How likely is it that Vegeta at least knew his mother?

[Yasai9001]

Pretty much what the title says. We know that there aren't any queens or anything on Planet Vegeta, but could it at least be possible Vegeta would know his mother? I doubt his dad would mate with a weak Saiyan female, more likely someone who could have been his age or older, and perhaps one of the strongest low-class Saiyans of Planet Vegeta. Not sure.

But regardless, Prince Vegeta's duties were to be a fighter and to be prepped for eventually ruling Planet Vegeta. I doubt he would require time to be spent with his mother, who was more than likely a warrior, but could it be possible she knew of her during when she had Tarble or anything. Your thoughts? Royal bloodline is looked at as more important than just how other Saiyans use each other to procreate and conceive offspring.

[Dr. Casey]

Very likely, I would think. We know close to nothing about Vegeta's life before showing up in the manga, but there's nothing to indicate that his mother died prior to the planet's destruction. The mom is absent from the anime flashbacks to him as a child, but those cover such a small amount of time that she could have been alive and well, just not present at that exact moment. We don't know much about Saiyan societal structure, but I assume the families stay together in a traditional nuclear family sense - the idea was nothing new to Vegeta after getting with Bulma and having two kids anyway.

[Yasai9001]

Very likely, I would think. We know close to nothing about Vegeta's life before showing up in the manga, but there's nothing to indicate that his mother died prior to the planet's destruction. The mom is absent from the anime flashbacks to him as a child, but those cover such a small amount of time that she could have been alive and well, just not present at that exact moment. We don't know much about Saiyan societal structure, but I assume the families stay together in a traditional nuclear family sense - the idea was nothing new to Vegeta after getting with Bulma and having two kids anyway.

Makes sense - I wouldn't expect Vegeta to be all too close to her, but at least know and acknowledge the woman. Since he was busy fighting and she likely was, too, I don't think they'd have many opportunities to grow closer. But I like to think she was a very strong and capable warrior and also probably a borderline midget.

[theherodjl]

I'm not sure if Vegeta actually did know his mother. I'm sure he did know of her, but he has never mentioned anything about her whether it's positive, negative, or anywhere in-between. As far as I know, Vegeta's mother has not even been mentioned in any filler scene which suggests that she may have merely been some Saiyan woman who agreed to carry the King's child, and then she parted ways with Vegeta and his dad once she gave birth. The Saiyans have never been a race that put a lot of sentimentality towards maternity and so outside of Gine, I can't imagine there being many other examples of Saiyan mothers holding prominence in their society.

[nineko]

Vegeta never mentioned other brothers besides Tarble, but then again, he never mentioned Tarble himself for literal hundreds of episodes, so we can't rule out the possibility that the king had a harem of concubines, given the aforementioned lack of affectivity of the Saiyan society.

Then again, Vegeta did make a big deal about his royal bloodline, especially in the early Z episodes, though this is logistically problematic if there's only one royal family on the whole planet (it's not like the real world, where e.g. the king of France can marry the queen of Germany), making his mother a possible cousin of his father. And that would explain while he never talks about her if he found out that that's a discouraged practice on Earth.

Something which should be noted is that Vegeta only mentions "my father and your father" in his dying monologue to Goku on Namek, not "my parents and your parents". On one hand, this is in line with him knowing who Bardock is in Granolah's arc (since many people seem to bicker about canon these days, this is a rare instance of pieces nicely falling together), but on the other hand, Gine does exist now, so I don't really know.

I would welcome a prequel series where they explore things unseen before, such as Goku's early years with Gohan senior and life on planet Vegeta. In fact, I think such a series would have the potential to be more interesting than all those midquels crammed into "10 years of peace". Too bad that's never going to happen because they need rainbow-colored hair to sell merchandise.

[Yasai9001]

Vegeta never mentioned other brothers besides Tarble, but then again, he never mentioned Tarble himself for literal hundreds of episodes, so we can't rule out the possibility that the king had a harem of concubines, given the aforementioned lack of affectivity of the Saiyan society.

Then again, Vegeta did make a big deal about his royal bloodline, especially in the early Z episodes, though this is logistically problematic if there's only one royal family on the whole planet (it's not like the real world, where e.g. the king of France can marry the queen of Germany), making his mother a possible cousin of his father. And that would explain while he never talks about her if he found out that that's a discouraged practice on Earth.

