A lot of Dragon Ball fans out there are pissed off that Vegeta often gets beaten by the main villain and that, therefore, the Saiyan Prince never gets to be the hero of the show for once. Instead, Goku is getting all the credit, they claim. The truth, however, is that if we look a bit closer, we realize that Vegeta has actually been shining a few times in Dragon Ball.
It’s also true that the upset Vegeta fans are right to some degree. The Saiyan Prince should indeed get more love from the writers, but that doesn’t happen, probably because he still has to pay for his sins of the past. A lot of young Dragon Ball fans might not know that when he was first introduced in Dragon Ball back in the day of early Dragon Ball Z, Vegeta was a ruthless killer and space pirate who was working for Frieza. Later on in the show, he rebelled against Frieza and slowly but surely became one of the good guys.
Vegeta had the long-lasting goal of surpassing Goku in strength ever since he first met his rival, and that actually happened for a few short moments throughout the Dragon Ball franchise. However, we won’t insist on those moments here, but on those that made Vegeta truly look like a hero.
Eliminating Toppo from the Tournament of Power
During the Tournament of Power arc from Dragon Ball Super, Toppo, one of the strongest members of Universe 11, where Jiren was also included, became a new God of Destruction at some point. Toppo seemed invincible, and for the first few moments, he mopped the floor with Vegeta while the Saiyan Prince was at Super Saiyan Blue level. But in just a few seconds, Veggie thought about his beloved family and friends and found the motivation and power to overcome his adversary.
Even Toppo’s destructive Hakai attacks became useless against Vegeta when the Saiyan Prince started to pound him hard. In the end, Vegeta used the ultimate attack that he used in Dragon Ball Z against Majin Buu to knock Toppo out of the arena. As a result, Vegeta didn’t die because he was a lot stronger than he was in DBZ, but he still lost a lot of power. It was totally worth it, however, as the Saiyan Prince got rid of one of the strongest opponents in the whole tournament.
Helping Gohan defeat Cell
Back in Dragon Ball Z, the young Super Saiyan 2 Gohan was fighting Cell with everything he had. The evil biological android created by Dr. Gero killed Goku and was preparing to do the same with his son. Gohan and Cell were engaging in a cataclysmic beam struggle of Kamehameha waves at full force, and the young warrior was looking as if he was about to lose. But suddenly, Vegeta came out of nowhere and hit Cell with a powerful energy ball from above, weakening the villain and allowing Gohan to give the final blow. Cell got completely obliterated by Gohan’s Kamehameha, and while it was an incredible achievement for the young warrior, who was only 11 years old, to get rid of the main villain of an arc, Goku and Vegeta also played very important roles in the defeat of Cell.
The sacrifice against Majin Buu
Back in Dragon Ball Z, the new monster Majin Buu, who was controlled by the evil wizard Babidi, began to terrorize the Earth. Buu was stronger than anyone the Z warriors had ever faced, and it rapidly became clear even to Vegeta that the villain could not be defeated by usual attacks. Vegeta, who was somewhere around Super Saiyan 2 level, tried to take down Buu, but he realized that he had no chance when he witnessed the villain’s regeneration abilities. That’s when Vegeta decided to land his most powerful attack, a kind of kamikaze attack that implied putting all of his power into one single shot. The Saiyan Prince knew that the attack would finish him, but it seemed like the only way to save the Earth from Majin Buu.
Therefore, Vegeta went for the attack and didn’t care about his own life anymore. Unfortunately, the idea didn’t work, as Buu still managed to regenerate from the very small pieces left behind. Instead, the proud Saiyan Prince lost his life. But even though Vegeta failed, his decision proved that the Saiyan Prince was finally a very altruistic person and on the side of the good. Only a true hero would be willing to sacrifice his life for the sake of others, and that’s what Vegeta did at that point.
Probably, Vegeta won’t be the hero of an arc anytime soon in the Dragon Ball Super Manga or Dragon Ball Daima, but still, he managed to be decisive in moments when it was needed a lot. The Saiyan Prince proved numerous times that he has what it takes to be a protective father and hero of the Earth in Dragon Ball. It’s certainly incredible, considering how evil Vegeta once was, and it proves that anybody can change in Dragon Ball.