Favorite Villain

This has been a while coming, but finally, I have begun the list. That established, here's the first of a list of 10:

#10​

" There is no fair or unfair in battle.
There is only victory -- or, in your case, defeat. "
Vegeta, Dragon Ball Z​

Vegeta is known as -- and proud of being -- the 'Prince of all Saiyajins'. He gives no mercy, spares no opportunity, and regrets nothing. To many, he would be considered the epitome of raw strength; but just as easily, he could be considered the embodiment of foolish pride.

Born on the planet Vegeta, as the son of King Vegeta (you can already tell, this guy is going to have an ego), he was considered one of the best fighters -- even as a child -- that the Saiyajin race had produced in decades. Being the son of the King of Saiyajins, also worked in the young Vegeta's favor, as he had access to practically anything that he wanted.

The Saiyajins are a unique breed. They have a natural love for fighting, and so they indulge in this as often as possible. Only, unlike most other races, when a Saiyajin is close to death, and allowed to heal, they become much stronger. In short, each time a Saiyajin is injured or beaten in combat, they increase in both prowess and power. Over a period of time, it is possible for a Saiyajin to become infinitely stronger -- if provided that period of time, or those opportunities.

For more on the Saiyajins:​

Spoiler

Here's a quick crash course, on getting to know the Saiyajins:

| The Saiyajins are an alien race, who live on the planet Vegeta.

| The Saiyajins have the ability to, when injured or close to death, heal, and become much stronger.

| The Saiyajins are born with an ape-like tail, which allows them to transform under the full moon.

| The Saiyajins can have a weakness, which involves their tail.
Grabbing it causes them immense pain, but some Saiyajins have overcome this, like Vegeta and Nappa.

| The Saiyajins, when they transform, resemble gigantic apes. Think along the lines of a werewolf, basically. Their power and speed tremendously increase as well.

The most notable of the Saiyajins are:

King Vegeta


King Vegeta is the King of the Saiyajins. He is also believed to be the strongest, amongst the entire Saiyajin race. He begrudgingly accepts Frieza's rule, while always looking towards the day, he and his people may be free. He is the father of Vegeta, the Prince of the Saiyajins. He is killed by Frieza personally.

Bardock


Bardock is one of the best soldiers, that the Saiyajins possess, and is considered an elite, when it comes to the Saiyajin planetary squad standards. He is also known as being the father of Goku, who is the primary character in the Dragon Ball series. Bardock becomes haunted by visions, and is one, of only a few, who attempts to stand against Frieza. He is killed by Frieza, moments before planet Vegeta is destroyed.

Raditz


Raditz is the son of Bardock, which also makes him the older brother to Goku. He is the first major villain in Dragon Ball Z, when he lands on Earth to make contact with Goku, to see if he has completed his intended mission. He faces, both, Goku and Piccolo, where he meets his end.

Nappa


Nappa is a Saiyajin Elite. Basically, he's one of the strongest at the time, and could be considered a General of the Saiyajin Army. Nappa is assigned to the young Vegeta, to be a sort of bodyguard and caregiver, and remains this, even after Vegeta surpasses him in strength. At this point, Nappa also becomes a sort of sidekick to Vegeta. He is killed by Vegeta, when he is deemed worthless.

Kakarot


"Goku" is his Earth name, and the one he prefers. The only ones who address Goku as "Kakarot" are other Saiyajins, like Raditz, Nappa, and Vegeta. Everybody else, refers to, or knows him, as Goku. He's the main character of the series, and as a result, also one of the strongest characters. Unlike other Saiyajins, when Goku came to Earth as a young child, he hit his head, and suffered a sort of amnesia. As a result, he forgets that he was sent to Earth, with the intention to conquer it.​

This is Frieza, Emperor of the Universe, in all his [Dragon] Ball-rubbing glory.


Planet Vegeta was conquered by the intergalactic tyrant, Frieza. Dubbed the 'Emperor of the Universe'; Frieza at his peak of power, was absolute ruler over 1/4th of the galaxy. So, even if he wasn't an emperor of the entire universe, it was still an impressive amount, and he was worthy of such a title. In adding planet Vegeta to his conquests, Frieza acquired the services of the Saiyajins. In exchange for their loyalty, Frieza provided the Saiyajins with technology and opportunities, to go out and indulge their bloodthirsty natures.

