If there’s one character in Dragon Ball Z known for his temper and arrogance, it’s Vegeta. The prince of all Saiyans and one of the few survivors of his race, Vegeta is an utterly proud warrior who trains to be the absolute strongest man alive. This haughtiness led to one of his most dangerous transformations in DBZ‘s final story arc, the Buu Saga.

Known as Majin Vegeta, this form saw the Saiyan Prince embrace all of his inner evil. At the same time, Vegeta wasn’t truly in control of himself, allowing a vile wizard to somewhat do his thinking for him. Though this went against his usual nature, becoming Majin Vegeta was all in an attempt to gain power and surpass his rival Goku once and for all.

Only One Dragon Ball Character Truly Deserves to Beat Black Frieza2:57

10 Things You Didn’t Know About Dragon Ball GT

Dragon Ball GT’s polarizing reception may never fully disappear, but the series is full of fascinating trivia & details that have likely eluded fans.Vegeta’s Jealousy of Goku Created an Intense Rivalry

Vegeta Could Never Get Over Goku Nearly Killing Him in the Saiyan Saga

15 Things You Didn’t Know About How Vegeta And Bulma Fell In Love In Dragon Ball Z

Bulma and Vegeta have a pretty unusual relationship, one that almost makes it hard to understand how they wound up together in the first place.

Ever since he met “Kakarot” (Goku’s Saiyan name), Vegeta instantly disliked Goku and came to see him as his rival. After all, Kakarot was only a low-class Saiyan, yet his power level was over 9,000 according to Vegeta’s scoute. This disdain for Goku only increased during the “Frieza Saga,” wherein Goku, Vegeta and the other Z-Fighters fought against Frieza and his army. The galactic tyrant had once enslaved the Saiyans, using them as his personal troop of enforcers before killing almost all of them. The battle against Frieza was a deeply personal one for Vegeta, as Goku wasn’t even aware for most of his life that he was one of the Saiyans.

Despite this, it was Goku who became the legendary Super Saiyan when he fought Frieza, with Vegeta left shocked at the revelation. It took a lot of extra training for Vegeta to achieve this form, in spite of his royal lineage. His arrogance only grew throughout the series, like when he allowed Cell to become Perfect Cell simply to have a challenge. As a result, the villain enacted his “Cell Games,” and in the end, it was Goku’s son Gohan who defeated Cell. This wasn’t the last time that Vegeta’s pompous nature saw a major foe appear, however.

Why Vegeta Became Majin Vegeta

With Only One Last Chance to Fight Goku, Vegeta Came into His Deepest Insecurities

Why Vegeta Is A Better Main Character Than Goku In Dragon Ball Super

Goku is the main character of Dragon Ball and has been for forty years, but is that the best move in Super?

Seven years after Goku’s death during the Cell Games, Vegeta hoped to challenge his rival once more during the one day that he was back on Earth. Unfortunately, those plans were interrupted by the wizard Babidi, who planned to unleash the evil creature known as Majin Buu. During the ensuing battle against Babidi’s forces, Vegeta realized that the wizard’s fighters were otherwise weak, but they had been greatly enhanced by Babidi’s dark magic. Seeing Babidi and even the threat of Majin Buu as mere distractions against his rivalry against Goku, he allowed himself to bear the “Majin” mark to gain newfound power – though he believed he had the fortitude to withstand Babidi’s control.

Vegeta’s mindset was that only someone whose heart was purely good or purely evil could ever match the level that Goku had attained in the Other World. Since first coming to Earth, Vegeta had certainly calmed down and changed, namely by settling down with Bulma and having a son named Trunks. He saw this affection for his wife and child as weaknesses that held him back from his true potential, with Babidi’s magic bringing out his dark side. This was all in an attempt to become stronger than his rival, Goku, with Babidi bringing out both his inner evil and untapped potential. Unfortunately, his bid to get Goku’s attention was reflected in this newfound lack of morality.

Majin Vegeta killed several innocents, hoping that Goku would fight him. The two came to blows, with the ensuing violence actually being the catalyst that awakened Majin Buu. Even then, Majin Vegeta barely registered the new evil presence in the area, being solely consumed by his fight with Goku. It’s somewhat questionable as to how much Babidi actually controlled Vegeta in this state, if at all. He willingly chose to be “controlled” in order to become more powerful, yet he retained his ambitions to defeat his rival. To this end, he outright tricked Goku in order to knock him out and take Buu on himself. Given that Buu was supposed to be an “underling” of Babidi as well, this seeming betrayal showcases how in control of himself Vegeta still was. It wasn’t that Babidi corrupted him, so much as he simply unleashed his darkest, innermost desires and feelings. Thankfully, this return to evil was short-lived, with Vegeta having his ultimate redemption afterward.

How Majin Vegeta Became a Good Guy Again

Fighting Goku Made Vegeta Realize He Could Never Go Back to Being the Evil Saiyan He Once Was

Why Did Goku Give Cell a Senzu Bean in Dragon Ball Z?

Goku’s decision to give Cell a Senzu Bean in Dragon Ball Z causes much confusion, but this gambit actually makes a lot of sense.

Despite his increased power level, Majin Vegeta wasn’t enough to defeat Majin Buu on his own or even with help from Piccolo, Goku’s second son Goten, or Vegeta’s own son,Trunks. Trunks encourages his badly beaten father to get up and back into the fight, with Babidi taunting that the Dragon Warriors are not enough. Piccolo responds by slicing the haughty wizard in two, with Majin Vegeta realizing the error of his own arrogant ways. From there, he embarks on one final path that will potentially take Majin Buu out, even if it means giving everything else up.

Vegeta, having a change of heart, apologizes for having never been affectionate toward his son and embraces him for the first time. Afterward, he knocks Goten and Trunks unconscious before using a last-ditch effort attack against Majin Buu. He dedicates his final attack to not only his wife and son, but Goku. He does this knowing full well that he won’t get a new body like the heroic Goku, and he’s fuly resigned to his fate. Of course, Vegeta ended up coming back to life due to there being no other heroes left to potentially defeat Majin Buu. Even though he got his wish to come back to life and get another crack at Buu, Vegeta was definitely a changed man by this point.

Although he retained his desire to grow stronger and fight Goku, Vegeta was no longer a selfish, one-track individual who shirked all other responsibilities or relationships in an effort to fight. In fact, he became a better and more attentive father than Goku ever was. This was seen in both the non-canon sequel Dragon Ball GT and the official follow-up series, Dragon Ball Super. There, he dotes on his daughter Bulla and allows her to live a spoiled, lavish lifestyle. He also tries to stay behind during the Tournament of Power while Bulma gives birth to Bulla, something that the far more immature Goku actually questions.

As is usually the case in Dragon Ball Z, Majin Vegeta’s sacrifice was an example of character development coming in the middle of a fight. The same thing happened during the Android/Cell Saga, with Vegeta realizing that the mysterious Future Trunks was an alternate versions of his own progeny. The fact that Majin Vegeta sacrificed himself showcased how little Babidi controlled him, though the wizard was dead by that point. Even though he turned to him for more power, it seemed that the resulting Majin Vegeta transformation was never truly controlled by Babidi. This is why he was able to redeem himself and cement himself (in his reborn body) as one of Earth’s mightiest protectors.