In 2013, Dragon Ball Z: Battles of Gods was released in Japan, coming out the following year in America. The film introduced the character of Lord Beerus, the God of Destruction, into the world of Dragon Ball. Beerus also had a supporting role in Ressurection F, the follow-up Dragon Ball film. The story of these films were eventually reworked into the first two sagas of Dragon Ball Super, and Beerus, along with his attendant/teacher, Whis, became canonical members of the Dragon Ball franchise. Despite becoming one of the main cast members, there's still not a lot we know about Lord Beerus, and even fans might not know or remember everything that has been revealed about the character.
For example, did you know that Beerus wasn't born into divinity? Unlike the Kai or Supreme Kai, who were born with godly ki and were destined to be deities, Beerus earned his position as a destroyer. Beerus proved his strength and was granted the power of destruction to help keep balance in the universe. This is just one of the many interesting facts there are to know about the cat-like God of Destruction. If you want to learn more about this powerful feline, then look no further, here are 15 facts you never knew about Lord Beerus.
15 DESIGN ORIGINS
When Battle of Gods screenwriter Yūsuke Watanabe was writing Beerus' character, he originally intended Beerus to have a lizard-like appearance, but Akira Toriyama had other plans. While designing the character, Toriyama's cat, a Cornish Rex breed named Debo, came down with a terminal illness. However, Debo miraculously recovered, despite its old age. This recovery lead the vet to jokingly state that the cat was some kind of god.
This inspired Toriyama to base the design off his cat, scrapping the lizard concept altogether. Toriyama also incorporated elements of Egyptian mythology, specifically its deities. Beerus's design was partially influenced by Egyptian Gods Seth and Sekhmet, deities that brought destruction in various forms upon the earth. Well, that's apropos, especially since Sekhmet shares the same "occupation" as Beerus.
14 HE SEALED THE OLD KAI
Though he didn't appear until Battle of Gods and Dragon Ball Super, Beerus was actually mentioned way back in Dragon Ball Z. When Gohan broke the Z-Sword, the Old Kai was released, having been sealed in it by someone who feared his power. The "someone" who sealed him happened to have been Lord Beerus, who actually did it because of a disagreement the two had.
Since he couldn't kill the Old Kai, who was the Supreme Kai at the time, Beerus simply sealed him away during their disagreement. The Old Kai never mentioned how he was sealed away or that it was the work of the God of Destruction of his universe, the events of Super retconning his sealing with the new canon of destruction gods. Regardless of the retconning, this reveal was actually a great callback and a great way to connect the two series.
13 DINOSAUR KILLER?
In Battle of Gods and Dragon Ball Super, Lord Beerus claimed that he wiped out the dinosaurs, yet they still roam the Earth in the world of Dragon Ball. When Beerus learned that he could find a Super Saiyan God on Earth to fight, he remembered he'd been to the planet before. While there, he said he killed off the dinosaurs.
But the dinosaurs are still around, an inconsistency that was removed for the Super version of the film's story. There have been some theories that explain this continuity error, one involving Toriyama's other series, Dr. Slump, but the simple truth might be that the writer forgot about dinosaurs in Dragon Ball. Other theories are that the dinosaurs eventually came back through a long evolutionary process, or Beerus, being around for so long, simply misremembered.
12 NAME ORIGINS
When Yūsuke Watanabe was coming up with ideas for Beerus' character, he wanted him to have power befitting a God of Destruction. He originally planned for Beerus to infect others with evil like a virus, leading him to name the character "Birusu" a Japanese pronunciation of the german pronunciation of "virus." However, Akira Toriyama thought the name was a play on the word "beers," continuing the Dragon Ball trend of naming characters after food.
Because of this mistake, Toriyama continued naming similar characters after alcoholic beverages; Beerus' attendant, Whis, is named after Whiskey, Beerus' brother is named after champagne, and every other God of Destruction and their angel attendants are named after some form of alcohol. Funnily enough, the virus concept for the character was also abandoned once Toriyama got involved.
11 SIBLING RIVALRY
Speaking of Beerus' brother, Champa is also a god of destruction, a seemingly rare occurrence in the Dragon Ball multiverse. The two cat-like aliens are actually twins born in the same universe, but one of them supposedly moved to a different universe to act as its God of Destruction. The logistics of this aren't exactly clear, but it makes for an interesting fact, since they seem to be the only set of twin destruction gods in the multiverse.
Beerus and Champa have had a sibling rivalry that's lasted millennia, eventually leading to a tournament between fighters from each of their universes in Dragon Ball Super. Despite their rivalry, the two actually seem to show some care for each other, like when Beerus used the super dragon balls, the prize of their tournament, to revive the Earth of Champa's universe so he could enjoy their food.
10 BEERUS AND KING VEGETA
As the destruction god of universe 7, Beerus has jurisdiction over every species in the universe, at least to some extent. Because of this, Beerus has had some history with the Saiyans, specifically with the royal family. When Lord Beerus shows up to Bulma's birthday, Vegeta fearfully recognized the deity and has a flashback to when he was young.
As a child on Planet Vegeta, Vegeta saw his father at the mercy of Lord Beerus. Beerus was disappointed in King Vegeta and used him as a foot stool to punish him, doing so in front of his son. This instant was enough to prove to Vegeta that Beerus was one powerful warrior if he could belittle and order around his father like that. Ironically, Vegeta and Beerus ended up having a pretty civil working relationship with each other, though the god of destruction still looks down on him.
9 NOT ACTUALLY EVIL
Despite the fact that Beerus has a short temper and is a destroyer, he's not actually evil. Though he looks intimidating and can destroy a planet with a single touch, Beerus isn't really a bad guy, it's just his career. "The God of Destruction" is more of a job description than anything, an occupation that Beerus fulfills. Sure, he might be easily angered and he might even attack others, but its never without reason, even if that reason is somewhat petty.
