Highlights
- Frieza is the iconic, ruthless villain in Dragon Ball, seeking universal domination.
- Frieza’s family includes other power-hungry members like King Cold and Cooler, all involved in planetary trade and villainous acts.
- Frieza’s legacy includes being responsible for the Saiyan race’s genocide, Goku’s Super Saiyan transformation, and multiple deaths and resurrections.
When it comes to the most evil characters in all of Dragon Ball, very few can top the Galactic Tyrant himself; Frieza. Since the early days of Z, he has continued to solidify himself, on multiple occasions, as a ruthless villain who will stop at nothing in his quest for full universal domination. This, predictably, has brought him at odds with the Z-Fighters, to the point where most consider him to be their greatest rival.
However, as most fans of the Dragon Ball series know, Frieza is not the only known member of his family. This brood is filled with maniacal and power-hungry brutes who have been the masterminds behind the business of planetary trade for what seems like decades. With 2 canon members and 2 non-canon members, let’s take a look at this family and see what truly makes them so villainous.
Frieza
Everyone’s favorite Galactic Tyrant
|
First Appearance |
Dragon Ball Z, Episode 44, “Brood of Evil” |
|---|---|
|
Debut Date |
April 18, 1990 |
|
Story Arc |
Namek Saga |
Arguably the most iconic villain in all of anime, Frieza is a character who needs no introduction. Since the early days of the series, he has been built up to be the main rival to Goku and, eventually, the rest of the Z-Fighters, especially the Saiyans. This is because Vegeta revealed that Frieza was the one responsible for the genocide of the Saiyan race, as he singlehandedly destroyed the planet and killed all the people.
Frieza was the main antagonist of the Namek Saga and was the reason the most iconic moment in all of anime happened in the first place; Goku’s transformation into a Super Saiyan. His legacy is forever ingrained in the minds of almost every single person who enjoys Shonen anime since it was with him that Dragon Ball’s unique formula was truly perfected, which is why the legendary Akira Toriyama kept bringing the villain back over the years.
I doubt I need an introduction, but just in case, I am the mighty Frieza, and yes, all the horrible stories you’ve heard are true.
Taking over his family’s business of planetary trade at a young age, Frieza grew up as someone with an incredible amount of power and twice the madness. One day, he heard a prophecy that spoke of an all-powerful Super Saiyan who could one day defeat him, leading him to destroy all Saiyans in his paranoia. However, pockets of the race still existed around the universe, one of whom was Goku.
Goku eventually crossed paths with the Frost Demon on Namek, where he turned into the first Super Saiyan in ages and defeated Frieza. Shortly after this, Frieza was saved by King Cold and was eventually brought to Earth, where both of them were killed by Super Saiyan Trunks. Finally, Frieza was resurrected and achieved a new Golden Form during the events of Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection F. After dying once more to the Saiyans, Frieza was brought back after the Tournament of Power and is now at large within Universe 7.
King Cold
The original Galactic Tyrant
|
First Appearance |
Dragon Ball Z, Episode 118, “Frieza’s Counterattack” |
|---|---|
|
Debut Date |
November 27, 1991 |
|
Story Arc |
Android Saga |
As far as the canon of the series goes, King Cold is the only other known member of the family aside from Frieza himself. Donning an appearance similar to Frieza’s second form, King Cold is the former ruler of the Frieza Force, which was called the Cold Force under his command, as he retired as the Emperor of the Universe and instated his son as the new ruler.
King Cold is also a powerful and ruthless leader as seen by the fear he inspires, but is, funnily enough, less cold than his son, displaying a hint of calmness and respect in his mannerisms, though even these are lined with arrogance. He believes that his race is the superior one in the entire universe, so he doesn’t see anyone other than Frieza as being remotely worthy of his time. He saved his son after Namek blew up and gave him the cybernetic enhancements that transformed him into Mecha Frieza.
My clan is feared throughout the Universe! What fool dares to challenge our supremacy? I will afford him the honor of dying by the hand of King Cold himself!
Despite his alleged love and reverence for his son, he did not hesitate to throw Frieza to the wayside after he was killed by Trunks, asking Trunks to join him as a sort of replacement. This hints at King Cold either seeking out strength over all else or perhaps just looking to save his hide. Despite being the feared leader of Universe 7’s most feared army for an undisclosed amount of time, King Cold was killed quite easily by Super Saiyan Trunks.
Non-Canon Family Members
Cooler
Cooler was first shown in the movie, Dragon Ball Z; Cooler’s Revenge. He was Frieza’s brother in a non-canon timeline and, over the years, he has become a fan-favorite character that fans desperately want to see reintroduced within the canon of the series. Just like his brother, he is cruel and impulsive, but has been shown to be a bit more calculating at times. He was a pretty liked character since he was brought back for another Dragon Ball Z movie as well as in Super Dragon Ball Heroes.
General Chilled
A character that many fans forget about, General Chilled was an ancestor of the current day Frost Demons. He served as the central antagonist in the movie Dragon Ball Z: Episode of Bardock, where he showed many of the same ruthless traits as his descendants. However, he ended up being defeated by Super Saiyan Bardock, who had traveled in time and had inadvertently become the Super Saiyan of legend.
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