History Characters / DragonBallFrieza

[[Characters/DragonBallOriginalSeriesVillains Original Series Villains]] ([[Characters/DragonBallRedRibbonArmy Red Ribbon Army]] [[[Characters/DragonBallCell Cell]]]) | [[Characters/DragonBallZVillains DBZ Villains]] ([[Characters/DragonBallFriezasEmpire Frieza's Empire]] ['''Freeza/Frieza''' [[[Characters/DragonBallFriezaTropesAToH A to H]], [[Characters/DragonBallFriezaTropesIToY T to Y]]], [[Characters/DragonBallCooler Cooler/Coola]]], [[Characters/DragonBallMajinBuu Majin Buu]]) | [[Characters/DragonBallZMovieVillains DBZ Movie Villains]] ([[Characters/DragonBallBroly Broly]]) | [[Characters/DragonBallGTVillains GT Villains]] | [[Characters/DragonBallSuperVillains DBS Villains]] ([[Characters/DragonBallGokuBlack Goku Black]], [[Characters/DragonBallZamasu Zamasu/Zamas]] [[[Characters/DragonBallFusedZamasu Fused Zamasu/Zamas]]])-]]]]]

[[Characters/DragonBallOriginalSeriesVillains Original Series Villains]] ([[Characters/DragonBallRedRibbonArmy Red Ribbon Army]] [[[Characters/DragonBallDrGero Dr. Gero/Android 20]], [[Characters/DragonBallCell Cell]]], [[Characters/DragonBallDemonKingPiccolo Demon King Piccolo]]) | [[Characters/DragonBallZVillains DBZ Villains]] ([[Characters/DragonBallFriezasEmpire Frieza's Empire]] ['''Freeza/Frieza''' [[[Characters/DragonBallFriezaTropesAToH A to H]], [[Characters/DragonBallFriezaTropesIToY T to Y]]], [[Characters/DragonBallCooler Cooler/Coola]]], [[Characters/DragonBallMajinBuu Majin Buu]]) | [[Characters/DragonBallZMovieVillains DBZ Movie Villains]] ([[Characters/DragonBallBroly Broly]]) | [[Characters/DragonBallGTVillains GT Villains]] | [[Characters/DragonBallSuperVillains DBS Villains]] ([[Characters/DragonBallFrost Frost]], [[Characters/DragonBallGokuBlack Goku Black]], [[Characters/DragonBallZamasu Zamasu/Zamas]] [[[Characters/DragonBallFusedZamasu Fused Zamasu/Zamas]]], [[Characters/DragonBallMoro Moro]])-]]]]]

The Emperor of the Universe. '''''[[TropeCodifier The]]''''' EvilOverlord of {{Shonen}} Anime. The Bane of the Universe. The Agent of Destruction. The ArchEnemy of Goku. The '''BigBad''' of Dragon Ball.

[[Characters/DragonBallOriginalSeriesVillains Original Series Villains]] ([[Characters/DragonBallRedRibbonArmy Red Ribbon Army]] [[[Characters/DragonBallDrGero Dr. Gero/Android 20]], [[Characters/DragonBallCell Cell]]], [[Characters/DragonBallDemonKingPiccolo Demon King Piccolo]]) | [[Characters/DragonBallZVillains DBZ Villains]] ([[Characters/DragonBallFriezasEmpire Frieza's Empire]] ['''Freeza/Frieza''', [[Characters/DragonBallCooler Cooler/Coola]]], [[Characters/DragonBallMajinBuu Majin Buu]]) | [[Characters/DragonBallZMovieVillains DBZ Movie Villains]] ([[Characters/DragonBallBroly Broly]]) | [[Characters/DragonBallGTVillains GT Villains]] | [[Characters/DragonBallSuperVillains DBS Villains]] ([[Characters/DragonBallFrost Frost]], [[Characters/DragonBallGokuBlack Goku Black]], [[Characters/DragonBallZamasu Zamasu/Zamas]] [[[Characters/DragonBallFusedZamasu Fused Zamasu/Zamas]]], [[Characters/DragonBallMoro Moro]])-]]]]]

[[foldercontrol]]

The Emperor of the Universe. '''''[[TropeCodifier The]]''''' EvilOverlord of Shonen Anime. The Bane of the Universe. Agent of Destruction. The ArchEnemy of Goku. The '''BigBad''' of Dragon Ball.

* Characters/DragonBallFriezaTropesIToY Tropes I to Y]]

[[folder:#-B]]
* ZeroPercentApprovalRating: Downplayed. While he is despised and loathed by all the main heroes and the universe at large, he is highly respected by his soldiers and followers. However, in ''[[Anime/DragonBallZResurrectionF Resurrection 'F']]'' it's established that the ''only'' reason his men used the Dragon Balls to resurrect him is because with the empire going down since his demise, they see his [[TheDreaded fear factor]] as [[GodzillaThreshold the only way to restore it]]. Even while searching for the Dragon Balls, Tagoma flat-out tells Sorbet that it's a bad idea to resurrect Frieza given what a psychopath he was, and Sorbet agrees that they may be better off without him. [[spoiler:By ''Broly'', the heroes are able to tolerate him, and Frieza has completely loyal supporters in his nanny Berryblue and top scientist, Kikono, who also are among the last remaining members of his inner circle.]]
* AbusiveAlienParents:
** Frieza implies after Goku managed to deal some damage on him that King Cold has hurt him in his final form during either training or just out of abuse.
--->'''Frieza :''' ''[dusting off]'' Well, well. It seems like you are the first to hurt me in my real form besides my loving parents.
** He was also Vegeta's main parental figure for most of his life. Frieza made Vegeta one of his men and for years, took every possible opportunity to demean and insult him. During their fight on Namek, Frieza brutally tortured Vegeta to death both to punish him for his treachery and ForTheEvulz. Needless to say, Vegeta has every reason to hate Frieza and want him dead and that was ''before'' he found out Frieza destroyed Planet Vegeta. Ironically, going by ''Broly'', Frieza may only be a few years older than Vegeta.
* TheAce: Although stronger characters were later introduced, at the time of his introduction, Frieza was the strongest being in the universe without training a day in his life. He also has an insane amount of durability thanks to his species' extreme survivability and was still alive after Trunks ''cut him to bits'' (although vaporising the bits finished him off). In ''Resurrection F'', through training for only four months Frieza manages to close the power gap with Goku, who had powers beyond godhood. With that said, [[ArrogantKungFuGuy his own arrogance]] in his greatness proves to be his FatalFlaw. He didn't bother to learn to control his full power, which left him with very poor endurance. Both times he fights Goku, he loses because he burnt himself out. The mental trauma he suffers after Goku beats him turns him into a BrokenAce.
* AdaptationalBadass:
** In the manga when Krillin cuts off his tail with the Kienzan, Frieza notably grimaces in pain. In the anime, Frieza isn't implied to actually be in pain from this and is simply shocked and angered.
** {{Downplayed}}. In the manga, 100% Full Power Frieza put up a decent fight against Super Saiyan Goku, but never had a chance at winning. He puts up a better fight in the anime, and they are more evenly matched, but it is clear that he takes more damage from Goku's hits and his stamina drains much more quickly than Goku's, leading to his defeat.
** PlayedStraight in ''Dragon Ball Super'', when he not only has a ki sense, but is also able to match Goku more equally in his final form and outmatched him longer in his golden state in comparison to the movie where Frieza only had the advantage for a few minutes before his power began to drop. [[ZigzaggedTrope At the same time]], his stamina issues are even ''worse'' as Golden Frieza . While in the movie Golden Frieza maintained his full power throughout most of the fight, Frieza burns himself out after only a minute at fighting at full power and is out of breath before Goku does anything to him. [[spoiler:Episode 95 reveals that he's managed to control his golden form's stamina by meditating during his time in Hell.]]
** ''Anime/DragonBallZResurrectionF'' proper also shows a bit of this before fighting Goku. In anime filler, movies and ''Anime/DragonBallGT'', he's [[TheWorfEffect constantly outclassed by the heroes]] after Trunks kills him, and is easily taken out by, in order: Pikkon before the [[TournamentArc Other World Tournament]], Gohan in ''[[Anime/DragonBallZFusionReborn Fusion Reborn]]'', and Goku in ''GT''. Notably, Gohan's instance has him insta-kill Frieza's final form with a single punch. In ''Resurrection 'F''', he realizes how outclassed he initially is due to his lack of training, and goes to amend that issue. After four months, he's able to take Gohan out of commission with a similar punch in his ''base'' form, and shows off [[AwesomeButImpractical Golden Frieza]] for the first time while fighting Goku. And to his credit, he comes extremely close to ''winning'' this time around, blowing up Earth much quicker than he did with Namek and managing to kill [[PhysicalGod Super Saiyan Blue Vegeta]] this way; had [[ResetButton Whis]] not been present, this would have sealed his victory right then and there.
** Very few games translate the difficulty he has sustaining the effort of his 100% Full Power Form. Often Super Saiyan is harder to keep. Xenoverse is a particularly big offender in that his personal skill gives him energy as the fight wears on.
** It's {{Downplayed}} but in the novel adaptation of ''Anime/DragonBallSuperBroly'', [[spoiler:Frieza put up a better fight than in the anime, with his attacks somewhat staggering Broly. He's still heavily on the losing end but he get a few licks in at least.]]
* AdaptationalNiceGuy:
** Played with in the manga compared to the anime. In the manga, his attempt to betray Universe 7 and join Universe 9 is removed entirely. He also makes the choice to sacrifice himself Jiren on his own while in the anime he needed Goku to convince him. On the other hand, in the manga he actively encourages Frost to eliminate his weaker teammates and only aids the stronger ones to eliminate enemies. In the anime, despite his AloofAlly status, he does make sure to protect his teammates when they need it, saving Gohan from Jimizu, 17 from Top and Goku from Jiren when they are in danger of elimination.
** In one of his routes in ''Supersonic Warriors 2'', Frieza truly loves his father, and is genuinely grateful when Cold saves Frieza's life from Cooler.
* AdaptationalVillainy: As absolutely amazing as it sounds, Frieza manages to get this in ''Dragon Ball Super'' when compared to ''Resurrection 'F'''. In the movie, Frieza [[UngratefulBastard kills his men when he's revived to test his power]], [[RevengeBeforeReason throws Tagoma out of the airlock for speaking out against his revenge plan]], [[YouHaveFailedMe kills off his entire army after they fail to kill even one of the Z-Fighters]], and [[RageQuit blows up]] the Earth after he loses to Vegeta. As bad as this list is, he's ''worse'' in ''Super''. While he doesn't kill his men to test his power, he tortures and demeans them and shows no respect towards Sorbet despite all he's done to preserve the empire and bring Frieza back to life. He also tortures Tagoma for four months after he speaks out against Frieza plan and shatters the guy's sanity, turning the once NobleDemon to a coldblooded murderer who is just as bad as Frieza . As the Z-Fighters battle his army, he puts a bounty on Krillin's head, promising a planet to whoever kills him, since he knows that Krillin's death will cause Goku a great amount of pain. He then goes on to torture Gohan for reminding him of Goku's mercy towards him on Namek, [[HeroicSacrifice which leads to Piccolo's death]] since he shields Gohan from a fatal Death Beam and he brags about how he is going to kill Gohan's entire family once he's done with him. When Goku finally arrives, he shows off his new power by killing off his remaining men when he goes into his true form and [[CombatPragmatist attacks Goku's friends during their fight to distract him]]. He then tells Goku about his plans to destroy Earth and Namek once he kills him so no one can ever be wished back again. The differences are so stark that Frieza in ''Resurrection 'F''' looks like a decent person compared to his ''Super'' counterpart.
* AesopAmnesia:
** After losing to Goku and being killed by Trunks, Frieza realizes that being BrilliantButLazy was the catalyst of his downfall. So, he decides to finally train and bring out all of his latent power. However, he still didn't completely learn his lesson from Namek. [[spoiler:Part of the reason why he lost was because he never learned to control his full power, had no endurance for a prolonged fight, and couldn't respond once raw strength proved to be ineffective outside of nuking the planet. His golden form has the exact same problems to an even ''greater'' extent. After taking so much damage, he loses his ultimate transformation and is reduced to [[RageQuit rage quitting]]]].
** [[spoiler:As of the Universe Survival Saga, this trope is ''finally'' averted. Frieza reveals that he managed to control his energy by meditating during his time in Hell, concentrating solely on killing Goku in the most brutal ways possible. This allows him to maintain his golden form with no loss of stamina. He even opts to rebuild his empire and get strong enough to assuredly kill Goku when he's brought back to life at the end of it.]]
** Pissing off a Saiyan ''is not a smart move'' on his part. During the events on Namek, he pissed off Goku for both killing Krillin and threatening Gohan, which caused him to become a Super Saiyan. The second Saiyan he royally pissed off to the point of becoming a Super Saiyan? ''[[spoiler:Broly]]'', who beats the daylights out of him ''for a full hour''. DidntThinkThisThrough does ''not'' describe how much he screwed the pooch by making a Saiyan very angry.
* TheAgeless: While he may have been trying to gain immortality, Frieza doesn't show any signs of age. [[spoiler: After training 10 whole years in the room of spirit and time, Frieza was able to one-shot Gas, Goku and Vegeta in quick succession with no sign of fatigue]].
* AlienInvasion: He personally led hundreds of thousands of these on worlds across the universe by ridding the planets he conquers by killing off their natural species by using his own armies, and his last personally-overseen one being that of Earth in order to kill Goku. However, he was thwarted both times, by Future Trunks and Goku himself.
* AliensAreBastards: He is an alien and a ruthless GalacticConqueror.
* AllForNothing: Turns out Frieza's genocide of the Namekian people was for absolutely nothing, seeing how they won't work unless someone speaking fluent Namekian does the summoning and stating the wish- which Frieza is unlikely to ever have them do thanks to his paranoia.
* AllWebbedUp: In ''Resurrection 'F''', his time in Hell is largely spent wrapped in a cocoon and strung from a tree.
* AloofAlly: Despite [[TokenEvilTeammate all of his posturing and threats of betrayal]], Frieza actually stays true to his word during the Tournament of Power and remains loyal to Universe 7. He even willing gives up his chance to make the wish on the Super Dragon Balls as long as it meant that Goku would stay true to his word and resurrect him.
* AlwaysABiggerFish: Just when it seems like Gas may be the strongest being in the universe, Frieza shows up and effortlessly put him down with a punch.
* AmusingInjuries: During his fight with Goku on Namek, he attempts to strangle him with his tail. Goku retaliates by biting his tail, resulting in a ''very'' out-of-character look on Frieza's face as he lets go to blow on his tail, complete with bite marks... and gives Goku a perfect opening to land a few hits. Late on in the fight, Goku, now a Super Saiyan, slaps Frieza around a bit, then elbows him in the head so hard that it causes Frieza's eyes to bulge out, giving him a goofy bug-eyed expression.
* AnArmAndALeg: When he got sliced by his own Destructo Disk, his left forearm was in just the wrong spot and got chopped off along with the lower half of his body and part of his tail.
* AndIMustScream: In ''Resurrection 'F''' this is Frieza's fate after he dies. In Hell, he is trapped to a tree for the rest of eternity, or at least until he's reborn, unable to move while angels and toy-like creatures sing and dance around him, and it's so saccharine he wants to claw his eyes out. Much harsher than the free-roaming Hell from the ''Z'' fillers and ''GT''. To be fair, Frieza's own arrogance and inherent feeling of superiority doesn't allow him to move on. This finally convinces him to give up pursuing immortality for good.
* AndYourLittleDogToo: His indulging in this is what [[NiceJobFixingItVillain triggers Goku's first Super Saiyan transformation]], [[HoistByHisOwnPetard leading to him beating Frieza to a pulp.]] ''First'' he kills Krillin, who was no threat to him whatsoever and had already been revived once, meaning (as far as Goku knew) he couldn't come back again. Then he declares he's going to do the same to Gohan. [[PapaWolf Goku promptly transforms.]]
* AnIcePerson: Subverted. Frieza's name is a play on the word "freeze", but he has no ice-based powers. However, the translated lyrics to "Only a Chilling Elegy" make several references to freezing.
-->In time, the sea will freeze over.\\
He's coming to attack! Even dreams will freeze!\\
I'm freezing your dreams.\\
He is coming, freezing me!
* AntagonistAbilities:
** While the vast majority of characters in the series either train to earn their power, are designed to have it, or at the very least had to assimilate/eat stronger opponents to evolve, Frieza was simply ''born'' strong and (prior to being defeated by Goku) never had to train for it. This isn't even a common trait of his species; Toriyama states that King Cold and his progeny are simply "mutants".
** While not having the plethora of unfair powers that his successors Cell and Buu possess, Frieza has one major trump card over the heroes: unlike any of them, he can [[BatmanCanBreatheInSpace survive in the vacuum of space]]. This gives him access to a brutal InstantWinCondition at all times: if he can't win against an opponent in a fair fight, he can always kill them by blowing up their planet.
* ArcVillain: The most important one in the saga; the ''Dragon Ball'' Universe would have been a ''very'' different place if Frieza didn't decide to destroy Planet Vegeta and he became the main villain of two story arcs.
* ArchEnemy:
** Frieza has made himself a ''lot'' of enemies but probably the two biggest examples are Vegeta and Goku, killing the former's father when he promised he wouldn't and killing the latter's father along with his own minions in a successful attempt in destroying planet Vegeta. It should be noted that Frieza is the only villain in the series to ever make Goku reach such a level of UnstoppableRage and he is one of the two most personal enemies of Goku in the series (the other being Goku Black who outright murdered Goku and his family, even if from a different timeline), as it was Frieza's ruthless actions (and killing of Krillin) that [[NiceJobFixingItVillain got Goku to transform into a Super Saiyan in the first place]]. He also made an enemy in Piccolo as he has his entire race butchered in order to find the Dragon Balls.
** From Frieza's point-of-view, Goku. He despises Goku for beating and humiliating him to the point he all but gives up running his empire just so he can get back at Goku. Even after coming back from the dead, he still wants revenge and dedicates his entire military might to invade Earth. He outright says that he can't stand to share the same universe as Goku and can't even sleep at night as long as Goku is alive.
* ArrogantKungFuGuy: A staple of most ''Dragon Ball'' villains, but Frieza stands out as having all of the power but none of the discipline and maturity as a fighter and this is the main reason he's been defeated so many times. He never bothered to train for even a single day in his entire life and just assumed that nobody could ever challenge him. And those he does sees as a threat, like the Saiyans, he destroys before they can even approach his power. [[spoiler:Even when he finally decides to train to attain more strength, he is short-sighted enough to not master his newfound power and ended up burning himself out once again. When he ''finally'' took care of that part, it's already too late: there are now stronger mortals than Goku, whereas Goku himself has leveled up by a lot as well.]]
