How Wes would Re-imagine Dragon Ball Part 1: The Destruction of Planet Vegeta

Welcome my friends to a new segment here on the site. What’s about to follow can best be described as an experiment in cultural adaptation. To best introduce what’s to come, first, we must discuss what initially inspired it, Marvel Mangaverse, a short lived comic book series that depicted various well known Marvel characters and events in the style of a Japanese Manga. While in my humble opinion, the execution of Marvel’s attempt to adopt the style of another culture left much to be desired, I felt that the idea still had a great deal of merit. Eventually, I thought, “What if someone tried something like Marvel Mangaverse, but in reverse?” Cutting to the chase, what I mean by that is: how would I, a westerner, when tasked with rewriting a distinctly eastern story (in this case Dragon Ball and its subsequent sequel series’), adapt the tail to make it more accessible to an audience more used to the aesthetic of western comics, while at the same time, being respectful to the source material and keeping the overall spirit of the original work intact. In this series of articles, we will discuss Dragon Ball as a whole, what changes I would make, how I would change the narrative to suit the aesthetic of western comics and what updates I would make to better fit a world that has changed a great deal in the 30 plus years since series creator Akira Toriyama originally wrote the manga. Here’s hoping that this experiment will prove both fun and exciting for both myself and my readers.

We’ll be giving more details as we continue, but for those unfamiliar with Dragon Ball, here’s a brief summary of what Dragon Ball is all about. Dragon Ball tells the story of Son Goku, an optimistic, though not especially bright child with incredible superhuman strength, a bottomless appetite and a tail, adventuring with his friends to find the titular Dragon Balls, seven mystical orbs that when gathered together can be used to summon a magical dragon that grants one wish to the one who summons him. Dragon Ball itself was heavily inspired by Martial Arts movies as well as Asian Folklore, particularly, sixteenth century Chinese novel, Journey to the West. Dragon Ball’s arguably more popular sequel series (at least here in the states), Dragon Ball Z opted for a decidedly more science fiction aesthetic, with the revelation that Goku (now a husband and father by this point in the series) is in fact, an alien known as a Saiyan. There’s obviously more to it than that, but we’ll get into that as we go along. Besides, we’re not even really discussing Goku today, as we’re starting off with…

The Destruction of Planet Vegeta:

Since, like many anime of its type (often referred to under the term shounen anime, referring to the fact that it’s geared towards teenage boys) Dragon Ball is divided into various arcs, or sagas as they’re called. As such, so too shall these articles. Technically, the destruction of planet Vegeta, the homeworld of the Saiyans, isn’t an arc in the series, but it is nonetheless a pivotal event in the series and the events surrounding it have been detailed and shown throughout the serious, most notably in the film, Bardock: Father of Goku. I’ve opted to start with this story for a number of reasons. First, chronologically, it is the one of the first plot critical events in the series. Second, given the obvious similarities between this and the origins of Superman, it was actually pretty easy to present to a western audience. Third, by having my version of the story start this way as opposed to the beginning of Dragon Ball, it will set up some things for Goku’s character arc that we’ll be discussing in our next few articles. Finally, at the time of my writing this, it’s the part of the story that I’ve put the most thought into and had the most fun reworking.

It begins with Frieza, the ruthless Galactic Emperor. By many, Frieza is considered the best and baddest villain in the entire series, and it’s hard to blame them. While there were more powerful villains who came after (and at least one that I personally prefer but we’ll get to that), in terms of impact on the series, Frieza cannot be beat. According to his reputation, any planet or race that he deems useful to his empire will be made to submit to his will, and any who resist are destroyed. In the actual series, the Saiyans appear to have been loyal servants of Frieza for some time, even King Vegeta (Yes, the planet is named after its King. Silly though that may sound, it could just be a part of Saiyan culture for the planet to bare the name of its titled ruler) bows before the Galactic tyrant. Speaking of King Vegeta, his son, Prince Vegeta, who later on becomes a main character in the series, often describes his people as a proud and noble warrior race. It’s entirely possible that this is merely Vegeta holding an overly romanticized view of his people, as most of the saiyans we see in the show are depicted as thugs and space pirates, but for the purposes of this article, let’s assume that that’s true. If that is the case, and the Saiyans are really as powerful and proud as Vegeta claims then why would they submit to Frieza in the first place. This was the first aspect of the story I sought to change.

