With Dragon Ball Super expanding Akira Toriyama's perennially popular Dragon Ball by adding new story arcs and characters, longtime fan-favorite heroes Goku and Vegeta each gained access to a powerful new transformation: Super Saiyan God. However, while Goku's attainment of the new form was seen in both the anime series and animated film Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods, Vegeta's own process to achieve the form went unseen until its fiery debut sometime later.
Now, we're taking a closer look at this transformation, how the Saiyan Prince eventually unlocked the form himself and his most notable uses of it in both the manga and anime series.
What is Super Saiyan God?
Super Saiyan God is a Saiyan transformation with power levels far exceeding that of Super Saiyan 3, which had been the strongest transformation by the end of Dragon Ball Z, with users taking on an ethereal aura while their hair turns visibly red. Goku was the first character to achieve this form, learning of an ancient prophecy foretelling for a Saiyan obtaining the transformation to confront the God of Destruction Beerus. With Beerus threatening to destroy the Earth, Goku desperately used the Dragon Balls to summon the Eternal Dragon and learn how to obtain the form.
The creation of a Super Saiyan God required a ritual with five Saiyans channeling their energy into a sixth Saiyan among them. Vegeta, Gohan, Goten, Trunks and the still-unborn Pan from within Videl's womb gave their energy to Goku, triggering the transformation and allowing him to put up a valiant fight against Beerus, earning the God of Destruction's respect and saving Earth. In addition to a significant boost in combat strength, the agility and reflexes of a Super Saiyan God rapidly increase. However, the form consumes energy at an accelerated rate and users can only maintain it for a short time before reverting to baser forms due to exhaustion.
Vegeta, Super Saiyan God
In the anime and manga series, Vegeta is shown to be able to transform into a Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan -- more widely known as Super Saiyan Blue -- evidently bypassing Super Saiyan God altogether. The manga later reveals that Vegeta is capable of achieving the form during his battle against Goku Black while the anime has Vegeta first unveil the red-haired transformation in the animated film Dragon Ball Super: Broly, as he fights against the eponymous antagonist.
Promotional materials for the film had revealed that Vegeta learned the form on the way to achieving Super Saiyan Blue while training under Beerus and his martial arts master Whis on their world. Favoring the higher form's increased combat strength, Vegeta only used the Super Saiyan God transformation in a limited capacity upon his return to Earth.
Vegeta's Transformation in Combat
In the manga, the first time Vegeta is seen using Super Saiyan God is in his battle against Goku Black, an incarnation of Goku from an alternate reality possessed by the evil god Zamasu. Catching the villain off guard with the form's distinct appearance, Vegeta uses the faster transformation to move around the battlefield more quickly and evade Goku Black's attacks before transforming into Super Saiyan Blue to take advantage of the increased emphasis on strength to unleash attacks of his own.
In Dragon Ball Super: Broly, Vegeta decides to utilize the form when Broly begins to overwhelm his Super Saiyan 2 transformation. After undergoing the transformation, Vegeta quickly turns the tide of battle and overpowers Broly until the rival Saiyan's raw rage causes him to achieve his Wrath state, turning the tables on Vegeta, which causes Goku to transform into Super Saiyan Blue and intervene.