Contains spoilers for Dragon Ball Super #87!
While Vegeta has become one of the greatest and most powerful warriors in the history of Dragon Ball, there is one fighter who has outmatched him in the past and is actually responsible for most of Vegeta’s in-continuity deaths. What’s worse, the fighter in question has recently undergone a massive power-up which indicates that they could very well kill Vegeta again in the future. In fact, it is almost guaranteed that this god-tier warrior will put Vegeta in the ground once more since they very recently defeated Vegeta like it was nothing within the pages of Dragon Ball Super.
Vegeta made his debut in Dragon Ball chapter 204, and while he began his career as a villain, he quickly sided with the Z Fighters and eventually became a full-fledged hero of Earth. With a team of powerful warriors and trusted allies behind him, Vegeta became one of the strongest fighters in the universe. So strong, in fact, that he recently unlocked the god-like transformation of Ultra Ego, which is the result of channeling the same energy as a God of Destruction. While Vegeta has increasingly grown stronger with every passing chapter, he isn’t invincible, and has even died on three occasions (not counting his alternate timeline death at the hands of Android 17). What's notable is that two of those deaths were as a result of fighting one particular enemy: Frieza.
In Dragon Ball chapter 308 by Akira Toriyama, Vegeta is standing with the Z Fighters against Frieza as the villainous tyrant is hellbent on killing every one of them after they thwarted his plan to use the wish-granting magic of the Dragon Balls to become immortal. Unfortunately, without Goku - who was in a healing pod due to the life-threatening injuries he suffered after fighting Captain Ginyu - Vegeta and the Z Fighters had little chance of beating Frieza. Even so, Vegeta still gives it his all and even tries to mess with the villain’s head by telling him that he is the legendary Super Saiyan. Sadly, in the end, Frieza kills him, which marks the first time Vegeta died in the series.
Vegeta’s second death was technically by his own hand as he sacrificed himself while creating a life-draining explosion he hoped would obliterate Majin Buu. Skip ahead to the sequel series of Dragon Ball Super and Vegeta is once again face-to-face with Frieza, only this time both fighters have reached incredible levels of power. Vegeta harnessed the energy of Super Saiyan God and even unlocked a transformation that surpassed that, a form known as Super Saiyan Blue. Similarly, Frieza found an all-new transformation that matched Super Saiyan Blue: Golden Frieza. While Frieza’s power-up was impressive, Vegeta was able to beat him, leading Frieza to pull something of a ‘Hail Mary’ to ensure his own survival. Frieza destroyed the entire planet so he would win against Vegeta; a move that killed Vegeta in the process. While Whis quickly undid Frieza’s actions, Vegeta was still killed in combat, which marks yet another one of Vegeta’s deaths at the hands of Frieza.
Getting killed by the same villain twice is a hard pill to swallow, and it will assuredly be even harder to accept the next time it happens - and Frieza’s latest appearance all but ensures that it will. In Dragon Ball Super chapter 87, Frieza unveiled his all-new form: Black Frieza. This transformation is so strong that Frieza was able to defeat Ultra Instinct Goku and Ultra Ego Vegeta with one punch before leaving with the promise of returning at a later date to finish the job. Even with Vegeta’s god-tier power-up, he is still at the mercy of the fighter who has killed him more times than anyone else, indicating that Dragon Ball’s bloody history is destined to repeat itself.
Dragon Ball Super #87 is available to read via Viz Media.