* AsskickingLeadsToLeadership: A terrible boss as mentioned below, but when you're as strong as he is, you can be whatever you want.[[note]]To give proper context, in his weakest, most diminished form, Frieza is still 4 1/2 times stronger than his strongest soldier, who himself is almost a hundred times stronger than [[{{Mooks}} Raditz]]. This gets even worse in ''Resurrection F'' with the revelation that Frieza was this strong ''from birth, without training a day in his life.'' [[/note]]
* AssPull: An in-universe example. The whole "Namek blows up in five minutes" thing was speculated by Goku and later confirmed in [[AllThereInTheManual other guidebooks]] to be one on Frieza part. His attack was meant to be an out-and-out PlanetKiller but panicked as he feared that the explosion would be too much for him to survive and held back.[[note]]The only other time he's shown to use the attack in question was to destroy the planet Vegeta in flashback, which it did instantly. In that case, he was in orbit, rather than being inside the blast radius of his own attack.[[/note]] Caught with egg on his face, Frieza threw out the five minutes number to save face.
* AuthorAppeal: An {{Inverted|Trope}} example. Per Creator/AkiraToriyama, Frieza is an amalgamation of everything Toriyama found frightening as a child.
* AxCrazy: Frieza is incredibly sociopathic and at times, is shown to be extremely sadistic to the point that killing and causing pain seems to be his favorite sport. For example, when he destroyed Planet Vegeta and left the Saiyan race near-extinct, he laughed his head off and declared it to be a beautiful sight the whole time. ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'' manages to take his deranged behavior to even more disturbing levels.
* AwesomeButImpractical: Frieza for a long time had a big problem with this, mainly because he never truly fought a life or death battle prior to Namek (according to him, outside of his family he never had to use more than his second form to win battles). His techniques ''look'' cool but, with the exception of the Death Beam, are often inefficient:
** Frieza can use the Kienzan and his version is far superior to Krillin's: it can still cut people stronger than him, but not only can he throw two instead of one, he can control their flight path with his telekinesis. The issue? They're still incredibly slow and loud, plus he loses control of them if his concentration is broken. When he tries to kill Goku with one while his back is turned, Goku is able to dodge it ''in base''. When Goku goes Super Saiyan again they can't even come close to touching him. The only person Frieza ever hits with it is himself; Goku actually has to save him from his own technique.
** Frieza's 100% Full Power Form. In this state he was the second strongest (non-sealed) mortal of his time, outdoing his father, ancestors, [[NonSerialMovie brother]] (not counting the latter's fifth form), [[NonSerialMovie other space pirate competitors]],[[note]]''Xenoverse 2'' implies that, while Slug and Turles didn't fight the heroes in the main timeline, they still exist in the universe.[[/note]] and all but the highest gods of his universe, as well as [[HulkingOut gaining a bunch of muscle mass]] and in the anime was able to briefly rival Super Saiyan Goku on Namek. But there are two big problems. One, as noted below, his stamina bleeds incredibly quickly in this form, with a ''couple minutes'' of exertion gassing him out. Two, unlike his power fluctuations within his base form, getting to this level actually requires a fairly lengthy power-up/transformation sequence, making it impossible to actually use in battle unless his opponent lets him. Goku did, because he wanted to humiliate Frieza. Trunks ''didn't'' and simply killed Frieza in his 50% power state with one hit. There wasn't a damn thing Frieza could do about it. By the time of the Universe Survival Saga, Frieza appears to be able to use it instantly and even knows when to use it best in battle for maximum effectiveness, but by that point his Mastered Golden Form basically makes it a UselessUsefulSpell.
** The two-handed energy sphere (called "Death Bomb" in some video games) he uses against Goku in the anime. It's big and looks impressive... but per unit area it's not actually any more powerful than a regular blast. Goku with some effort punches it away with Frieza having accomplished nothing but wasting a ton of energy and inadvertently blowing up an empty planet elsewhere in the system. Every other ki attack he used in that battle was more effective.
** His Golden Form was powerful but impractical in its debut, although he eventually managed to iron out that flaw.
** In general, Frieza eventually outgrew this trope as he kept focusing on getting revenge on Goku and improving himself. By the time of the Universe Survival Saga, he has fantastic energy control skills, a mastered SuperMode, great hand-to-hand capacities, and keen insight in the ways of battle. Considering the competition he had in the tournament, he needed it.
* BackFromTheDead:
** Frieza returns in the 2015 movie, ''Anime/DragonBallZResurrectionF'', resurrected by the remnants of his army using Earth's Dragon Balls. It doesn't take long for him to get sent right back.
** It happens again in ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'', where Goku gets him a one-day pass to come back to the mortal realm to participate in the Tournament of Power. Frieza makes Goku promise to resurrect him fully if they win the tournament. [[spoiler:And thanks to Whis, he does indeed get fully brought back!]]
* BackstabBackfire: After Goku decides to spare him so he can [[CruelMercy live in shame of his defeat]], Frieza throws an energy disc at Goku's back, [[TooDumbToLive enraging him once again]]. That same energy disc ends up cutting him into quarters, forcing him to beg for his life before Goku. When Goku relents and gives Frieza some of his own energy to escape Namek's destruction, Frieza , in a fit of rage, uses that energy to attack Goku while his back is turned. Goku finally has enough and fires back at Frieza , frying him and leaving him for dead.
* BadBadActing: As ''Anime/DragonBallSuperBroly'' reveals, Frieza indulges in this trope:
-->'''Frieza:''' Broly, ''look''! It's '''''such''''' a '''''tragedy'''''!!!!
* BadassBoast:
** He loves giving these out, but the one he gives to Goku at the end of their fight stands out.
--->'''Frieza:''' Simian bastard...! I am Lord Frieza. None surpass me! No one even comes close! Etch this into your skull: I am emperor of the universe! The likes of you are only fit to grovel at my feet! Or better still... [[PunctuatedForEmphasis TO DIE! IN DISGRACE! AT THE HANDS OF YOUR MASTER!!]]
** His final boast from the original dub also stands out:
--->'''Frieza:''' Poor stupid Saiyan, you honestly think you've won? Your puny mind could never understand. I am Frieza, the most powerful being in the universe. And you're nothing but a beast, a fragile animal! You can't win, because I am mighty and you are not! Now learn! LEARN WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU MESS WITH THE MOST POWERFUL BEING IN THE UNIVERSE!!
** The original Japanese version, while simple, deserves to have some extra credits too:
--->'''Frieza:''' Simian bastard...! I-I am the greatest in the universe... I am the emperor of the universe, Frieza! And so, you... you simian bastard... YOU WILL DIE BY MY HAND! You... will be... will be... KILLED BY ME!!
** It's surprising people forget about the original Latin American Spanish dub's version of his speech, full of venomous fury towards Goku.
--->'''Frieza:''' (Original) Yo soy el más fuerte del universo. Soy el Emperador, Soy el gran Freezer! Por eso tu... por eso tu, maldito insecto... TIENES QUE MORIR EN MIS MANOS A COMO DE LUGAR! Grrrr... Yo te mataré. Te mataré, CUESTE LO QUE ME CUESTE!!
--->'''Frieza:''' (Translation) I'm the strongest in the universe. I'm the Emperor, the great Frieza! And that's why... that's why you damn insect... YOU SHALL DIE BY MY HAND AT ALL COSTS! Grrrr... I'll kill you. I'll kill you... I DON'T CARE WHATEVER IT COSTS ME!!
* BadBoss: Frieza ''personifies'' the Machiavellian doctrine of "'tis better to be feared than loved" when it comes to promotions and "demotions" (AKA ''vaporizing'') of his employees in the anime. This is somewhat [[CharacterExaggeration exaggerated]] from his manga self where he is just as sadistic, but not quite as prone to killing off his subordinates.
** He's worse in ''Resurrection 'F'''. Upon being healed, he tests his power by shooting one of his men who wasn't doing anything. After Tagoma spoke out against Frieza's RevengeBeforeReason, Frieza throws him out of the ship by slamming him through a window, which sucked up several soldiers. On Earth, after his soldiers failed to defeat the Earth's defenders, he brutally murders them. Frieza's utter disregard towards his men leads to a well deserve NiceJobFixingItVillain. In fact, the ''only'' reason his men wished Frieza back in the first place is because they needed his [[TheDreaded fear factor]] to stop his empire from self-destructing, something they're ''very'' reluctant to do. Lampshaded by Master Roshi.
--->'''Master Roshi:''' I'm glad I don't work for that guy!
** He's even worse in ''Dragon Ball Super''. Instead of killing Tagoma like in the movie, he instead does something surprisingly worse to him. First he shoots him in the kneecaps for speaking against his revenge plan and then uses him as a punching bag during their training course, beating him within an inch of his life every single day for four months. Also, unlike the movie where he kills his men for failing to defeat the Z-Fighters, here he kills them simply to test his power via transforming into his final form right in front of them causing them to vaporize by the mass of his ki.
** No longer the case by the time of ''Anime/DragonBallSuperBroly'' ; see CharacterDevelopment below for more details.
* TheBadGuyWins: [[spoiler:Though [[EnemyMine he's ostensibly on the heroes' side]], in Episode 131 of ''Super'', Frieza gets exactly what he wants and is completely revived -- and he doesn't die again in an attempt to get revenge like the last time he came back. That said, his army and empire no longer exist and Goku makes it clear that if he tries anything, he'll regret it. TheStinger, however, shows that he has already undertaken steps to rebuild the Frieza Force.]]
* BadGuysDoTheDirtyWork:
** [[spoiler:With Jiren having beaten down Goku, Vegeta, and 17, Frieza takes it upon himself to attack Jiren, attempting to murder him and keeps him preoccupied so that he doesn't go through with knocking out the Saiyans. Granted he did so out of the selfish desire for revenge on being humiliated, but it still counts.]]
** He also finishes off [[spoiler:Gas]].
* BaldOfEvil: None of his forms have hair.
* BarrierWarrior: Creates a purple forcefield to protect himself from an explosion in the ''[[Anime/DragonBallSuperBroly Broly]]'' movie.
* BashBrothers:
** [[EvilDuo Forms this with Cell]] after his death during {{filler}} episodes and ''Anime/Frieza ''.
** With Goku [[ArchEnemy of all people]]. During the climax of the Tournament of Power Frieza actually manages to fight in perfect sync with Goku, better than Vegeta could.
* BatmanCanBreatheInSpace: While it's not stated if Frieza can ''breathe'', he can survive in a vacuum.
* BeatThemAtTheirOwnGame: This seems to be Frieza's motivation at the end of the movie [[spoiler:for why he wants to recruit Broly and decides to leave him, Cheelai and Lemo alone for now. [[TaughtByExperience At this point Frieza has figured out that, no matter how he improves, he can't win as long as he has to contend with both Goku and Vegeta.]] As such he wants a Super Saiyan of his own to even the odds against his Arch Enemies.]]
* BecauseYouWereNiceToMe: Interestingly enough, this is inverted. On Namek, when Goku lent him enough energy to make it back to his ship and leave the now exploding Namek, Frieza gets so infuriated that he tries to backstab Goku. In fact, Goku sparing Frieza's life was enough to give him some sort of PTSD.
* BenevolentBoss: After a butt-ton of CharacterDevelopment, in ''Broly'' he gives Cheelai and Lemo a handsome reward for finding Paragus and Broly.
* BerserkButton: Many of them.
** Saiyans: Frieza has the biggest hate for Saiyans not because they're barbarians not because they love to fight. But because of one Saiyan from planet Earth that actually managed to outmatch him in terms of power. This man was known as Son Goku.
** Any kind of mercy being shown by anyone or anything he will unleash his AxCrazy side and BeamSpam you to death. This is due to Goku sparing his life after Frieza was brutally injured by bisecting his own body. Ever since then he despised kindness and mercy. Not that he was merciful in anyway shape or form.
** Attempting to misdirect his vengeance made him torture his subordinate Tagoma to the point where he was just a living breathing punching bag.
** As of ''Anime/DragonBallSuperBroly'', he hates being mocked for his height. As it is confirmed that some of his subordinates were killed for simply [[HeightInsult calling him a pipsqueak]].
* BetterToDieThanBeKilled: Subverted. He claims he'd rather die by his own hands than a Saiyan's -- then reveals he can survive in space and tries to blow up Namek.
* BewareTheSuperman: Toriyama revealed that the tremendous strength that his clan is known for, is unnatural even to his (unnamed) race. So what do they do with it? Conquer a large part of the universe with it. Frieza himself notes that prior to his revival, he had never once trained in his life as he is a natural prodigy. The movies with his brother also reinforce this fact as Cooler comments how Frieza's natural talent gave him an edge between the two and Cooler had to undergo intense training to match and eventually surpass the level his brother was at by having one more transformation than Frieza have.
* BeyondRedemption: It's established quickly Frieza is outright incapable of redemption when Goku suggests recruiting him for the Tournament of Power in ''Super''. The Supreme Kai reminds Goku [[spoiler:there's a reason Frieza is in Hell]]. In fact, this was established as early as the Namek Saga.
* BigBad: Of the Frieza Saga, the Bardock special, and the 2015 movie, ''Anime/DragonBallZResurrectionF'' as well as its retelling in Super. His influence over the series' background, most notably the destruction of Planet Vegeta, makes him the overall main antagonist of the Dragon Ball franchise.
* BigBadDuumvirate: [[spoiler:He and Paragus form one in ''Anime/DragonBallSuperBroly''. While Frieza is the more dangerous and powerful of the two, it's Paragus' personal grudge against King Vegeta that drives the plot.]]
* BigBadEnsemble:
** With Vegeta for the Namek Saga. Both are competing and undermining the other for control of the Dragon Balls almost as much as they clash with the heroes. Vegeta's cunning allows him to stay ahead for a time but when Frieza forces a direct confrontation, the tyrant handedly pummels him to death.
** In ''Anime/DragonBallSuperBroly'' he forms on with [[TheHeavy Broly]], [[spoiler:despite the latter not being evil]]. Frieza kills Paragus to make Broly unlock his Super Saiyan transformation and quickly overshadows Frieza as the bigger threat and then he goes on a rampage attacking everything and everyone including Frieza himself.
* BigBadWannabe:
** Became one in the Android/Cell Saga. While Frieza remains a legitimate threat with his arrival on Earth, he ends up being killed by Future Trunks in a very anti-climactic fight.
** He's also one in the movie ''[[Anime/DragonBallZFusionReborn Fusion Reborn]]'', being killed by Gohan ''in a matter of seconds''.
* BigNo: He lets out one in TheStinger of ''Resurrection 'F''', [[spoiler:having been killed again and sent back to the IronicHell he was shown in at the beginning of the film]].
* BigRedDevil: His second form, though its more of a [[LightIsNotGood Big Ivory Devil]].
* BishonenLine: A significant TropeCodifier, but he actually zigzags the trope in several ways. Firstly, most of his forms are ''{{power limiter}}s'' rather than power-boosters and in fact he usually spends most of his time in his ''most'' transformed state. Secondly, his most powerful forms -- 100% Full Power Frieza and Golden Frieza -- initially subvert the trope by being ''more'' "monstrous-looking" than his Final Form, but then play it straight when you remember that ''these'' forms truly are power-up transformations rather than power seals.
** Form 1 is Frieza's most restrained form, being a small humanoid alien with a prehensile lizard-like tail, lizard-like feet, a helmet-like growth of bone on his skull, and two stubby horns jutting from his temples.
** Form 2 unlocks a significant proportion of Frieza's power. This form is essentially a bigger, buffer and scarier version of Form 1, with {{Satan}}ic horns that it can use as weapons being the major physical difference apart from size and build.
** Form 3 is the barely restrained form and the most monstrous-looking of Frieza's forms. It's even bigger and more top-heavy than Form 2, with a distorted, muzzle-like face and an extended, spiky skull vaguely like a [[Franchise/{{Alien}} Xenomorph]].
** Form 4 is Frieza's true form. In this state, he shrinks back down to the same diminutive stature and waifish build as Form 1, but he no longer has the same "helmet growth" on his head, instead having a smooth, bulbous head, rather like a Gray, lacks any semblance of armor, and has no horns.
** 100% Full Power Form is Frieza unleashing all of his power. It basically looks like Form 4, but hugely swollen with muscle, essentially an ugly hulkified TopHeavyGuy version of Frieza , with skin visibly straining to hold back his musculature. After mastering his true form in ''Resurrection F'', Frieza no longer needs this form to access his true power. He can still opt to do it to increase raw might at the cost of stamina, but seeing how he has a much more potent and efficient transformation in his Golden Form this is fairly useless. Unless you're using it to [[spoiler:deceive your doppelganger, that is.]]
** Golden Frieza is a GoldenSuperMode that Frieza unlocks in ''Resurrection F'' by training for four months after being revived. It mostly looks like Form 4, but is slightly taller and visibly muscled, in contrast to the androgynous and waif-like slenderness of Form 4, but in a streamlined and graceful fashion, rather than the hulked-out look of 100% Full Power Form. In addition to being, well, Golden, it also has somewhat differently shaped "bio-gems".
* BizarreAlienBiology: His first form's battle armor is actually a part of his body, hence why he regenerates with it in ''Resurrection [='F'=]''. ''VideoGame/DragonballXenoverse'' also shows that his species is able to grow armor of different shapes from their own bodies. His race can also survive the vacuum of space, and can shapeshift to limit their power so as not to destroy their surroundings.
* BlatantLies: On Namek, every time he transformed and unlocked a little bit more of his true power, he kept saying that this ''was'' his true power. {{Justified|Trope}}, at least to his {{sadist}}ic, [[ColdBloodedTorture torturous]] true personality (more on that below) in that every time he crushed a HopeSpot with the revelation that he had more reserves, it contributed to the sense that he contained an infinite vat of power inside that his enemies could never truly overcome, making him that much more terrifying to face.
* BloodKnight: In a very dark way, he loves killing and fighting. Which comes off as {{hypocrit|e}}ical since he looks down on the Saiyans for being stupid blood knights who only care about fighting and lack common sense. His entire downfall on Namek happens because he enjoyed fighting and tormenting Goku when he could have turned him into space dust at any time before he became a Super Saiyan.
** Becomes a real one by the end of the Universal Survival Arc. Frieza has gained a respect for the power of others, genuinely likes an interesting battle, has become more of a warrior than a thug and likens his future clashes with Goku or any other challenging opponent as a fun game. He even states that he wouldn't wish for an invulnerable body because it would take all of the fun out of the game.
* BodyHorror: In ''Resurrection 'F''', when he was revived, he was literally in pieces, almost like a jigsaw puzzle. Even creepier in the tie-in manga, he tried to put himself together and stand up, only to fall apart again.
* BondVillainStupidity:
** He shows that he completely outclasses Goku and the rest of the heroes while only fighting at 50% power and that he could kill all of them in an instant, and yet he toys with them and lets the fight drag on... until Goku transforms, that is. Frieza himself even remarks that he should probably just take Goku out right now after the 20x Kaioken, but he still keeps screwing around anyway. He lampshades this ''again'' after Goku transforms, yelling at himself for not killing Goku from the start and letting his strength grow. By the time he realizes his mistake, his chances for victory has gone right out the window.