Something which should be noted is that Vegeta only mentions "my father and your father" in his dying monologue to Goku on Namek, not "my parents and your parents". On one hand, this is in line with him knowing who Bardock is in Granolah's arc (since many people seem to bicker about canon these days, this is a rare instance of pieces nicely falling together), but on the other hand, Gine does exist now, so I don't really know.

I would welcome a prequel series where they explore things unseen before, such as Goku's early years with Gohan senior and life on planet Vegeta. In fact, I think such a series would have the potential to be more interesting than all those midquels crammed into "10 years of peace". Too bad that's never going to happen because they need rainbow-colored hair to sell merchandise.

I agree with everything you've said here. What kind of image would you personally have of Vegeta's mother from a realistic point of view? As in what kind of Saiyan she could have been.

[Vhanos]

There isn't anything in the series to show or talk about Vegeta's mother. Goku didn't know about his mother either. Such things were likely excluded to keep things convenient.

[miguelnuva1]

I like to belive Vegeta knew his mother but due to saiyan culture he spent more time with his father.

I kinda don't want to see Queen Vegeta because I'm afraid now they'll do something like reveal she and Gine were sisters or cousins.

[Hellspawn28]

The Queen could have been a low level Saiyan that the King was married too. It could explain how Tarble was born as a low class warrior.

[L3anD3RStar]

Ok, I apologize for the excessive amount of headcanon at play here, but I just have to

I don’t think Vegeta knew his mom. I mean, he might have known her name, and that he came out of her, but I think the existence of nursery pods implies that on Planet Vegeta, kids were not primarily raised by their parents. The nuclear family existed only as far as reproduction went. Gine was strange because she kept Kakarot’s pod in her home instead of in the collective nursery.

And again, this is a headcanon so shut me out if you want to- I think the Saiyans didn’t have “marriage” as we humans understand it. I think that when a man wanted a woman, or vice versa, they would challenge the other to single combat. The details were negotiated between them, but the general idea is the winner gets to fukk the loser. If they like it, they can keep doing it. These matches are not legally binding in any way, they didn’t come with any official obligations, but it was still strange for an adult to do it more than a handful of times before they settled on a consistent partner. The one exception to this is the King, who NEEDS a strong son in order to secure his own power, and is basically obligated to take as many concubines as he has to to make sure that happens.

I think Vegeta and Tarble had different mothers. I also thing Tarble is the older of the two, but because he was born weak, they couldn’t get rid of him fast enough after his stronger brother was born.

I imagine Tarble’s mother was a high-born, very well trained noble lady with exquisite manners but not a lot of fighting spirit. Price Vegeta’s mother was a tiny firecracker of a warrior without any breeding to speak of but with a giant personality. She died in combat shortly after Prince Vegeta was born, and the King was never really the same afterwards. He didn’t get to be with her for very long, but he thinks sometimes about how if things were different, she would’ve made a great queen.

[L3anD3RStar]

I assume the families stay together in a traditional nuclear family sense - the idea was nothing new to Vegeta after getting with Bulma and having two kids anyway.

I don’t know. Vegeta ditched his pregnant wife/infant son to go train by himself in space, and made a big show out of not caring about either of their welfare after he came back. That would make more sense of he came from a culture where parental obligations are not really a thing. Maybe he told Bulma that their son should be in a birthing pod so she should just make one of those rather than carry him around all the time, she’s just making more work for herself.

Vegeta didn’t really embrace nuclear family life until after the Majin stuff happened. By the time Bulla came along he was throughly domesticated but I really think he maintained plausible deniability in his own head that just because he lives with this woman and she birthed his children DOESN’T MEAN he has any real obligation towards her, emotionally! He just lives here because she built a gravity chamber for him. Having sex with her is just occasional supplementary cardio training! He doesn’t feel close to these people at all, really!

[Yasai9001]

I like to belive Vegeta knew his mother but due to saiyan culture he spent more time with his father.

I kinda don't want to see Queen Vegeta because I'm afraid now they'll do something like reveal she and Gine were sisters or cousins.

I like to believe the same thing. To be fair, I don't believe there was a "Queen" to The Saiyan race, otherwise King Vegeta would have been accompanied by a woman on his throne in his hall. Call it headcannon if you want, but it is far more likely in my opinion that Vegeta's mother just happened to be a low-class Saiyan woman, albeit a very strong woman, and perhaps the strongest woman of Planet Vegeta. Copulating with a Saiyan woman with the highest power-level would only beget a powerful offspring as well, which is what King Vegeta desired.