Heck, even this job is not as bad as it seems. "Destruction God" might sound like a demonic position to hold, but what it entails is actually pretty interesting. As the god of destruction, Beerus destroys planets and species that pose a threat to all mortal life, his deeds helping to keep balance in the universe.
8 CHOPSTICK MASTER
This one only appeared in Battle of Gods and didn't make its way into Dragon Ball Super, but it's still a fun fact. Beerus is powerful, there's no doubt about that, his godly ki gives him advantage over others, his fighting skill, his destructive power and his mastery thereof make him a force to be reckoned with. He's on a completely different level from any of the Z-fighters, a fact that he makes clear when he fights them off with chopsticks.
Yes, you read that right, Beerus is so powerful and skilled that he was able to fight off some of the world's strongest warriors with chopsticks. The scene in Battle of Gods is meant to be as hilarious as it is frightening, a deity displaying his incredible power. Just imagine if he went all out on Piccolo, Tien and Android 18.
7 PETTY GOD
Part of the reason that Beerus fought off the Z-fighters when he came to Earth was because of pudding. Yes, pudding. Beerus was partially satiated with delicious Earth food that he put off destroying the planet. However, when he wanted to try some pudding, which Buu had eaten all of, he became enraged and threatened to destroy the planet after making quick work of Buu, blasting him away.
This is just one of the many examples of Beerus' pettiness. Despite being a deity with divine power, he often acts like a bratty child, ready to destroy a planet at the slightest thing. Anything from a planet not having tasty enough food to not getting the respect he deserves can be enough to set the god of destruction off.
6 BEERUS AND FRIEZA
Frieza and Beerus have a somewhat unique relationship. See, Beerus doesn't like evil people, and his job sort of demands that he rids the universe of them to maintain balance. However, Beerus seems to have slacked in his duty, as he allowed Freiza to amass his galactic empire and even allowed him to act as his agent of destruction, probably out of laziness on his part.
But, that's not all, the two seem to have some form of mutual respect for each others' power. Freiza of course fears the destroyer as he is a deity and demands respect with his immense power. Beerus also displays some respect for Frieza's power when he is shocked by the news of his defeat, a fact that Whis tells him when researching Saiyans.
5 INVOLVEMENT WITH THE SAIYAN GENOCIDE
Beerus' relationship with Frieza actually places the god of destruction at an interesting place in Saiyan history. The moment that Vegeta witnessed his father at the mercy of Lord Beerus was the result of a discussion between the two following King Vegeta's failure. The king of Saiyans failed to fulfill Beerus' request, as he had recruited the warrior race to find him the universe's comfiest pillow.
Because of this failure, as petty as the request was, Beerus was disappointed in the Saiyans, and their evil ways didn't help matters. Beerus planned to eradicate the Saiyans, but didn't do it himself. He suggested to Frieza that he should eliminated the Saiyans, a suggestion that coincided with Frieza's own fear of the race, meaning Beerus was indirectly involved in the genocide of Goku and Vegeta's people.
4 LINKED TO THE SUPREME KAI
Beerus is the god of destruction, he rids the universe of dangerous and evil beings. But, with destruction there is also creation, which comes in the form of the Supreme Kai. Supreme Kai are also known as the gods of creation, creating new life where there was none. Just as destruction and creation are two sides of the same coin, the Supreme Kai and the gods of destruction share a life link.
This life link means that if either of the two gods is killed, the other suffers the same fate. This ensures that the two work together instead of antagonize each other, a meeting every thousand years further helping them cooperate. Shin, the Supreme Kai of universe 7, and Beerus are linked, which is why they work together to ensure the survival of each other and their universe in the tournament of power.
3 DREAMING OF GOKU
Though there are some differences between Battle of Gods and the God of Destruction Beerus saga of Dragon Ball Super, most of the main plot points are the same. The story starts with Beerus waking up from a decades-long nap. While he slept, he had a dream about a great warrior who could provide him with a challenging fight, something he hasn't experienced in quite a long time.
He eventually remembers that the warrior was a Super Saiyan God, but he knows nothing about them. Beerus goes to Earth in search of the last Saiyans, thanks to the information provided by Whis, and figures out how to turn one of them into a god to fight with. This occurs in both Battle of Gods and Dragon Ball Super, both versions depicting the fateful dream.
2 LOVE OF EARTH CUISINE
When he first came to Earth, Beerus had plenty of "reasons" to destroy the planet. When earthlings upset him, he wanted to destroy the planet, when he was denied pudding, he wanted to destroy the planet and when he grew impatient waiting for Goku, he wanted to destroy the planet. However, the one thing that satiated this desire was food.
Beerus was treated to all kinds of food at Bulma's party, as well as during his subsequent visits, falling in love with the planet's various cuisines. Nearly every time he or Whis visited Earth, they got to try a new dish, finding the planet to have the best food in all their travels. In fact, Earth's delicious food is probably the only reason that Beerus doesn't destroy it.
1 DEEP SLEEPER
We mentioned earlier that the first time we see Beerus, he's waking up from a deep sleep. That sleep lasted 39 years and is just one of the many instances in which his sleep has lasted years or even decades. This ability to sleep for great periods of time is one of the many interesting facts about Lord Beerus, and the theories behind these long naps are even more interesting.
One theory is that because Beerus is essentially immortal, being a god and all, 39 years doesn't feel that long with his eternal longevity. Another idea is that since Beerus was once a mortal, using and honing his godly ki causes great fatigue. There's also the idea that he might just be lazy, an assumption that Whis makes when reporting Beerus' actions to Zen-Oh.