** It happens again in ''Super'', where he goes out of his way to target Goku's friends and loved ones to make him suffer, even going so far as to put a bounty on Krillin's head to his men, despite full knowledge that his doing so was ''exactly'' what pushed Goku past his RageBreakingPoint and led to his first defeat.
** And [[RuleOfThree yet again]] in ''Super'' at the end of the Granolah arc, where he opts to leave Goku and Vegeta alive [[spoiler:despite one-shotting them both in his Black form]].
* {{Bookends}}: In an interesting way that could speak to some CharacterDevelopment. When he was first resurrected, he dismissed Tagoma's suggestion to leave the Saiyans be for the time being and focus on rebuilding his empire instead; he dismissed this immediately, took a bit of time off to get a new super mode, and [[RevengeBeforeReason rushed straight to his second death]]. After he was [[spoiler:resurrected by Whis as a thank you from Beerus for helping to save the universe, he seems to have taken the late Tagoma's suggestion to heart, wisely choosing to rebuild the Frieza Force.]]
* BoringButPractical: [[spoiler:He managed to substantially reduce his Golden form's stamina problem while in Hell after his second death. How did he do it? By simply meditating during his time in Hell, concentrating on the best ways to kill Goku. Simple? Yes. Effective? Sidara's team of assassins learned the hard way that it ''most definitely was''.]]
* BornWinner: He was ''born'' the strongest being in the universe. Without training a day in his life, his power was so unrivaled that only the gods and an EldritchAbomination surpassed him. When he did set his mind on becoming stronger, he surpassed Goku who by then had absorbed the power of godhood, only falling behind because he didn't train his ultimate form and burned himself out while fighting Goku. Once he did train his ultimate form, he can control an energy ball from Sidra albeit with some difficulty.
* {{Bowdlerise}}:
** His defeat by Goku is caused by being blind-sided and getting [[HalfTheManHeUsedToBe sliced in half]] by one of his own energy disks. Video game adaptations will avert this part by being simply defeated and getting blasted by Goku for his trouble. ''VideoGame/DragonBallZKakarot'' however is so far the only game where Frieza gets sliced in half.
** His own death at the hands of Future Trunks is also this. In the anime and manga, Trunks first cuts him in half, then, cuts him into several pieces, ''then'' gets vaporizes Frieza. Video game adaptations often shows Trunks while he's attacking and cutting him before blasting him to smithereens.
* BoxedCrook: He is brought back [[spoiler:from the dead a ''second'' time to fight with the Z-Warriors in the Tournament of Power]].
* BreakTheHaughty:
** Frieza spent ''years'' believing he was the strongest in the universe and no one could possibly defeat him... until Goku came along and utterly ''humiliated'' him.
** He gets further humiliated in ''Resurrection 'F'''. After coming back stronger than ever, he still gets trounced by Goku in his true form and he wasn't even a Super Saiyan. After using his ultimate transformation and getting the upper hand for awhile, he burns through his energy and gets beaten by Goku ''again''. Then, when he finally has Goku at his mercy, Vegeta beats him up using the same form of Super Saiyan as Goku. As a final kick to the balls, when he succeeds [[spoiler:in blowing up the Earth, Whis rewinds time on him, negating his victory]]. He is then killed by Goku.
** After numerous episodes in the Universe Survival Saga of him [[CurbStompBattle curb-stomping]] foes he knows he can easily defeat, Frieza gets a taste of his own medicine when he faces [[PhysicalGod Toppo]] of the Pride Troopers. He starts to pick on Toppo as he's having a BeamOWar with Android 17, in an attempt to make him break balance and [[ForTheEvulz just because he can]]. [[NiceJobFixingItVillain Therefore]], Toppo [[AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence makes up his mind and decides to embrace being a God of Destruction]] to [[NiceJobFixingItVillain ensure his universe's survival]]. It doesn't take long for Toppo to [[NoHoldsBarredBeatDown completely manhandle Frieza]], causing him to [[VillainousBreakdown finally lose his cool]].
* BreakoutVillain: Although one in a long line of {{Big Bad}}s in the series, Frieza has practically become synonymous with the franchise. He is often regarded as the most iconic villain, [[GreaterScopeVillain being a catalyst for many of the important events in the series]]. He has been featured the most as the main villain of the video games, and is one of the go-to villains for representing the franchise in crossover games (He's notably the only villain from the series who made it into ''VideoGame/JStarsVictoryVS''). As if to cement his role as this, after spending decades [[VillainDecay getting his ass kicked and humiliated]], HesBack with bloodthirsty vengeance as the BigBad of the ''Resurrection 'F''' movie and its ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'' adaptation, [[TookALevelInBadass after taking several thousand levels in Badass]]. He returns yet again in the Universe Survival Saga of ''Super'' where [[spoiler:Goku is [[EnemyMine forced to pick him as a member of Team Universe 7]].]]
* BrilliantButLazy:
** To a degree. The brilliant part lays in his unbelievable natural power and his ability to quickly increase his power, though he lacks the genius level fighting instinct that characters like Goku possess. Frieza is long established as TheDreaded in-universe because of his natural overwhelming strength. However, he is never depicted training and rarely gets his own hands dirty (he kills King Vegeta ''[[OneHitKill with a single blow]]'' and effortlessly destroys the Saiyan homeworld with [[FingerpokeOfDoom a single finger]]). He could have laid waste to an entire planet in minutes, but always sits in his chair and lets his minions do all the grunt work. It takes his ''entire army'' being wiped out [[OrcusOnHisThrone before he even bothers to take on the Z-Warriors,]] and that was due to his rage at losing his chance for immortality rather than any loyalty to his men. This contrasts neatly with Goku - a warrior who wasn't born especially strong, but spent his life dedicated to becoming a stronger, more effective fighter.
** In ''Resurrection 'F''' it's reveals that Frieza was always a prodigy, so he never bothered to train. After a particularly ''brutal'' HumiliationConga from Goku and Trunks, [[TakenALevelInBadass he's done with his complacency...]] at least until he acquires a super form of his own, after which he immediately heads into battle without bothering to take the time to master it. [[spoiler:He ''finally'' realizes how important training and mastery of his powers are in the Universe Survival arc - with nothing else to do in his IronicHell, he fantasizes about murdering Goku if he's ever released again. Those fantasies eventually morph into battle scenarios... which finally lead to meditation, which allows him to truly master his Golden Form. It's telling that Frieza had to die ''twice'' to realize how much work goes into actually being powerful]].
** His methods of becoming immortal fall into this considering how he tries to get it. ''Resurrection 'F''' reveals that with only a small amount of training he has the power to surpass a Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan, making him practically this due to the innate power of his race. But instead of doing that, he'd prefer to go to Namek, sacrifice seemingly endless amounts of his best troops while he sits in a [[CoolChair Hoverchair]], and ''wish'' for immortality rather than doing any actual fighting or training. If he trained as much as Goku did, he would by far and away be the most powerful villain in the universe, and would almost certainly be completely unstoppable.
* BrokenAce: After his defeat at Goku's hands, Frieza became mentally broken. He has nightmares about Goku and suffers from a clear case of PTSD. His mental status only get worse from his suffering in Hell. By the time he returns in ''Resurrection 'F''' and ''Super'', he is clearly not [[SanitySlippage sane]] anymore, [[RevengeBeforeReason only caring about revenge]].
* TheBully: The trait which most sets him apart from the Z Warriors. They all like a fair, even fight. Frieza deliberately taunts and picks on those far weaker than him, and if he catches wind of any actual threats to him, he stomps them out and crushes their morale.
* BullyingADragon:
** Even when it's made crystal clear that he stands no chance against Goku after the hero has awakened his Super Saiyan form, Frieza just ''has'' to get one last dig in by telling Goku he's going to blow him up just like he did to his "annoying Earthling friend." Frieza killing Krillin right in front of Goku is ''exactly'' what brought forth a Super Saiyan in the first place and all this accomplishes is make Goku that more determined to beat seven shades of hell out of Frieza.
** During ''Resurrection 'F''', even when he realizes that [[spoiler:Vegeta is a Super Saiyan God SS just like Goku and has every intent to kill him, Frieza just can't resist mocking him and calling him the "prince of no one."]]
** And he's on the receiving end of this again in ''Anime/DragonBallSuperBroly'', [[spoiler:when he kills Paragus in front of Broly, who was already on a [[TheBerserker berserker]] rampage, in order to provoke him into going Super Saiyan. The end result: Frieza finds himself on the receiving end of Broly's wrath, and gets beaten senseless for an hour, only being saved when Whis arrives to keep Broly busy long enough for Goku and Vegeta to [[FusionDance fuse]] into Gogeta]].
* TheBusCameBack: After returning from the dead and dying again, Frieza [[spoiler:returns in ''Super'' to join the U7 team in the Tournament of Power]].
* BrokeYourArmPunchingOutCthulhu: {{Iron|y}}ically this gets reversed on him. After he returns to life, ''he'' is the one way below the heroes who have literally reached godlike levels. So, he trains for four months to unleashed all his latent power and take his revenge against Goku. Despite his major power-up, he's barely keeping up with Goku in his base form and his GoldenSuperMode [[spoiler:drains his energy so fast that he stops hurting Goku after only a short amount of fighting]]. Even after using his backup plan to take Goku out, he's forced to fight the almost equally powerful and far less merciful Vegeta, who proceeds to beat him up and knock him out of his golden form. With his army destroyed, his power drained, and utterly humiliated [[spoiler:he destroys the Earth out of spite and to get the last laugh]]. It is all undone when Whis [[spoiler:rewinds time]], giving Goku the opportunity to kill him once and for all. In this case, Frieza challenges the gods and lost everything.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:C-D]]
* CainAndAbel: In the {{Non Serial Movie}}s, it's made clear there's no love between him and his elder brother Cooler. Cooler states that he's ''only'' going after Goku to [[AvengingTheVillain avenge Frieza's demise]] because, in his opinion, Frieza disgraced their family name by losing to Goku and felt it was [[FamilyHonor up to him to redeem it]]; in fact, if Goku hadn't killed Frieza, Cooler would have gladly done so himself[[note]]In the Funimation dub, that is, which made their relation as a rivalry. The original dialogue showed no hints towards a desire of Cooler to kill his sibling, and portrayed him more like an aloof big brother. Cooler's henchman Salza also clearly held Frieza in high regard - mentioning him as "Frieza-sama". [[/note]].
* TheCaligula: He's a [[AxCrazy deranged]] tyrant who readily kills his own men when he's in a foul mood, but [[SanitySlippage he really falls off the deep end]] after his defeat to Goku. When he's rebuilt into a cyborg, he rushes to Earth with his dad to get revenge, and is killed by Future Trunks. When he's revived, instead of listening to his men who beg him to leave the Super Saiyan alone and rebuild his failing empire, he ignores them and devotes all his remaining resources to invading Earth. Although he last longer against Goku and Vegeta thanks to his four months of training, he's killed again in the end, and what is left of his empire also [[NiceJobFixingItVillain dies on Earth]].
* CameBackStrong:
** His Cyborg Form is noted by Frieza himself to be even stronger than his 100% Full Power Form.
** And he comes back even stronger in the 2015 movie, though not exactly a straight example. He came back about as strong as before ''then'' trained to become stronger.
** [[spoiler:When he comes back again during Super, this is played straight. While he wasn't able to train ''physically'', he was able to ''mentally'' train to fully master his GoldenSuperMode and eliminate its AchillesHeel, which had the added benefit of increasing its power.]]
** [[spoiler: Chapter 87 reveals that he's been training in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber on one of the planets he conquered to train for 10 years in it and achieve his newest transformation, Black Frieza which has him kill Gas and defeat True Ultra Instinct Goku and Ultra Ego Vegeta with a single strike. Notably, he killed Gas, at that point identified as the strongest person in the universe even ''before'' removing a power limiter that made him even stronger, with about as much effort as he took for Gars.]]
* CameBackWrong: In ''Resurrection 'F''', when Shenron resurrects him. As Frieza had been dead for longer than a year, the Dragon Balls brought him back exactly as he was when he died; as Mecha-Frieza, literally in pieces, but alive nonetheless. His minions solve that by putting him in an advanced healing tank that completely regenerates his body.
* CantCatchUp:
** This happened to him throughout ''Z'' and ''GT'' after Super Saiyans were introduced. Any time Frieza shows up either in the afterlife or temporarily resurrected, he would find himself thoroughly outclassed by the Saiyans.
** Frieza reprimanded this by training [[UnskilledButStrong for the first time in his life]] and acquired his [[GoldenSuperMode golden form]] which was on par with the [[PhysicalGod Super Saiyan Blue]] and finally evened the gap between Frieza and the Saiyans. But come the Tournament of Power, the Saiyans have gained several power-ups yet again with Goku having Super Saiyan Blue Kaio-Ken while Vegeta has Beyond Super Saiyan Blue in the anime (while both just have Completed Super Saiyan Blue in the manga, which is still well above Frieza), not to mention other god-like characters that they're up against like Toppo, Kale, and Jiren. Frieza gets utterly wrecked when he attempts to go up against these powerhouses.
** Averted by the time of the Granolah Arc. Frieza found a Hyperbolic Time Chamber on one of his conquered planets and trains for ''ten years'' in it. In those ten years, he unlocked a new form, Black Frieza, that left him able to knock out Mastered Ultra Instinct Goku and Ultra Ego Vegeta with one punch. He also took out Gas, the BigBad of the arc and "Strongest in the Universe" by punching him [[TorsoWithAView through the chest]].
* CantTakeCriticism: He nonchalantly mentions that when he was told he'd ''never'' be worthy of the Namekian Dragon Balls, he killed the elder who said so. As he puts it, he's never taken bad news well.
-->'''Frieza:''' Well, as you can imagine, I had quite a difficult time convincing the poor fellow to see me as worthy. I was told flat-out I'd never obtain a single Dragon Ball. And since I've never been one to take bad news well, I'm afraid I killed him.
* CardCarryingVillain: Openly gloats about his cruelty, relishes bringing immense pain onto others, freely admits all the horrible stories told about him are true, and wants immortality to forever stay in control of the universe. And it's played very darkly straight. His own minions call him the Emperor of Evil. Even after [[EnemyMine fighting alongside his sworn enemies for the sake of the universe]], he openly admits he won't stop being evil [[spoiler:after being fully resurrected]].
* CavalierCompetitor: The second kind. He constantly toys with his opponents and plays cat-and-mouse games because he's so certain that no one could ever possibly defeat him. All playfulness goes out the window as soon as the tables turn.
* CharacterDevelopment: Three lifetimes worth of {{Humiliation Conga}}s and 17 years of being tortured in an IronicHell can subtly change even the most proud and unrepentant of villains, however slightly. Although Frieza at his core remains a sadistic, vile individual that relishes destruction, post-resurrection media has evolved him from an UnskilledButStrong SmugSuper who had mental breakdowns at the mere thought of being rivaled, to a more seasoned warrior who can respect opponents (read: Goku) that have bested him before. Just compare his VillainousBreakdown when Goku attempted to use a Spirit Bomb on him and first went Super Saiyan to the smirk on his face when observing Jiren and Goku's Spirit Bomb tug-o-war and Goku's [[spoiler:Ultra Instinct form]]. ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'' slowly and gradually begins to change the once totally self-absorbed monster that is Frieza by showing the humbling effects of defeat on a once-omnipotent AGodAmI fallen tyrant. Frieza's attempt at a BreakingSpeech to an exhausted Jiren could just as easily apply to ''himself'':
--> '''Frieza''': Oh? What happened to your usual poker face?
--> '''Jiren''': Silence!
--> '''Frieza''': [[PsychologicalProjection Once shattered strength is so fragile.]] I can almost hear your heart shrieking, afraid to become the weakling you once were.
** Interestingly enough, the show seems to imply that while his development has at the very least edged him out of the monster territory he was at before, it only makes him ''more'' formidable: He's much more patient, smart, and cunning at the end of ''Super'' than at the beginning. He's also no longer a BadBoss by his ''second'' resurrection, even casually discussing the silliness of his wish ([[spoiler:to grow five centimeters taller]]) with his higher ranked minions... though he still threatens death if they dare discuss it with anyone else. Prior to the final battle of ''Anime/DragonBallSuperBroly'', Frieza actually ''bothers'' to order his men to retreat to safety rather than just powering up and vaporizing them as collateral damage as he casually did so in the past. [[spoiler:He has also matured enough to retreat when confronted by Super Saiyan Blue Gogeta and to refrain from killing the deserters Cheelai and Lemo in favor of playing the long game.]]
** Also, ever so subtly, after temporarily fighting as an honorary Z-Warrior, Frieza has also learnt the virtue of courage; even though he no longer desires immortality, as he realizes that comes with the risk of [[WhoWantsToLiveForever some horrible fate that would be inescapable if it didn't lead to death]] (ask [[Anime/DragonBallZDeadZone Garlic Jr.]] for proof of concept), he ''also'' blows off his subordinate's suggestion of becoming invulnerable as well. After all, the adventure that is life would be so much more boring if it is not a challenge.
* CharacterExaggeration: Prior to the Universe Survival Saga and ''Dragon Ball Super: Broly'' finally showing a pragmatic and tempered Frieza, his tendency toward abusive command towards his own minions would get increasingly worse between adaptations.
** BadBoss: He was a cruel tyrant in the manga to be sure, but he wasn't prone to killing subordinates. In the anime, he kills his minions at the drop of a hat, reasons varying from "[[YouHaveFailedMe failing him]]", to "[[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness being no longer useful]]", to "[[DisproportionateRetribution speaking out of turn]]", to "[[ForTheEvulz just needing a target]]". These exaggerated tendencies are carried over to the canon movie, ''Resurrection 'F'''. which was overseen by Toriyama, as he kills several of his men just to test his power, and eradicates the whole rest of his men for failing against the Dragon Team. Even worse in the '''F''' arc of ''Dragon Ball Super'', as he tortures one of his men mercilessly as a form of "training" for speaking out of turn, then thoughtlessly kills off his own entire army mid-battle just powering up.
** ClippedWingAngel: In the manga, Super Saiyan Goku is clearly superior to him from the very beginning. In the anime, he puts up a much better fight and gets several good hits in before his stamina fails him. In ''Resurrection 'F''', Golden Frieza starts out enjoying the upper hand on Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan Goku... but then Goku and Vegeta point out that he still has the same weakness and it goes all downhill from there aside from backup plans and {{rage quit}}s. In ''Super'', he ''outright dominates'' Goku for an entire episode--but in the next episode the weakness ''still'' kicks in and breeds the exact same result as in '''F'''.
* CharacterizationMarchesOn: In older Dragon Ball media, filler and ''GT'' in particular, Frieza after his own arc was characterized as something of a SmallNameBigEgo in the grand scheme of things who got [[TheWorfEffect used as a punching bag]] for newer characters to show of their power and never really was a threat to Goku anymore. This probably stemmed from his sole manga reappearance, where Trunks killed him in one hit. His characterization in modern Dragon Ball media is the exact opposite, with Resurrection ''F'' instead overhauling him as in insanely talented natural prodigy and one of the only true villains who actually can keep pace with Goku.
