Theory - Vegeta's (real) intentions staying on Earth

[Luke Groundwalker]

This is a subject I've been thinking about a while, in how confusing it is that Vegeta and Bulma ended up together and how Vegeta decided to make his home on Earth. There is very little explanation on the subject, and seems that the only purpose of it is to explain where Trunks came from. Because of this, it isn't a very hotly debated topic. Afterall it isn't till the Buu Saga when he finally started showing his care for his homelife on Earth for a brief moment in the series.

Coming off from Namek, this whole situation is even odder. Vegeta is blatantly evil throughout the entire Saiyan and Frieza Saga. You have to remember that Vegeta since he was a child was raised to be a space pirate, so the most logical next step for him would be something akin to taking over whatever left is of Frieza's empire or forming his own gang similar to what Turles did. I'm not saying this fanfiction scenario is necessarily what should've happened, just something you would expect from the prideful prince of Saiyans. Instead, however, we see him settle on Earth.

(In the anime, he goes searching for Goku in space, and once he settles we get a bit of brief character development between him and Bulma. Neither happen in the manga, and because of this I just want to make it clear that I'll be disregarding both of those character arcs in this theory.)

There isn't much I can say about how much out of character it is for Vegeta to be on Earth, since everyone who has watched the series has already realized this and/or just doesn't care and wants to see Vegeta continue to kick ass. I have a different view on the subject.

The theory is basically this: Vegeta stayed on Earth to repopulate the Saiyan race, and it worked.

There are other reasons one can speculate based off the series itself, like the fact that Vegeta obsessively wants to kill/fight Goku and could be just staying there awaiting his return like everyone else. That is also a logical point and is something a lot of people I think could agree on. Not denying that aspect of his character, but looking at the outcome and the development of the series itself points to some interesting signs:

• The first encounter with Gohan proved to Vegeta that both Saiyans and Humans are sexually compatible with each other. Not only that, but they're stronger than the average Saiyan, even where they are able to achieve SSJ form at extremely young ages that only a true, almost god-like seasoned warrior could obtain. On a scientific level, this is extremely rare but not surprising considering how similar Saiyans are to Humans.
• By Namek, Vegeta consistently allowed Gohan and his friends to live. While he had evil intentions, this was the very beginning of him getting on their good side. Why not just kill them with ease to get them out of his way? (He had several chances to do so!) Maybe Vegeta garnered a deep respect for the Earthlings after his defeat.
• Vegeta married into a family that is quite possibly the most successful and richest on Earth. Bulma is one of the most intelligent people on Earth, and the result was essentially a fusion of Vegeta's strength and Bulma's smarts in Trunks. Really, Vegeta couldn't have asked for a better combination. (Of course he wouldn't marry into the King's family...he's a dog. Probably not sexually compatible or viable.)

Of course there could be other reasons too. Maybe Vegeta just liked Earth. Vegeta even in his villain state has stated that Earth is a nice planet, so maybe to him it was worth living in for the rest of your life. Whether he liked it then doesn't really matter to his character development, as it's made quite clear later that he grows to love his life on Earth overtime, but it's still something interesting to look at. Also although non-canon Vegeta did show interest in running his own planet in Movie 8.

Did Toriyama put much though into this? Probably not. But I find it hard to believe that Vegeta would be just as oblivious as Goku is to his existence on Earth. Despite Vegeta's straight up incompetence at times and failures, he's still fairly intelligent and consistently aware of his place in the world on the average basis. I think it's highly probable he saw how successful Gohan was, and in result he tried to go one step ahead and fathered Trunks. Along with Goku's family lineage, his family lineage too will exist on Earth.

Does this mean necessarily he stayed on Earth to repopulate it with Saiyans? Well that's hard to say that is 100% grounded in reality, but it's something interesting to think about considering Vegeta has apparently had evil intentions pretty much the entire manga till around the Buu Saga. Though after Namek it's never made clear other than him wanting to get more powerful than Goku.

However one thing may be clear is that whether Vegeta or Goku intended it or not, it still worked, if you take account of Dragonball Online's backstory. Though just to make it clear before people wonder how this happened over simply the course of 200+ years, the human fighters that are part Saiyan are from an unknown point in the future to help Trunks save the past. So such a major course of human evolution definitely took time, even though it's ambiguous, all of the human characters in the game are part Saiyan which is quite extraordinary. Earth, essentially, became the new home of the Saiyans and it's all because both Goku and Vegeta lived there.

