Akira Toriyama has created one of the most iconic and influential manga/anime universes of all time. Within that universe resides a man, a prince to be more accurate, that is often imitated but never duplicated. A man so awesome that even when he’s losing (which happens more than it should) he looks cooler than most characters do winning. He is the quintennial “lancer” in the anime world, and one of the strongest characters to grace a manga scan. I, of course, am addressing the one, the only, the Prince of All Saiyans, Vegeta.

We all know Vegeta is great. After all, he is one of the most popular characters of all time in any manga. We all know he’s badass, the coolest, and makes a great Husbando. He first appeared in chapter 17 of Dragon Ball Z all the way back in 1989 (he was seen EATING his victims, by the way) and has taken the pop culture world by storm ever since. Most people know a thing or two about Vegeta; what I’m here to do is tell you 15 facts you don’t know about the Saiyan (Saiya-Jin) Prince you may not have known. Vegeta was a role model for me, and many other hot-headed prideful arrogant kids who never backed down from a good fight. I say with the utmost pride in my Weeabo upbringing that Vegeta made me the man I am today. It is my honor, nay, my privilege to provide you, the humble reader, with some insight into the greatness that is The Saiyan Prince.

So, load up your Galick Guns, and get ready for a Big Bang because this list is going to blow your mind like a Final Explosion… uhhh… Final Flash.

15 Creator, Why Hath Tho Forsaken Me?

Any fan of the series can see that more often than not, Vegeta gets the raw deal. While he came into the series hot and had a pretty good winning/killing streak on Namek, the rest of the series doesn’t go so well for him. Killing Android 19 is Vegeta’s last clean victory in Dragon Ball Z. From then on, he is tricked by Cell, tricked by Goku, and blows himself to kill Buu, which does nothing. Why does the universe’s number one badass prince constantly fall short in his battles? Well, look no further than Toriyama’s own admission that Vegeta is one of his least favorite characters. In an interview featured in Daizenshuu 2 Toriyama is quoted saying he doesn’t like Vegeta “all that much” but admits that “he was extremely helpful to have around.” How could you not like the best thing you’ve created!? It’s like Gordon Ramsay saying he hates his beef wellington!

14 The Meme Mistake

If you’ve ever been on the internet before you’ve probably heard or seen the “it’s over 9000!” meme. If you haven’t, then you need to brush up on your meme history. The iconic image above happens just after Vegeta’s partner, Nappa, asks him what his scouter says about Goku’s power level. Vegeta removes his scouter, crushes it, and screams “it’s over 9000!” The only problem was, it wasn’t. In the original Dragon Ball Z manga and anime, Goku’s power level is actually over 8000. It is unclear as to how or why the mistake was made. Some speculate it was simply a mistranslation, while others think it was an attempt to better match the talking animation with American syllables.

13 The Fresh Prince

This little fact requires a sharp eye to notice. Throughout the course of Dragon Ball Z, Vegeta has the most dramatic changes to his wardrobe. In every single arc of the series, Vegeta is given a new outfit, while other characters simply receive minor tweaks or variations to their attire. When we first meet Vegeta, he is in Saiyan Armor with long shoulder pads. He eventually drops those shoulder pads on Namek for a sleeker (yet somehow older) model of armor. He changes his outfit again when he reappears on earth, this time in armor designed by his baby-mamma Bulma. Finally, in the Buu Saga he drops the armor all together and wears some weird tank top onesie thing. This isn’t even counting the infamous pink “badman” shirt either. For a guy who would probably scoff at the notion of caring about one’s own attire, he sure has an expansive wardrobe.

12 Another One Bites The Dust!

One of my biggest pet peeves with that goodie two shoes lame as hell loser Goku is he is always so willing to let people off the hook. Granted, it has worked out for him more times than it hasn’t (Vegeta himself being the best case) but still, it’s infuriating. Sometimes, I just wanna see someone get blown up. Thankfully, Vegeta delivers in this department in a huge way. Of all the heroes in Dragon Ball Z, Vegeta has the highest body count. Granted, many of his kills came from when he was still a villain, and when he was in his “kind of on your side, but not really” stage. He opened the killing with his own partner, Nappa, and slaughtered dozens of people on Planet Namek. Android 19 was his last solo kill in DBZ (unless you count the innocent bystanders at the martial arts tournament.) In comparison, Goku only kills two people in the entire show, Yakkon, and Kid Buu.

