Summary
Whenever the topic of the greatest anime rivalries is discussed, the one shared between Goku and Vegeta fromDragon Balloften comes out on top as the most iconic of them all. This is because these characters have gone from being the worst of enemies to the closest of allies as two of the few surviving members of the extinct Saiyan race, who often go against each other to push themselves even further beyond their limitations.
However,the nature of the rivalrywas fairly one-sided for most ofDragon Ball Zand even sometimes inSuper, since Goku would always manage to be stronger than Vegeta in one way or another. Despite this, Vegeta has shone for a few moments within the series as the superior fighter, surpassing Goku and briefly holding the title of the strongest Saiyan. So, let’s go over each of these momentous occasions.
Story Arc
Saiyan Saga
The very first clash between the two fated rivals wasat the tail-end of the Saiyan Saga, where most of the battle was fought between the Saiyans on fairly equal footing. Through their many scuffles and beam clashes, however, Goku managed to push beyond his limits further than Vegeta could have, unlocking Kaioken x3 and dominating his opponent. Just as victory seemed assured, however, Vegeta revealed his trump card.
Bear witness to the ultimate power of the Saiyans, Kakarot; the Giant Ape! Destroyer of Planets!
This trump card happened to be his Great Ape transformation, which is a unique trait of the Saiyan race that they achieve upon looking at a full moon. This form greatly increases their physical strength and overall power, which was evident when Vegeta easily overpowered Goku and would have crushed him to death had it not been for Krillin and Yajirobe helping out, with the latter sneakily cutting the ape’s tail to revert Vegeta to his original form.
Android Saga
Vegeta’s sudden ability to transform into a Super Saiyan came as quite a shock to everyone when it was first revealed towards the start of the Android Saga because it had been previously thought that this form could only beachieved by a pure-hearted Saiyan. However, after his defeat at the hands of Android 18 and the subsequent arrival of Cell, Vegeta chose to complete his training in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, where he unlocked a new form.
Now, I’m going to show you what true power really is!
This form was Super Vegeta, which was essentially a far more powerful version of the original Super Saiyan transformation. Super Vegeta was atronger than any other character in the series up until that point, as he was able to significantly damage Imperfect Cell and even caused him to fear for his life. Even though Vegeta surpassed Goku at this point, Goku knew that the secret to increasing his strength was through optimizing his Super Saiyan form, which he and Gohan were able to do.
God of Destruction Beerus Saga
The canon story ofDragon Ballmade a comeback after many years with the release of theBattle of Godsfilm, which also kickstartedDragon Ball Super. In this move,Beerus the Destroyer Godawakens and makes his way to destroy Earth and, unlike every other villain from before, is far more powerful than anything the heroes can throw at him. Even Super Saiyan 3 Goku is nothing more than a toy to the God of Destruction.
That’s my Bulma!
Eventually, Beerus makes his way to Earth to enjoy their delicious food by intruding on Bulma’s party. After being a rowdy guest and drawing Bulma’s ire to begin shouting at him, Beerus strikes her. This unleashes a rage within Vegeta unlike anything that he has ever shown before, where he goes berserk in his Super Saiyan 2 form and attacks Beerus in a way that very mildly damages the destroyer. This is incredibly impressive considering this was when Vegeta surpassed Goku’s Super Saiyan 3 in his Super Saiyan 2 form.
Vegeta’s Clash Against Jiren Unlocks Blue Evolution
Appearance
Dragon Ball Super, Episode 123, “Body, Soul, and Power Unleashed! Goku and Vegeta!”
Tournament of Power Arc
The Tournament of Power saw the Z-Fighters go up against the toughest warriors across the entire multiverse, which included thepowerhouses from Universe 11, particularly Jiren. Jiren proved to be the greatest thorn in the side of the heroes due to his overwhelming presence and unparalleled strength which Goku could only face at his strongest. So, to battle such a monumental foe, Vegeta knew that he too must do the same.
I’ll shatter through my limits, in my own way, on my own terms!
By gathering all his power, Vegeta took his Super Saiyan Blue transformation to its apex, unlocking a unique form called Super Saiyan Blue Evolution. Vegeta used this alongside Goku, who stacked his Super Saiyan Blue with Kaioken x20 and while he too reached a relative level of strength, Vegeta’s new form managed to edge him out in terms of sheer power.
Granolah Arc
After the Tournament of Power ended, fans waited patiently for when Vegeta would unlock his own Divine Technique that could bring him back to Goku’s level after the latter unlocked Ultra Instinct. Eventually, this time came during the events of the Granolah arc, where the Saiyan Prince called upon the nature of the Destroyer Gods into hisbrand-new form he named Ultra Ego. Even though his fight against Granolah ended in a stalemate, he was able to battle on equal footing against a character who took down Ultra Instinct with minimal effort.
Kakarot’s body may have a mind of its own, but I’m all ego. In fact, go ahead and call this Ultra Ego!
However, Ultra Ego remains an incomplete form that sustains far too much damage to be properly viable, so Ultra Instinct is the better overall choice. Despite this, Ultra Ego’s sheer firepower and offensive strength were immense and inflicted great damage upon Granolah, to the point where the Cerealian knew that the only way to defeat Vegeta was to use all of his power in a blast to kill them both.
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Dragon Ball Z
Dragon Ball Z is a Japanese anime series produced by Toei Animation and a sequel to the 1986 Dragon Ball series. It continues the adventures of Son Goku as an adult while also paralleling the life of his son Gohan. Son Goku typically defends the Earth from villains like Vegeta, Frieza, Cell, and Majin Buu. The series is followed by Dragon Ball GT and then Dragon Ball Super.
