Do you think we'll ever have an arc where Vegeta is the one who defeats the main enemy?

[sintzu]

He was never depicted as the strongest fighter though. Even when Goku loses, he's always depicted has being the strongest warrior in U7, the fighting prodigy. The wins that Trunks and 17 got were great moments, but they weren't depicted as being the best warrior.

Even so, Toriyama can still come up with something that makes Vegeta the "star" while also keeping Goku the strongest. In RF's Super arc Goku got the kill and saved everyone but Vegeta was still the only one who beat up Freeza as unlike the movie, Goku barely laid a hand on him.

One thing they could do is have Vegeta manage to use UI while Goku for whatever reason can't.

[Kagari]

Goku has pretty much always handled every single enemy in the entire show (aside from Gohan with Cell) but Vegeta has yet to take on that main character role and do something that Goku can't, that he can be in the spotlight for once. Given how Super has treated Vegeta in trying to make him Goku's equal and more of a main character than he was in Z, do you think it's possible we'll ever see Vegeta win over Goku? The only one I can even maybe think of is Vegeta vs Freeza, but Freeza was already wounded and Vegeta didn't get the kill anyway.

I can never see this happening due to the fact that Japan likes Goku A LOT and comments made by Toei and Shueisha people in the past have indicated that they don't feel comfortable not having Goku front and center. This is Goku's story afterall, not Vegeta or Gohan's. Also when Toriyama did that with Gohan in the Cell Arc, there was significant blacklash from the Japanese fans, so I personally don't see this happening in a million years. Even if Toryiama wanted to, the big wigs at Toei and Shueisha would never allow it.

No there wasn't. Unless you have some magical proof of this.

[Lionel]

If the Japanese fanbase were so adamant about Goku being front and centre for everything then Toei would have gone with a more Red Ribbon Army-esque storytelling method. Recent Dragon Ball content suggests a different interpretation, though. Both Toriyama and Toei have gone to lengths in drudging back up the husks of once great Z-warriors for their tournaments and villain archetype arcs. If Goku is all they wanted then DBS shouldn't even need Vegeta. Let Goku travel to the future and fight the Zamasu pair on his own while Trunks and Vegeta wait in the past, twiddling their thumbs.

It doesn't mean these other characters are going to become the new protagonists. However, I think the content creators feel that it's more financially sound to take advantage of propping up these characters once again rather than take a chance in having a repeat of GT. Personally, I wish they offer some more meaningfully long term, but they only seem interested with dangling the carrot above our heads instead of offering the whole thing plus more.

[batistabus]

You shouldn't hope for Vegeta to defeat the next main enemy, you should hope for Vegeta to do interesting things leading up to the defeat the next main enemy.

[PFM18]

You shouldn't hope for Vegeta to defeat the next main enemy, you should hope for Vegeta to do interesting things leading up to the defeat the next main enemy.

Why should people be hoping for that exactly again?

[batistabus]

You shouldn't hope for Vegeta to defeat the next main enemy, you should hope for Vegeta to do interesting things leading up to the defeat the next main enemy.

Why should people be hoping for that exactly again?

Because defeating the enemy is just a single moment. Just because Goku "technically" got the kill in RoF, that doesn't negate everything that Vegeta did. Sure, emphasis is put on the defeat of the enemy, but it's the buildup that makes those moments so satisfying. As a Vegeta fan, I was totally satisfied with his role in the Boo arc, regardless of the weakened state he was in towards the end. No. 17 didn't take out Jiren, but he had some of the most satisfying moments in the ToP. Get what I mean?

If you're under the impression I'm telling people how they should and shouldn't feel, I'm not. I don't feel the need to say "in my opinion" with every post I make on a forum.

[Mercenary]

It depends. Killing Frieza off (weakened Frieza) would be probably the closest one but for some reasons they decided to take that kill from him and it surely pissed the fandom (talking about reaction and blacklash ).

The new upcoming movie can be a perfect opportunity. "Can", because we don't know anything about the plot except it'll be revolving around the Saiyans. And because it is about the Saiyans, Vegeta can play the main role. Perhaps, this is a movie Toriyama was talking about when he meant Vegeta being the hero? Who knows. Time will tell.

I don't exclude it as an option, however, I wouldn't set my hopes too high as well, since they really got used to Vegeta getting shafted in order to make Goku look good.

[FutureTrunks]

Probably not. lol

Goku would just come in and finish it.

[TBMx]

No, because it's the same old thing over and over. There are two kinds of writers, those who seek to do something new everytime (George Lucas) and those who repeat formula ad nauseum (Disney, Toriyama).