At first, this seemed like a fair deal...



... until Frieza killed them all.


I'll get to Frieza's reasons for blowing up planet Vegeta (spoiler), but for right now, the focus needs to be on Vegeta. When Frieza destroyed planet Vegeta, he told the surviving three Saiyajins (that he knew about) -- Vegeta, Raditz, and Nappa -- that it had collided with an asteroid/meteor. Vegeta, as a young child, accepted this. Most children would be devastated, if their entire life had been wiped out, but to Vegeta, he saw this as proof of his superiority. If anything, it made him feel more special, thus fueling his arrogant and pompous nature.

Vegeta would grow up, acting as a soldier in Frieza's galactic army. He would go to various planets, find it's populations, then slaughter said populations, and return to report to Frieza. Doing all the dirty work for Frieza, the young prince proved his worth, and so Frieza continued to make use of him. By clearing out planets, Frieza could then harvest them for his own means, or sell them to other bidders. Vegeta's natural skills just accelerated this process.

During one of his routine missions, it was brought to Vegeta's attention, that something called the 'Dragon Balls' existed. According to the legend, if one gathered the seven Dragon Balls, they could summon the Eternal Dragon. Upon doing so, they would be granted one wish. Intrigued by this knowledge, Vegeta, and his sidekick Nappa, took off for the planet Earth. Their intention was to gain immortality, so that they could rebel against Frieza, and take all the spoils as their own.



Nappa: Vegeta, are we there yet?
Vegeta: No, Nappa, no we're not!
Nappa: ... How 'bout now?
Vegeta: No, God damn it, Nappa!
[TeamFourStar plug.]


Upon reaching Earth, Vegeta and Nappa quickly gain the attention of the population. Destroying an entire city, the two Saiyajins make it apparent, they aren't here with any intentions of peace. Having established this by making quick work of a city, by blowing it up, the two take off, eventually locating Earth's greatest heroes: Piccolo, Tien, Yamcha, Chioatzu, Krillin, and Gohan.

For more on Piccolo, Tien, Yamcha, Chioatzu, Krillin, and Gohan:

Spoiler

From left to right: Yamcha, Gohan, Piccolo, Krillin, Tien, Chioatzu

Yamcha is one of Earth's strongest fighters. He was more of a central character in Dragon Ball, the earlier adventures of Goku. But at this time in the series, he was still considered a top-notch fighter. He's the wisecracking one of the group, and likes to flaunt his skills. He meets his end, when killed by one of Vegeta and Nappa's underlings, by getting cocky.

Gohan is a half-Saiyajin, and the son of Goku. He was trained by Piccolo, in preparation for the Saiyajins, Vegeta and Nappa. He can be timid, but when he becomes emotional, especially distressed or angry, his power skyrockets. He survives the battle with the two Saiyajins.

Piccolo is a Namekian. He was once a villain, in the end of Dragon Ball, but when Raditz, Goku's brother, came to Earth, Piccolo teamed up with his former enemy, and they brought Raditz down. Unable to resume his own plans for global domination, due to the approaching Saiyajins, Piccolo took it upon himself to raise Goku's son, Gohan. He is the strongest of this group, by far, and the most no-nonsense as well. He meets his end, when sacrificing his life to protect Gohan, the first person he had come to, actually, care about, when Nappa attacked.

Important Note: Piccolo is connected to the Earth's Guardian, Kami. If Kami dies, Piccolo does; if Piccolo dies, Kami does. Since Kami is the creator of the Dragon Balls, when he dies, the Earth's Dragon Balls turn to stone, and are unable to be used.

Krillin is Goku's best friend, and the class clown of the group. He's usually branded as one of the most useless characters, but this isn't exactly the case. He just happens to be outclassed by the other strong fighters. But when it counts, Krillin can come through. He, along with Gohan, survive the two Saiyajins.

Tien is the second strongest of the group. He, too, used to be an enemy of Goku's, but he changed his ways. He's the most stoic of the group, and probably trains the hardest, because of how he feels, he is falling behind the likes of Goku. He, notably, has three eyes, which he achieved as a result of intense training. He meets his end when, after being injured by Nappa, he uses up all his energy in a desperate attack... which fails.