Though whether you take that bit canon or not, both Goku and Vegeta produced extraordinary children that have surpassed both of them. That is, by all means, the future of the Saiyan race whether it was intentional or not.

[Bussani]

Interestingly, Nappa's the one who comes up with the idea of mating with Earth women to produce powerful offspring. Vegeta completely dismisses the idea at the time, saying he wouldn't want kids stronger than them running around. I suppose that doesn't disprove your idea, but I thought it was worth mentioning.

As for repopulating the Saiyan race...I guess it depends on your definition. You can't repopulate a species with only one or two members of it--especially when they're both male. Those humans who carry Saiyan DNA far in the future would be far more human than Saiyan; I believe in the game they even need to make a wish with the Dragon Balls to allow them to transform into Super Saiyans, so the Saiyan blood may be too thin for even that to work without magic at that point.

Still, actually wanting to start a family may well have been part of why Vegeta stayed. As you get older, you start thinking about stuff like that. Finally free from Freeza, Vegeta may have been able to consider such things for the first time in his life.

[In Brightest Day]

Interestingly, Nappa's the one who comes up with the idea of mating with Earth women to produce powerful offspring. Vegeta completely dismisses the idea at the time, saying he wouldn't want kids stronger than them running around. I suppose that doesn't disprove your idea, but I thought it was worth mentioning.

Wow. When was this said? I've never heard of that conversation before.

Also, nice way to kick off your time at Daizex, Luke Groundwalker. Hopefully you stick around.

[TheDevilsCorpse]

The theory is basically this: Vegeta stayed on Earth to repopulate the Saiyan race, and it worked.

As Bussani said, that would be all fine and dandy if Vegeta himself hadn't contradicted your idea. Nappa suggests the idea of going to Earth and making a bunch of hybrids to repopulate the race, and Vegeta says he doesn't want to have a bunch of hybrids with such potential for power running around. I know he decides to stay on Earth more than a year after that first statement, and a lot has happened to him, but he hasn't changed that much and it seems out of character anyway. He only had one kid and he didn't even seem to care about saving said offspring when #20 tried to kill 'em and his baby's momma.

The most simple and best explanation for why Vegeta stayed on Earth was to wait for Goku to come back. Then either Vegeta got horny and Bulma was there, vice versa, or probably a combination of the two..

I believe in the game they even need to make a wish with the Dragon Balls to allow them to transform into Super Saiyans, so the Saiyan blood may be too thin for even that to work without magic at that point.

That aspect is probably nothing more than forcing an in-game limit on players, similar to how a lot of game franchises do for character power-ups. Since Shenlong isn't able to turn 17 and 18 back into humans despite the fact that most of the alterations Gero made to them were purely organic for compatibility with Cell (save the bombs), then I doubt that the dragon could actually trigger the Super Saiyan state to be active.

Wow. When was this said? I've never heard of that conversation before.

During Raditz's death, when Vegeta and Nappa discuss going to Earth and using the Dragon Balls. Nappa suggests making a bunch of hybrids since they seem to be like "super" Saiyans due to their potential for power.

[CODii]

Interestingly, Nappa's the one who comes up with the idea of mating with Earth women to produce powerful offspring. Vegeta completely dismisses the idea at the time, saying he wouldn't want kids stronger than them running around. I suppose that doesn't disprove your idea, but I thought it was worth mentioning.

Wow. When was this said? I've never heard of that conversation before.

Also, nice way to kick off your time at Daizex, Luke Groundwalker. Hopefully you stick around.

It's in episode #5 of the DBZ anime. Since I liked doing it so much in another thread, here is the conversation between Radditz and Vegeta.

http://img641.imageshack.us/img641/6341 ... aconvo.jpg

Note that the subtitles are of Steven J. Simmons' translation. I do not know, nor do I care, what Funimation's script says during this scene.

[Luke Groundwalker]

Interestingly, Nappa's the one who comes up with the idea of mating with Earth women to produce powerful offspring. Vegeta completely dismisses the idea at the time, saying he wouldn't want kids stronger than them running around. I suppose that doesn't disprove your idea, but I thought it was worth mentioning.

