Vegeta

Vegeta (Japanese: ベジータ, Hepburn: Bejīta) (/vəˈdʒiːtə/ və-JEE-tə), fully referred to as Prince Vegeta IV (ベジータ 王子 四世, Bejīta-ōji Yon-sei), is a fictional character in the Japanese franchise Dragon Ball created by Akira Toriyama. Vegeta made his appearance in chapter #204 "Sayonara, Son Goku", published in Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine on January 7, 1989, seeking the wish-granting Dragon Balls to achieve immortality.

As the first major antagonist of Dragon Ball Z, Vegeta is the prince of an elite extraterrestrial warrior race known as the Saiyans. As a person, he is naturally blunt, regal, and hard-working; he often refers to his heritage and royal status throughout the series, but can also have negative traits such as being extremely haughty along with a destructive temper. He believed that he should be regarded as the strongest fighter in the Universe and becomes obsessed with surpassing Son Goku after losing his battle with the Z fighters. However, after Frieza's death, Vegeta unites with the heroes to thwart greater threats to the universe, most notably Cell, Majin Buu, Beerus, Zamasu, Jiren, Broly, Moro and Granolah. Throughout the series, Vegeta's role changes from villain to later as one of the heroes, while remaining a key rival to Goku.

Vegeta has been hailed as one of the most iconic characters not only in the Dragon Ball franchise, but also in manga and anime history as a whole. He is often cited as one of the most popular examples of rival characters in the industry, due to his character arc and narrative throughout Dragon Ball Z and Dragon Ball Super.