11 He Got the Good Genes

Dragon Ball Z has quite a few movies, and TV specials that kind of mess with the canon and flow of events. Some of these specials gave us some of the series most beloved characters such as Broly and Cooler and Bardock. Some of the specials really made things more confusing than they had to be like making Bardock the time traveling Legendary Super Saiyan. While fans will argue back and forth about what’s canon and what isn’t, Vegeta’s brother has been confirmed as real. Tarble was a weak kid, so Vegeta’s father King Vegeta had him exiled from the Planet Vegeta. He returned to seek his brother’s assistance when two relics of Frieza’s old empire were running amuck. Heres a little bonus fact for you, what do you get when you put Vegeta, and Tarble together? Vegetable. Yes, that was done on purpose, as all Saiyan names are vegetable puns. The show really is about food, I hate to break it to you.

10 There's One Thing A Saiyan Always Keeps, His Power-Ups!

When Vegeta saw a glimpse of Goku’s Super Saiyan 2 power he did not take it well. In the down time between the Cell Saga and the Buu Saga Vegeta had trained nonstop to try to match Gohan’s new transformation. He was unsuccessful and he had no idea why. Naturally, he assumed the problem was he wasn’t evil enough. So, he did the logical thing and let an evil wizard possess him to make him bad again. His idea did work, and the Majin transformation did raise his power up to a Super Saiyan 2. When he died and was given another crack at Buu, he was still able to access his Super Saiyan 2 abilities despite being cleared of the Majin possession. It was almost as if… he had the power inside all along.

9 Lifts In His Boots?

I don’t know if Vegeta and Nappa started the troupe of “the little guy is actually the one you gotta watch out for,” but they sure as hell are a shining example of it. At a glance, Vegeta is not exactly intimidating, especially compared to his hulking underling. When he first arrived on Earth, Vegeta was billed at a mere 5'3". However, later on in the series, he grows to 5'5". Vegeta was already in his late 20s when he arrived to fight Goku, so the odds of a pubescent growth spurt are slim. Though, I’m sure it could be written off with the old “Saiyan biology” excuse. What is harder to explain is he was originally shorter than Bulma, but now in Dragon Ball Super he is taller than her. Though I wouldn’t put it past her to ask the Dragon to bless her husband with a few more inches, and herself with eternal youth.

8 Invite Lost In The Mail

Who wouldn’t like to live in a cozy little place on an island surrounded by beautiful oceans? The denizen of Master Roshi has been a meeting spot for Goku and his merry band of side characters since the early days of Dragon Ball. During the downtime between planet risking deathmatches, many of the Z fighters hang around the island getaway. All except for one. Vegeta has never been to the Kame House. I mean, I guess when your wife owns Capsule Corps and you live in a big dome mansion thing complete with your own gravity room you don’t have to visit anywhere else. But still, would it have killed them to ask him? I mean for god's sake, even Raditz has been to the Kame House! Not cool, Roshi, not cool.

7 “All That Stuff I Did, My Bad”

Both of Vegeta’s deaths in Dragon Ball Z were emotionally gripping scenes. His first, however, was nothing sort of heart-wrenching. We had seen Vegeta up until this point as a cold, calculating, ruthless warrior who would do anything to achieve his goals. We are shown bit by bit how his life was ruined by Frieza, and the daily torture he had to endure at his hands. That torture manifested itself into one of the most brutal beatings throughout the entire series and culminates in the Prince falling. It is his final words, however, that offer some deep insight into his character. He tells Goku, “[Frieza] made me what I am, don’t let him do it to anyone else.” This powerful statement proved that despite never showing it, Vegeta did have remorse for the terrible actions he had committed and had his fate been different he might have turned out different as well, but was never given the chance.

6 Took You Long Enough

A major theme throughout the Dragon Ball series is enemies becoming allies. This is seen with Krillin, Piccolo, Tien, Yamcha and almost every one of Goku’s friends. The same could be said for Vegeta, but boy did he take a while to get there. From the Namek saga through the Cell saga Vegeta was more of a strategic ally than a friend. Even during the break from Cell to Majin Buu, Vegeta was never one of the good guys. The moment he saw the chance to jump back on the side of evil, he took it. It wasn’t until episode 283, aka Chapter 513 that Vegeta’s status official became “good guy.” When he wished the inhabitants of the Earth back, he made sure that it would only include good people who could contribute to the spirit bomb. He apparently made the cut, and was revived as well prompting Goku to say “the verdict is in, you’re a good guy!”