** In the Universe Survival Arc of ''Super'', Frieza is portrayed as a cunning and strategic fighter that often tricks his opponents. This is in contrast to his portrayal in ''Z'' and even his earlier appearance in ''Super''. While he was never shown to be dumb, he was written as someone who almost always just used brute force to deal with opponents rather than being particularly strategic, though this could be {{justified|Trope}} since he's in a situation where his [[MurderIsTheBestSolution normal tactics]] will [[ThouShaltNotKill get him disqualified]].
* ChildProdigy: He was born so powerful that he never had to train a day in his life... until Goku came along.
* ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: Proves to have this as of the Universe Survival Saga. [[spoiler:When he tries to double-cross Team Universe 7 to join Team Universe 9, Rō blatantly refuses to accept him into his team, stating that Frieza is a traitor to his own universe - and a potential traitor to any other universe as well. In the battle royale (long after Universe 9's erasure), Frieza proposes a similar alliance with Frost, and when it seems that Frieza defeated Gohan, Frieza double crosses Frost by blasting him off of the arena and revealed he was just pretending to beat up Gohan. Frieza isn't just untrustworthy for Universe 7 ... he's untrustworthy for any other universe as well.]]
* ClassicVillain: An EvilBrit {{Foil}} of TheHero, who is represented by ambition, pride and wrath. The latter two become more obvious when he focuses on revenge.
* ClimaxBoss: His final fight with Goku in the Namek Arc is a major turning point in the entire franchise; Goku ascends to a Super Saiyan, the primary powerup that the Saiyans will be using in every subsequent story arc and Frieza's loss against Goku is what prompted Beerus to take notice of the latter and introducing him to the realm of the gods.
* ClippedWingAngel:
** After Goku transforms into a Super Saiyan, Frieza cannot even hurt Goku with 50% of his power. Goku, who wanted to utterly defeat Frieza by humiliating him with the knowledge that even at full strength he never had a chance, gives Frieza enough time to reach his 100% Full Power Form, at which point he is Goku's equal for a short time in the anime version. However, staying in that form burns up his energy at an accelerated rate in addition to eroding his emotional stability, since he never fought at full power before that moment. This is made worse since Frieza also already burnt a lot of energy from the arc-long fighting. After only a few minutes, he couldn't keep up with Goku anymore, turning the last leg of the battle into a curb stomp.
** His [[spoiler:golden form in ''Resurrection 'F''' also turns out to be a ClippedWingAngel. He is much stronger, able to fight toe-to-toe with Goku who has surpassed a god, but much like his original 100% Full Power Form he rapidly lose energy and burns out quickly during the fight. Vegeta surmises that Frieza, in his eagerness to get revenge, rushed to Earth as soon as he obtained his new transformation and never bothered to master it]]. In ''Super'', [[spoiler:he manages to master it while meditating in Hell, and by the time he is resurrected again, he doesn't waste even the slightest bit energy, even maintaining it while barely conscious]].
* ColdBloodedTorture: It's his ''fighting style''. He impales Krillin on his horn, slowly crushes Gohan's skull, blasts Piccolo with a BeamSpam, thrashes Vegeta until he breaks down in tears out of despair and agony, and spends a ''really'' long time beating up Goku while at 50% power, at one point holding him underwater and nearly drowning him.
** After Goku goes Super Saiyan, he subjects Frieza to similar tortures like beating him within an inch of his life, dragging out the fight and allowing Frieza to reach his maximum power so he knows how outclassed he is, psychologically terrorizing him to the point of pushing him near the DespairEventHorizon and finally delivering a ruthless TheReasonYouSuckSpeech before [[CruelMercy sparing his life so he can live with the shame of his defeat]]. The effectiveness of the torture Goku gave him causes Frieza to have PTSD after he's rebuilt into a cyborg and is his worst memory in Hell.
** In ''Resurrection 'F'', after Goku is shot in the heart, Frieza kicks him several times, forces him to wake up when he loses consciousness so [[LovesTheSoundOfScreaming he can hear him scream]], and stomps on Goku's heart wound before kicking him into a cliff. He even tries to delve in psychological torture by trying to bribe Vegeta into finishing Goku off for him.
** In ''Super'', Tagoma serves as Frieza's sparring partner for his four months of training, during which Frieza beat Tagoma within an inch of his life ''every single day'' in order to find out the best ways to keep Goku alive as long and as in as much pain as possible before killing him. Tagoma [[BeingTorturedMakesYouEvil doesn't come out of that experience with his sanity intact]]. Furthermore, when Gohan shows mercy to Tagoma during their fight, Frieza blows his stack and blasts Gohan with a BeamSpam until he can't move.
* CombatCompliment: While he looks down at the Saiyans for being brainless brutes, he does praise Goku during the first part of their battle. He's so impressed that offers Goku a job as one of his top men, [[SparingTheAces saying it would be a waste to kill such talent]]. In ''Resurrection 'F''', he's impressed when he realized what Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan is, saying that Goku has grown stronger than he imagined. In the ''Super'' adaptation, he actually gives a bow of respect when he hears that Goku has become a god among the Saiyans.
* CombatPragmatist: By the standards of this show, anyway. Cell and Buu both WANTED to fight strong opponents, and the heroes were able to buy time from both of them by promising a better fight if they waited. Frieza had none of this, and attempted at every turn to kill his opponents when he wasn't playing with them. In ''Super'', he's even more of a pragmatist. He shoots Gohan in the middle of his fight against Ginyu, targets Goku's friends to distract him, and attempts to shoot Goku while he's transforming.
** In the ''Universe Survival'' arc, Frieza's CharacterDevelopment and pragmatism come full circle - he mastered his GoldenSuperMode in his IronicHell (despite it being tailor-made to ''prevent him from doing just that''), he never takes fights he knows he can't win, and [[ManipulativeBastard masterfully manipulates his universal foil/twin Frost]] into letting his guard down so he could blast him off the arena floor. It took a HumiliationConga or two, but Frieza [[TaughtByExperience is finally learning]].
* ContrastingSequelAntagonist: To King Piccolo. Both are powerful aliens that are feared by many and both serve as the ArchEnemy to Goku, but while King Piccolo was a being born from the evil side of another Namekian and formed an army of demons on earth, Frieza was an alien prodigy that lead an entire army that was feared across the universe for decades.
* CoolAndUnusualPunishment: As revealed in ''Resurrection 'F''', Frieza's punishment for his sins in life is to spend eternity in Hell... in a SickeninglySweet fairy land wrapped in a cocoon while angels, fairies, and living stuffed animals happily sing, play, and dance around him. He ''hated'' every second of it, and when he confronts Goku and Vegeta after his revival, describes it as if it were the most horrible torture ever devised.
-->'''Frieza:''' Oh, you couldn't begin to imagine the depths of my suffering there. I spent most of my days strung up like a damned pupating moth trapped above a delicate field of flowers where angels, fairies, and enchanted stuffed animals lived. They played songs and danced asinine jigs as if their only care in life was when they would get their next warm, fuzzy hug! Instead of ruling the universe with an iron fist, I was serenaded by teddy bears!
* CorruptCorporateExecutive: Somewhat. His Planet Trade Organization functions similarly to a real estate business. Frieza sends his men to liquidate the planet of all native forms of life so Frieza can sell the vacant planet to the highest bidder.
* TheCorrupter:
** He served as this to Vegeta, corrupting him into a cold-blooded sociopath even by Saiyan standards by nurturing his dark tendencies and [[FantasticRacism treating him like trash for being a Saiyan]]. In the original Funimation dub, Vegeta even states outright that Frieza was the one who made him the way he is.
** In ''Super'', he is this to Tagoma. In the film, he merely killed Tagoma by throwing him out into space. In ''Super'', he tortures him by shooting him in the kneecaps, then has him assigned as his sparring partner during his four month training regiment. After four months of brutal training, Tagoma's sanity is shot to hell and he becomes every bit as cold and ruthless as Frieza, so much so that he ruthlessly kills Shishami in an attempt to kill Gohan. Frieza is so impressed by his ruthless cunning that he offers Tagoma his own planet if he kills the Z fighters.
** He also serves as this to [[spoiler:Frost during the Universe Survival Saga. Frost was initially ALighterShadeOfBlack to Frieza, being more [[PragmaticVillainy pragmatic]] and not a {{sadist}}, but during his brief moments under Frieza's tutelage, he begins picking up Frieza's {{sadis|t}}m and AxCrazy tendencies, highlighted when he tortures Master Roshi with a BeamSpam while [[LaughingMad laughing his head off]].]]
* CrazyPrepared: In ''Resurrection 'F''', he apparently anticipated that Goku would not only prove to be the better fighter, but would again offer him mercy, and [[spoiler:arranges for Sorbet to shoot Goku in the heart when his guard is down]].
-->'''Frieza:''' Good thing for contingency plans, right, Goku? As if I'd allow even the slightest chance of losing to you again!
* CreateYourOwnHero: The reason why Goku exists in the way we know is all because of Frieza. If Frieza had not destroyed the Planet Vegeta, Gine and Bardock would have never sent him to Earth and he would have been raised as an ordinary Saiyan who, given his background, most likely wouldn't have amounted to anything special. It was also Frieza's bullying fueling Vegeta's ambitions to overthrow him which caused Vegeta to order/allow Raditz to pursue and retrieve Kakarot, then to travel to Earth upon hearing about the Dragon Balls, setting off the course of events that would see everyone go to Namek. There, it was Frieza sadistically pushing Goku over the edge that made him transform into a Super Saiyan. In a larger sense, him manipulating and nurturing the Saiyans' violent nature and turning them into spacefaring {{Blood Knight}}s sowed the seeds to his eventual downfall. All together, Frieza was done in by a monster that he himself created. Also, the one who ''finally kills him'', i.e. Trunks, is the son of Vegeta, that same Saiyan Prince he let live and bullied, bringing this trope full-circle.
* CreepyHighpitchedVoice: Frieza tends to have this type of voice in the English dubs. Even his male voice actors sound high-pitched and feminent. [[AvertedTrope Averted]] in the Japanese version where he has a very deep voice instead.
* CrossdressingVoices: Zigzagged in the dub as sometimes he is voiced by a female though as of 2010 he is voiced by a male.
* CruelAndUnusualDeath:
** He inflicts this on Krillin by hitting him with an energy beam, lifting him up in the air, and causing him to explode from within, with Krillin screaming the entire time.
** He as Mecha-Frieza later receives this trope from Future Trunks by getting sliced into many pieces before getting completely vaporized at point-blank.
* CruelMercy: Goku subjected Frieza to this during their fight, beating him senseless and driving him to a VillainousBreakdown before deciding that, with Frieza's pride in shambles over being defeated by [[FantasticRacism a Saiyan of all beings]], he's NotWorthKilling, outright telling Frieza to "go crawl off someplace and hide" and continue to live with the shame.
* CrutchCharacter: An extremely rare villain example. Because of how overwhelmingly powerful he is, most of his soldiers tend to rely on his strength to protect them and deter anyone from rebelling against the empire. Vegeta calls out Cui, Zarbon, and Dodoria for relaxing with Frieza and growing complacent and content while he fought on the front lines growing stronger. While those three remained relatively powerful, most within Frieza's army are only as strong as Raditz. Also, Cui and Dodoria did try to run to Frieza for help once Vegeta proved to be stronger than them. When Frieza was killed on Earth, his empire fell apart without him because none of his men had his strength or fear factor.
* CurbStompBattle:
** His special hobby, until he meets Goku. After his defeat, he [[HumiliationConga repeatedly gets resurrected and killed this way]].
** After being resurrected for the first time, he dominates Super Saiyan Gohan in ''his first form'' and nearly kills him, despite a Super Saiyan form being the one that killed him initially.
** In the anime version, he as Golden Frieza dominates Super Saiyan Blue Goku until he runs out of stamina, whereafter Goku and Vegeta basically take turns beating him brutally. [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]] in the original movie version, while he does have a slight lead on Goku in their fight, it's not remotely enough to qualify as a curb stomp.
** Likewise his hobby in the Tournament of Power, until he fights Toppo(anime)/Kale(manga) and Jiren, both of whom tear him a new one.
** [[spoiler: After his training in a Hyperbolic Time Chamber, he kills Gas in a single strike and defeats Goku and Vegeta with one punch as Black Frieza.]]
* CurbstompCushion:
** It happens to him a few times during the fight on Namek. Gohan gets in a few good hits on his second form, and Krillin manages to slice off the tip of his tail. Goku also manages to get several good hits in on Frieza's final form before Frieza powered up, and even when he did, the Spirit Bomb did quite a bit of damage.
** In ''Broly'', [[spoiler:his fight with Broly is rather one-sided in the latter's favour, but Frieza nonetheless survives an hour of solo combat against a foe actively trying to kill him]].
* CuttingTheKnot: The Namekian Dragon Balls were supposed to be gathered [[OnlyTheWorthyMayPass only by the worthy]], with each village offering a different test to anyone who came looking for them. Frieza opts to just slaughter all the Namekians and take them by force. This [[GenocideBackfire bites him in the ass]] since this leaves him without anyone who can speak the Namekian language, which the Dragon Balls require to be activated.
* TheCynic: Much like ComicBook/TheJoker in Film/TheDarkKnight, Frieza believes that deep down everyone is as selfish as he is, enough so that once he had served his purpose in saving Universe Seven in The Tournament of Power, he ''fully'' expected the Z-Warriors to kick him straight back to Hell because he had outlived his usefulness to them, much like how he disposed of useless pawns... Only to be ''pleasantly shocked'' when he was granted life for keeping his word. This validation of honor and kindness shattered his world-view so much that he quipped "I just might go back to my evil ways you know" in defensive sarcasm, the better to hold onto his cynicism.
* DarkIsEvil: Most of his abilities either have references to darkness or are dark colored, and his second form has a very devilish look.
* DarkMessiah: Possibly. He either sees himself as a dark messiah or is actively posing as one. Frieza himself does not really consider his soldiers as an army, looking at them more as a convenient group of fanatical followers.
* DeadlyDisc: He has his own version of Krillin's Destructo Disc, even using the actual thing in "GT" and stating its actual name. Though unlike Krillin's, his can home in on enemies and are remotely controlled by him. [[HoistByHisOwnPetard It ends up being his undoing as he ends up sliced in half by them.]]
* DeadpanSnarker: Is prone to throwing out some pretty cruel and venomous one-liners, usually when his underlings screw up. Unlike most examples, this only makes him more threatening.
* DeathByIrony: Due to his fearing the legend of the Super Saiyan, he killed practically the entire race... leading to a Super Saiyan being created. Worse yet, the second Super Saiyan he fights and the one to ultimately kill him is the son of one of the Saiyans he let survive.
** His second death is also this: he is killed by an ascended Super Saiyan with godly powers, the type Frieza could only delude himself as.
* DeconstructedCharacterArchetype:
** Of SmugSuper, ArrogantKungFuGuy, and WorldsBestWarrior. He was ''[[ChildProdigy born]]'' [[ChildProdigy as powerful as he is]], allowing him to [[HardWorkHardlyWorks become the most powerful being in the universe without even trying]]. As a result, he never bothered to hone his power through training, firmly convinced that he outclasses everyone else and always will. This bites him in the ass when [[SuperMode Super Saiyan]] Goku comes along and he's forced to go all out for the first time in his life; since he never bothered to train, Frieza [[PowerIncontinence can't control his full power]], has no endurance for a prolonged fight with someone his equal, and when simply crushing his enemies with his raw power proves ineffective, he has no response aside from simply [[RageQuit blowing up the planet he's standing on]] since he can survive in a vacuum. As shown by the fact he became even with SSB Goku with ''four months practice'' in ''Super'', if he had trained for a ''single week of his godforsaken life'', even Super Saiyan Goku wouldn't have stood a chance.
** He also provides a deconstruction of {{Determinator}}. While his will to live and continue fighting is certainly impressive, his downfall is primarily because he refused to accept his defeat at Goku's hands, even after he's sliced into pieces by his own attack.
* DehumanizingInsult: He's quite blatantly racist towards the Saiyans, often mockingly call them apes, monkeys, primates and simians.
* DespotismJustifiesTheMeans: Only cares about staying in power as "the strongest being in the universe," and he'll slaughter entire races to do so.
* {{Determinator}}:
** Frieza refuses to give up, even after all the chips are down and Goku offers to let him to live. Frieza will not stop until Goku is dead, even if it means blowing up the planet. Even when cut to pieces, he still doesn't give up trying to kill Goku. The planet blowing up on him ''still'' doesn't stop him. After being saved by his father and rebuilt into a cyborg, he wasn't even off the operating table before ordering his father to set a course to Earth.
** Also shown when Namek's Eternal Dragon returns. Frieza figures that it's not too late to get his wish, and he would have actually succeeded... if he knew Namekian.
** In the movie ''Resurrection 'F''' Frieza is brought back to life. As it turns out, Shenron can bring someone back to life after a year has past but usually the body is in such a bad state there's no point and Frieza's body was in an even worse state after what Future Trunks did to it. Even with the new healing units that his minions have on their ship his resurrection would largely depend on Frieza's vitality to succeed. Frieza quickly shows how determined he is to get his revenge before even getting in a tank, as when he is brought back to life in chunky pieces, his first act is to try and pull his own disassembled body back together again. Say what you will about him his will to live is pretty damn impressive.
** Later, in the Universe Survival Arc of ''[[Anime/DragonBallSuper Super]]'', he is on the receiving end of a biblical pummeling by the freshly-ascended God of Destruction Toppo, culminating with Frieza getting his skull painfully crushed. Come the next episode, Frieza's back on his feet, as smug as ever as he attacks Toppo all over again. He gets another beating for his trouble, but that doesn't change the fact that even a God of Destruction can't make Frieza stay down.
** Overall, Frieza's determinator status is a {{Deconstruction}}. His complete inability to give up, accept defeat, and swallow his pride not only leads to his downfall on Namek, but also his death, both times.
** By the time ''Broly'' rolls around, he's moved past this; [[spoiler:he opts to retreat rather than pick a doomed fight with Super Saiyan Blue Gogeta]].
* DidYouActuallyBelieve: During the Universe Survival Saga, he pulls this off against Frost after briefly teaming up with him and promptly betraying him, complete with a PretenderDiss.
-->'''Frieza:''' Did you really think I'd join forces with an amateur like you?
* DidntSeeThatComing:
** Goku's very existence. As far as he knew, there were only three surviving Saiyans and he had them under his watch. He had no clue that Goku would come to Namek and be far more powerful than even Vegeta, who is supposed to be ''the'' strongest Saiyan in existence. That said, in the manga he had a [[DreamingOfThingsToCome premonition]] about an encounter with a powerful saiyan and called the Ginyu Force to intercept it. Ginyu's body swap worked as planned, or would have had Vegeta not escaped and interfered.
** He had Goku at his mercy after he drained all his energy forming and throwing the Spirit Bomb. So, [[KickTheDog he takes his time killing Goku's friends in front of him to rub in his face how helpless he is]]. This triggers Goku going Super Saiyan, [[NiceJobFixingItVillain the very thing he feared]].