With this story, Frieza is still the monstrous galactic tyrant he’s always been, but with a few key difference. Instead of just conquering planets outright, he always appeals to their leadership first and actually tries to avoid things war, genocide and planetary destruction whenever possible. This is certainly not because of any sort of compassion, but rather because Frieza doesn’t like to waste resources. To Frieza, other living beings are simply tools to aide him in his ongoing conquest of the universe. Anytime Frieza sets his sights on a planet, it’s likely because either the planet itself or its people possess something that he intends to exploit. If the natives resist, all that means to Frieza is that getting what he wants will be slightly more difficult. If whatever use Frieza can get out of the planet ceases to be worth the sacrifices necessary to obtain it, only then does Frieza destroy it, as at the very least, destroying the planet will gain serve to add to his reputation and perhaps make future conquests more willing to submit. It was only a matter of time before Frieza piercing red eyes were set on planet Vegeta. Afterall, the Saiyan Empire is almost as powerful as his own albeit not as expansive, and given the saiyans’ unique strength, ability to adapt and grow stronger after every battle and the fact that when the moon is full they transform into powerful and deadly ape-like monsters, adding them to the empire is far to tempting for Frieza to ignore. As such, Frieza arranges a meeting with King Vegeta and makes his customary offer. King Vegeta, being fully aware of Frieza’s reputation, effectively tells Frieza to take his offer and shove it. The saiyans submit to no one and if Frieza plans to go to war with them, he better be ready for one hell of a fight.

At this point, Frieza’s weighing his options. See, this Frieza may be just as arrogant as his series counterpart, but he’s not stupid. Though he’d likely never admit it out loud, Frieza knows that the saiyans are not to be taken lightly, and if it does come to war, there’s a very real chance it’ll be one even he can’t win, and even if he does, he may not have much of an empire left once the dust clears. So, plan B. blow up the planet, right? Well, that’s not exactly smart either. King Vegeta is likely expecting retaliation and will send the Saiyan armada to blow his ship to hell before he can even get close enough. Besides, the saiyans have colonies all over the system. Blowing up their throne world may weaken the saiyans, but it definitely won’t make them any more likely to serve him. So, what’s a galactic tyrant to do? Then, it occurs to Frieza, King Vegeta isn’t stupid either and is probably thinking the exact same thing. And indeed, King Vegeta is regretting his decision to tell off Frieza. I mean, he’s not about to let Frieza subjugate his people, but he’s well aware that he’s just poked the proverbial space-bear. So, under the banner of truce, Frieza sends an emissary to planet Vegeta requesting that the King meet with Frieza to sign a non-aggression pact between their two empires, effectively ensuring that they’d stay out of each others’ way from now on. King Vegeta doesn’t trust Frieza, but his offer is too tempting to ignore entirely, especially with the life and future of his newborn son to consider, so he agrees to the meeting.

As you can imagine, the meeting is a trap. King Vegeta’s bodyguards are quickly slaughtered by Frieza’s warriors and the King himself is overwhelmed and restrained. It’s here where we would meet the first character who has been significantly changed from his original counterpart: Captain Ginyu. Captain Ginyu is the leader of The Ginyu Force, Friezas five most elite soldiers. Despite their incredible flamboyance, the various members of the Ginyu force are all formidable in their own right. The Captain himself has a very unique ability to switch bodies with others. To date, no other character in Dragon Ball has displayed this ability. As such, there’s a great deal of mystery surrounding Ginyu that he unfortunately wasn’t around long enough to have revealed. My biggest question was always whether or not the form Ginyu takes in the series is his true body, or simply the latest of many he’s stolen over the years. That’s when I had the idea to alter the character. He’s still the highest-ranking soldier in Frieza’s army, but his role differs significantly. See, when Frieza finds himself in the exact situation he finds himself in with planet Vegeta, he has a contingency plan, just in case. Lure said leader into a trap and have Captain Ginyu use his powers to assume their form and identity, ruling the planet as Frieza’s puppet until which time that Frieza’s stranglehold on the planet is such that Ginyu is no longer needed. Now, with the Saiyan people believing Ginyu to be their King, they do not resist when it is announced that Frieza’s forces and the Saiyans have forged an alliance. Now, Frieza’s empire will be more powerful than ever.

