One of the most powerful characters in Dragon Ball is Vegeta, the prince of the borderline extinct Saiyan race. Cocky, arrogant and utterly boastful, he backs up this attitude with impressive strength and attacks. Constantly trying to remain in the same league as rival Goku, Vegeta has just as many different forms to turn into. One transformation in particular made him a villain again, however.
The villainous Baby possessed Vegeta's body in Dragon Ball GT, gaining incredible power and nearly exacting revenge on the Saiyan race. Baby's symbiotic relationship with Vegeta and others was somewhat similar to Marvel Comics' Venom, but the villain and the show he was in weren't so loved. Here's how Super Baby Vegeta was far from an infantile threat, how he mirrored Venom in certain ways and why he's since become a rather obscure villain for the franchise.
How Baby Was Like Venom
Baby was a parasitic machine mutant who contained the last genetic encoding of the Tuffle species. These scientifically advanced peoples were the true natives of the planet later renamed Planet Vegeta, but they were mostly wiped out by the more physically robust and barbaric Saiyans. Created by the machine mutant Dr. Myuu, Baby hoped to gain revenge against the Saiyans for their destruction of the Tuffles.
He possessed the bodies of various organic beings, namely Saiyans like Trunks, Goten and later Vegeta. Turning them against their allies, Baby brought out a dark side in those he parasitically bonded with. This is similar to the symbiotes in the Marvel Universe, namely Venom. This black symbiote life form brought out the rage held within Peter Parker, making the hero far more violent than before. It did the same thing when it bonded with Eddie Brock, helping him enact his violent and less-than-mentally-stable tendencies. The fact that Venom initially wanted revenge against Peter makes the similarity even stronger.
Super Baby Vegeta's Power Level
Baby was an immensely conniving and beguiling villain in GT, able to get the drop on the Saiyans by slowly but surely possessing them and their progeny. Upon finally gaining the body of the Saiyan prince and becoming Baby Vegeta, this power level only increased further. Video games have specified that Super Baby Vegeta 2, the best known Baby form of Vegeta, had a power level of 1.3 billion, making him far stronger than previous series villains such as Cell, Frieza and the Androids.
While incredibly impressive, this visually distinct villainous form of Vegeta still pales in comparison to newer forms like Super Saiyan Blue in Dragon Ball Super. These new forms also rely solely on Vegeta's own power, whereas Baby drew upon the power given to him by his infected followers to gain his Super Baby Vegeta 1 and 2 forms.
Why Super Baby Vegeta is Hated
Though it's considered perhaps the best arc in Dragon Ball GT, the Baby Saga still has plenty of critics, making its chief villain just as maligned. Baby was in many ways a retread of the Androids, Cell and the Majin Buu/Kid Buu Sagas. Dr. Myuu was analogous to Dr. Gero, and the two would even team up in Hell in the following arc. Baby's possessing different Saiyans and taking on their physical attributes was also similar to Majin Buu absorbing the Z fighters into his body. His beef with the Saiyans was also similar to Gero's history with the Red Ribbon Army.
Baby was GT's first truly serious villain, but the fact that he was just kind of a greatest hits collection of previous foes made him kind of disappointing. On top of this, his turning into a Great Ape was Baby quite literally aping Goku's doing the same thing beforehand. It didn't help that his most powerful form was in Vegeta's body, making the Saiyan Prince as much the villain as Baby was.
Since then, Baby and most other elements of Dragon Ball GT have remained fiercely non-canon to the rest of the franchise, with the Toriyama-created Dragon Ball Super replacing it as the sequel to Z. Super has, however, brought in canon versions of villains and characters who were previously only in the non-canon movies. It remains to be seen if Baby and his ultimate form in Vegeta's body will become canon as well, or if they'll remain a controversial part of an equally as questionable entry in the franchise.