** When he came to Earth for revenge, he was prepared to fight Super Saiyan Goku. He had no way of preparing for Trunks, [[OutsideContextProblem a Super Saiyan from the future]].
** After being returned to life, he trained for four months to challenge Goku and [[CrazyPrepared even came up with a backup plan just in case he lost]]. His plan falls into ruins because he didn't know Vegeta was on Earth, has been a Super Saiyan for years, and can become a Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan like Goku. Even when he uses his trump card, [[spoiler:destroying the planet]], he couldn't have prepared for Whis [[spoiler:rewinding time on him]], giving Goku the chance to kill him.
* DidYouJustScamCthulhu: [[spoiler:His desire for the Super Dragon Balls if he wins the Tournament of Power is to put himself "above the gods" themselves]].
* DirtyCoward:
** He tries to kill Goku while his back is turned, even though Goku has allowed him to be healed after Frieza literally begged for his life, and immediately [[{{Jerkass}} berates Goku for this.]]
** Not to mention that he begged Goku for his life as he was laid dying on the ground. He was so afraid of death that he couldn't face it with any dignity.
** Everything he does is out of fear. He blew up Planet Vegeta because of a mere rumor that a Super Saiyan would rise and defeat him, attempts to find the Dragon Balls out of fear of death, does not personally make a move against Gohan, Krillin and Vegeta until it's too late, and every one of his henchmen are dead.
** In ''Resurrection F'', [[spoiler:he gets his minion Sorbet to shoot Goku in the heart when Goku proved to be the better fighter again.]]
** Also from the movie [[spoiler:instead of being killed by Vegeta, he chose to destroy the Earth out of [[RageQuit desperation]], knowing that he can survive in space.]]
* DiscOneFinalBoss: Frieza is initially presented as the FinalBoss of the franchise, considered to be [[WorldsBestWarrior the greatest fighter in the universe]] so terrifying that even King Kai (whom at the time was presented as the ultimate BigGood of the series) flat out tells his students that Frieza is unbeatable, and is indirectly responsible for the entire series up to that point. However when he returns early in the Android Saga he is killed by Future Trunks and, as the audience soon finds out, [[SortingAlgorithmOfEvil there are far more powerful and dangerous threats than him in the universe]]. Then "Resurrection: F" and "Universal Survival Arc rolls around and makes him a credible threat again: no matter how much stronger the future enemies might become, Frieza always has a chance to train and overcome their abilities, as demonstrated in "Resurrection: F" itself, after training for 4 months, he became far stronger than the Super Saiyans, Androids, Cell, all forms of Majin Buu and Super Saiyan 3 Goku as well, only getting defeated due to his own hubris again.
* DisproportionateRetribution:
** After Tagoma tells Frieza to go back to his empire and leave Goku alone, Frieza has him ThrownOutTheAirlock. In ''Super'', although Tagoma survives speaking up, what happens to him is arguably worse. First, he's shot to a cripple until he apologizes. Then, he is forced to be Frieza's training partner, going through four months of endless torture, which destroys Tagoma's sanity and turns him into a monster no different from Frieza.
** He mercilessly tortures Gohan for reminding him of Goku's mercy towards him when he tries to spare Captain Ginyu.
* DontMakeMeDestroyYou: Before he unleashed half of his power, he offers Goku the chance to come work for him, [[SparingTheAces saying it would be a shame to destroy such talent]]. When Goku says no, Frieza is quite upset about it, saying what a complete waste it is, along with how stupid the Saiyans were for not remaining his faithful servants.
* DragonAscendant: After his father's death, and his own revival, he becomes the true ruler of the Trade Federation.
* DragonInChief: To King Cold. Despite King Cold being the GreaterScopeVillain of the trade empire, Frieza runs most of the operations and is more-or-less the face. This is why he was chosen to be revived over his father in ''Resurrection 'F'''[[note]]technically, the plan was to revive both, but Frieza was revived first; the Pilaf gang used the other wish before Sorbet could revive Cold[[/note]].
* TheDreaded:
** Prior to his defeat, even the Kais themselves feared him; when King Kai learned that Frieza was on Namek, he flat-out told Goku to just take the Dragon Balls and run, and ''not'' to confront Frieza no matter what. Even the Galactic Patrol, who are apparently the legal authority across most of the galaxy, consider trying to get in Frieza's way to be suicide.
** To Frieza, the legendary Super Saiyan. He all but wiped out the Saiyans out of pure fear of one. [[ProperlyParanoid His fears turned out to be justified]] after Goku ascended and kicked his butt all over Namek. He became so traumatized after his defeat that he has PTSD just thinking about Goku and Super Saiyans. His pride, however, outweighs his fear, [[RevengeBeforeReason which is why he keeps coming back for revenge]].
* DubPersonalityChange: Frieza in Funimation's Z dub is a lot less regal and polite than the original Japanese and Kai versions, trading in the original's sophisticated and effeminate imperialist for a tough talking, androgynous bad guy with a fondness for puns. This had the effect of significantly downplaying the FauxAffablyEvil aspect of his character.
* DubNameChange:
** In France, Germany and Mexico, Frieza is "Freezer".
** When ''Dragon Ball Z'' was dubbed into Hungarian, the Hungarian dubbers thought he was female, and changed "her" name to Dermesztina ("Freezetina"). One they got the memo that Frieza is actually a male, they [[InconsistentDub changed]] it to to Dermesztő ("Freezer").
* DullSurprise: Frieza evolves into this [[spoiler:when he's revived to become the tenth member of Universe 7 during the ''Universe Survival'' arc. During the tournament, ''very little'' rattles Frieza, from seeing Universes 9 and 10 being erased, to seeing Goku's new techniques, to sensing Jiren's energy, or the entirety of Goku and Jiren's fight; he watches all of those events with the same evil smile that he usually has on his face. It takes Toppo nearly killing him with an Energy of Destruction to break this state]].
* DumbassNoMore: By the time the Universal Survival arc starts, the beatdowns and torment he's suffered have finally gotten him to work on overcoming his {{Fatal Flaw}}s like his BadBoss tendencies, the ClippedWingAngel effect that being UnskilledButStrong has on his full power, and his insistence on being a {{determinator}} even when it's against his interests.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:E-H]]
* EarnYourHappyEnding: Although he is a TokenEvilTeammate during the Universe Survival Saga, and is as cruel as he can be within the limits of the rules, Frieza ultimately battles for Universe 7 without cheating or betrayal and during the final battle genuinely teams up with Goku, putting his full trust in him because he ''knows'' Goku keeps his end of the bargain. [[spoiler:This act of unconditional trust earns him a free revival, courtesy of Beerus, although Frieza sarcastically quips that he may go back to his old evil ways... And does so not long after.]]
* EarthShatteringKaboom: When in doubt, this is his solution to every problem. ''VideoGame/DragonBallZDokkanBattle'' actually made this Golden Frieza's SpecialAttack.
* TheEmperor: He is the prince of the trade empire. He's even called the Emperor of Evil by his minions and the Galactic Patrol.
* EnemyMine:
** [[spoiler:He becomes a last-minute replacement for Buu in the Universe 7 Team, in order to save his universe (afterlife included) from being erased. Just to drive home how much he is at odds with the team, he's literally killed half of them at one point in time or another (counting the ones who died before Whis reversed time).]]
** In ''Anime/SuperDragonBallHeroes'', him and Cooler arrive and assist Goku and Vegeta in their battle against [[spoiler: an alternate version of Goku Black]] as pay back for him humiliating them earlier, [[VillainousRescue attacking just as he starts to overpower the heroes.]]
* EntitledBastard:
** In ''Resurrection 'F''', he offers Vegeta a high-ranking position back in his army if he kills Goku for him. Despite the fact that Frieza slaughtered Vegeta's entire species, destroyed his homeworld, belittled him at every turn while Vegeta served him, and tortured him to death for fun back on Namek, he's genuinely shocked when Vegeta shoots his offer down in favor of killing him. Vegeta even lampshades it:
--->'''Vegeta:''' Use your head. Do you honestly think I would stay loyal to you after you blew up the planet I was destined to rule?!
** During the Universe Survival Saga, he also genuinely expects that Goku will resurrect him for real if he helps them out during the Tournament of Power, trying to [[FlawExploitation exploit]] Goku's BloodKnight tendencies. Goku simply asks Frieza if he ''really'' thinks he's in a position to bargain.
* EpicFail:
** His failure to realize that it wasn't a good idea to [[GenocideBackfire drive the race who made Dragon Balls into near extinction]] before he made his wish.
** Earlier, his attempts to eradicate the Saiyan race only led to circumstances where his defeat and death were assured by the legacies of the Saiyans he failed to kill.
** After returning to life, he trains himself to be stronger than ever and unlocked a new SuperMode. He also finally mastered using his full power in his true form. Then... he loses for the ''exact'' same reason he lost the first time. In his rush to get revenge, [[IncompletelyTrained he left his training early]] and didn't master his golden form, giving him the same stamina issues as his original 100% Full Power Form, to an even ''greater'' extent. Despite acknowledging he made mistakes in his first battle against Goku, [[AesopAmnesia he repeated the same mistake]].
** [[spoiler:The whole affair with trying to conscript Broly into killing Goku and Vegeta was one big collective failure on his part. He fails to kill Goku and Vegeta (again), tips Broly into an UnstoppableRage in a barely thought out plan that almost ends with Broly pulling his limbs off, and even after admitting defeat and fleeing, he's only made things worse for himself in the long run, only succeeding in making an enemy out of the most powerful Saiyan alive.]]
* EstablishingCharacterMoment:
** His first appearance features him ordering his men to murder every Namekian in a village. As if the audience needed more confirmation that he was pure evil.
** Even more so in ''Kai''. In his first few minutes of screen time, he drives the Saiyans to near-extinction by blowing up their planet and ''laughing'' about it. And in the process of destroying them, wipes out ''[[WhatMeasureIsAMook his own men]]'' who have come to restrain Bardock.
* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: Defied. [[spoiler:He didn't care for his father to rot in hell as opposed to wishing him back to life, and he was willing to betray his own universe for his own sake. The Universe 9 Gods found it unbelievable]]. This is especially notable because we see Frieza be trusting, generous and even affectionate to others at several points during and after this period, and this scene reminds us that come crunch time, Frieza's priority is still ultimately looking out for number one, namely himself.
-->[[spoiler:'''Sidra:''']] Do you really wish to betray your own universe? Even if it means its obliteration?\\
'''Frieza:''' Yes, and what of it?\\
[[spoiler:'''Roh:''']] How could you? Even the most '''despicable''' of villains has something which they hold dear and wish to protect! A loved one? Cherished memories? A precious place from one's childhood, even?\\
'''Frieza:''' Excuse me, my good man: I simply do '''not''' understand what it is that you are ''prattling'' about.
** Surprisingly played straight in ''Broly''. Berryblue, his advisor, childhood nanny and hence the closest thing to a lifelong mother-figure, is the one of the only few people Frieza shows genuine affection for, even allowing her to make snarks at his expense when he has killed countless for less.
* EvenEvilHasStandards: Malignant as he is, even he disapproves of the two Zenos [[spoiler:erasing Universe 9 without a care in the world.]] It's not so much in the act itself (though he acknowledges it as horrendous) as the [[ObliviouslyEvil childish lack of understanding the two display in its spirit]].
-->'''Frieza:''' Those colorful brats. The difference between their cute voices and horrendous acts, I find it quite vexing. One day, I promise I shall reign over you.
** In ''Dragon Ball Z: Shin Budokai'', Frieza mentions that Cooler believes that violence is the answer to almost anything, something which Frieza disagrees with.
** Two in ''Super''. One is implied that, after he put Tagoma through TrainingFromHell by making him his training dummy for four months, Tagoma boasts that nothing can hurt his steel body before Gotenks unintentionally [[GroinAttack proves him wrong]]... meaning Frieza seemingly thinks attacking Tagoma/his opponents under the belt is too crude for his tastes. The other is that as evil as he is, and as much as he hates Goku and his friends, even he agrees that [[spoiler:having his universe wiped out due to losing the Tournament of Power is a less-than-desired outcome. As such, he willingly puts his hatred aside and [[EnemyMine teams up with Goku and company in defense of Universe 7]].]]
* EvilBrit: Chris Ayres, Frieza's actor from ''Kai'' onwards, gives him a slight British accent. After Chris died, Daman Mills took over his place as the new current voice.
* EvilCannotComprehendGood: His personal hell, as seen in ''Resurrection 'F''', is a peaceful meadow filled with fairies, angels, and living stuffed animals parading around and wanting nothing but to give him joy and happiness, but Frieza, being an immoral {{Sadist}}, finds it disgusting and infuriating.
** In the same movie, Frieza mistakes Vegeta stopping Goku from fighting him as signs of loyalty towards him and says he's glad that Vegeta still knows "who holds his leash". But Frieza's also dumbstruck when Vegeta refuses the chance to kill a wounded Goku when offered, and Vegeta has to remind the Emperor that he has the most beef with Frieza for [[YouKilledMyFather destroying]] his planet/kingdom, leading to Frieza having a massive [[VillainousBreakdown tantrum]] and {{Rage Quit}}ting when Vegeta kicks his ass.
* EvilCounterpart:
** He's one to Goku. Both are extremely powerful fighters, they both are also arrogant when fighting their opponents, they both come from powerful yet evil races, they both also managed to achieve new god-like forms, and both are hailed as being some of the most powerful mortals of Universe 7. But while Goku was born weak and only trained to get stronger over the years, Frieza was born powerful and never trained a day in his life, until he learned that Goku managed to defeat Majin Buu and decided to train to become stronger.
** He's also an eviler counterpart to Vegeta. Both of them are [[RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething princes of their respective empires]], [[TheAce born extremely powerful]], [[TheDreaded command the respect and fear of those around them]], have lofty ambitions of [[GalacticConqueror ruling the universe]] for all [[ImmortalitySeeker eternity]], are ruled by their pride of being the strongest, and are [[RoyalBrat selfish, spoiled brats]] who will RageQuit if things don't go their way. The difference is that Vegeta, who along with the remnants of his empire lived under the thumb of Frieza's, had his interests align with positive influences that slowly got him to change and become a better person, one who would eventually put aside his pride for the sake of others. Frieza, who's never known a kind hand that wasn't out of either fear or pity because he's been '''the''' overbearing bastard above everyone else, remained an unrepentant asshole who allowed his pride to utterly destroy him, ''three'' times.
* EvilFeelsGood: Is a firm believer in this. His entire fighting style revolves around ColdBloodedTorture, and he constantly goes out of his way to ensure his enemies die in pain and despair, knowing they never had a chance at defeating him. A perfect example is when he blew up Planet Vegeta, LaughingMad all the while.
* EvilGloating: He ''really'' likes to play with his food when he fights, and always takes the time to rub in his enemies' faces how puny and weak they are compared to him. The most notable example is in ''Resurrection 'F''', when [[spoiler:after Goku is shot InTheBack by Sorbet]], Frieza decides to torture Goku slowly and painfully while rubbing in his face how stupid he was to show him mercy a second time. His gloating leads right to his downfall when, in an attempt to twist the knife even further, he tries to goad Vegeta into killing Goku for him by offering him a high-ranking position in his army; Vegeta refuses, saves Goku, and beats Frieza to a pulp.
* EvilHasABadSenseOfHumor: The Funimation dub has him throwing out lots of lame jokes and puns, in contrast to how superficially polite and regal he is in the original Japanese dub and Kai.
* EvilIsBigger: Zig-Zagged. He starts off shorter than almost all of the heroes short of Gohan and Dende, then he transforms and particular focus is given to how he grows to tower over them, but then he shrinks back down in his true form, which is still taller than his initial form but noticeably shorter than Goku.
* EvilIsDeathlyCold: He and his family all have cold-themed names, and Frieza is as evil as they come.
* EvilIsNotAToy: While Goku and company had little choice [[GodzillaThreshold given the situation]] when [[spoiler:recruiting him to Team Universe 7 for the Tournament of Power, Frieza makes it ''very'' clear within seconds of his revival that they have only the barest vestiges of a leash on him and he starts planning against them from the get go]].
* EvilIsPetty:
** His FatalFlaw. Going hand in hand with his overwhelming arrogance, Frieza can't resist doing unnecessarily cruel things to those weaker than him, often just to prove he can. This became his downfall as it was his murder of Krillin in front of Goku that ultimately triggered Goku's ascension to Super Saiyan.
** Even when he is brought back for the Tournament of Power, Frieza can't help but indulge in this: upon finding out that Cabba is something of a student for Vegeta, he resolves to defeat and ring out Cabba for ''just'' that reason. Surprisingly, Frieza's beatdown of Cabba was arguably the least drawn out or brutal one he had handed out until that point, but even so he tells the helpless Saiyan that he wil hunt down his teammates next ''just'' to get a rise out of him.
** In ''Anime/DragonBallSuperBroly'', his motive for going to Earth is to grab the Dragon Balls and wish for... an extra five centimeters to his height.
* EvilLaugh: In Japanese, his is a distinct NoblewomansLaugh: "Oh-hohohohohohoho!!"
* EvilOverlord: Rules multiple galaxies.
* EvilPlan: He's definitely up to no good [[spoiler:during the Tournament of Power. He's planning to subvert the rule of the gods and assert himself on top and to get to that goal, he's playing ''all'' sides]].
* EvilSoundsDeep: In both the original and ''Kai'' dubs, his voice gets increasingly deep in his second and third forms, then shifts back when he crosses the BishonenLine.
* EvilSoundsRaspy: Frieza is very well-known for his very raspy voice; his later English performances by Chris Ayres and Daman Mills sound very similar to Starscream of ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}''.
* EvilerThanThou:
** During the Namek Saga, he proves to be this to Vegeta, brutalizing him to the point Vegeta is ''crying'' and begging Goku to defeat him and avenge their race.
** Reinforced in ''Super''. Whenever Frieza shows up, the story goes out of its way to portray him as more evil than any other villains who happen to be around. King Yemma even states that most other villains that Goku has fought over the years have had their souls purified in Hell and been reincarnated, but Frieza's soul is still intact because he's actively resisting being purified, simply out of pure spite. Particularly in the Tournament of Power, wherein [[spoiler:Universe 9, ruled by incompetent gods with a smarmy, greedy Supreme Kai, are horrified by Frieza's willingness to betray his own Universe if it meant an advantage, and he betrays his Universe 6 counterpart, Frost, while cruelly mocking him for being too soft and trusting (for the record, Frost has deliberately engineered genocides and profiteered off the ensuing wars).]]
** He continues to be this in the ''Super'' manga when he appears at the end of the "Granolah the Survivor" arc to reveal that [[spoiler:he knew what BigBadWannabe Elec was doing the whole time]] and kills him with one shot soon after.
* EvilVersusOblivion: Goku recruits him to be the final member of the Tournament of Power, under the risk that the Universe would be erased if he didn't help.
