Freeza (フリーザ, Furīza, Frieza in most English adaptations) is a graphic novel supervillain who first appears in the Dragon Ball manga created by Akira Toriyama, followed by the anime Dragon Ball Z. Freeza also appears in the television special Bardock: The Father of Goku; a few Dragon Ball Z movies and in Dragon Ball GT. He is one of the most powerful major supervillains introduced throughout the Dragon Ball universe. In the gag series Neko Majin, it is revealed that he has a son, Kuriza.
| Freeza | |
|---|---|
| Dragon Ball character | |
| File:Freeza Mugshot.jpg Freeza by Akira Toriyama | |
| First appearance | Chapter #247 DBZ Chapter #50 |
| Created by | Akira Toriyama |
| In-universe information | |
| Relatives | King Cold (father) Coola (brother) Kuriza (son, Neko Majin Z) Cell (modified clone) |
Appearance
Freeza's design is an amalgamation of what creator Akira Toriyama thought monsters looked like in his childhood.[1]
Freeza is one of the supervillains in the series who possesses an entire range of transformations, each one being quite different than the others. It is implied by the character Vegeta in the series that Freeza's fourth, most powerful form is actually his original form, with the other three being forms that suppress his power in order to conserve it. Freeza later confirms this while fighting the main protagonist Son Goku.
Introduction
Freeza is introduced in the series as the powerful galactic overlord on a mission for immortality and conquest. He is the ruler of an empire that has control over what has been said to be over 79 planets. [2] Freeza creates armies from the planets that he conquers, his most utilized race were the Saiyans. Freeza had heard about the legend of the Super Saiyan, a being with unrivaled power, but dismissed it as simple mythology; however, after several Saiyans emerged with rapidly evolving potential, Freeza began to fear that the legend of the Super Saiyan would indeed come true, so as a result, destroyed the Saiyan race. His actions and lust for power eventually bring him into conflict with the heroes of the series when he tries to take possession of the wish-granting Dragon Balls on Planet Namek. Freeza's fears were realized when he was defeated by a Saiyan named Kakorot (more commonly known as Son Goku) who had escaped Freeza's attempt to destroy the Saiyans, Goku in turn had become a Super Saiyan.
He is voiced by Ryūsei Nakao in the original Japanese and in English by Pauline Newstone (of the Ocean Group) and FUNimation's Linda Chambers-Young in all succeeding movies, video games, and episodes (including a redub of the character's initial appearance).
Forms and transformations
Over time, Freeza's power became so great that his body could not comfortably contain it, and a series of physical transformations were developed that limit his actual strength.[3] While changing shape from his "first-form", each alteration builds on the previous. In all, Freeza demonstrated four transformed states, each with increasing power (some larger than others and each resulting in different physical attributes).
- First form
In his first form, Freeza is a relatively short humanoid, albeit with a large chestnut-shaped skull with two horns. He also has a tail with a spiked end, as well as having three talon-like toes. He wears the same upper-body armor that many of his subordinates (including the Saiyans) are shown to wear, and while traveling, often gives the appearance of weakness by exclusively using his hoverchair for transportation, leaving his henchmen to do his "dirty work". He states during his battle with Nail that his power level in this form is 530,000.
- Second form
His second form is similar in appearance to the first, except much larger, both in height and muscle mass, Freeza claiming to have at least doubled his power in this state.[4] He also grows longer horns, which now instead of protruding sideways from his skull curve sharply upwards into near right angles. Just before transforming Freeza breaks his armor, revealing a white natural armor covering his chest and shoulders. In this form, he somewhat resembles his father King Cold.
- Third form
Freeza's third form is again more brutish, with an extremely elongated skull. His facial features contort and change, with his nose melding into his mouth to form a crude beak. His original horns recede and are now white in colour, erupting in pairs along the length of his head. His tail tip did not regenerate so it is not known if it would have appeared different in this form. In this form, he carries a slight hunch, as if the strain of supporting his head was too much for even Freeza's own body to bear. This form vaguely resembles a Xenomorph from the Alien movies.
- Final Form
Drastically differing from his previous transformations, in his final, true form, Freeza instead regresses, becoming shorter and less bulky. His previous form shatters causing his horns and spikes to disappear and his physique becomes streamlined. His skin becomes pure, solid white with purple sections on his head, shoulders, forearms, chest and shins.
- 100% power
Freeza is also able to attain 100% power, greatly increasing his muscle mass to about the same size as a Super Saiyan 2nd Grade and mildly increasing his power. At 100% this is literally the peak of Freeza's potential and the maximum amount of power his body can output, at full capacity he was able to make Goku struggle during the final battle on Planet Namek when he was a Super Saiyan. However, it was short lived due to the fact that the strain on his body made him unable to fight at full capacity for long, slowly weakening whether he is dealing or receiving damage.
- Mecha Freeza
Physically ruined while caught in the Planet Namek's explosion after his defeat, what remained of the still-living Freeza was salvaged and rebuilt with cybernetic enhancements by scientists under the order of King Cold. The whole of the lower half of his body and right side of his face are replaced, with scarring and metal accouterments covering what little was left of his organic self. These enhancements allowed him to exceed the limits of power imposed by his fully organic form, though how much more powerful it made him is unknown. However, considering how relatively easy Future Trunks dispatched him, it's safe to say that he was still not up to the level of a Super-Saiyan.
Other media
Video games
Freeza has been featured in nearly every video game covering Dragon Ball Z and further. Often times, he's both a playable character and boss, though more frequently the latter. He is also usually able to transform into his many different forms, his mecha form being a separate character.
Freeza appears in the Famicom game (and later Playdia remake) Dragon Ball Z Gaiden: Saiyajin Zetsumetsu Keikaku. Freeza seems to be somehow resurrected, and he and other past villains start attacking Goku and his friends. Once it's revealed these are merely ghost-warriors meant to distract the heroes, however, the false Freeza and his allies are easily dealt with.
In Super Dragon Ball Z, Akira Toriyama had taken Mecha Freeza's original design and slghtly remodeled him specifically for the platform version of the game. Toriyama's design included a mine belt around his waist, an RPG strapped to his back, and razor explosives down the length of his tail.
In popular culture
- In the manga Black Cat by Kentaro Yabuki, Sven Vollfied is often seen using his cell phone. At the top of the phone's wrist strap is a miniature-sized badge of Freeza's head.[5]
Notes and references
- ^ U.S. Shonen Jump (Issue #1 ed.). VIZ Media. 2003.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help) - ^ Vegeta visited Planet Freeza #79 briefly after his defeat on Earth (Dragon Ball #246). At the time, Freeza himself was using that planet as a base, but was absent while making his way to Namek. Not all Freeza-dominated worlds, such as Planet Vegeta, were numbered.
- ^ While other beings in Dragon Ball Z transform to increase their power, Freeza transforms to control and contain it. His true form is his fourth form (Dragon Ball #303), with each of his other transformations meant to restrict his power and conceal it from his enemies. Freeza even says upon transforming to his second state that he has a harder time controlling himself and his power due to the immensity of his current strength. (Dragon Ball #296).
- ^ Freeza boasts that his fighting strength is "over a million" and he won't be as gentle as he was before (Dragon Ball #296).
- ^ Black Cat manga; chapter 6, page 153.