<P> Following the trend that names of members of the Saiyan race are puns on vegetables, Vegeta's name is a pun of the word vegetable itself . Toriyama stated that when he received a lot of fan mail telling him not to kill Vegeta, he purposely did just that . After the release of Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods, Toriyama expressed interest in having Vegeta be the lead in the event of another animated feature, though he insisted this was only his intent and no decision had been formed . </P> <P> Vegeta is the prince of the Saiyan race, being the son of King Vegeta, with Planet Vegeta named after his father . Vegeta is shown to be exceptionally vain and egotistical . Only in very few instances is he seen to be afraid of opponents, such as against Freeza . Arguably, his most defining trait is his rivalry with Goku and obsession to surpass him in power . </P> <P> Vegeta has a signature hair style that firmly stands upwards, with a prominent widow's peak . Like all full - blooded Saiyans, he possesses black eyes, jet black hair that never grows in length, and had a tail before Yajirobe cut it off . Vegeta is noticeably shorter than Goku, although a visible shift in Akira Toriyama's artistic style lessens this difference later in the series . Vegeta continues to don the traditional Saiyan armor for a large portion of his appearances, until he integrates into Earthly society eventually favoring clothing more characteristic of a human altogether . </P> <P> Vegeta is introduced as the proud prince of the Saiyan (サイヤ 人, Saiya - jin) race . He travels to Earth with his comrade Nappa to use the Dragon Balls to wish for immortality . Nappa easily fights off Earth's heroes and kills Tenshinhan, Chaozu, and Piccolo in the process . Goku then arrives after completing his training with Kaiō - sama . Goku easily defeats Nappa who is then killed by Vegeta, for the shame of being defeated by a low class saiyan such as Goku . Vegeta fights and beats Goku in a very close fight after resorting to his Ozaru form, but is unable to beat the rest of the heroes due to his sustained injuries . Exhausted and being consistently harassed by Gohan, Kuririn and Yajirobe, he barely escapes with his life and is humiliated by the fact that Goku pleaded with Kuririn to spare his life . Vegeta travels to planet Namek in an attempt to wish for immortality using that planet's Dragon Balls, cutting the tyrant Freeza off from making the same wish in the process . Upon arrival, Vegeta manages to kill many of Freeza's henchmen and also mercilessly destroys a whole defenseless Namekian village for their Dragon Ball . Later on Vegeta is forced to team up with Gohan, Goku, Piccolo, and Kuririn so they can fight off Freeza . He also kills most members of the Ginyu Force . Ultimately, he is defeated and subsequently killed by Freeza while asking Goku to avenge him and all the other Saiyans . Vegeta is unintentionally revived with a wish from the Dragon Balls from Earth . </P>

Who defeats vegeta in the first season of dbz