We would then jump to four years later. With the saiyan race in his thrall, Frieza’s army has been able crush any opposition Frieza’s glorious empire with little effort. On the planet Kanassa, a small squad of Saiyan warriors, led by a soldier named Bardock are finishing up quelling a resistance movement by a race of clairvoyants. Bardock is a Saiyan of a lower-class, but was still able to make a name for himself by proposing the idea of creating artificial moons, allowing the saiyans to unleash their great ape for anytime they desired. Upon wiping out the Kanassan rebels, Frieza arrives to congratulate Bardock in person. In the original film, one of the remaining aliens tranfers their psychic abilities to Bardock before his death, allowing the Saiyan to see the destruction of his home planet at the hands of Frieza. In my version, events play out the same way, only both Bardock and Frieza are given a glimpse of the future. The glimpse faded once the initial shock wore off, both Bardock and Frieza were left disoriented with two images burned into their head. For Bardock, he saw his new born son Kakarot (Goku’s birth name) growing up on a strange planet as well as Planet Vegeta destroyed by Frieza. In Frieza’s case, he saw his demise at the hands of what appeared to be a very powerful Saiyan and seven orange spheres with red stars on them.

As Bardock frantically tries to warn his people that Frieza plans to betray them, Frieza begins digging through some old texts for information on the images he saw in his head. It is here that Frieza learns of the Super Saiyan legend. The story tells of a Saiyan warrior whose power would grow beyond any being in the universe. Suddenly, Frieza’s getting nervous. When asked by his minion why he even believes such stories, Frieza only cryptically responds with “My eyes have recently been open to new possibilities.” What this means will become important in a later article. Indeed, Frieza would ordinarily be skeptical of all this, but when he thinks about it, everything adds up. The Saiyans, by their very nature are constantly getting stronger, and there have even been rumors that a Saiyan baby was recently born with a power level of ten thousand. Suddenly, this legend is sounding pretty plausible. Frieza’s beginning to thing that the Saiyans have outlived their usefulness. They need to be destroyed. To that end, Frieza heads to planet Vegeta to destroy it himself, having Ginyu call for all off-world Saiyans to return to the home planet to make sure that no chances are taken.

Meanwhile, Bardock tries to warn his people, much like in the original film, but again like in the original, his people have become so indoctrinated under Frieza, in this case due in large part to the influence of the false King Vegeta, that the fact that he’d destroy them seems laughable and Bardock is forced to face Frieza alone. In his rage, Bardock plows through legions of Frieza’s henchmen before coming face to face with the mad tyrant himself. On top of Frieza’s ship in orbit of planet Vegeta, Frieza and Bardock duel. While Frieza clearly has the upper hand, Bardock’s rage gives him strength he never knew he had. In the final moments of their battle, the two are face to face, and in Bardock’s eyes, he sees a flash of blue and green, the same as the eyes of the powerful saiyan in his vision. In desperation, Frieza blasts Bardock through the heart. As Bardocks corpse drifts into space, with a single energy blast from his finger tip, the evil Frieza reduces planet Vegeta to dust, but not before a single escape pod is sent away from the doomed planet bound for a primitive backwater known as Earth. While little of this chapter of the series needed serious re-writing, it was still a fun chapter to re-work. However, next time, we’ll be diving into the serious changes as we reimagine the early chapters of Dragon Ball.