Vegeta made his appearance in chapter #204 "Sayonara, Son Goku", published in Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine on January 7, 1989,[3] seeking the wish-granting Dragon Balls to achieve immortality.

As a person, he is naturally blunt, regal, hard-working and is full of his Saiyan pride; 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.

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.

When creating Vegeta, Toriyama originally intended for him to be a short-lived antagonist and second-tier character, with little influence to Dragon Ball's story.

[9] After the release of 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 made.

In Funimation (now Crunchyroll)'s in house dub, Christopher Sabat has voiced Vegeta in all Dragon Ball media, including video games.

[16] Upon arrival, Vegeta manages to kill many of Frieza's henchmen and also mercilessly destroys a defenseless Namekian village for their Dragon Ball.

[17][18] After Frieza's final defeat, Vegeta chooses to stay on Earth to await Goku's return and has a son named Trunks with Bulma.

Afterwards, Vegeta ascends beyond the Super Saiyan level while training with Future Trunks, a version of his son from an alternate timeline, in the Room of Spirit and Time (精神と時の部屋) and pummels the artificial life form Cell after he has absorbed Android 17.

[28] With all other fighters dead or absorbed, Vegeta is allowed to recover his body and returns to Earth to help Goku, the last warrior remaining, against the threat of Buu.

He reluctantly combines bodies with Goku using the Potara earrings, to create the fused warrior Vegito, who completely overwhelms Buu with his strength.

In Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods, Vegeta tries to appease Beerus so that he will not destroy the Earth and briefly surpasses Goku because of a power boost induced by rage by Beerus slapping Bulma; he then later participates in a ritual to transform Goku into a Super Saiyan god and watches him fight the god of destruction,[33] and in Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection 'F', Vegeta trains off planet with Whis and returns to Earth to combat the resurrected Frieza, being killed by him when he destroys the Earth, which is reversed by Whis, allowing Goku in the nick of time to finish the tyrant off with a Kamehameha wave, in which Vegeta moves out of range.

Returning after having used Shunkan Ido, Vegeta takes away Moro's stolen life energy and revives the victims of Namek in an act of redemption using a new technique.

Later, he and Goku struggle against the powerful Heeter and are beaten, but are saved at the last moment by the unexpected arrival of Frieza, who proceeds to murder Gas and Elec for their betrayal.

He is unable to get contacted because of Beerus' ice cream cup obstructing Whis' staff, leaving the situation on Earth to be handled by Piccolo and whoever associates he can enlist.

In the post-credits scene, exhausted, Vegeta lands the last blow on Goku, triumphantly declaring himself the winner, much to the boredom of Cheelai and comically moved emotion from Broly and Lemo.

[51] In filler episodes of Dragon Ball Z, set during the Saiyan arc, Vegeta and Nappa travel to Arlia while in space, being hailed as a hero after saving the people there.

After the Namek arc, Vegeta travels across space in an ultimately unsuccessful attempt at finding Goku, defeating remnants of Frieza's army.

Vegeta has made several appearances in other manga, one of which is in Akira Toriyama's Dragon Ball self-parody Neko Majin, where he battles the titular character.

In the Dragon Ball and One Piece crossover, Cross Epoch, Vegeta is re-imagined as a captain of a crew of air pirates which includes Trunks, Usopp, and Nico Robin.

It is later revealed that he now has access to the red-haired Super Saiyan God (超スーパーサイヤ人じんゴッド, Sūpā Saiya-jin Goddo) form, originally obtained by Goku, most notably during his fight against Broly.

[95] During his fight with Jiren, a mortal stronger than a destroyer, Vegeta unlocks an enhanced version of the Super Saiyan Blue form, evolving his transformation by breaking his limits by his own accord.

[99] Todd Douglass Jr. from DVD Talk commented on Vegeta's skills and anger, noting them to be a good combination for any fight even though it is a one-sided battle due to how powerful he is.

[106] Mania Entertainment writer Briana Lawerence listed Vegeta 9th in the article 10 Male Headaches of Anime, criticizing his personality and his repeated desire to surpass Goku's power.

[109] Vegeta was placed twenty-first in IGN's 2009 top anime character of all-time list, calling him "the original unmitigated bastard" that preceded Light Yagami and Lelouch Lamperouge,[110] and in the tenth spot in 2014.

Vegeta started out as an alien punk with a sadistic streak and an inferiority complex, but over time he became one of Goku's friends, and every now and then, if he was feeling nice that day, he'd help save the world.

[114] A poll by Viz Media, editor responsible for the publication of the series in North America and Europe, confirms that Vegeta is the most popular character in Dragon Ball Super.

[115][116] Both Goku and Vegeta were criticized for being too overpowered in Super to the point they steal the series' spotlight to the supporting cast while their strategies either lack complexity or create a plothole such as the time limit to the fusion Vegetto.

[121] American UFC fighter Marcus Brimage is an avid fan of Dragon Ball Z, even citing the series as one of his inspirations for taking up mixed-martial arts.

[123] Boca Juniors player Eduardo Salvio often celebrates his goals with a Dragon Ball Z reference, including Vegeta's Final Flash attack.