And if The Saiyans were never an endangered species, I'd be inclined to believe that King Vegeta would arrange for his son to produce with the most promising female warrior, which to the prince, wouldn't even matter since apparently he was only looking forward to being king one day.

[PowerPhantom245]

I like to belive Vegeta knew his mother but due to saiyan culture he spent more time with his father.

I kinda don't want to see Queen Vegeta because I'm afraid now they'll do something like reveal she and Gine were sisters or cousins.

I like to believe the same thing. To be fair, I don't believe there was a "Queen" to The Saiyan race, otherwise King Vegeta would have been accompanied by a woman on his throne in his hall. Call it headcannon if you want, but it is far more likely in my opinion that Vegeta's mother just happened to be a low-class Saiyan woman, albeit a very strong woman, and perhaps the strongest woman of Planet Vegeta. Copulating with a Saiyan woman with the highest power-level would only beget a powerful offspring as well, which is what King Vegeta desired.

And if The Saiyans were never an endangered species, I'd be inclined to believe that King Vegeta would arrange for his son to produce with the most promising female warrior, which to the prince, wouldn't even matter since apparently he was only looking forward to being king one day.

Vegeta's not mentioning his mother once, not even on flashback in anime, is quite intriguing.
I like the idea of no queen in Saiyan race and lower-class Saiyan.
It's also possible Vegeta's mother was very gentle and kind, who doesn't like fighting, much like Tarble.
I'm not sure if Toriyama was still around, if Vegeta's mother would have been introduced eventually, much like Goku's mother, Gine.

[Yasai9001]

I like to belive Vegeta knew his mother but due to saiyan culture he spent more time with his father.

I kinda don't want to see Queen Vegeta because I'm afraid now they'll do something like reveal she and Gine were sisters or cousins.

I like to believe the same thing. To be fair, I don't believe there was a "Queen" to The Saiyan race, otherwise King Vegeta would have been accompanied by a woman on his throne in his hall. Call it headcannon if you want, but it is far more likely in my opinion that Vegeta's mother just happened to be a low-class Saiyan woman, albeit a very strong woman, and perhaps the strongest woman of Planet Vegeta. Copulating with a Saiyan woman with the highest power-level would only beget a powerful offspring as well, which is what King Vegeta desired.

And if The Saiyans were never an endangered species, I'd be inclined to believe that King Vegeta would arrange for his son to produce with the most promising female warrior, which to the prince, wouldn't even matter since apparently he was only looking forward to being king one day.

Vegeta's not mentioning his mother once, not even on flashback in anime, is quite intriguing.
I like the idea of no queen in Saiyan race and lower-class Saiyan.
It's also possible Vegeta's mother was very gentle and kind, who doesn't like fighting, much like Tarble.
I'm not sure if Toriyama was still around, if Vegeta's mother would have been introduced eventually, much like Goku's mother, Gine.

Given that Vegeta at one point in time was to serve as a foil to Goku, if we were to keep that same thing running, then I believe that Vegeta's mother would be the epitome of a Saiyan warrior - fierce and only driven for battle and blood-lust. While Gine is too kind, Vegeta's mother was probably too damn hardcore. But we are free to imagine her however we please; I don't necessarily see why King Vegeta would want to be with a woman with a gentle heart unless she happened to be very powerful, too.

[L3anD3RStar]

Given that Vegeta at one point in time was to serve as a foil to Goku, if we were to keep that same thing running, then I believe that Vegeta's mother would be the epitome of a Saiyan warrior - fierce and only driven for battle and blood-lust. While Gine is too kind, Vegeta's mother was probably too damn hardcore. But we are free to imagine her however we please; I don't necessarily see why King Vegeta would want to be with a woman with a gentle heart unless she happened to be very powerful, too.

thing is, it’s implied King Vegeta wasn’t very powerful himself. At least not compared to the elites of his own race. So he needs a strong son to secure his own power. He struck out with Tarble. I bet Tarble and Vegeta had different mothers.

[PowerPhantom245]

Given that Vegeta at one point in time was to serve as a foil to Goku, if we were to keep that same thing running, then I believe that Vegeta's mother would be the epitome of a Saiyan warrior - fierce and only driven for battle and blood-lust. While Gine is too kind, Vegeta's mother was probably too damn hardcore. But we are free to imagine her however we please; I don't necessarily see why King Vegeta would want to be with a woman with a gentle heart unless she happened to be very powerful, too.

thing is, it’s implied King Vegeta wasn’t very powerful himself. At least not compared to the elites of his own race. So he needs a strong son to secure his own power. He struck out with Tarble. I bet Tarble and Vegeta had different mothers.

