With Dragon Ball resurgent once again, thanks to the latest announcement that came with the 40th anniversary of the series, fans are incredibly excited to see their favorite characters reach new levels of power soon enough. When it comes to Vegeta, who is known to be one of the most popular characters in the entirety of the Dragon Ball franchise, fans know very well that one transformation that everyone wants to see debut in the anime is Ultra Ego. Most readers of the Dragon Ball Super manga will already know that Ultra Ego is quite an overpowered transformation that Vegeta acquires later down the line; however, anime-only fans have yet to see this transformation, as in this particular medium, Vegeta is still stuck with his Super Saiyan Blue form, while Goku has moved far ahead by gaining Ultra Instinct.
All that is set to change with the new Dragon Ball Super anime, as Vegeta will get his own equivalent of Ultra Instinct, only something that functions rather differently. The powers and abilities of Ultra Ego make Vegeta a worthy rival of Goku once again, and quite easily a contender to be the strongest in the universe.
What Is Vegeta's Ultra Ego Transformation?
A Power Connected To The Gods of Destruction
To understand the power of Ultra Ego, one first needs to grasp the basis for it. Ultra Ego was originally created by none other than Toyotaro, the primary author of the Dragon Ball Super manga. Naturally, this idea was pitched to Toriyama, who approved it, and then this form made its way into the story. As to why Ultra Ego was required, the reason is quite simple. Goku had his Ultra Instinct transformation, which he went on to master as the story continued. Of course, there are still ways in which Goku can take his power level even further, but the same did not hold true for Vegeta. With Goku mastering divine techniques, Vegeta was left behind in the dust, and the story isn't fun when both Saiyans are not progressing at an equal rate, maintaining their fierce rivalry with one another. As such, Vegeta developing something like Ultra Ego was absolutely necessary for the plot. It also sets him apart from Goku, because the basis of the two techniques is completely different.
Simply put, Ultra Ego is a technique that functions based on a Saiyan's true battle instinct. As fans know, Saiyans are a powerful race that continue to get stronger through battle. The more they fight and the more they get damaged, the stronger they get once they are fully recovered through a means often known as Zenkai among the fans. This concept was quite prevalent in early Dragon Ball Z, and Ultra Ego epitomizes this power.
However, in order to be able to use the power of Ultra Ego, one first needs to learn the Ultra Ego technique, which can only come by undergoing God of Destruction training. Vegeta's training with Beerus proves to be fruitful enough for him to be able to utilize Ultra Ego, but to access it, he first has to be in the right mindset as a Destroyer. After all, if one isn't in the right mindset, then Ultra Ego cannot work, and this part of the ability is quite similar to Ultra Instinct, which requires the user to be in a very calm and relaxed state.
The Powers Of Vegeta's Ultra Ego
Vegeta's Ultra Ego Allows Him To Use The Power Of Destruction
- Vegeta grows stronger with battle damage
- His overall power and efficiency keep growing
The powers of Ultra Ego are rather simple. The more the user takes damage in battle and enjoys the thrill of it, the stronger they get. Vegeta's fight against Granola was the perfect example of how Ultra Ego truly worked. As he took more damage, he continued to get stronger. Theoretically, there is no limit to the amount of strength he can reach in battle with this transformation. Naturally, that would make this transformation seem way too broken for Dragon Ball Super; however, the key lies in how much damage a user's body can handle. While Ultra Ego technically has no ceiling, the fact is that the user's body does.
Vegeta can only take so much damage before his body is on its last legs, and even if sometimes he may not realize it, the damage has already been done. As such, maintaining top physical condition and gaining the ability to withstand severe damage are absolutely necessary for this form to work.
Other than this massive weakness, Vegeta can gradually raise his power throughout the battle and output even more of his strength through Ultra Ego. Vegeta can also use the power of the Gods of Destruction in this state. As is quite clear, Ultra Ego is a transformation that makes use of divine ki, and its power itself appears as a flame-like aura that can destroy enemy attacks on contact. This is quite similar to Hakai, which fans have seen the Gods of Destruction utilize in the Dragon Ball Super series.
Naturally, given that this is the power that Gods of Destruction tap into in the world of Dragon Ball Super, Vegeta can also use abilities such as Hakai and most likely many others that fans have not even seen yet. In the midst of a battle, Ultra Ego can prove to be truly deadly when the user counterattacks, as Vegeta relishes the blows that he receives from his enemies. He gets stronger and his senses get sharper. This allows him to hit right counterattacks and deliver deadly blows to the enemies, being able to easily overwhelm them as long as his body hasn't accumulated too much damage.
The fact is that, with time, Vegeta will only grow stronger, and Ultra Ego will then be taken to a completely new level, because with each battle that he recovers from, his threshold for reaching exhaustion and damage accumulation will only grow. As such, this form has a very high ceiling, and when a Saiyan is using it, it probably has no limits either.
How Strong Is Ultra Ego Vegeta?
A Perfect Rival For Ultra Instinct Goku
With the power of Ultra Ego, Vegeta is quite clearly one of the strongest in the entire series, and that goes without saying. In a way, the Dragon Ball Super manga equates Vegeta's Ultra Ego transformation to Goku's Ultra Instinct. They are both very different and, in essence, the polar opposites of each other, but their power level should be comparable. Vegeta was able to hold his own against Granola, who, at the time, was the strongest in the universe, and that goes to show that his overall fighting prowess was incredibly high while utilizing this power.
However, Vegeta clearly is not the strongest with Ultra Ego. There are many individuals who stand a chance at defeating him in battle, and fans already saw that in the Granola arc and what came next. Black Frieza, for example, was strong enough to easily overwhelm Vegeta. Even Ultra Instinct Goku stands a chance to defeat Vegeta in battle, given that he has far more experience utilizing the power of Ultra Instinct than Vegeta does with Ultra Ego.
In fact, Vegeta's weaknesses of losing his senses in the thrill of battle and forgetting his own body can easily be utilized against him by his enemies. While he is not the strongest, Vegeta finally has something that he can build upon and reach high levels as the story continues, and that truly excites the fans.