Vegeta and Goku’s rivalry has been the staple of Dragon Ball Super for a long time, but it has to end at some point, right?
Since his debut in Dragon Ball Z all the way to the present times in dragon ball superVegeta has been defined by two things, his Saiyan pride and his power level relative to Goku’s. For a long time, Vegeta held quite a grudge against Goku even though the mighty Kakarrot had never beaten Vegeta in a fight. The relationship between two of the last three living, full-blooded Saiyans has gone from being antagonistic to just a rivalry, and has even now become closer to a friendly rivalry. All these years later, the rivalry is still going strong, no matter how powerful they become, which begs the question: What could make Vegeta put a stop to this?
It’s clear that while Goku sees Vegeta as one of his closest friends, the Saiyan Prince still sees him as more of an obstacle than anything else. The two can work together and often support each other on the battlefield, but at the heart of their relationship is a desire to grow stronger. Goku’s part of the equation is that he simply wants to get stronger for the sake of getting stronger, while Vegeta specifically wants to be stronger than Goku. If this rivalry is ever going to end, it will have to be done by the one person between the two of them who is actively making it a rivalry in the first place.
When Goku and Vegeta first fought, the Prince believed himself to be an Elite Saiyan while Goku was a low-class warrior, so his inability to quickly mop Goku’s floor is what drives him insane to this day. Vegeta was defeated and forced to flee, but not because Goku had hit him. he was only defeated by the combined effort of Goku, Great Ape Gohan, Krillin, and Yajirobe of all people. In terms of a one-on-one fight with a definite winner, the record between the two Saiyans is actually 1-0 in favor of Vegeta. It is true that it was a dirty move, Vegeta came out the winner of his confrontation in the Buu Saga of dbz tricking Goku into letting his guard down and then knocking him unconscious.
Near the end of the Buu Saga, Vegeta reluctantly admitted that Goku has always been and will always be better than him. However, this humble attitude did not last long as Vegeta has once again tried to best Goku in dragon ball super – and actually has a time or two, if only briefly. As Vegeta and Goku move deeper into the domain of the gods by training with Beerus and Whis in the ways of Destruction and Ultra Instinct, there seems to be no limit to their power potential. This means that if there is no end to how strong they can be, there probably will be no end to their rivalry either.
However would do What did it take for Vegeta to call it a wrap? Defeating Goku wouldn’t be enough because he’s already done it and he’s still trying to outdo his fellow Saiyan. Vegeta has started his own path to power by studying Destruction with Beerus and leaving Goku and Whis Ultra Instinct, which was a great move to remove the part of his identity that has always been tied to Goku. But the rivalry is stronger than ever now that they have new and opposing techniques. Goku admitting that Vegeta is stronger probably wouldn’t end either, because Goku did exactly that at the end of the “Moro” arc in dragon ball super‘s sleeve
The fight is ingrained in every cell of Saiyan biology, and it is Vegeta and Goku’s Saiyan heritage that will likely be the end of this age-old rivalry. The Saiyans evolved as a warrior race, so they retain their youth until about 80 years old, but do eventually grow old. Perhaps anticlimactically, the same force that comes for everyone will eventually be the only possible end to Vegeta and Goku’s rivalry, Father Time. Once Vegeta and Goku are too old to fight, which will happen sooner rather than later if they keep burning years in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, even Vegeta will have no choice but to hang up the bravado (maybe).
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