You know, I kind of like that theory.
It reminds me of how Master Roshi and Fortuneteller Baba, might have different mother as well, where despite sibling, they don't really look a like.

[L3anD3RStar]

Given that Vegeta at one point in time was to serve as a foil to Goku, if we were to keep that same thing running, then I believe that Vegeta's mother would be the epitome of a Saiyan warrior - fierce and only driven for battle and blood-lust. While Gine is too kind, Vegeta's mother was probably too damn hardcore. But we are free to imagine her however we please; I don't necessarily see why King Vegeta would want to be with a woman with a gentle heart unless she happened to be very powerful, too.

thing is, it’s implied King Vegeta wasn’t very powerful himself. At least not compared to the elites of his own race. So he needs a strong son to secure his own power. He struck out with Tarble. I bet Tarble and Vegeta had different mothers.

You know, I kind of like that theory.
It reminds me of how Master Roshi and Fortuneteller Baba, might have different mother as well, where despite sibling, they don't really look a like.

This is unrelated, but I don’t think they’re really siblings at all. I think they’ve just known each-other so long that it’s easier to pretend they’re related than to explain whatever their relationship actually is. They could be “sworn brothers/sisters” in Chinese Fairy Tale fashion, idk

I also think Baba is dead. I think she’s been dead for centuries. It just hasn’t slowed her down much.

But on the subject of Tarble, I suspect he’s actually older then Vegeta, but because he was born weak, the king couldn’t get rid of him fast enough after his younger, stronger brother came along. That would be in character.

I know he calls Vegeta “Big Brother” but that might have been what he was told, and he was too young to remember, and his brother is the prince with the highest power level of his generation, so he has to defer to him like a little brother would

[Yasai9001]

Given that Vegeta at one point in time was to serve as a foil to Goku, if we were to keep that same thing running, then I believe that Vegeta's mother would be the epitome of a Saiyan warrior - fierce and only driven for battle and blood-lust. While Gine is too kind, Vegeta's mother was probably too damn hardcore. But we are free to imagine her however we please; I don't necessarily see why King Vegeta would want to be with a woman with a gentle heart unless she happened to be very powerful, too.

thing is, it’s implied King Vegeta wasn’t very powerful himself. At least not compared to the elites of his own race. So he needs a strong son to secure his own power. He struck out with Tarble. I bet Tarble and Vegeta had different mothers.

Well, on that notion, Vegeta claimed to surpass King Vegeta when he was a child, but he never specified how old. Truth be told, Prince Vegeta could have been talking as early as eight years old to 15/MAYBE 16 (depending on when he got his growth spurt).

Broly had a calm power-level of 920 when observed and Prince Vegeta was on record, supposed to be the strongest excluding Paragaus' son. Vegeta would have to receive special training and get used to the gravity and all before being sent on missions and taught the basics of fighting. He still had time to grow and develop. Typical low-class Saiyans of a higher caliber had power-levels of 2,000. Raditz, you can argue, was in that category of potential given that he wasn't sent away as an infiltration child. Those Saiyans with 2,000 power-levels weren't mid-class, but still low-class warriors, much like Raditz, while you have low-level warriors like Goku that are weaker and likely under 1,000.

Anyway, these low-class Saiyans would still have to be a considerable amount weaker than King Vegeta's mid-class warriors. Them being around 3,000 or so would seem reasonable. King Vegeta having a power-level of anywhere from 8,000 to 10,000 is also safe and sound considering that as an ape, he would still have to be one of the most formidable soldiers of The Freeza Force, though still not on the level of his son Vegeta. Saying King Vegeta is implied to not be very powerful is kind of crazy because I don't know where you got that from. I doubt he was anywhere near Saiyan Saga Prince Vegeta, but to say that he couldn't handle his own against Goku (Saiyan Saga/No Kaioken), would be kind of crazy...

Vegeta was a prodigy by all rights, with the exception of being a mutant - Broly was both. If a low-class Saiyan warrior can have to up a power-level of 2,000 (Saiyan snipers), then King Vegeta would require to be bare minimum three times their strength if we're being logical. All of this, you can call speculation, but it makes the most sense. That is still very powerful. I wouldn't downplay someone who was The King of a warrior race.

