Well, his backstory is vague. Nothing's said one way or another. We just know he followed Frieza's rule and his race was destroyed by him. The only thing that explores all of this a bit further is that filler scene, and what he implies by begging Goku before dying.ABED wrote:But there's little indication that Freeza was forcing him to do anything more than say a general would a colonel. What lack of freedom did Vegeta really possess. He got to do more or less what he wanted. It's only once he heard of the DB's that he rebelled. Vegeta lusts after power, but that doesn't come from him feeling like he's under Freeza's thumb. Power lust is his motive. You don't need to go deeper than that. Even if he was abused, that wouldn't explain how he reacts.
Power lust is his motive. But why did he develop this? What spawned it? Nothing? He just is what he is?
Honestly, having a tragic backstory isn't cliche. It's how the character copes with it that is. Things happen in life. Some people have good lives, others don't. Vegeta rarely references his past or justifies his actions by using what occurred to him then. That doesn't mean it didn't influence what he became and what he desired out of life. The kaioshin struck a nerve when he called his reasoning and actions at that moment to be "meaningless," and I personally think it was fitting for him to respond with what he said in the dub, given my interpretation of the character.That's not a reason, it's a shortcut. Bad things happen to a lot of characters, they all don't react the same. Some become villains, some rise above and become heroes. What is the underlying reason why Vegeta reacts the way he does? He wants power. While i don't disagree that survival of the fittest can be a cliche, i don't see it nearly as much as the "lets give the villain a sympathetic backstory" trope. It's ultimately about execution.
Contradicts what exactly? I don't recall any previous revelations of his past or motives. Before that scene, the last thing I recall was him saying Frieza HAS to fall at the hands of a saiyan, and crying while doing so.There you go. You're relying on a scene that contradicts the previous revelation. The filler scene doesn't even help your point, Vegeta says explicitly that he doesn't care, his ultimate goal is power.
In that filler scene, he says he does not care about what happened to his planet or race "now." As in, in that instance. And even if that's just a bad translation, just because he says he doesn't does not mean he never did.
I agree that it wasn't necessary. I just personally feel it was a nice touch.Absolutely, it doesn't matter, and bringing up Freeza when his beef is with Goku at that moment is an unneccessary line and I think uncharacteristic of Vegeta. It's not a bad line in the sense that it sounds silly, but it's a line that's not neccessary and deviates from the text.