[Exline]

I'd rather they keep pulling unpredictable endgames, like 17 in the ToP and Gohan in the Cell Arc.

I like how in RoF they teased his win, but instead gave it to Goku. I prefer unexpected moments rather than fanservice.

[One_Instance]

I hope not. As stated before, Gohan is the only one who defeated a main villian before (with the help of Goku), aside from Trunks who had an entire arc dedicated mostly to his story. Vegeta has no reason to defeat a main antagonist. He's one of the most well written characters in Dragon Ball. Almost every Dragon Ball fan you ask will say Vegeta has the best character arc and Super just expands on that by giving some of the best character moments in the series to Vegeta, I don't even need to list anything. He has some of the most memorable moments in the series. He does so much in the series both then and now, I don't get why he needs special treatment. He's already special!!
EDIT: Just wanted to point out that Vegeta is the strongest Z Warrior at the moment, or at least until Goku gets UI back.

Went off on a rant about some Vegeta fans:
[spoiler]It seems to me than a bunch of toxic Vegeta fans (don't mistake me, not ALL Vegeta fans by a long shot) started spreading this idea about how much Vegeta sucks because he never defeats the main villian. I know that's not what everyone is saying, but many people are picking up on the "he has to defeat the main villian" part of it. I honestly feel bad for the guy, his fans are his biggest haters. Defeating 19 when no else could? Useless. First to achieve a level higher than SSJ and Evolution? Pointless. Self destruction to try and save the world? Worthless. I mean seriously, we never hear fans of any other character ever say anything like this.[/spoiler]

In conclusion: As someone who hasn't been, isn't, and probably will never be, Vegeta is one of, if not, the best written character in Dragon Ball, so why are people still asking for more?

Also when Toriyama did that with Gohan in the Cell Arc, there was significant blacklash from the Japanese fans, so I personally don't see this happening in a million years.

No, there absolutely was not. 1) Gohan was ranked number #1 as favorite character during the Cell Games in Japan according to a poll taken by Jump. So you can imagine people were excited to see him get the spotlight. 2) It's been proven a lot of the claims of hate mail and such that Toriyama got over Gohan's win is an internet rumor. 3) Toriyama pulled Gohan from being the main character of his own volition, not for any other reason (I know you didn't claim otherwise, I'm just being thorough). I will provide links if necessary, but this is all information you can find on this site, if I'm not mistaken.

[iamthelaw7]

Vegeta is my favorite character, and although it would bring me happiness that I would never live down, I honestly gave up hope on him playing the hero a long time ago. Him doing something relevant against the main antagonist, like coming up with the plan to defeat kid buu, was great and I’d be thrilled to see something like that happen again. If he played the hero in a movie where he shows what it means to be a saiyan I would probably have tears of happiness lol.

My real wish list is:

1) he remains relevant

2) Goku is the main character and I’m happy with Vegeta in the eternal rival role. But my wish is that their rivalry is better written. If Vegeta is portrayed as a more legitimate rival and gets good fights and moments, then I will be a more than happy and content Vegeta fan. If their rivalry was portrayed where they push each other to the next pinnacle of power, I would be ecstatic. Their rivalry is portrayed a lot better in the manga imo, I wish it was like that in the anime.

3) This one is purely wishful thinking, but if he had some of his own storyline separate from Goku’s main storyline. It would allow his character to branch off from the second fiddle sidekick every once in a while. This is just an example, but for instance if he were to develop relationships with the U6 saiyans and work with the sadala army, then:

• They could focus on parts of his character that they haven’t really in the past, such as leadership and battle strategies
• Develop his relationships with the saiyans
• Give him new challenges, motivations, fights, or adventures to learn and grow from that wouldn’t take away from Goku
• Focus on his saiyan side more often, beyond pride. His softer human side gets focused on while he’s on earth.
• Sadala army vs. the Freeza army hah okay I'm jk.

But it’s not his show, so not gonna happen. If he stays relevant in his rival role and has good fights and character moments, I’ll be perfectly happy with it. He gets treated the best after Goku, and I’m very thankful for that. In the world of dragon ball, if your favorite character isn’t Goku, there’s always that lurking fear that your favorite character will become irrelevant.

[ArchedThunder]

Probably not in the sense of him taking down the main enemy 1 on 1, but he could possibly take down a main enemy by working together with Goku like how Jiren was taken down by Goku and Freeza.

[majinwarman]

Probably not in the sense of him taking down the main enemy 1 on 1, but he could possibly take down a main enemy by working together with Goku like how Jiren was taken down by Goku and Freeza.

I think that it's more likely than Vegeta becoming the hero for an arc.