Nappa and Vegeta just seemed like a couple of buddies out to cause mayhem one sunny day on Earth until...
Hi guys, it's the DB Analyst here. Applying real world logic, I think, in the Dragonball world. Let's talk about Vegeta and Nappa. What would you say their relationship is? They go way back perhaps even to when Vegeta was a child, I would think. I believe Nappa was a General in the saiyan army which could also translate to Vegeta's babysitter - maybe. And then disaster fell upon them and they were forced to tag along with the low-level Raditz because after all, they are the last of their race.
Pretty sure Nappa always acknowledged Vegeta's authority and hastened to obey the orders of his “boss”. It would seem that their history is primarily based upon mutual respect. I am your Prince, you are my General. So what happened on Earth then? Let's break down the final moments of this complicated friendship (or is friendship too strong a word?).
Normal vs. Psycho
So let's examine these guys reactions accordingly. Did they react normally (totally could relate) or did they react like a psycho (but why though?). Let's explore.
1) Vegeta called off Nappa. So what, Nappa didn't land a single punch. Hey, if it were me, I would have been irked beyond belief to see my General, emphasis on General, embarrassing me. You're giving these people the wrong impression of me, just saying. Not even ONE TOUCH! Epic fail. After all, Goku is not only a low-level but he is on a planet of extreme weaklings. As hot and bothered as Vegeta most surely must have been, I'm surprised he contained himself and didn't fly up there and whack him down. So I would say that this is Normal.
2) Nappa rages on. He obeyed his Prince immediately though reluctantly but then insisted that he must still take someone out. OK, seems about right. You just got severely embarrassed (and right in front of your Prince too) and you are running high on emotion and exacting revenge but you were called off. So, divert your aggression elsewhere. Makes sense to me. He couldn't hit Goku so why not go after who he could take down and regain some cool points. That sounds pretty Normal.
3) Nappa regrets it. Goku and his awesome Kaioken found himself halfway up this man's spine. Talk about Ouch! (Is it just me or is Goku the real psycho here :D OK, so he was desperate to save his best friend and son, hmm...) And on top of that to hear the same man you couldn't touch talking about, “Take your injured friend and leave.” Double Ouch! Drowning in embarrassment and pain, he reached out his hand for mercy to his beloved Prince. I mean, who wouldn't. Everything here just screams Normal.
4) Nappa is shocked. Nappa was filled with relief and gratitude to have his Prince offer his hand to help him. It came as a genuine shock that he was thrown aside. “What's wrong with you, Vegeta!” It been's about 30 years, and not 30 days that they were partners, so the shock makes complete sense. Who's to say that they haven't been in similar situations and had to save the other? Or maybe, this was the very first time either of them suffered so badly in a fight - so of course you would never expect to be in such a position and beg for help. A very popular fan theory is that Nappa was deemed a disgrace. If it is some sort of code of conduct ingrained in warrior culture that whosoever is crippled is to perish then wouldn't it make more sense for Nappa's reaction to be something along the lines of “Prince, I have failed you. But don't kill me, please.” Hmmm... The verdict on this one is Normal.
5) Vegeta turns on him. So, effectively immediately after seeing your General suffer immensely you go for the kill. Perhaps this was a sort of a peace-offering, a kind of euthanasia. Powering up to the max and firing off doesn't sound so gentle to me. So...that's a definite no. OK...let's look at what he said. “There's no need for a paralyzed saiyan. You're dead weight now.” Technically, he's right. Who needs a wounded soldier in battle. But what about the dragonballs? But...Vegeta had only just mentioned the Namekian balls. He could use the Earth balls to heal Nappa and go off to Namek and get another wish. Also, they had those medical machines back on Frieza's ship which is the one-stop-shop for all kinds of injuries. All pretty normal solutions. Or just simply be outraged that your comrade was severely injured. After all, think about their history. They were the last of their race, they've fought side by side in dozens of battles and Nappa must have known Vegeta personally since he was a baby. And just like that...after everything. He killed him.Wow! Heartless much. So it is easy to say that Vegeta is a Psycho. Or is he?
Alright, alright, just hear me out okay. This is the same Vegeta that saved Nappa from the Destructo Disk. He wasn't so keen on this act of charity but he did it anyways. It always seemed that Vegeta had a bone to pick with Nappa. He was always quick to belittle his genius (or lack thereof) and hated to be addressed so over-eagerly (“Stop your bootlicking Nappa!”). Why wait till Nappa finally finds himself in harm's way because of his smarts! Meeting your end by such an obvious attack is above and beyond, to me, way more of a dead-weight. So you insist on saving his life yet turn around with such fervour to end him off because...he's paralyzed. Seems a bit too opportunistic to me. Saiyans are proud so keeping each other alive is high priority as it is only the two of them (after all, in their prejudice Raditz doesn't really count and he's dead at this point anyways).
I hold a strong belief that Vegeta's strongest skill in battle is his sweet talk AKA his intimidation. Look at it this way – who wouldn't be scared out of their minds at Goku. A low-level, who is now at elite strength or above elite, the way they were gawking about his 5000 power reading AND he just saw what he did to Nappa. The fact that they realised that Goku can hide power and thus it would mean that 5000 was “only the beginning” proves that Nappa was definitely stronger than that. And probably a bit stronger than the ever famous 9000 power reading. If they were truly threatened by this, they probably should have been sweating and made a quick exit. So watching Nappa fall would have really sent home a message. After all, they knew he was hiding power but they had no idea just how much and this much improvement in only one year. Yikes! How often have we seen Vegeta spew about how pathetic someone is or how he could finish the job so very easily to only come around and get a serious whooping? This battle is the first example of many.
You can just boil it down to a case of Vegeta's ego and perhaps he over-reacted in the heat of the moment. (That's quite a bit of an over-reaction, right?) You can claim that he was trying to show off that he was not to be messed with. But is killing the man who couldn't land a hit on Goku, who more than likely was holding back (you know how them saiyans do) is gonna make someone fear you? And he clearly put effort into the kill. Using up all of that energy to kill your own would only make someone think you're psycho (much like Krillin thought) because it comes off as intentional and not reactive. If he had killed him by snapping his finger, maybe then you could argue that this would have made Goku cower. I'm pretty sure that Vegeta was certain he was above and beyond stronger than Goku so why did he had to prove anything? So, think about it. Why did Vegeta kill Nappa?
And guess what. I have an actual answer to that question. Buried deep in the lengthy journey that is my story. Give it a read if you like: https://www.wattpad.com/211318050-revenge-of-the-super-saiyan-god-2-in-1-story.