While Dragon Ball had Son Goku meeting new friends and rivals as he searched for the mystic Dragon Balls, it’s Dragon Ball Z that made a shocking revelation - Son Goku isn’t just a monkey-tailed warrior. He is, in fact, a Saiyan - a proud race of warriors that can tap into a fighter’s instinct. It’s this heritage that let him tap into more powerful Super Saiyan forms - mythical forms in Dragon Ball legend.
As revealed in Dragon Ball Z, Son Goku as well as Vegeta and their respective families are the only remaining Saiyans in their universe, making them carriers of a vast heritage. What’s more interesting is how Vegeta’s name is actually from their home planet - Planet Vegeta. However, just what else should fans learn about the Saiyan homeworld?
10 The Namesake Of The Royal Family
When Vegeta led his people against the Tuffles in a decades-long war in Planet Plant, his success in defeating them hailed him as their ruler. Not only did he become King Vegeta, but the planet was renamed after him in his honor.
As such, when King Vegeta had a son, he also named him Vegeta, after both himself and the planet. This may explain why Vegeta himself has such a strong sense of Saiyan pride, considering that he does literally carry the name of not just his father but his entire world.
9 Not The Homeworld Of The Saiyans
Despite Planet Vegeta being the namesake of King Vegeta and Prince Vegeta, the planet was in fact not the homeworld of the Saiyans. Rather, it was Planet Sadala that served as the homeworld of the Saiyan race.
In Universe 7, it was because of internal strife and discord as well as the rampage of the first Legendary Super Saiyan Yamoshi that led to the destruction of the home planet. Saiyans then transferred themselves to Planet Plant, which they renamed Planet Vegeta after overthrowing its rulers. Meanwhile, Universe 6 had Planet Vegeta intact, with King Sadala as its ruler.
8 A Harsh World For A Warrior Race
While the Saiyans are already tough on each other with their warrior-based culture and pride for their strength, it seems Planet Vegeta is the perfect home to exercise these traditions. According to its appearances, Planet Vegeta seems to possess gravity at least ten times stronger than that of Earth, implying that the planet is either much denser and/or much larger than of Earth.
It’s due to this gravity that Saiyans have developed a natural resiliency and durability in their bodies. However, evolution in the planet did mean Saiyans have generally smaller frames, which explains Vegeta’s height difference compared to Goku. In terms of geography, the planet seems to be a desert world with either a red or yellow sky, and two moons.
7 Had Ancient Settlers
When Goku’s father Bardock was sent to the distant past due to Frieza’s Supernova, Bardock arrived on what he thought was a distant planet inhabited by a race of short purple-skinned humanoids. Known as the Inhabitants of Plant, these humanoids seem to have an organized structure, with their mysterious healing liquid being an item of interest for Lord Chilled, seemingly from Freeza’s race.
Bardock soon realizes that he’s traveled to the distant past, with Freeza’s ancestor Lord Chilled already showing an interest in the planet. While Bardock transforms into a Super Saiyan to save the planet’s inhabitants, it’s interesting how generations of Freeza’s race have consistently eyed the planet for invasion.
6 Enter The Tuffles
Thousands of years after the Inhabitants of Plant settled in the land, Planet Plant became the home of the Tuffles - humanoid beings with similar physiology to humans. They’re specifically known for their technological advancements, courtesy of their race’s innate high intelligence. One such Tuffle, Dr. Lychee was able to create a machine that could transform the dead into ghosts and even create combat robots.
Unfortunately, the advanced nature of the Tuffles were no match for the Saiyans who came swooping down for a full-scale assault on the planet. Their smaller and weaker physiques made them small-fries for the persistent Saiyans who eventually conquered their land.
5 Under The Planet Trade Organization
When the Acrosians and King Cold discovered Planet Vegeta and its denizens, they became enamored by the Saiyan’s love for fighting. As such, they’ve employed them as part of the Planet Trade Organization to either subjugate or destroy other planets, especially at the time when King Cold’s son Freeza became the leader of the Organization and had an immense desire to rule the universe.
The plan to use Saiyans in this way was extremely practical as well. Planet Vegeta became a military training base, already supplementing their warrior culture. Moreover, Freeza now directed younger Saiyans with low battle power to lay waste to various planets and kill their inhabitants, so the empty planets became more profitable.
4 The Plot To Eradicate The Saiyans
However, when the Saiyans developed in strength pretty quickly, Freeza grew concerned that their strength would be enough to be able to overthrow him. And while Freeza is prideful, he is actually fearful of the Super Saiyan of Legend. As such, it was at the suggestion of Zarbon and Dodoria that Freeza should wipe out the Saiyans.
When King Vegeta realized Freeza’s plan, they began a plot to overthrow him. And when Bardock became the sole survivor of an attack on his task force, he tried to attack Freeza but unfortunately was overwhelmed by the tyrant’s power. Knowing that the Saiyans were already aware of his plan to rebel, Freeza finally executed his plan to destroy the planet once and for all.
3 The God’s Involvement
During an anime filler, King Kai mentioned that Planet Vegeta actually had a guardian who became disgusted by the Saiyans and their horrible behavior that he decided the race had to be destroyed with the meteor shower.
Interestingly enough, both Dragon Ball Super and Resurrection F reveal that the God of Destruction Beerus actually had a role in the planet’s destruction. He actually approached Freeza and asked him to destroy the planet due to King Vegeta being “stingy.” While Freeza had his own motives to destroy the planet, he may have taken the God of Destruction’s request to heart.
2 Appearances Almost Always Differ
While there’s a general description of what goes inside Planet Vegeta from the perspective of settlers, it's outside view always seemed different depending on where it’s shown and the people who talk about it.
For instance, Bardock: The Father of Goku showed the planet as red, while Dragon Ball GT showed it as green and blue in a flashback. Meanwhile, Dragon Ball: Plan To Eradicate The Saiyans had the planet appear as white and blue in the original and remake versions, respectively. When talked about, Raditz mentioned it has rings whereas King Kai and Dodoria mentioned the planet to be looking more like Earth.
1 The Return, Somewhat
It was during the events of Dragon Ball GT that Baby Vegeta actually wished for Planet Vegeta to be restored to its former glory. This was accomplished via a wish to Ultimate Shenron, who then brought the planet inside the Solar System.
When Planet Vegeta was restored, Baby Vegeta then sent his mind-controlled minions to the planet and became his ruler. While Goku did go to the planet and stop Baby Vegeta’s rampage once and for all, it seems the planet and its inhabitants stayed within the Solar System after the battle, with the inhabitants now free of Baby’s control.