* EvilVirtues: While still a monster, by the end of ''Dragon Ball Super'' Frieza eventualy became a ''gentlemanly'' monster capable of ''genuine'' courage, respect, trust and even to a certain degree honor. Even before joining Team Universe Seven, Frieza is characterized by determination and refusal to concede to defeat.
** He is also slowly learning the virtue of gratitude, after years and years of being a purely UngratefulBastard. After his second resurrection, Frieza demonstrated a need to repay any and '''all''' acts of kindness towards him in ''full''; mostly because his colossal pride cannot allow him to bear the knowledge of being in debt to ''anyone'' ever again. He claims to be grateful for Goku's naïve nature during their final battle with Jiren, and even flatly refused to be thanked by Goku after helping him save Universe Seven, considering even his ''appreciation'' to be yet another debt to his enemy. It may have been largely born out of circumstance, but it's still there.
* ExBigBad: Frieza served as the BigBad of the Namek Saga as well as the ''Resurrection F'' arc in ''Dragon Ball Super'', before he is subsequently brought back again much later to serve as a TokenEvilTeammate for the crew during the Tournament of Power arc.
* ExpectingSomeoneTaller: His first form is rather diminutive and he powers up by deceptively shedding his armor (to get ready to beef himself up -- the armor doesn't change size with him). Likewise his fourth form is only slightly taller then his first with both Goku and Krillin commending that they weren't expecting him to be so scrawny.
** During their first encounter (at least in the manga) Goku comments Frieza looks younger than he expected.
** Krillin had pretty much the same reaction when he saw Frieza's final form.
* ExplainingYourPowerToTheEnemy: He explains to Vegeta, Gohan, Krillin, and Piccolo how his transformations work, namely how his different forms are {{Power Limiter}}s and not [[SuperMode enhancements]]. He also tells Goku how much of his power he's currently using. Given how overwhelmingly powerful he is, it makes little difference.
* ExploitedImmunity: The main reason he blows up Namek; even if Goku ''could'' survive an EarthShatteringKaboom, unlike Frieza, he can't breathe in space.
* ExposedExtraterrestrials: This, combined with his AnimeAnatomy, make one wonder just how his kind reproduces.
* FailedASpotCheck: His failure to notice Goku's ''gigantic, glowing'' Spirit Bomb in the sky until it was too late. Sure, it's a plot point he can't sense ''ki'', but the attack sticks out like a sore thumb. It's implied (and explicitly stated in the English dub when he finally does notice) that he mistook it for one of Namek's several ''suns'' at first.
* FamilyThemeNaming: His entire bloodline all have ice related names.
* FantasticRacism: Frieza thinks lowly of Saiyans, even the ones he favors, viewing them as [[DumbMuscle mindless brutes]] and often calling them "[[FantasticSlurs monkeys]]". This is why he takes it especially bad when he loses to Goku. He also doesn't think much of the Namekians, calling them a primitive and stubborn race because they refused to submit to him.
* TheFarmerAndTheViper: Taken to the extreme: when Goku gives him a chance to walk away, he keeps attacking, ends up cutting himself in two, and is reduced to begging for mercy. When Goku relents, Frieza's reaction is to mock Goku to his face, then try to kill him ''again.'' By this point, Goku's done being merciful and blows him away.
* FatalFlaw: '''Arrogance.''' Frieza's belief that he's the rightful emperor of the universe and tendency to toy with his enemies end up costing him dearly.
** Goku figured that leaving Frieza alive with his pride in tatters was worse than killing him. He was also nearly killed by Goku when he just could not accept that he lost to a 'mere monkey'. In the end, it ended up killing him since after he was healed from near-death, he went to Earth to get back at Goku. [[spoiler:In ''Resurrection 'F''', he is revived and wants to go at Goku ''again'', even as his own men tells him to leave the Super Saiyan alone and go back to running his empire. Naturally, his unwillingness to let go of his pride gets him killed again]].
** His lack of actual mastery of his powers comes from the belief that he's so strong, he doesn't need to train. The reason why Frieza has transformation states is because he is unable to maintain his power in his final form for long durations. This same issue occurs once more with Frieza's new SuperMode in ''Resurrection F.''
** His tendency to not to KnowWhenToFoldEm has always resulted in his defeat, in the hands of Goku, then his death at Trunks's hands, then his brutal beating by Vegeta's hands, his ''second'' death, as well as him taunting the far more stronger Toppo and Jiren and getting beaten by them.
* FateWorseThanDeath: The entire reason Goku opted to let him live after beating him on Namek. Frieza had spent years as the [[WorldsBestWarrior undisputed strongest in the universe]], firmly convinced that ''no one'' could ''ever'' defeat him; thus, having to live with the knowledge that he was no longer the strongest, but was defeated by a Saiyan, a race [[FantasticRacism he firmly believed to be inferior to him in every way]], was a far worse punishment than death.
* FauxAffablyEvil: When he's not infuriated, Frieza is quite polite and compliments his opponents' skills for lasting so long against him and even offers to spare them if they come work for him. Deep down, he's anything but nice and is quite temperamental, especially when things don't go his way. [[spoiler:Him talking with Goku in Hell is this. During the entire conversation, he treats Goku like an old friend, but both Goku and the audience know he is just masking his vast hate for Goku, wanting to kill him on the spot. Once Frieza learns there is something to gain from it for him, though, his behavior towards Goku becomes a little bit more genuinely affable-although he makes it no secret he wants to fight/kill Goku again, nor does he bother hiding his homicidal lust for killing opponents in the tournament]].
* FeelingOppressedByTheirExistence: His attitude towards Goku from the Namek Saga onward. In ''Resurrection 'F''', Frieza comes right out and says that he can't stand to live in the same ''universe'' as Goku, and won't even be able to sleep at night as long as he's still alive.
* FinalSolution: His destruction of Planet Vegeta qualifies under this trope.
* FingerGun: His signature moves tend to work this way, ranging from his Death Beam to his Death Ball. In his third form in particular he loves to fire barrages of energy blasts with [[DualWielding dual]] finger guns.
* {{Flanderization}}: His BadBoss tendencies. While he definitely didn't care when they died and occasionally threatened them, Frieza never actually killed any of his minions in the original manga and even tolerated some failures from them with little more than angry outbursts (such as when Dodoria let Gohan and Krillin escape the village). The obvious exception of course being the Saiyans, which had nothing to do with the YouHaveFailedMe[=/=]ItAmusedMe justifications he's famous for. Anime {{filler}} is what made this a habit of his, with Toei even creating original characters ''specifically'' for Frieza to kill (like Oren) and depicting him blowing up an entire army of his own men for no real reason in the Bardock special. 30 years after Frieza's last appearance in the manga, Toriyama himself would go down the same route by having him kill all of his soldiers for [[YouHaveFailedMe failing him]] in ''Resurrection F.''
** Downplayed by ''Broly'', even when Frieza still killed some of his minions, it's only due to them being TooDumbToLive by [[HeightInsult mocking Frieza as "short"]], he (perhaps) is fond of his nanny Berryblue, and he spares Lemo and Cheelai when they flee from him, necessitating due to the sheer struggles the Frieza Force is currently facing.
* FlawExploitation:
** In the original dub, Frieza gets Goku to allow him to power-up to his maximum strength by telling Goku that as a Saiyan, he should want to see the power of the strongest in the universe. Goku takes the bait, wanting to fight Frieza at his best for fun and to show the tyrant that he never had a chance. Goku proves his point. Interestedly enough, Frieza pulls this exact trick on Goku in ''Super''. He gets Goku to [[spoiler:agree to revive him with the Dragon Balls if he wins the Tournament of Power because Goku wants to see Frieza's "further evolution"]]. Goku even calls Frieza evil for exploiting his weakness.
** In ''Resurrection 'F''', he pulls this off not once, but twice. First, he uses Goku's tendency of showing him mercy to [[spoiler:get Sorbet to shoot him in the back when his guard is down]]. Then, he takes advantage of Vegeta's tendency to overthink during a fight to [[spoiler:blow up the Earth before Vegeta could finish him off]].
** In Super, he pulls it off again. [[spoiler:This time against Frost, his Universe 6 counterpart. He exploited Frost's own arrogance and his desire to have a "master" from another universe like Cabba does to lull him into a false sense of security, culminating with Frieza fake-fighting with Gohan to convince Frost that they were on the same team. He then exploits Frost's ignorance of the various forms to get the latter into the buff 100% Full Power Form (which decreases his agility) and then blows him off the stage with no way to dodge or recover from it.]]
* {{Foil}}:
** To Goku. Frieza is born extremely powerful, didn't need to train a day in his life and is the prince of an intergalactic empire. Goku is born a weakling, is the son of a lower class warrior and pacifist mother and had to train endlessly to reach his level of power. Frieza is very polite and well educated, while Goku has bad manners and is BookDumb. [[HopeCrusher Frieza thrives on spreading despair]] and [[TheCorrupter corrupting others with his influence]]. [[HopeBringer Goku inspires hope and tends to bring out the good within people]].
** After character development, Vegeta becomes this to him. Through years of positive influence from living on Earth, Vegeta learns to care about others and being able to set his pride aside for the benefit of others and his own sanity. By letting go of the past, Vegeta becomes a happier person. Frieza , on the other hand, never learns from his experiences and remains an uncaring fiend even after he is given a second chance at life. He allows his hatred and anger towards Goku to drive him insane, and it's his inability to let go of his pride and the past that drives him to his death, ''twice''. This is further expanded on Super with his relationship with [[spoiler:Frost]], which is a contrast with Vegeta and Cabba. [[spoiler:While Vegeta was a StealthMentor to Cabba to teach him the Super Saiyan transformation, Frieza was a ManipulativeBastard to Frost, tricking him to catch him off guard]].
** He is one to Frost from ''Super''. Both characters are powerful members of the same species, both are not above fighting dirty, [[spoiler:and both are shown to be extremely cruel and sociopathic [[GalacticConqueror Galactic Conquerors]], but their methods greatly differ from one another. Frieza is an openly and blatantly evil CardCarryingVillain who rules through intimidation and fear while Frost is a VillainWithGoodPublicity who rules through charisma and manipulation]]. Furthermore, Frost actually fights on the front lines with his men, whereas Frieza can't be bothered to dirty his own hands until literally his ''entire army'' has been destroyed. Also, Frost is more [[PragmaticVillainy pragmatic]] than Frieza and knows when to surrender when the odds are against him while Frieza (pre-CharacterDevelopment) is so egotistical that he would sooner destroy the planet than admit defeat.
** Also during the Tournament of Power, he becomes one to Jiren. Both had possessed reputations as the strongest beings of their respective universes, both were hyped to be impossibly strong during their respective arcs, both [[spoiler:fought against Goku and overpowered both his Kaioken state (with an outsider even commenting that Goku was already using the highest level possible) and a spirit bomb, triggering a new, legendary transformation within him]]. The main difference is that Jiren seems to be a paragon of justice, whereas Frieza is reviled as the most evil being in the universe even by the other Gods of Destruction. Additionally, [[spoiler:while the advent of Super Saiyan was enough to defeat Frieza, the advent of Ultra Instinct was *not* enough to defeat Jiren]]. To top it all off, his name, being a pun on the word "stove," is the direct opposite of Frieza's own name pun--"freezer," of course.
* ForTheEvulz: This is his extreme {{sadis|t}}m. Frieza does half of what he does for this reason. He kills the Namekians after they give him the Dragon Balls and fully intends to destroy the planet once he gets his wish. Then there's his blowing up Planet Vegeta, laughing maniacally and declaring it a great fireworks show all the while.
* FormalCharactersUseKeigo: In Japanese, his speech patterns are extremely formal, always using the most polite forms of verbs. This serves to contrast with his ruthless behavior, as well as contrast with Goku, whose own speech patterns are much more informal and have some elements of a Tohoku dialect (which is stereotypically associated with people from the boonies).
* FountainOfExpies: InUniverse, as other members of his small race (all of whom bar Cold have similar personalities, abilities, and, in the Japanese anime, the same voice actor) are often confused for him and play his role in later arcs. Bardock thought Chilled was Frieza, Goku thought Cooler was Frieza, and Vegeta calls Frost U6's Frieza.
* FreudianSlip: During the Golden Frieza saga, when Gohan spares Ginyu due to the fact that Ginyu can't fight anymore, Frieza goes ballistic and tortures Gohan. As he's about to finish Gohan off, he accidentally calls Gohan "Son Goku".
-->'''Frieza:''' Serves you right, insect. Serves you right, ''Saiyan. Serves you right, '''Son Goku!'''''
* FriendlyEnemy: {{Downplayed}}. Even though Frieza ''definitely'' still has an axe to grind with Goku, by the time of his ''second'' resurrection where he joins [[spoiler:Team Universe 7 for the Tournament of Power]], he has come to admire and respect the Saiyan-warrior enough to be somewhat pleasant and civil towards him, even if most of it is [[FauxAffablyEvil faux]]. He is, after all, the only being in the universe who was able to defeat him not once but twice. For someone like Frieza this is the ''closest'' thing he will ever have to a lifelong friend. He will, however, still try to stab Goku in the back when given the chance though, with the latter ''fully'' expecting him to try. Unbelievably in Episode 111, Frieza even helps Goku by ''giving him energy''!
-->'''Frieza:''' Oops. Sorry about that. I guess my hand slipped after all.\\
'''Frieza:''' ''[Missing a shot aimed at Goku from the back that ends up killing an Assassin]'' Sincere apologies, my hand has slipped ''again.''
** Even in the ''[[Recap/DragonBallSuperResurrectionFArc Resurrection F Arc]]'', Frieza is completely capable of having a friendly conversation with Goku and Vegeta... although for a brief moment.
** This carries over into ''VideoGame/DragonBallFighterZ'', wherein, if they are teamed up, he and Goku have a relatively lighthearted conversation about how exactly the latter knows Beerus.
** Traces of this kind of relationship with Goku were there from the very beginning. When he and Goku first met, they had no real grudge against one another. Their initial bout and tests of strength against each other were remarkably casual, with Frieza even expressing some genuine appreciation for Goku's power and skill as the closest thing to a real challenge he could get. Everything changes after the Spirit Bomb. However, this is [[DownplayedTrope downplayed]]. Goku was still pissed at Frieza for torturing his friends and son. It was also implied that Goku tried to defeat Frieza less out of the desire to have a good fight and more because he genuinely deserved it, as made clear from his speech to him after Vegeta's death.
-->'''Goku:''' For all the countless Saiyans you destroyed, as well as all the Nameks here... I am going to beat you! [[note]]Budokai Tenkaichi 3 dialogue[[/note]]
* GalacticConqueror: And is willing to add more to his collection. At his peak, he ruled 70% of Universe 7.
** Is back to this trope after re-establishing Frieza Force.
* GallowsHumor: He's rather fond of this in the original Funimation dub.
* GeniusBruiser: Became one in the Universe Survival Arc. He seems to have become much more calculating and pragmatic than before.
* GenocideBackfire:
** He wiped out the Saiyans to prevent them from rising up and killing him. Goku survived and took him out years later. Even better, it is revealed in ''Dragon Ball Minus'' that Goku would have never been sent to Earth if Frieza didn't try to wipe out the Saiyans by recalling them home.
** His cavalier extermination of the Namekians almost became this when he discovered simply having all seven Dragon Balls wasn't enough to grant his wish. Realising that the Namekians knew something about their use that he didn't, he made a quick but frantic search for any survivors.
** His wiping out of the Cerelian race motivated its SoleSurvivor, Granolah, to plot revenge against Frieza and attempting to destroy his force.
* TheGift: He has among the most natural fighting ability of any non-god character in the series. Even Goku and Gohan could not get stronger as fast as Frieza did. Before losing to Goku he literally never trained in his life and was ''still'' one of the strongest beings in the universe. After being revived, it only takes him ''four months'' of training to surpass even Majin Buu and be a match for a Super Saiyan Blue. Add about another year of just mental training and his power began to approach that of the Gods of Destruction. Jiren in comparison had to train for most of his life to surpass them. It's ''scary'' to imagine how powerful Frieza would be if he trained regularly for years. [[spoiler:In the ''Super'' manga, he uses the Room of Spirit and Time to attain a level of power even greater than Goku and Vegeta with Mastered Ultra Instinct and Ultra Ego called Black Frieza.]]
* AGlassOfChianti: He is often seen drinking blood-red wine. Unless he gets mad, in which case, he breaks the glass.
* AGodAmI: Thinks of himself as one, and really, who's going to argue with a guy that can casually blow up planets?
* GodEmperor: What Frieza aspires to be. He already has the power to be considered a PhysicalGod and he wants to use the Dragon Balls to wish for immortality so he can rule the universe forever.
* GodzillaThreshold:
** After Goku becomes a Super Saiyan, he became so desperate to win that he tries to blow up Namek, knowing that he can survive in a vacuum while Goku can't. He didn't completely succeed since he held back too much power, both out of fear of killing himself and out of pride since he wanted to beat Super Saiyan Goku with his own power. When he returns as a cyborg, Frieza tries to destroys the Earth when he becomes outmatched by Super Saiyan Trunks in the anime. In ''Resurrection 'F''', Frieza [[spoiler:successfully blows up the Earth after Vegeta knocks him out of his golden form, killing everyone not near Whis]]. Basically, when Frieza is backed into a corner, he {{Rage Quit}}s.
** He becomes this in the Universe Survival Arc, as Majin Buu falls asleep leaving the U7 team down a member. Goku suggesting Frieza results in massive protest from his teammates, and Frieza only joins them under the condition that Goku revive him with the Earth's Dragon Balls after the tournament's end.
* GoldColoredSuperiority: In ''Anime/DragonBallZResurrectionF'', he develops a new SuperMode that turns his skin gold. He mentions that he chose to make it gold with this very trope in mind:
-->'''Frieza:''' I know gold's a bit gauche, but I wanted to ensure you grasp my new position atop the pecking order.
* GoldenSuperMode: His new form in ''Anime/DragonBallZResurrectionF'', which also bears some resemblance to Cooler, as his hands, feet, and the area around his mouth turn purple. He even calls it himself Golden Frieza, and intentionally colored it Gold as a way to mock the Super Saiyans.
* {{Gonk}}: His 3rd form is really disturbing to look at, with a beaked face and an elongated skull. Thankfully, it's also the one he spends the least amount of time in.
* GoodScarsEvilScars: Being turned into a cyborg mended most of the injuries he got from losing his fight to Goku, but he walked away with some lasting scars on his chest. [[spoiler:When he got resurrected and placed in a regeneration chamber, his scars healed away.]]
* GracefulLoser: At the end of ''Anime/DragonBallSuperBroly'', instead of shrieking in indignation once he loses, he just [[VillainExitStageLeft leaves after saying "I'll be back for this world"]].
* GreaterScopeVillain:
** Despite never coming into contact with the protagonists until much later in the story, his transformation of the Saiyan race into genocidal killers-for-hire and his decision to ultimately destroy their planet, Vegeta, ultimately sets the entire ''Dragon Ball'' series into motion.
** Him destroying Planet Vegeta is the reason why Goku came to Earth and he indirectly influenced Vegeta's actions during the Saiyan Saga. Vegeta wanted immortality so he could challenge him and take his place as ruler of the universe.