Very true, I've forgotten about that. But I dunno, Vegeta's character has changed so much, and that was basically his introduction to the series. He got a HUGE confidence boost after he was beaten on Earth, and his relations with the Earthlings around then turned completely upside down. Besides Trunks still exist which also goes against that quote too, if Vegeta didn't want anyone becoming more powerful than him.

Also is there technically any proof that the thinner the Saiyan blood, the less powerful one is? I mean is this ever stated outside of the anime or guidebooks?

Edit: Also this thread doesn't have to just be about my theory, I'd like to hear people's thoughts on why they think Vegeta stayed on Earth.

[Bussani]

That aspect is probably nothing more than forcing an in-game limit on players, similar to how a lot of game franchises do for character power-ups. Since Shenlong isn't able to turn 17 and 18 back into humans despite the fact that most of the alterations Gero made to them were purely organic for compatibility with Cell (save the bombs), then I doubt that the dragon could actually trigger the Super Saiyan state to be active.

You're probably right about it just being a game thing, but I don't think it's impossible. Shenlong couldn't affect the androids because their powers were "too great and strange", which may not be the case with awakening someone's dormant genetics. I thought it was worth mentioning if we were going to talk about the ability for players to become Super Saiyans at all in the game, at least.

Very true, I've forgotten about that. But I dunno, Vegeta's character has changed so much, and that was basically his introduction to the series. He got a HUGE confidence boost after he was beaten on Earth, and his relations with the Earthlings around then turned completely upside down. Besides Trunks still exist which also goes against that quote too, if Vegeta didn't want anyone becoming more powerful than him.

Well, the idea he turned down was mass breeding to create "a new Saiyan race", not simply having a son. Like I said, though, it doesn't really invalidate your theory.

Also is there technically any proof that the thinner the Saiyan blood, the less powerful one is? I mean is this ever stated outside of the anime or guidebooks?

No, that's not stated anywhere as far as I remember. It's not want I meant to imply, either. What I meant was, is it really repopulating the Saiyan race if the descendants are only 1% Saiyan and 99% human? Each person only has a finite number of genes, anyway, so in all likelihood Goku and Vegeta's Saiyan genetics would eventually disappear completely after a sufficient number of generations.

Since you brought it up, though, I think it would be logical for them to get weaker as the Saiyan blood gets thinner. Of course, I think they'd get weaker if the Saiyan blood got thicker, too. It's having both together that creates a powerful hybrid; if you go too far one way or the other, logically you should be getting closer to being a normal, full blooded member of that race. But that's just logic; fiction can do whatever it wants, so who knows?

[Luke Groundwalker]

No, that's not stated anywhere as far as I remember. It's not want I meant to imply, either. What I meant was, is it really repopulating the Saiyan race if the descendants are only 1% Saiyan and 99% human? Each person only has a finite number of genes, anyway, so in all likelihood Goku and Vegeta's Saiyan genetics would eventually disappear completely after a sufficient number of generations.

Since you brought it up, though, I think it would be logical for them to get weaker as the Saiyan blood gets thinner. Of course, I think they'd get weaker if the Saiyan blood got thicker, too. It's having both together that creates a powerful hybrid; if you go too far one way or the other, logically you should be getting closer to being a normal, full blooded member of that race. But that's just logic; fiction can do whatever it wants, so who knows?

Well it's definitely the only way to preserve the race, even if the contribution is minimal.

Though I agree that it's logical to assume that the thinner the blood, the weaker one would get. Though this should apply to a human/Saiyan hybrid, yet it doesn't for some reason (plot convenience!). Instead a 1/2 hybrid makes pretty much a super enhanced Saiyan, so who knows if going even lower would really go downhill from there if we're using Dragonball logic. I mean going by the manga only, Pan was ridiculously powerful for a five year old as she almost killed a man by simply punching him.

[Bussani]

Though I agree that it's logical to assume that the thinner the blood, the weaker one would get. Though this should apply to a human/Saiyan hybrid, yet it doesn't for some reason (plot convenience!). Instead a 1/2 hybrid makes pretty much a super enhanced Saiyan, so who knows if going even lower would really go downhill from there if we're using Dragonball logic.

I don't think I follow you there. It sounds like you're saying that adding human blood at all should make a Saiyan weaker, but I don't think that's the case. Human blood and Saiyan blood must each bring something to the mix that the other lacks, and that's what creates the powerful hybrid. If you have less and less Saiyan blood, eventually you may end up with a person who's almost entirely human except for the genes for Saiyan hair, and I don't think that would really give them anything special, you know?

