The Z Fighters throughout the franchise of Dragon Ball have faced their fair share of villains throughout the series, but none have stood out as the greatest other than the diminutive alien tyrant that goes by Freeza. With the antagonist being the reason that Son Goku first becomes a Super Saiyan, following his killing of Krillin in front of his friends on the planet Namek, we’re looking to break down the reasons as to why Freeza remains the greatest villain that has ever been introduced within the Akira Toriyama series.
When Freeza first appeared, it was made clear that his power level was far above the other characters, heroes and villains alike, that were populating the planet Namek in search of the Dragon Balls. Along with this power came an inflated ego that had Freeza basically “play with his food” throughout fights, and leveraging his numerous transformations to assert dominance. Freeza’s origins are obviously closely tied to the Saiyan race, with the powerful fighter being the reason for Planet Vegeta’s destruction, along with the death of most of the Saiyans and Goku’s father, Bardock.
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What sets Freeza apart from the rest of the antagonists that Goku and company have faced is not only his character, but his motivation. He wants to rule the universe simply to rule it, to inflict as much pain on anyone that won’t bend the knee to Freeza and his family. Whereas Vegeta had an abundance of pride for his bloodline or Piccolo was looking to originally avenge the death of his “father”, Freeza is instead simply attempting to gain power for the sake of gaining power. He’s an evil character and there isn’t any grey areas in the alien’s personality. His design and character simply exceeds the likes of Cell, Majin Buu, Zamasu, and the other villains spawned from Akira Toriyama’s brain.
There’s an air of aristocracy about Freeza, as he seems himself as a leader, above literally every other living thing in the universe at large. This is shown in Freeza’s first appearance, hovering above the ground in a tiny pod despite the fact that he can clearly walk, at super sonic speeds no less. Freeza believes himself to be the strongest in the universe and is only proven wrong originally thanks to Goku achieving the long thought fictional transformation that is Super Saiyan.
During his recent appearances in the Tournament of Power in Dragon Ball Super, we tuned in week after week to see just how Freeza would fit in with the rest of Universe 7. Still maintaining his villainous character, Freeza’s ego took hold as he watched others do his dirty work on his team throughout the tournament. When he began fighting Toppo, he took no issues with shooting him in the back while he struggled with Android 17, in what we consider to be one of the most fiendish moments of the villain’s career.
With his most recent appearance taking place in the Dragon Ball Super: Broly movie, Freeza continued his streak of acting like a king, essentially pointing Broly at the Saiyans Goku and Vegeta to extract his revenge. Though his goals have aligned with the Z Fighters a number of times, we hope that Freeza remains the best villain of the series.
Do you consider Freeza to be the best Dragon Ball villain? Who fills your number one role? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly on Twitter @EVComedy to talk all things comics, anime, and Dragon Ball!