** Cell was cloned from Frieza's cells, and a few of Frieza's more horrible personality traits crop up in Cell's own mannerisms, particularly the smarmy arrogance and the BishonenLine transformation.
* GrowingMusclesSequence: When he first unleashed his full 100% Full Power Form to fight Super Saiyan Goku on Namek, his body bulked up from [[LeanAndMean skinny]] to beefier than Goku himself. Curiously, when he did so again when he arrived on Earth in ''Resurrection F'' there was no visible muscle increase, implying his training to maximize his power naturally took away the need for it. Nonetheless, as revealed in [[spoiler:the Universe Survival Saga]], Frieza ''can'' still bulk up his muscles if he wants to.
* HairTriggerTemper: This is one of Frieza's main flaws. And ''how'', if things don't go his way, he loses his composure and bursts into violent outbursts and his solution is to blow up the planet.
* HardWorkHardlyWorks:
** Frieza is as powerful as he is ''naturally,'' having never trained a day in his life until the day he met Goku. Upon being resurrected, he realizes that even a prodigy like himself has to work in order to attain the strength the Z-Warriors have achieved in the intervening years since his defeat. He is such a prodigy that he manages to hit near god-like power after a mere ''four months'' of training... power that the likes of Goku and Vegeta have taken decades to cultivate. It's fortunate that he happens to be an impatient PsychopathicManchild, as it is downright frightening to think what kind of strength he could have attained with a year or more... Averted at the end of the Granolah arc, where it's revealed he spent 10 years training in a hyperbolic time chamber he found on a planet he conquered, and in doing so has become powerful enough [[spoiler:to one-shot Gas, Goku and Vegeta effortlessly]]. Clearly he's learned his lesson - hard work ''does'' work.
** As mentioned in BrilliantButLazy, Frieza would rather sit in a Hoverchair and sacrifice his best men without lifting a finger just so that he can wish for immortality with the Dragon Balls, rather than train in fighting and gain the kind of strength that would effectively make him that. [[spoiler:In the Universe Survival arc, he masters his Golden form via meditation alone (as he didn't have much else to do in Hell), as he is slowly getting a grip on how his powers function]].
* HalfTheManHeUsedToBe: Twice. The first time, after accidentally being hit by one of his own Destructo Discs, it's a horizontal cut, the second time, after Future Trunks cuts him in half, it's a vertical cut.
* HandyFeet: He has prehensile feet.
* HateSink: According to Akira Toriyama, Frieza was created around the time of the Japanese economic bubble and was inspired by real estate speculators, whom Toriyama called the "worst kind of people." He purposely does not draw bad guys so unscrupulous that it affects one psychologically, although he admits Frieza is close. While he underwent CharacterDevelopment come the Universal Survival Saga of ''Super'', Frieza himself is one of the most despicable characters in all of the series, which is especially notable when you consider two of the largest threats after him, Cell and Majin Buu, were literally made to be evil, and yet Frieza manages to be as cruel, if not more, then they are.
* HazyFeelTurn: While it's a stretch to say he turned good, his time during the Tournament of Power has him considerably mellowing out and doing more noble things than usual. He is no longer openly hostile towards Goku and instead treats him as a FriendlyEnemy who he is [[AffablyEvil genuinely civil towards]], along with him ''not'' betraying his own teammates as originally expected. He even cooperates very efficiently with them and even puts himself on the line to help them out, including becoming BashBrothers with Goku to have the two of them pull off a TakingYouWithMe on Jiren.
* HeightAngst: His latest plot for the Dragon Balls, as of ''Anime/DragonBallSuperBroly'' is [[spoiler:to be 5cm taller. He's decided he's had enough of his henchmen [[HeightInsult calling him a pipsqueak]] and his remedy for this (other than vaporizing his henchmen, like he usually does) is to gather the Dragon Balls to grow 5cm taller.]]
* HeroKiller: He personally murders Vegeta, Krillin, and Dende. He also mortally wounds Nail, who would have died if Piccolo hadn't merged with him. And then when he comes back to life in ''Resurrection 'F''' and ''Super'', he brings down Piccolo, who once again resorted to a HeroicSacrifice to protect Gohan from a killing blow.
* HeroicSacrifice: As hard as it is to believe, he pulls one of these (albeit a non-lethal version of it). [[spoiler:During the climax of the Tournament of Power arc, Frieza and Goku drag Jiren out of the arena with them. Bear in mind, this is the ''very same'' Frieza who would sooner destroy a planet than do anything selfless; though, he was ''extremely'' hesitant and pained to do it, and demanded Goku's word that he would honor his bargain to resurrect him. Even then, the fact that he ''trusted'' Goku is an accomplishment in itself.]]
* HesBack: [[spoiler:In the final episode of ''Super's'' Universal Survival Arc, Beerus has Whis revive Frieza for his actions during the Tournament of Power. He proceeds to use his third life... to rebuild his empire.]]
-->[[spoiler:'''Frieza:''' Everyone, sorry for the wait. The Emperor of the Universe is back!]]
* HiddenAgendaVillain: When Frieza joins up as a member of Universe 7's ten man team during the Tournament of Power his motives are brought up by other characters who are unsure exactly what he wants. [[spoiler:Once he starts teaming up with Frost and attacks Gohan Krillin speculates that Frieza may intend to be the last man standing on their team so that he can use the Super Dragon Balls for himself. Whis also speculates that Frieza may want the power of the Super Dragon Balls to kill Beerus as retaliation for being constantly humiliated by him over the years. Even after Frieza backstabs Frost with Gohan's help Krillin comments that it's entirely possible he may have still thrown Gohan out of the ring if he didn't catch on to his plan.]]
* HiddenDepths:
** [[spoiler:For man who practically embodies ItsAllAboutMe and clearly doesn't really respect anyone outside of [[WorthyOpponent Goku]], in the final battle against Jiren, Frieza turns out be astonishingly good at teamwork. He easily coordinates his attacks with Goku's and Android 17's and even orders Goku to throw him at Jiren so he can [[TakingYouWithMe take Jiren out with him]]. What makes this especially surprising is that earlier in the Tournament, Vegeta and Goku tried fighting together and their teamwork was so poor that Jiren struggled to adjust to it. However, in his first real battle alongside Goku ever, Frieza is immediately in sync with him, and Jiren is overwhelmed by their assault. Vegeta can even be seen visibly shocked by this]].
** In ''Anime/DragonBallSuperBroly'', Frieza is shown to be [[spoiler:very self-conscious (in the superficial sense, anyways), as [[ParentalSubstitute Berryblue]] reveals, Frieza's latest wish is to be [[HeightAngst 5cm taller. No more than 5cm, though, he wants people to think he's still growing]]]].
* HisOwnWorstEnemy: While undeniably powerful and dangerous, Frieza is repeatedly brought down by his arrogance, {{sadis|t}}m, and general inability to learn from his mistakes and know when to call it quits. He could have killed Goku and his friends at ''any'' time during their battle on Namek, but he was more concerned with screwing around and toying with them as much as possible. Even when decisively defeated by Super Saiyan Goku, he refuses to accept his defeat and keeps trying to kill him, only to [[HalfTheManHeUsedToBe lose his entire lower half]] and be left to die in Namek's explosion. It takes over a decade in-universe, multiple {{Humiliation Conga}}s, and being killed and going to Hell ''twice'' for Frieza to work on correcting this.
* HistoryRepeats:
** His defeat in ''Resurrection 'F''' and ''Super'' amounts to this. [[spoiler:Upon being revived, Frieza decides to train himself so he can exact his revenge on Goku, making a beeline for Earth after achieving his new GoldenSuperMode. However, just like on Namek, he ends up running out of stamina before Goku since, just like before, he didn't master his new form and learn how to regulate his energy output. Goku shows him mercy and, just like before, Frieza throws it back in his face (this time more successfully, with the help of Sorbet). When Vegeta steps in to fight and defeat Frieza, Frieza destroys the Earth, just like before on Namek. However, thanks to Whis's ability to reverse time, Goku kills him before he can destroy the Earth and sends Frieza right back to hell]].
** [[spoiler:He is killed twice by a Saiyan, first by Future Trunks and then by Goku.]]
** [[spoiler:Both Frieza and his ancestor Chilled have been defeated by Super Saiyans. For extra points, the two Saiyans are actually father and son.]]
* HoistByHisOwnPetard:
** When he gets dismembered by his own attack. Ouch. And to add even more insult to injury, this was also in part due to [[LookBehindYou ignoring Goku's warning about the attack approaching him from behind]].
** On a grander scale, his efforts in preventing the creation of a Super Saiyan lead to one being created and defeating him.
** In ''Broly'', his attempts to enrage Broly into a Super Saiyan resulted in him being brutally beaten up for ''an hour''.
* HopeCrusher: He ''thrives'' on being this, preferring to have his victims terrified, hopeless, and killed them knowing that they never had a chance of defeating him, as Vegeta finds out the hard way. However, this comes back to haunt him after he pushes Goku to his RageBreakingPoint, with Goku subjecting him to the exact same thing.
* HornAttack: The first thing he does after first transforming: blow up the island they're standing on. The second: run Krillin through with his lengthened horn (and lick up the blood splatter).
* HornedHumanoid: In all but his final form (which streamlines his body). Most dangerously exemplified in his second form, where the horns are long enough and arranged so that [[HornAttack they're viable for impaling his headbutted targets]].
* HorrifyingTheHorror: On both ends of this. On the one hand, Vegeta made it a point to avoid direct confrontation with Frieza as much as possible, and was visibly horrified and shaking when Frieza finally caught up to him. On the other hand, Frieza himself is openly and shamelessly afraid of [[DestroyerDeity Beerus]], to the point that merely seeing him actually makes Frieza ''grovel'' before him, as well as utterly terrified of Goku after his near-death experience on Namek.
* HowTheMightyHaveFallen: Goku more or less expresses this when he mocked Frieza's final attack after he deemed him too weak and NotWorthKilling. He states this again after Frieza was [[HalfTheManHeUsedToBe cut himself in half]] by his own attack. Finally, after being forced to blast Frieza after he tried to shoot him in the back, Goku has an expression that practically embodies this trope. For someone who was once called the strongest in the universe, it was indeed a mighty fall.
* HulkingOut: His second form packs a ton of size and musculature onto him and makes his horns curve upward, and he retains his imposing stature into his third transformation. He slims back down for his fourth (and true) form, but bulks back up for his Full-Power form.
* HumanityIsInfectious: '''Very''' subtly by the end of ''Dragon Ball Super''; while he is still incontrovertibly [[CardCarryingVillain a proud and unrepentant villain]], when one is shown and given ''so'' much honor, respect and trust, even a monster like Frieza cannot help but be infected with such virtues.
* HumiliationConga:
** Frieza had a spectacular fall from grace. First, he awakens a Super Saiyan (the very thing he was trying to prevent), gets his butt kicked by a 'mere monkey', fails to have his wish granted ''twice'', is shown mercy from said monkey after being told point-blank that he lost and to go crawl into a hole, gets cut to pieces by his own technique, has to beg for his life, is blasted by an energy wave, and has a planet explode on him. And soon as he recovers from the above, he goes out to get revenge, only to be cut to pieces again and then blown to kingdom come. Then he gets owned every time he appears in non-canon anime content as a dead man. How the mighty have fallen.
** [[spoiler:Despite returning stronger than ever with the full force of his empire at his back in ''Resurrection 'F''', Frieza is still subjected to this. First, his entire army gets their butts handed to them without Goku and Vegeta's help. In fact, Gohan ''alone'' could have handled the entire army. Then, when he has the chance to show off how badass he has become, Goku arrives and is able to overpower him without bothering to go Super Saiyan. So, Frieza stops fooling around and transforms into his new ultimate form and fights evenly with Goku, who also has a new transformation. Despite having the edge for a time, his stamina fails him, [[HistoryRepeats again]], and he's at Goku's mercy, who once again takes pity on him and tells him to go away. Then, when he does have Goku at his mercy, Vegeta steps in, shows that he can transform like Goku, and promptly kicks Frieza's ass. With his reserves gone, he loses his transformation and is about to be killed by Vegeta. So, he destroys the planet, seemingly getting the last laugh only for Whis to rewind time on him and is killed by Goku's Kamehameha. He's sent back to Hell, trapped in the same tree as before, and the citizens of Hell welcomes him back. Yeah, he really should have taken [[StatingTheSimpleSolution Tagoma's]] advice.]]
** Frieza continues to be humiliated even after death; every time he is met following his death, he is easily put in his place by the ever-growing power of the good guys. For instance, in one of the many (non-canon) DBZ movies, after being revived along with other evil beings, he is defeated with ''one punch'' by Gohan.
** Frieza falls victim to this in the Universe Survival Saga as well. Even though he preferred to stay out of the action and usually toyed with unsuspecting opponents to have fun, once Universe 11 became the last remaining universe, things got bad for Frieza. Frieza tried toying with Dyspo, but once Dyspo activated his trump card, he almost knocked Frieza out until Gohan intervened, and even then, Frieza had some pain when setting up a Death Beam Cage for Gohan. Then come Toppo, he tortures the justice warrior and when he's about to knock him out, Toppo becomes a God of Destruction and tears Frieza a new one, including crushing him in a Destruction Sphere, breaking his skull, and tossing him like a ragdoll. Then due to Jiren's intervention, Frieza (alongside 17) ends up getting blasted by Jiren, thus knocking him out temporarily. Then he comes to try to get revenge on Jiren, but this proves futile as Frieza gets beaten yet again.
** In ''Broly'', all of his attempts to beat Goku blow up on his face: Broly beats him to a pulp in an enraged mode, several soldiers defect from his army after helping Broly, and Goku is also aware Frieza still wants to kill him, making a possible second chance ''very'' difficult for him.
* {{Hypocrite}}:
** He [[FantasticRacism regularly demeans the Saiyans]] by dismissing them as stupid and brutal {{Blood Knight}}s who ''only'' care about fighting and lack common sense, despite the fact that under his [[FauxAffablyEvil calm and polite façade]], he's just as bad. During the Namek Saga, it's clear he likes to fight just as much as the Saiyans, and ''he'' was the one who wanted to keep fighting after Goku called it quits and deemed him NotWorthKilling. Furthermore, he himself lacks the common sense to KnowWhenToFoldEm, refusing to accept defeat even after losing his arm and entire lower body. Even funnier, he calls the Saiyans prideful to the point of being stupid. Read the above.
** During his fight with Goku, he states outright that the Saiyans were evil, murderous brutes and he's a saint compared to them... despite the fact that ''he'' was the one who found the Saiyan race and turned them into the spacefaring, genocidal {{Blood Knight}}s they were in the first place.
** ''Thrice'' in ''Resurrection 'F''' has three instances in which [[SmugSuper Frieza]] of all people [[HypocriticalHumor called someone else out on being egotistical and arrogant]]:
*** After Frieza transforms into his true form, he asks why Goku hasn't become a Super Saiyan. Goku says that it isn't necessary. Frieza says that Goku is arrogant like always.
*** After being revived, Frieza asks what happened to his father. Sorbet informs him that they were unable to revive him since [[spoiler:Pilaf stole one of their wishes]], and that they would try next time. Frieza dismisses the idea, citing his father's egotism.
*** [[spoiler:After beating up a mortally injured Goku, Frieza mocks him for being too powerful for his own good and becoming overconfident. Frieza is the last person to criticize someone for overconfidence as he was so certain his new powers could defeat Goku that he didn't bother to train them.]]
** Also, in the same film; [[spoiler:After Vegeta reveals his Super Saiyan Blue form, Frieza mocks him by calling him the "prince of nothing". At this point, the last of Frieza's army and Sorbet have all been killed by him, and it is mentioned his empire is in shambles. So "Lord Frieza" has nothing left to "Lord" over.]]
** He chides Dyspo on his SmugSnake tendencies, telling him that the only thing he knows how to do is run away. This is pretty rich coming from the guy who [[DirtyCoward blows up planets to make sure the masses he rules over never produces someone who could actually defeat him, and whose first reaction upon seeing a Super Saiyan is to have an insane panic attack and attempt to nuke the planet they're both standing on out of a mindless desire to flee]] ''[[DirtyCoward twice]]''. Frieza has no room to talk about cowardice given the lack of courage he's shown when things even ''start'' to get tough for him.
** Perhaps taken to it's greatest extreme in ''Broly''; Frieza was willing to wipe out the entire Saiyan race out of paranoid fear of the Super Saiyan legend as well as mutual hatred and tension between the Saiyan army and the rest of the Frieza force. When Frieza is finally faced and beaten by an enraged Super Saiyan Broly, perhaps the greatest example of the savagery and power Frieza feared, he instead becomes [[InLoveWithYourCarnage enamoured]] by Broly and by the end of the film intends to [[WeCanRuleTogether make him his ultimate right-hand man]]. He doesn't even carry a grudge against Broly for the beating he gave him.
** When calling Moro and his troupe criminals, when Kikono says that the Frieza Force is also a criminal organization, Frieza promptly brushes him off saying the Frieza Force is a business organization, conveniently forgetting he ''himself'' has wiped out more planets than Moro at that point.
* HypocriticalHumor: Frieza openly admits that he is completely unwilling to battle Jiren, calling the latter "a monster". While this use of monster is referring to Jiren's great power, it's still coming from the same guy who would otherwise sooner blow up a planet than admit defeat.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:I-N]]
* IAmNotLeftHanded: You could make a drinking game of the number of times he shows the heroes his "true power".
* IControlMyMinionsThrough: Frieza is a big fan of controlling his flunkies through fear and power. He's orders of magnitude more powerful than the rest of his subordinates put together and a sadist that has no problem killing them for trivial reasons. So they have little choice but to obey him.
* ITakeOffenseToThatLastOne: In ''Resurrection 'F''', he cheerfully refers to himself as an "Absolutely Evil Villain", and is so at peace with that fact he only takes offense to the ''latter'' part of Bulma's insult. (Note: "Kusotare" DOES refer to that part of the human anatomy, so yeah, Bulma has a pretty foul mouth.)
-->'''Bulma:''' Goku! Vegeta! Get your asses back here right now! That evil, rotten, fucking asshole Frieza has come back to life and come to Earth!\\
'''Frieza:''' (Quivering eyebrows) ...[[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments "fucking asshole", eh?]]
** The dub version.
--->'''Bulma:''' Vegeta and Goku are there, right? Well, Tell them to come home now! Because, I don't want to hear any crap about training, it's an emergency! That evil scumbag Frieza has come back to life, and the Earth's in danger!\\
'''Frieza:''' (shocked and then annoyed) "Scumbag" am I?
* IconicSequelCharacter: He did not appear in the series until the second StoryArc of ''Z''. Still, Freeza is not only the series' most popular villain (after Vegeta, [[HeelFaceTurn who reforms]]) but one of the most celebrated villains in [[ShonenDemographic shōnen]] history.
