Vegeta achieved ultimate redemption in Dragon Ball Z when he sacrificed himself to save his family and friends from Majin Buu. But the Saiyan Prince just fell from grace spectacularly in Dragon Ball Super when he confronts a similar fate against Granolah the Cerealian but for a much more selfish reason.
Fans erroneously believed that Vegeta’s tenuous alliance with Goku against Frieza was the furthest extent to which the Saiyan Prince would change. As a villain who originally came to Earth as a means to seek immortality from the Dragon Balls while destroying the planet in the process, there was absolutely no chance he could be domesticated. But this assessment failed to factor in Bulma’s bullish and dominating personality, for she reeled him in good. Although he still maintained his cold, aloof mentality and only seemed to begrudgingly accept Goku and his friends upon marrying her, the love for his family was undeniable (especially in comparison to Goku).
The full scope of Vegeta’s adoration for Bulma and his then only child, Trunks, came to fruition when he selflessly sacrifices his own life to destroy Majin Buu in an effort to protect them. It’s a heartbreaking moment. He proves that his wife is always on his mind even when she’s not there when he tells Trunks to take care of Bulma. He even relinquishes his pride when he ignores Goten’s earlier comment that he and Trunks could do a better job against Buu, instead admitting to his son that he’s proud of him while holding him for the first time since birth. Vegeta’s grand gesture when he then initiates his own self-destruction served as his complete transformation from a villain to a true hero.
Dragon Ball Super now recreates this moment in the worst possible way in chapter 76 when Vegeta faces his own inevitable destruction at the hands of Granolah for purely selfish reasons. The Saiyan Prince is so obsessed with winning against the Cerealian that he literally attacks Goku to keep him out of the fight and admits that he would rather die than team up with Goku even if it would ensure their victory. During his rematch, Granolah becomes so infuriated by Vegeta’s tenacity and refusal to give up that he decides to summon an attack so powerful that it will assuredly destroy both himself and his Saiyan foe. The look of acceptance on Vegeta’s face when he realizes his own demise eerily mirrors his facial expression years earlier moments before he enacts his self-destruct technique, just further cementing how far he’s fallen.
During their battle against Granolah, Vegeta might have revealed to Goku that he only fought alongside him to protect his own family and that since they were on the planet Cereal, he would battle Granolah alone even if he would die. But he should have realized that him choosing death for the sake of his pride when it could have been avoided would come at the expense of his family’s happiness. His death would undoubtedly hurt Trunks, Bulma and Pan. Vegeta willingly choosing to hurt them for his own selfish reasons just shows the full toxicity of Saiyan pride and how little he’s actually changed for the better. Vegeta‘s love for his wife and kids had defined his identity as a hero and served as his best-redeeming quality in Dragon Ball Z. But Dragon Ball Super just proved that his pride is still more important to him than his family.