5 Look What You Made Me Do!

We have established at this point that Vegeta was a pretty popular guy. The only person who doesn’t seem to like him so much is Toriyama himself. Though I will admit things have gotten a bit better for Vegeta in Dragon Ball Super. (Being married to the smartest woman in the world helps). When Dragon Ball Z was an active publication running through the Namek Saga, Toriyama was receiving boatloads of fan letters about Vegeta. People were saying how awesome and different he was as a character, and were begging Toriyama not to kill him and keep him safe. Toriyama did just the opposite and had Vegeta killed by Frieza. In Daizenshuu 5 Toriyama admits that he “deliberately killed Vegeta” because of all the letters that told him “don’t kill Vegeta.” He even LAUGHED about it. That isn’t funny, Akira! You made some little kids cry when that death beam ripped through Vegeta’s chest. Thankfully, it was just a prank, bro, and Vegeta was revived through the Dragon Balls shortly after.

4 I Don’t Sound Anything Like You!

The Prince of All Saiyans has had two major voices in the United States. Brian Drummond was his voice actor for the Ocean Dub of DBZ. He was known for a higher pitched, and eviler sounding Vegeta that perhaps matched better with Vegeta’s small stature and nefarious alignment. There is no disputing now, after 20 years, there is one undisputed King of the Prince’s voice and his name is Chris Sabat. Sabat voiced Vegeta for Funimation and has been the de facto representation of the character ever since. He has tweaked his vocal performance from his original a few times in the remastered versions and has reprised his role in Dragon Ball Super. Voicing one Z fighter wasn’t enough for Mr. Sabat, as he also provides the voice of Piccolo. If you listen carefully enough, you can hear the similarities in the two, then have some trouble unhearing it.

3 Do You Understand The Words That Are Coming Outta My Mouth?

Dragon Ball Z is known for a lot of very complicated and almost funny sounding attacks. Try saying Kamehameha three times fast. Oh, you can do that? Ok, lemme hear you say Makankosappo three times fast. Yeah, thought so. Many attacks were given English names to make it a bit easier on the fan base. For example, Makankosappo became the “Special Beam Cannon” (though Demonic Piercing Light Murder Gun has a better ring to it, in my opinion). Vegeta’s signature moves, the Galick Gun, Big Bang Attack, and the Final Flash, were purposely left in English in the Japanese release of the show. The reason for this was Toriyama saying he wanted Vegeta’s techniques to sound more alien. To me, they just sound more badass.

2 Don’t Let Your Dreams Be Dreams

If you watch Dragon Ball Z, and Vegeta is in the episode, chances are you’ll catch onto the fact that he really wants to surpass Goku. Being stronger than Goku is his sole motivation for most of the show. It’s the reason he breathes, the reason he trains, his reason for being. There is just one tiny problem with his obsession. He accomplishes his lifelong dream, like a few times. Let’s forget for a moment that he was a LOT stronger than Goku when they first met. During the Android Saga when Vegeta first reveals himself to be a Super Saiyan, Piccolo admits that Vegeta had reached a new level of power he didn’t even think was possible. When questioned if he’s stronger than Goku, he begrudgingly concedes that he is. Vegeta surpasses Goku again when he first unlocks the Ultra Super Saiyan form, albeit for a small time. Finally, in Battle of the Gods, Vegeta once again surpasses Goku while staying in his Super Saiyan 2 form! ('Cause Super Saiyan 3 is stupid and it’s not that he can’t do it, it’s that he doesn’t WANT to, but whatever)... Long story short, Vegeta has been stronger than Goku several times, he’s just super hard on himself.

1 Who The Hell Is Keeping Score?

Goku has never, EVER beat him. Get mad, Goku fans, but you can’t deny it. Let’s roll the tape back to their first fight, shall we? Goku uses Kaio-Ken X3 to overpower Vegeta’s full-powered Galick Gun. The Kaio-Ken is a technique that multiplies the user's power level beyond its limits for a short time. So, by definition, Vegeta was already stronger than Goku and he needed to use a steroid boost to win. So, what does Vegeta do? He transforms and cripples Goku. Fight over. Goku only won because he had to get three of his boys to goon Vegeta and bail him out. Vegeta considered it a loss against Goku because he felt he shouldn't have had to use his ape form. We all know that is just being too hard on yourself. If you’re playing a fighting game with someone and they’re good enough to make you break out your main, but when you do you freakin’ cripple them, you still win! Now fast forward to the second fight. “Yeah, but Goku could have gone SSJ3!” you might say. Fair point, but when he did go SSJ3 against fat Buu, he ran out of time before he could finish it. You mean to tell me that same scenario wouldn’t have gone down again? Sure, it's conjecture, sure, it involves some headcanon, sure, it’s assuming a lot, sure, it’s just my opinion... but the fact is, I’m right and Vegeta is #1.