[Adamant]

The most simple and best explanation for why Vegeta stayed on Earth was to wait for Goku to come back.

He more or less states this directly after Goku "dies". That's also why he's suddenly being so helpful with his ideas of how to bring Goku back to life.

[Herms]

Also is there technically any proof that the thinner the Saiyan blood, the less powerful one is? I mean is this ever stated outside of the anime or guidebooks?

I don't think that's even stated in the anime or guidebooks for that matter. Daizenshuu 4 talks about how super-strong Saiyan/Earthling hybrids are, and while Pan's Daizenshuu 7 bio says that due to being a quarter Saiyan she has never become an Oozaru or Super Saiyan, it doesn't flat-out say she never could, and it still says her Saiyan blood makes her very strong. Also, the GT Perfect Files say Pan can potentially become a Super Saiyan, so it gets a little confusing.

[Luke Groundwalker]

I don't think I follow you there. It sounds like you're saying that adding human blood at all should make a Saiyan weaker, but I don't think that's the case. Human blood and Saiyan blood must each bring something to the mix that the other lacks, and that's what creates the powerful hybrid. If you have less and less Saiyan blood, eventually you may end up with a person who's almost entirely human except for the genes for Saiyan hair, and I don't think that would really give them anything special, you know?

I probably should've made myself clearer. I mean it's definitely a true fact that 1/2 Saiyans are more powerful than 100% Saiyans, however logically I don't think it has anymore of a case than more thinner bloods. I mean why exactly is being 50% Saiyan drastically better than 100% Saiyan, while 25% is drastically worse than 100% Saiyan? There is nothing particularly special about being part human, as we can see in the series humans are one of the weakest fighting centric races in the entire universe. A thinner blood Saiyan, IF they still have the major Saiyan aspects like the ability to get stronger after getting beat up, the tail, their desire to constantly fight they should still have that "balance" you speak of.

Though I guess it entirely depends on the person and what traits they inherit in the long run, I don't think it's lost if the Saiyan "aspect" is still there in the long run. I mean I'm sure these kids are still born with tails and sometimes even spikey, black hair.

Another thing to note is that in Dragonball Online, it isn't just blood that's passed down, but Saiyan technology like the battle armour and scouter are used on a common basis on Earth. Matter of fact if I recall correctly Capsule Corp makes them and distributes them in the game. Saiyans have a hold on the economy!

[Godo]

By Namek, Vegeta consistently allowed Gohan and his friends to live. While he had evil intentions, this was the very beginning of him getting on their good side. Why not just kill them with ease to get them out of his way? (He had several chances to do so!) Maybe Vegeta garnered a deep respect for the Earthlings after his defeat.

Vegeta let the Earthlings live because of that they were essential for him to be able to defeat Freeza. He knew that Freeza could transform, and especially Gohan was vital for the battle (Goku included).
There was no respect there. Just a year later, Vegeta was mocking Tenshinhan before Freeza and King Cold showed up, although he seems to have gained a bit of respect for Piccolo (commenting his awesomeness by showing up silently on a cliff with his cape moving in the wind). And he doesn't seem to mind Kuririn either.
But I wouldn't say that his respect was deep.

Vegeta married into a family that is quite possibly the most successful and richest on Earth. Bulma is one of the most intelligent people on Earth, and the result was essentially a fusion of Vegeta's strength and Bulma's smarts in Trunks. Really, Vegeta couldn't have asked for a better combination. (Of course he wouldn't marry into the King's family...he's a dog. Probably not sexually compatible or viable.)

I think that Bulma was the closest woman, who could give him all the food and shelter (and later obviously sex) that he needed whilst he could mind his own business. That's all that there is to it.
And Trunks wasn't particularly smart. Future Trunks may have been technologically smart, but not above average otherwise. Kid Trunks didn't do anything that would make us believe that he was above average in smarts either.

[the_abberration]

My theory has always been that Vegeta (while waiting for Goku to return), seduced Bulma in order to learn potential weaknesses in his enemies. Bulma has been around them long enough and she does run at the mouth at times. From his point of view, even if Bulma was not aware of it, she may reveal something he could use.

