays, you certainly might be able to say that.
Once the 3 years have passed, Trunks travels back to the past and he realizes that his father is a selfish man. Vegeta, feeling again as the most powerful, shows no interest beyond demonstrating his strength. Trunks is deeply disappointed to find that Vegeta doesn't care what happens to Bulma and his son, in the words of the Saiyan prince himself.
As this saga progresses, Trunks and Vegeta must spend more time together, even forcibly (when they must train in The Hyperbolic Time Chamber, for example) and despite the way in which he treats him and his despicable attitude, Trunks shows affection and concern for his father, for he was never able to meet him in his time. He knew that his mother had seen kindness in him, but he had not been able to see it until then.
As for Vegeta, his arrogance and pride led him to make many mistakes, including allowing Cell to reach his perfect form by absorbing androids 17 and 18, and then being unable to face him.
At the end of the battle with Cell, Vegeta understands that his arrogance took the best of him and almost caused the destruction of the Earth. When Cell kills Trunks, he explodes with rage, finally showing love for his son. The Saiyan prince apologizes to Gohan, as he ends up injured in the arm to protect Vegeta. He seeks to help him in his victory and, finally, Gohan succeeds in defeating Cell.
Majin Boo Saga
This is the saga in which Vegeta shows more development as a character, as 7 years have passed since the Cell events, and all this time he has lived with Bulma and Trunks, being present in their life. He would not be considered a stellar father, but he is already accustomed to his peaceful life on Earth. However, something within him still longs to surpass Goku and become the ruthless prince of the old days.
This is what causes Vegeta to have a kind of "regression" in his evolution, letting himself be manipulated by Babidi and releasing again the evil that exists within him. He kills innocent people and provokes Goku to fight him again and show him that he can surpass him.
After his battle with Goku, which remains indefinite, Vegeta fights Majin Boo and understands that the only way to destroy him is to disintegrate him to the point that he can no longer regenerate, so he decides to sacrifice himself to prevent this planet that has become his home from being destroyed.
The prince of all Saiyans finally leaves his pride aside and hugs his son Trunks. For the first time, Vegeta puts the people he loves before his own life, and gives this last act of love to his son before knocking him and Goten unconscious, and asking Piccolo to take them away. Vegeta bids farewell to Bulma, Trunks and Goku before expelling all his energy in a big explosion and fading into it.
Unfortunately, Vegeta's sacrifice would be in vain and Majin Boo would continue to live. Later, Enma Daio-sama would allow Vegeta to return to the world of the living with his body to help Goku destroy Boo, because of the danger he poses not only to Earth but to the entire universe. Goku convinces Vegeta to work as a team and fuse using the Pothala earrings, so Vegeta decides to put his pride aside again, creating Vegetto. By being devoured, they manage to separate Boo from all the people he had devoured, so he adopts his original form: Kid Boo.
Kid Boo destroys the Earth in a single attack, and Goku uses the teleportation with the help of Kaio-shin, saving Vegeta, Mr. Satan and Dende.
Once on The Sacred World of the Kai, which is where the battle against Boo ends, Vegeta realizes his limitations and understands that he cannot overcome him, the only one who can is Goku. This is where the prince reflects on how he has changed since he met Goku, and now, like him, he has a new duty: to protect his family. He understands that Goku's compassion and feelings for his loved ones give him strength beyond comprehension, and finally admits that "Kakarrot is the number 1," leaving everything in the hands of his friend.
To help Goku while he performs the Genki-dama technique, which is the only one that can destroy their enemy, Vegeta implores the people on planet Earth (after they wished with the Dragon Balls to revive the planet and all its inhabitants) to raise their hands and give their energy. He even cries as he tries to convince them. Finally it is Mr. Satan who helps Vegeta so that people trust them and give their energy. Goku gets enough power and eliminates Boo with the Genki-dama, not without wishing that he is reborn into a kind person.
Battle of Gods and Dragon Ball Super
After the battle against Boo, Vegeta's personality is much more defined, as the craving for power and the need to surpass Goku were secondary. He continues to be the proud prince we know, seeking to be stronger, but on several occasions he proves that his family has become his priority, and he is willing to put anything aside for them.
In Battle of Gods a new character is introduced into the Dragon Ball universe. This is the god of destruction Beerus and his companion (who would later be revealed to be an angel), Whis. He represents a major threat than anyone they have faced before because of his god status. Beerus easily defeats Goku in his Super Saiyan 3 form, and when he comes to Earth in search of the "Super Saiyan God," Vegeta acts cautiously and exposing himself to ridicule so that the god does not unleash his anger and destroy the planet, so he seeks to distract him and keep him in a good mood. Once again, Vegeta demonstrates that he is able to set aside his pride for a greater cause.
When things get out of control and everyone fights Beerus uselessly, Vegeta almost accepts his fate of dying at the hands of the god, until Bulma interrupts and slaps Beerus for ruining her birthday party. Beerus strikes back, and it's at this moment when Vegeta shouts "How dare you? That's my Bulma!" and attacks the god in the midst of his fury. Those who observed him assured that at that moment the prince had surpassed Goku, because he managed to give Beerus some contention, something that Goku had not been able to achieve in his most powerful transformation.
After Goku came to save the day by transforming himself into the Super Saiyan God with the help of the other Saiyans, and had his battle with Beerus, he became part of the group and visits Bulma's house along with Whis recurrently, especially for food.
In Dragon Ball Super, Vegeta and Bulma show up as a team. The relationship is projected much more mature and Vegeta takes care of her at all times; for example, when he warns Jaco not to try anything weird with his wife.
Maybe when we really appreciate the character's tremendous evolution, it's when Vegeta refuses to train with Goku to go to the Tournament of Power because Bulma is pregnant and won't leave her alone. This has a great meaning, because we all know that Vegeta did not have a paternal mentality when Trunks was born, so he was not present and did not give importance to his wife and son; now that things have changed, he is aware of the role he must play and that he must accompany Bulma, be present for Trunks and his new baby, Bra.
He meets Cabba, a Saiyan from universe 6 who is kind and gentle, and teaches him to exploit his potential and be proud to be part of the Saiyan race. Cabba becomes his pupil and he is now one of Vegeta's friends.
During the Tournament of Power, in his battle against Toppo, he assures that the only way to achieve true justice is through power, leaving aside "unnecessary" things like affections. At that moment Vegeta realizes that his strength lies in who he is and the people he loves, so they are not disposable. This is what gives him his strength. In addition, at this moment he faces his past "self," as Toppo's words are very similar to what Vegeta said to Goku in the Boo saga, when he wanted to become the bloodthirsty prince of before and leave everything that made him "soft" aside.
And this, perhaps, is the definitive proof of the evolution of the prince of all Saiyans: he knows that his power increases considerably when it comes to protecting his loved ones, because they are the engine that pushes him forward, beyond his own ambition.
