Vegeta

Born into royalty as the prodigal Prince of all Saiyans on the doomed Planet Vegeta, representing the pinnacle of pride, redemption, and unyielding determination. Originally a ruthless conqueror serving under the galactic tyrant Frieza—who secretly orchestrated the genocide of the Saiyan race—Vegeta grew up defined by a rigid hierarchy where strength was absolute, leading him to Earth as a villain intent on using the Dragon Balls for immortality, only to have his worldview shattered by the low-class warrior Kakarot (Goku) and his allies. This defeat sparked a lifelong rivalry that serves as his primary motivation, pushing him through the Namek Saga where he rebelled against Frieza in a tactical game of cat-and-mouse, eventually dying while weeping and begging Goku to avenge their people, marking the first crack in his cold armor. Resurrected and remaining on Earth, he achieved the legendary Super Saiyan form through pure self-loathing and frustration, battling Androids and Cell with an arrogance that often proved to be his undoing—such as allowing Cell to reach perfection merely to test his own limits—yet beneath his callous exterior, a profound transformation occurred through his relationship with the brilliant heiress Bulma, with whom he fathered his son Trunks and daughter Bulla, slowly tethering him to humanity. This internal conflict culminated in the Majin Buu arc, where he voluntarily accepted Babidi’s dark magic to regain his ruthless edge, only to ultimately sacrifice his life in a blinding "Final Explosion" to protect his family, later admitting that Goku was truly "number one" in a moment of unparalleled character growth. In the Dragon Ball Super era, Vegeta evolves from a brooding anti-hero into a dedicated protector and divine warrior, training under the Angel Whis to master God Ki and achieve Super Saiyan Blue, and later forging his own unique path with "Ultra Ego"—a power derived from the Gods of Destruction that turns battle damage into strength—distinct from Goku’s Ultra Instinct. His arsenal includes iconic, planet-shattering techniques like the Galick Gun, Big Bang Attack, and the devastating Final Flash, but his greatest strength remains his tactical genius, his ability to analyze opponents, and his refusal to accept limits, traits that allowed him to mentor the Universe 6 Saiyan Cabba and master the spirit-manipulating Yardrat technique "Forced Spirit Fission." No longer fighting just to stroke his ego, Vegeta now fights to uphold his Saiyan pride while protecting the Earth he once sought to destroy, completing a trajectory from a genocidal space pirate to a loving father and arguably the universe’s most reliable defender.