Also on a subconscious level, Vegeta was trying to recreate what he may have thought at the time, were elements that lead to Goku becoming stronger. He got with Bulma who in many ways reflects Chi Chi, headstrong, intelligent and coming from a powerful (i.e. wealthy) family.

If you take the anime into account, Vegeta fell victim to the Florence Nightingale syndrome, (a term used to describe a situation where a caregiver, typically a doctor or nurse, develops an emotional attachment to a vulnerable patient in his or her care. This attachment may progress into a sexual attraction) when he crashes back on Earth after searching for Goku.

[Bussani]

while Pan's Daizenshuu 7 bio says that due to being a quarter Saiyan she has never become an Oozaru or Super Saiyan, it doesn't flat-out say she never could, and it still says her Saiyan blood makes her very strong.

Did it even say that much? Looking at the way it reads on Kanzentai, to me it seems more like, "Though she's never become a Super Saiyan or Oozaru, being a quarter Saiyan gives her fighting talent." Maybe I'm reading it wrong.

I probably should've made myself clearer. I mean it's definitely a true fact that 1/2 Saiyans are more powerful than 100% Saiyans, however logically I don't think it has anymore of a case than more thinner bloods. I mean why exactly is being 50% Saiyan drastically better than 100% Saiyan, while 25% is drastically worse than 100% Saiyan? There is nothing particularly special about being part human, as we can see in the series humans are one of the weakest fighting centric races in the entire universe.

I disagree that there's nothing special about humans. It's not as obvious as what's good about Saiyans, of course, but if anything, the way human blood helps to create an even more powerful warrior is proof to me that humans do have something special to contribute. Who knows? Maybe the gigantic hidden power the hybrids have come from humans, not Saiyans, and the Saiyan blood just gives that power a way to be released.

On the other hand, think of it this way. You have a dog with long legs, strong muscles, that can run really fast. This is the perfect race dog, except for one unseen flaw: weak hips. A chain's only as strong as its weakest link, and this link is keeping the animal from reaching its true potential. On the surface, you wouldn't think breeding this dog with a short, stubby, lazy, lethargic dog would provide any benefit at all; stubby dog can't run to save its life, and you might think that adding its DNA to race dog would only slow it down. But it does have a good point: strong hips. If you could get the hips from stubby dog inside race dog, race dog would become super race dog. Basically, on the surface Saiyans might seem amazing compared to humans, but that doesn't mean that every single one of their genes is better than the human equivalent. I think it's likely that both races have their strong and weak points, and the hybrids get the best from both.

Of course, the hybrids are also less interested in fighting and tend to get lazy, so they're not perfect in every way...

PS: The dog thing is just a very simplified example.

A thinner blood Saiyan, IF they still have the major Saiyan aspects like the ability to get stronger after getting beat up, the tail, their desire to constantly fight they should still have that "balance" you speak of.

I was talking about the balance between human and Saiyan blood. You can't have a balance between the two without human blood.

[Luke Groundwalker]

Vegeta let the Earthlings live because of that they were essential for him to be able to defeat Freeza. He knew that Freeza could transform, and especially Gohan was vital for the battle (Goku included).
There was no respect there. Just a year later, Vegeta was mocking Tenshinhan before Freeza and King Cold showed up, although he seems to have gained a bit of respect for Piccolo (commenting his awesomeness by showing up silently on a cliff with his cape moving in the wind). And he doesn't seem to mind Kuririn either.
But I wouldn't say that his respect was deep.

How was either Gohan and Krillin essential for defeating Freeza? Honestly he didn't need their help at all. Matter of fact he was more than confident on Namek to face Freeza himself for the majority of the time, but later when he faces the Ginyu Force he begins to realize how much of a valuable asset the Earthlings are. But even then, before he realized that he consistently sparred the life of Krillin, Gohan, and Bulma despite encountering them several times. In the very least I don't ever recall Vegeta outright saying he might need Krillin and Gohan's help in defeating Frieza before they teamed up to fight the Ginyu Force.

I think that Bulma was the closest woman, who could give him all the food and shelter (and later obviously sex) that he needed whilst he could mind his own business. That's all that there is to it.

Well apparently he does a better job at marriage than Yamcha! Regardless yeah it was quite possibly a one-time thing, but I've always interpreted that Vegeta just had more things on his mind in the Android Saga (and obviously Bulma is pretty independent and can take care of herself).