Chioatzu is... something. I'm not exactly sure what he is, but he appears to be a mini-clown. While he is the weakest of the group, he does possess telekinetic and telepathic powers. Unfortunately, these do not always work on incredibly strong opponents. He and Tien are best friends, and used to serve under the same evil master, back in Dragon Ball. He meets his end when, sneaking up behind Nappa, clings to the large Saiyajin and self-destructs, in an attempt to kill Nappa. This does damage Nappa's armor, but it fails, and he dies in vain, which enrages Tien.

Despite being the best the planet has to offer, all of them, except Krillin and Gohan, fall in combat against Nappa... well, except Yamcha, who is sort of the butt of jokes, in the Dragon Ball universe. He was killed by an underling, who were in turn finished off by Krillin and Piccolo, before Nappa even stepped up to fight.

All this time, Nappa is the only one doing the fighting. Vegeta, standing off to the side, simply spectates, while occasionally offering a word or remark. Vegeta doesn't feel it is necessary to step in and deal with "weaklings", so he lets Nappa handle it.

With just Gohan and Krillin left, Nappa attempts to kill Gohan again, when...

Goku, the main hero of the series, steps in and, after an impressive showing of combat skill, cripples Nappa. It is important to note, the reason Goku arrived late is, well... he was dead. When Piccolo and Goku teamed up, to take on Raditz, Goku's brother, Goku sacrificed himself to make sure Raditz died. During Goku's time in the afterlife, he trained under the legendary King Kai. The Saiyajins wound up arriving a day early, so Goku had to travel back to Earth, after being wished back to life by the Dragon Balls; which were located by his friends. He arrives in time to save his best friend, Krillin, and his son, Gohan, but is unable to do the same, for his other comrades.

Vegeta, a proud and not-so-noble warrior, seeing Nappa taken down, pretends to offer Nappa a hand, to lift him up... but instead, he hurls Nappa into the air and obliterates him with an energy blast. His reasoning? Nappa was useless, and had been shamed with defeat. To add insult to injury, Goku, also a Saiyajin, is considered a lower class, which makes this unforgivable. After a slight exchange, Goku and Vegeta square off -- and with the help of Krillin, Gohan, and a sneaky decisive strike by Yajirobi, Vegeta is defeated.



Yajirobe, a childhood friend of Goku's, despite being a coward, does save the day.
Because he is so weak, his power level is undetectable to Vegeta,
and so Yajirobi is able to cut his tail off... before running away...


All that one gets to see of Vegeta during this is, he's cold hearted and rather cruel. He talks in a snarky and cocky manner, insulting his opponents, and finding their attempts at protecting their planet, pathetic at best. He even kills one of his own underlings, for not doing a good enough job. Despite coming to the planet Earth for the Dragon Balls, he becomes so enraged, when he cannot beat these Earthlings, that he attempts to DESTROY THE ENTIRE PLANET. He fails, which only sends him into a near-psychotic rage of frustration and determination, where he decides to transform into his Great Ape form... and would have won, if not for Yajirobi's interference. Even though Goku spares Vegeta's life, even in defeat, Vegeta learns nothing and swears he will return -- stronger, and that he will kill everybody.



Nappa: Hey, Vegeta! What's the scouter say about this meme?
Vegeta: It's OVER RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATTTTTTED!
Nappa: WHAT?! OVER RATED?! THERE'S NO WAY THAT CAN BE RIGHT!


Vegeta returns to a planetary station to heal, while he reflects on his situation. Being a Saiyajin, when he heals, Vegeta becomes much stronger. It is during his healing that he learns Frieza is on planet Namek, which is where Vegeta intended to go, to find the Namekian Dragon Balls. Realizing that this is a problem, and time is limited, Vegeta destroys the planetary station and flees to planet Namek, hoping to get there, and find the Dragon Balls before Frieza does.

Back on Earth, following the battle with Vegeta, Krillin and Gohan, along with Bulma, a childhood friend of Goku's, decide to head to Namek, in one of her father's company's space crafts. Their intentions are, go to Namek, locate the seven Namekian Dragon Balls (since Piccolo's death made the Earth's Dragon Balls unusable), and then use them to wish back their friends. Goku, however, still needing to heal, is unable to go with the trio; and so off they go. None of them realizing, that their planet Namek adventure is about to turn into a three-way dance...​

Next Time: Adventures on Planet Namek!!!
a.k.a. I finish covering Vegeta, and, hopefully, move down the list of my Top 10 Favorite Villains.​