[L3anD3RStar]

Vegeta was a prodigy by all rights, with the exception of being a mutant - Broly was both. If a low-class Saiyan warrior can have to up a power-level of 2,000 (Saiyan snipers), then King Vegeta would require to be bare minimum three times their strength if we're being logical. All of this, you can call speculation, but it makes the most sense. That is still very powerful. I wouldn't downplay someone who was The King of a warrior race.

I’m not downplaying him. I have no doubt he was a powerful warrior in his own right. He just wasn’t powerful ENOUGH for the things he wanted to do, which is why Vegeta’s high power level at birth was so important to him. The implication is Saiyan higherarchy is determined by who can beat up who, so if the king wants to stay the king, he can’t have a weak son. It could put potential usurpers too close to the throne.

Might also explain why they rejected Tarble so hard. A timid prince is a threat to his father’s authority. They have to get rid of him ASAP before word of him gets around,

And I’ll be honest, when I start to hear about relative power levels, my eyes glaze over. In my opinion, the Saiyans relying so heavily on a number on a screen to tell them about the potential danger posed by a creature led them to make some very bad decisions. Turns out you can’t measure the power of friendship with even the most up to date scouter.

[Yasai9001]

Vegeta was a prodigy by all rights, with the exception of being a mutant - Broly was both. If a low-class Saiyan warrior can have to up a power-level of 2,000 (Saiyan snipers), then King Vegeta would require to be bare minimum three times their strength if we're being logical. All of this, you can call speculation, but it makes the most sense. That is still very powerful. I wouldn't downplay someone who was The King of a warrior race.

I’m not downplaying him. I have no doubt he was a powerful warrior in his own right. He just wasn’t powerful ENOUGH for the things he wanted to do, which is why Vegeta’s high power level at birth was so important to him. The implication is Saiyan higherarchy is determined by who can beat up who, so if the king wants to stay the king, he can’t have a weak son. It could put potential usurpers too close to the throne.

Might also explain why they rejected Tarble so hard. A timid prince is a threat to his father’s authority. They have to get rid of him ASAP before word of him gets around,

And I’ll be honest, when I start to hear about relative power levels, my eyes glaze over. In my opinion, the Saiyans relying so heavily on a number on a screen to tell them about the potential danger posed by a creature led them to make some very bad decisions. Turns out you can’t measure the power of friendship with even the most up to date scouter.

Anything prior to Super Saiyan and late Namek level power-levels, I tend to go on about, I can't lie to you, considering that around the same time, Toriyama pretty much said "To hell with this bs."

But other than that, I'm glad you explained more on what you meant and to be quite honest, I agree. I don't know if this is a theme that can stand with The Saiyan race, but something that's been driven since near The beginning of Dragon Ball is how "The next generation" excels the prior one. Roshi spoke on this and the case held up for Gohan, Goten, Trunks, etc.

Perhaps this was the same for Saiyans, but on a smaller scale; Prince Vegeta had broken every record and King Vegeta was very proud of him. One thing about Tarble, like you mentioned, him being timid played a major factor. For instance, it was never said that Gine was 'weak', but because of her soft nature and lower-power level compared to other warriors, she had to get saved a lot. Being the son of King Vegeta, there is no way you're weak. I understand that Broly was an exception, being a very powerful Saiyan to a low-class and/or mid-class warrior like Paragus, but Tarble's timidness is likely what set him back, for sure. If Tarble were weak, he wouldn't have been able to escape from Abo and his brother.

I agree about the king wanting to keep his representation strong through his heirs, but I genuinely believe that King Vegeta and all the other saiyans were not progressive (obviously). He knew his son wasn't cut out to be a warrior like the first prince, so instead of delegating him to other roles and what not, he decides to just send him off. Hell, he doesn't even try to optimize Tarble's strength - he gave up on his son if we're being real. With any amount of attention and indoctrination, Tarble could have been molded into a proper Saiyan warrior. At heart, he still may have been timid, but hardened (think Goku when he was a kid but with a Saiyan edge).

To me, this speaks more to King Vegeta's lack of foresight. Yes, he was very intelligent and absolutely right about his assumption in Broly, but he always mixes his hubris with his decisions and luckily for Tarble, it resulted in him surviving Planet Vegeta. But still, I feel as if King Vegeta had to be a tad bit dumber than our Vegeta, who would go the extra mile if in the same position...maybe.