And Trunks wasn't particularly smart. Future Trunks may have been technologically smart, but not above average otherwise. Kid Trunks didn't do anything that would make us believe that he was above average in smarts either.

Eh I dunno, I realize that we don't have a measure of Trunk's intelligence, but I don't think it's off to assume that since his personality is more relative of his mother's rather than his father's, I think he probably did end up growing up to be just as intelligent. Even so Vegeta himself is pretty intelligent also, even if he may not be a scientist or inventor like Bulma.

Also on a subconscious level, Vegeta was trying to recreate what he may have thought at the time, were elements that lead to Goku becoming stronger. He got with Bulma who in many ways reflects Chi Chi, headstrong, intelligent and coming from a powerful (i.e. wealthy) family.

Yeah this is also what I believe. Vegeta most likely was trying to emulate the success Goku had with his life, only one-stepping him by marrying someone even richer making his life set for stable, jobless living. Vegeta probably feels this is obligated since he's the prince of Saiyans.

I disagree that there's nothing special about humans. It's not as obvious as what's good about Saiyans, of course, but if anything, the way human blood helps to create an even more powerful warrior is proof to me that humans do have something special to contribute. Who knows? Maybe the gigantic hidden power the hybrids have come from humans, not Saiyans, and the Saiyan blood just gives that power a way to be released.

On the other hand, think of it this way. You have a dog with long legs, strong muscles, that can run really fast. This is the perfect race dog, except for one unseen flaw: weak hips. A chain's only as strong as its weakest link, and this link is keeping the animal from reaching its true potential. On the surface, you wouldn't think breeding this dog with a short, stubby, lazy, lethargic dog would provide any benefit at all; stubby dog can't run to save its life, and you might think that adding its DNA to race dog would only slow it down. But it does have a good point: strong hips. If you could get the hips from stubby dog inside race dog, race dog would become super race dog. Basically, on the surface Saiyans might seem amazing compared to humans, but that doesn't mean that every single one of their genes is better than the human equivalent. I think it's likely that both races have their strong and weak points, and the hybrids get the best from both.

Of course, the hybrids are also less interested in fighting and tend to get lazy, so they're not perfect in every way...

PS: The dog thing is just a very simplified example.

I kind of see where you're going with this, but the thing about your analogy is that it refers to physical advantages which humans don't have compared to Saiyans. Rather, I think it's the mental advantage that brings them above Saiyans. I can kind of see that, but that still doesn't explain why Gohan is already on par with his dad's power at his age despite not having any martial arts training. Gohan shouldn't have unlocked his "balance" of Saiyan/Human blood till he started fighting, since the mental aspect would just be how humans control their power compared to Saiyans. And even so Goku was very much "mentally" human so that point kind of fails too. I think it's best to assume that the hybrid concept is not meant to be explained logically.

I was talking about the balance between human and Saiyan blood. You can't have a balance between the two without human blood.

Yeah but do you really have to have the balance of blood to be "balanced"? I mean a lot of traits people gain are almost randomized over the years. I could see a variety of hybrids in the future, for example, being born with the physical body and power of a full-blood Saiyan, while others would be born with the physical body and power of a full-blood Human. I guess what I'm trying to say that it's completely possible for Saiyan features would take dominance in a person's conception. Gohan, Trunks, and Goten had higher chances because their fathers were full-blood Saiyans, but then you have Bra who is still a hybrid yet clearly isn't a fighter or one with Saiyan traits.

Because of this I don't think it would be a lose for Saiyans to interbreed with the Humans, even if the blood is thinned, you're still pushing your legacy on an entire planet and preserving what's left of the Saiyan race, whether it's intentional or not.

[Godo]

How was either Gohan and Krillin essential for defeating Freeza? Honestly he didn't need their help at all. Matter of fact he was more than confident on Namek to face Freeza himself for the majority of the time, but later when he faces the Ginyu Force he begins to realize how much of a valuable asset the Earthlings are. But even then, before he realized that he consistently sparred the life of Krillin, Gohan, and Bulma despite encountering them several times. In the very least I don't ever recall Vegeta outright saying he might need Krillin and Gohan's help in defeating Freeza before they teamed up to fight the Ginyu Force.

