Vegeta may be one of the most popular characters in Dragon Ball pBut he was always limited by his desire to grow stronger than Goku. There is a clear reason that never happened, however, and it has to do with the way Vegeta thinks, not only of himself, but of Goku as well.
Vegeta has long been plagued by the fact that Goku remains stronger than him. As the Prince of all Saiyans, Vegeta feels that power is his birthright, and every time Goku manages to surpass him, it damages his pride. After all, from his perspective (at least initially), Goku is but a low-born Saiyan who has no right to the power he wields, and Goku constantly manifesting insane new levels of power seems to flaunt that fact in Vegeta’s face. But this plays into why Vegeta will never top Goku, and it may be the most heartbreaking aspect of his character.
Vegeta just doesn’t have the right mindset to become stronger than Goku (at least in Dragon Ball Z)
There is a big difference between Goku and Vegeta that comes down to the way they approach growing stronger. coku was never motivated by the desire to be stronger than someone else; His goal is, and always has been, to become stronger for his own sake. Vegeta, on the other hand, is driven almost exclusively by his desire to surpass Goku. He obsesses about it, and every step forward that Goku takes is a massive blow to his ego.
This is not to say that Goku never compares himself to others, especially the villains he has to defeat, but Goku measures himself and his progress exclusively in comparison. For Goku, the goal is always to be stronger than he was the day before, to the extent that battling against powerful enemies is more a means to an end than an end in and of itself. Goku basically never worried about being stronger than Vegeta like Vegeta does about Goku. Instead, Goku’s goal is one of self-improvement, as is aligned with martial arts wisdom.
throughout Dragon Ball pVegeta is rarely concerned with self-improvement for self-improvement’s sake. It is always the best Goku, to feed his own ego with his superiority. It’s not enough for Vegeta to be stronger than he was yesterday, as long as he’s still weaker than Goku. This view of him holds him back and prevents him from growing organically. If Vegeta is able to put aside his obsession and grow for self-improvement, he may discover levels of power that even he never considered possible.
Vegeta’s jealousy and ego have always been his biggest obstacle, not Goku
The best example of the difference in their mindsets is easily the beginning of the Majin Buu Saga. Vegeta cares so much about surpassing Goku that he is willing to make a metaphorical deal with the devil for power, just to have a shot at defeating Goku. Even with the life he’s built on earth, and the family he has now, Vegeta was willing to throw it all away for the chance to be stronger than Goku for even a moment. Vegeta would soon regret that decision, but the damage was done, and it was all due to his inflated ego.
Goku, on the other hand, returns from the other world on his day pass with the enormous new power of Super Saiyan 3, something he gained while continuing to train in the afterlife. Goku has no reason to do this other than simply to see if he can, a perfect example of how Goku trains for the sake of self-improvement. No doubt, Vegeta was the furthest from his mind while training in other world, while Vegeta is surely still obsessed with Goku, even knowing that Goku is dead.
Secretly, Vegeta doesn’t just want to surpass Goku; He is envious of Goku’s ability to always break new ground, and he resents this fact. Vegeta wants to be the one pushing the boundaries of what’s possible more than anything, and ultimately all ties back to his identity as the Prince of All Saiyans. Can Vegeta really claim the title if he isn’t the strongest out there? It’s a question that’s always in the back of Vegeta’s head, and it bothers him endlessly.
Does Vegeta ever get over his jealousy of Goku in Super & GT?
Of course, that does start to change in Dragon Ball Super. Vegeta, learning from his terrible mistake with Babidi, begins to appreciate what he has built on Earth. in Battle of GodsVegeta comes to his family’s defense, and, for once, is fighting for something other than his own ego, bringing him newfound power.. From training with Whis, Vegeta has learned that his mindset really does impact his ability to grow, and while he still obsesses over Goku to some extent, there’s more to his quest for power than just surpassing Goku now.
Vegeta in GT Regresses on some of the points relative to SuperWhich is unfortunate, and more a consequence of Super Being made after GT Like anything else. Baby considers Vegeta’s body as the superior body in the universe, suggesting that Vegeta has within him the potential to surpass Goku, further underscoring that it is Vegeta’s mindset that is holding him back.
Super Makes for a better continuation of Vegeta’s character arc, and emphasizes his growth in moments like his learning of Kababa from Universe 6. It’s exactly the sort of thing that Dragon Ball ps version of Vegeta could never do, and it shows that Vegeta really has to learn to overcome his jealousy in some ways. Perhaps now that Vegeta is on a different track from Goku, mastering Ultra Ego rather than Ultra Instinct, Vegeta won’t feel so compelled to compare himself to Goku.
Vegeta still has a lot of growth ahead of him, and hopefully he will be able to overcome the most tragic aspect of his character since Dragon Ball p Finally.