Goku says it when he is in a bad shape after the Ginyu fight. Vegeta acknowledges it. Before that, he spared Kuririn because of the remaining Dragonball (the Earthlings knew about it's whereabouts).

[Bussani]

I kind of see where you're going with this, but the thing about your analogy is that it refers to physical advantages which humans don't have compared to Saiyans.

That we can see. The point of the analogy was that genetic benefits aren't always obvious. I'm really just making up ideas since I'm not trying to prove any of them, but rather trying to show that it's not impossible, but a possibility might be that even though Saiyans have the raw power, a human's network of ki meridians (the paths ki flows through) might be more elegant, efficient and sophisticated. Mixing that design with a Saiyan's raw power would definitely be beneficial.

Another possibility requires a bit more basic knowledge of how genes work. Each person actually has two copies of every gene--one inherited from their mother, and the other from their father. How they work together varies: sometimes one gene is dominant and so acts by itself while the recessive gene does nothing; other times the two genes work together to produce their trait. So maybe it's not that humans and Saiyans have something the other is missing at all, but that when Saiyan genes and human genes work together, the result is better. That would certainly fit the idea of Saiyan genes having an extraordinary good compatibility with human blood, as Daizenshuu 4 put it.

Rather, I think it's the mental advantage that brings them above Saiyans. I can kind of see that, but that still doesn't explain why Gohan is already on par with his dad's power at his age despite not having any martial arts training.

Actually, that's another idea that I think is right on the money. Ki is a spiritual power, contributed to and affected by things like bravery, true character, and...well...genki is harder to put in English... The point is, even though Saiyans are overall more powerful, the human temprament could very well contribute something that a Saiyan doesn't have, which wouldn't depend on how much training Gohan's had at all. I guess that's almost the same as the idea of a hybrid's hidden potential being inherited from the human side rather than the Saiyan.

Yeah but do you really have to have the balance of blood to be "balanced"? I mean a lot of traits people gain are almost randomized over the years. I could see a variety of hybrids in the future, for example, being born with the physical body and power of a full-blood Saiyan

It's...not impossible. The initial 1/2 hybrids have an unavoidably perfect balance of Saiyan and human genetics (since you inherit exactly half from each parent), but after that it comes down to probability. It's astronomically unlikely, but not entirely impossible that the half of Gohan's genetics passed down to Pan could be entirely from his Saiyan half, resulting in her being a perfect 50-50 balance as well. More likely, though, more and more Saiyan genes won't be passed down each generation, and so a distant descendant somehow acquiring enough of these genes for anything special to come from it would be some kind of miracle...and would almost certainly require a degree of inbreeding.

Anyway, I feel bad about getting so off topic, so I'll say a bit about Vegeta now. Almost his whole life was spent under Freeza's control, and he spent a good deal of that time wanting to overthrow him and gain his freedom. Then, suddenly, Freeza was gone, and he had that freedom. I find it hard to even imagine how that must feel. When you've spent your whole life wishing for that freedom and then have it, what do you do? I can only compare it to times in my life where I've finished months worth of work, and suddenly I have so much free time I don't know what to do. He could have gone back into space, but where would he have gone? He didn't really have anywhere. I'm not surprised he decides to stick around and wait for Goku. Then, immediately after Goku returns, he hears about the Androids and wants to fight them.

I think having a son is definitely what makes him "settle down" after the Cell saga, but I never got the impression that this was planned in any way. But I do think you're right in a way: almost all people have the urge to preserve their bloodline, and even if Trunks wasn't planned, I'm sure Vegeta was happy somewhere in his head that his was being carried on.

[Cacarot]

I don't understand why people ignore the fact that Vegeta just wanted to f*ck Goku. Who obsesses over someone so much if they don't liek them? I mean the proof is in the pudding don't ya think? Vegeta stayed so he oculd get with Goku. All the slash writers have it right. You guys could learn from them.

[SuperAndroid11]

I don't understand why people ignore the fact that Vegeta just wanted to f*ck Goku. Who obsesses over someone so much if they don't liek them? I mean the proof is in the pudding don't ya think? Vegeta stayed so he oculd get with Goku. All the slash writers have it right. You guys could learn from them.

I think Vegeta and the Goku have a Batman and Joker dimension. I don't think Batman wants to fuck the Joker, so I don't think what you said could be a universal maxim. Vegeta is also married with kids, so I don't think he's gay.