* IMeantToDoThat: Speculated by Goku and then outright confirmed in supplemental material that Frieza's attempt to blow up Namek was genuinely messed up by Frieza's fear of dying via being caught in the planet's explosion. The result is the planet holding together for some time, and causes Frieza to proclaim the planet's destruction in "five minutes", a lie so that he doesn't seem incompetent in hindsight.
* ImmortalitySeeker: Like most ''Dragon Ball'' villains, he wants the Dragon Balls for immortality. After his defeat, he's more concerned with getting revenge on Goku, and he gives up the idea by ''Super: Broly'' upon realising [[ImmortalityHurts what would happen if he were paralyzed or otherwise incapacitated afterwards]].
* IncompletelyTrained: In ''Resurrection 'F''', he trains for four months in preparation for his attack on Earth, [[spoiler:unlocking a new GoldenSuperMode that actually makes him stronger than Goku and Vegeta's Super Saiyan God SS forms]]. However, Frieza was so eager to get his revenge on Goku that he took off for Earth as soon as he [[spoiler:unlocked the form and never bothered to master it, turning said form into a ClippedWingAngel. Subverted come the Universal Survival Arc, as he's managed to get past this flaw.]]
* InexplicablyAwesome: For decades, no one knew why Frieza and his family were so powerful. His power was so unrivaled that it takes a legend to defeat him and every villain afterwards are either demonic in nature or created to be the strongest in the universe. It's not until a 2014 interview with Toriyama that we learn that Frieza's family are mutants among their race and Frieza himself is a prodigy even among them.
* InvincibleVillain: Frieza is so far beyond any other characters when he is introduced that it's considered insane to even stand up to him. Going by power levels, Goku at the beginning of the series before he fights Raditz has roughly 2% of Vegeta's initial power level, with Vegeta's initial power level being a mere 0.015% of Frieza's at 100% full power. Even when Goku first arrives on Namek after all his training, his power level is still only 0.05% of Frieza's at 100% full power. He kills Krillin with barely a thought after [[NoSell shrugging off]] a [[FinishingMove fully powered Spirit Bomb]]. The only reason he didn't outright kill Goku or the other surviving heroes is because he enjoyed [[ColdBloodedTorture toying with them too much]], which eventually leads Frieza to push Goku to his RageBreakingPoint and make him ascend to Super Saiyan. No future villain enjoys such an enormous power advantage over the heroes, except for [[PhysicalGod Beerus and his twin Champa]].
* IronicHell: When shown in Hell in ''Resurrection 'F''', Frieza is wrapped in a cocoon and unable to do anything but watch as the Angels of Hell, as well as animated toys, sing and dance happily. For a raging {{Sadist}} like Frieza who goes above and beyond to make people suffer, it's quite fitting.
* ItsAllAboutMe: The ''only'' thing Frieza cares about is Frieza. The universe can be obliterated for all he cares so long as he gets what he wants. [[spoiler:He seems to instantly hit it off with Frost...who's pretty much an alternate version of himself, and even then he turns on Frost without a second thought as soon as he feels like it.]]
* JerkassHasAPoint:
** When Goku calls out Frieza on his wanton cruelty and puts him off for killing the Saiyans plus Namekians, Frieza points out that the Saiyan race was no better than he was, which is unfortunately true: The Saiyans ''were'' savage space pirates, and even if they were in Frieza's employ they still loved their jobs and took great pride in it.
** Frieza repeatedly tells Goku that he is too merciful and that he has become overconfident, dropping his guard too soon. While undeniably a [[HypocriteHasAPoint hypocritical]] sentiment as far as overconfidence goes, he isn't wrong: Goku's inclination towards mercy has nearly gotten him killed on several occasions, and he ''has'' dropped his guard around Frieza several times, nearly dying for it ''twice''.
** [[spoiler:When the Universe 9 assassins come to kill him, Frieza naturally starts dropping them like flies. When Goku tells him not to do it, Frieza responds that it doesn't really matter if they die by his hand now or when their universe will be erased after the tournament. Goku (who has come to recruit him to participate, ''will'' make happen by winning, whether he wants to or not, which indeed happens exactly as Frieza predicted in the Tournament of Power) also doesn't have ''any'' arguments to refute Frieza's claim]].
* JerkWithAHeartOfJerk: At the end of the Universe Survival Arc, [[spoiler:Frieza became the co-savior of the universe... however, much like Vegeta in ''Z'', all his motivations for saving the universe are purely [[PragmaticVillainy pragmatic]] and selfish]].
* JokerImmunity: The reason he keeps coming back from death after the original manga ended. The guy is just way ''too damn popular''. Counting anime and movie exclusive material as well as Expies with the exact same personality, voice actor, and designs, (Frost and Chilled) he has come back nine times.[[note]]As a cyborg in the Android arc; causing trouble in Hell in the Otherworld Tournament FillerArc; escaping Hell after Janemba warps reality in ''Fusion Reborn''; breaking out of Hell a third time along with Cell in the Super 17 arc of ''GT''; cameoing in ''Episode of Bardock'' and being "fought" as a proxy through his very similar ancestor Chilled; being revived in the ''Resurrection F'' movie and subsequent anime arc of ''Super''; being fought by proxy again through Frost in the manga and anime ''Super'' Champa arc, with Frost explicitly identified as an alternate universe version of Freeza; participating in the anime and manga ''Super'' Tournament of Power arc from the Afterlife in an EnemyMine situation (also featuring the return of Frost); and finally, being brought back after the Tournament of Power arc and returning to his role as a villain in the movie ''Dragon Ball Super: Broly'', and a cameo character in Galactic Patrol Saga. This isn't even counting all the times he gets original stories in video games.[[/note]]
* JustToyingWithThem: He pretty much lives this trope. After going through many fights against the heroes and reaching his final form, he reveals to Goku he's only been using a fraction of his total power (''1%'' in the dub) and proceeds to start using one third. This is more than enough to beat Goku silly, and at one point he briefly decides to give Goku a fighting chance [[WithMyHandsTied by not using his hands]]. Once Goku goes [[SuperMode Super Saiyan]], however, Frieza stops playing around and convinces Goku to allow him to fight at 100% full power. Unfortunately for him, his chance at victory has already flown out the window. Goku even [[LampshadeHanging points out to Frieza why he's going to end up losing]]: having done nothing but toy with weaker opponents for nearly his entire life, when he actually goes all-out to fight Super Saiyan Goku, he's got little-to-no practice fighting an equal or superior opponent, and has such terrible endurance (especially by this point) that after only a short time at 100% full power, he starts getting rapidly weaker
* KarmaHoudini: Played oh-so-straight at the end of ''Super'' after a roller-coaster of Frieza paying for his crimes and then returning later. [[spoiler:As a reward from Beerus, Frieza is permitted to return to life, despite sarcastically chuckling "I just might go back to my old evil ways." The last we see of him in that arc is greeting his old followers, boasting that the emperor of the universe has returned.]]
* KarmaHoudiniWarranty: Because ''Father of Goku'' and ''Dragon Ball Minus'' are prequels to ''Dragon Ball'', Frieza gets away with killing almost all the Saiyans and laughs happily as Planet Vegeta explodes. Bardock's final vision in the TV Special, however, is one of Goku fighting Frieza on Namek. So despite everything, Bardock dies knowing that his son will avenge him. Even in ''Minus'', we see a panel of Goku and Frieza facing each other as the final shot. [[spoiler:Of course, this later leads to KarmaHoudini above.]]
* KarmicButtMonkey: For all his power and ruthlessness, Frieza is a punching bag throughout ''Resurrection 'F'''. When we first see him, he's in an IronicHell where he's trapped in a pod hanging from a tree in a world that can only be described as Candy Land. He is revived in pieces, falls apart when he tries to put himself back together, plus his pieces are gathered and dumped into a container to be thrown in a healing tank. [[spoiler:Even after he gets stronger he gets [[HumiliationConga heaps of humiliation]] piled onto him. Goku did not take him that seriously even after he became Golden Frieza, seeing their fight more like a sparring match with high stakes, and him blowing up the Earth gets negated by Whis. After he dies, he's sent right back to his IronicHell. ''Then'', after being temporarily revived by Goku to fight in the Tournament of Power, he gets brutally beaten up by both Toppo and Jiren in quick succession, and is only saved by Goku.]] ''Anime/DragonBallSuperBroly'' features a spectacularly painful instance of this as well; to buy time to perform a fusion, Goku and Vegeta bait the raging Saiyan into his path, resulting in Broly beating Frieza senseless for ''an hour''.
* KickTheDog: Frieza ''really'' likes doing unnecessary and horribly cruel things to people just because [[ForTheEvulz he can]] and to prove what an asshole he is. He never stops.
** Killing Namekians ForTheEvulz is a big one, even after he got the Dragon Ball.
** When he brutally rips Nail's arm off and wasting time by beating him to near death.
** When he sadistically and painfully tortures Krillin, and then Gohan, Vegeta and Goku.
** Mortally wounds Piccolo with a Death Beam, murdering Krillin in front of Goku's eyes and then threatening to do the same to his son. [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge This last one came back to haunt him]].
** In ''Resurrection 'F''' after [[spoiler:Goku is mortally shot by Sorbet, Frieza viciously kicks him, stomps on his heart wound, and gives a cruel TheReasonYouSuckSpeech, before trying to get Vegeta to kill Goku.]]
** Earlier in the same movie, he blew up an entire city. It is his way of saying hello.
** In ''Super'', he uses Tagoma as a torture dummy for several months as punishment for him speaking out against his revenge.
** Also from ''Super'', he offers his men a planet if they kill Krillin, knowing the pain it will cause Goku. He also tortures Gohan for reminding him of the mercy Goku gave him and laughs after he murders Piccolo. He then tells Gohan how he will murder his entire family.
** In the ''Super Broly'' movie, him murdering [[spoiler:Paragus, and unlike the example with Krillin he deliberately did it so he can get the fight that he wanted with Broly because he knew killing the person that a Saiyan cared for the most would trigger them to become a berserking Super Saiyan]].
* KickThemWhileTheyAreDown:
** During his fight with Vegeta on Namek. Even after savagely beating Vegeta to the point where he couldn't move, Frieza picks him up by the throat with his tail and gleefully continues to beat him up, before finishing him off with a Death Beam through the heart. Goku chews Frieza out for killing Vegeta when he was helpless and couldn't defend himself, to which Frieza retorts he [[OffingTheAnnoyance should have shut up about the Super Saiyan legend]].
** Brutally kicks Goku several times after [[spoiler:Sorbet shoots him in the heart]].
* KillTheCutie: Poor Dende. Once Freeza learns that he can heal the heroes, he had to go.
** He also killed Dende's brother, Cargo, in the manga.
** Though he also could have done the same to Kid Trunks in ''Dragon Ball Super'' when recognizing his identity, similar to what actually was the first one who truly killed him (though he actually came from another timeline), he didn't even attempt to try attacking him even as he got angry over seeing him appear. Instead, he tries to get Tagoma to kill him, just before he got his body stolen by Ginyu.
* KnightOfCerebus: He's a HeroKiller extraordinaire, has one of the highest body counts in the series, is the leader of a powerful organization that depopulates planets, is not anyone's pawn (unlike Raditz, Nappa and Vegeta), and his actions are the key cause of everything that gave the Namek Arc its reputation as one of the darkest moments of the franchise. It's safe to say that Frieza could scare more than one child of the 90s. Likewise, in the Namek Arc, [[BloodierAndGorier the fight with him is easily one of the most graphic in the franchise, consisting of torturous beatdown after beatdown since it's an extremely one-sided fight till Goku turns Super Saiyan]].
** He also could be considered this for the ''Super'' adaption. While the first saga is whimsical and light-hearted with the closest thing to an antagonist being Beerus who's comedic and ends up befriending Goku and the others in the end. Frieza brings a more menacing air even compared to the movie version since he personally attacks Goku's friends (especially Krillin) just to hurt Goku, brutally tortures Gohan, kills Piccolo and reveals that once he's done killing Goku and blowing up the Earth that he will go to Namek and blow it up again as well so that the Dragon Balls will be destroyed too. [[TheCorrupter He is also responsible for Tagoma's darker personality]].
* KnowWhenToFoldEm:
** Defied in the case of his defeat at Goku's hands; even after losing an arm and the [[HalfTheManHeUsedToBe lower half of his body]], Frieza refused to accept his defeat. He also refuses to leave peacefully after Goku spares his life again. In fact, when it comes to his revenge, Frieza just ''can't'' seem to know when to fold them.
** As revealed in ''Resurrection 'F''', for all of his arrogance and smugness, even he knew better than to cross [[PhysicalGod Beerus]] and [[EldritchAbomination Majin Buu]]. Discovering that Goku had slain Buu was what fuelled his decision to train for the first time of his life, and even after his training [[spoiler:and unlocking his GoldenSuperMode]], he still dreads Beerus to the point of shamelessly kneeling and groveling before him. [[spoiler:That said, his revival in the Universe Survival Arc shows that he's not above attempting to manipulate and even backstab Beerus if the opportunity presents itself]].
** Played straight at the end of the Universe Survival arc. [[spoiler:After being granted life once more, he doesn't try to get revenge on Goku, but instead goes back to rebuilding his empire without deliberately antagonizing Goku. They may fight again, but he won't rush into it as he would have.]]
** By the time of ''Super: Broly'', his humiliations in the Tournament of Power at the hands of the second-tiers (Kale or Toppo, depending on the version), much less Jiren, apparently stuck with him as he now outright admits that he can't take on Goku in a straight fight and doesn't even want to try. [[spoiler:So he recruits Broly as a proxy, and when that doesn't work out, [[VillainExitStageLeft he decides to leave Earth]].]]
* KubrickStare: This tends to be Frieza's default expression.
* LackOfEmpathy: Only cares about causing as much pain and suffering as he can. Best exemplified in ''Super'', when Tagoma coldly shoots through Shisami to hit Gohan; while Sorbet is [[EvenEvilHasStandards taken aback at Tagoma's ruthlessness]], Frieza is ''impressed'' by it.
* LargeHam: He nearly rivals Vegeta in this area, especially as Goku begins to slowly surpass him throughout their fight, which causes him to steadily lose his composure, until by the end, it's gone completely. Simply put, the more outclassed he becomes, the more hammy he gets, although even before that, he had his moments.
* LaserGuidedKarma:
** Frieza's fall from grace and eventual death is all his roosters coming home to roost. First, his genocide of the Saiyans is what causes Goku to be sent to Earth and his cruel murder of Krillin is what set Goku off to become a Super Saiyan. Second, his final attack against Goku is a modified version of Krillin's Destructo Disc. The same attack that cut him to pieces, indirectly allowing Krillin to avenge his own death. Third, he is nearly killed by a planet exploding on him, the same planet he destroyed himself. Finally, he is killed by the son of one of the survivors of the Saiyan genocide.
** Frieza uses his power to push his victims into [[DespairEventHorizon despair]] by brutally torturing and killing them in the slowest manner possible. He then lets them die knowing that they never stood a chance against him. This is the fate Goku subjects him to. He mercilessly beats Frieza into despair and lets him know without a shred out doubt that he never stood a chance against him even at maximum power.
** In ''Super'', Frieza is overwhelmed and beating to the point of despair and tears by Vegeta, just like he did to him during their final battle on Namek.
** Frieza gets it again in ''Super'' via Toppo/Kale (depending on the version) and Jiren. Both of them on separate occasions hand him an absolutely ''brutal'' NoHoldsBarredBeatdown.
** In ''Anime/DragonBallSuperBroly'', Frieza [[spoiler:kills Paragus in order to trigger Broly's transformation into a Super Saiyan. Goku and Vegeta wind up leading the enraged Saiyan right towards Frieza before escaping to practice the FusionDance, resulting in Frieza enduring Broly pummeling the absolute stuffing out of him for ''over an hour'']].
* LastSecondVillainRecovery: In the final leg of the fight between Frieza and Super Saiyan Goku, Goku determines Frieza is losing too much energy to be a threat and decides the fight is over. Warning the OmnicidalManiac to remember this beatdown the next time he tries to do evil, Goku leaves. Frieza is having none of this, and forces himself to power up again, launching two killer disks at Goku... [[spoiler: only for Goku to dodge both of them, causing them to boomerang back across the battlefield and [[HoistByHisOwnPetard slice Frieza in half]].]]
* LastVillainStand: After losing all of his minions, failed to obtain immortality, being proven as not the strongest in the universe, and survived his own attack because he begged Goku to save him, but that doesn't stop him from trying to kill Goku one last time.
* LaughablyEvil: Frieza is one of the most vile and despicable characters in the series, but that doesn't stop him from having some hilarious moments at times. For example, in the Universe Survival Arc, he utilizes BlackComedy at times.
-->'''Frieza:''' ''[after defeating Cabba]'' Spending excess stamina on trash... is a waste, after all.
** He is very much like this in the original Funi dub.
--->'''Frieza:''' ''[after ripping off Nail's arm and throwing it in front of him]'' Here! You might want to keep it as a backscratcher!
* LaughingMad:
** His laughter when destroying Planet Vegeta pretty much shows just how much sanity he has, or rather lacks. Also gives one off when he is thinking about killing Goku's friends one by one before destroying Earth as revenge to Goku for besting him, to the point where his speech was barely comprehensible.
** Also when he tried to destroy Namek before Goku's Spirit Bomb hit him... and then when he actually fires a blast into Namek's core.
* LazyBum: He rarely dirties his own hands, to the extent that he didn't bother to fight the Z-Fighters himself until after they killed his entire army. In ''Resurrection 'F''', he explicitly tells Goku that he'll make him suffer for actually making him work to get more power for a change.
* LightIsNotGood: His body is colored white, but his heart is pitch black.
* LockedOutOfTheLoop:
** Frieza never really realizes that the Trunks that killed him actually comes from another timeline where Goku defeats him and his father. Not only that, but when reminding him in ''Resurrection 'F''' that Trunks was the one who killed him for being arrogant enough to attempt an attack on Earth out of revenge, Goku only mentions Trunks by name, nothing more. While the same occurs in ''Dragon Ball Super'', the young present timeline counterpart of that Trunks shows up with a young Goten as Gotenks before defusing. Frieza recognizes who he is, and yet doesn't realize this Trunks was a different one from his true executioner.
** He also had no idea that Vegeta had become a Super Saiyan, been one for years, and was almost Goku's perfect equal having become a SSGSS himself. This comes back to bite Frieza in the ass as he realizes he actually had to fight two guys of the same power after he wore himself out beating only one by [[CombatPragmatist fighting dirty]].
* LoopholeAbuse:
** Because he begrudgingly had to follow the Tournament of Power's "No Kill" rule, he settles on [[ColdBloodedTorture torturing them instead]].
** [[spoiler:Granola and subsequently Gas wished on the Cerealan Dragon Balls to become the strongest in the universe. Despite this, Frieza in his "Black Frieza" form was not only able to kill Gas, but defeat Goku and Vegeta in their most powerful forms in a single blow. Frieza explains that because he trained in a Hyperbolic Time Chamber, [[ExactWords he wasn't in the universe]] when the wishes were made, and thus was capable of surpassing Gas.]]
* LostInTranslation: In the original Ocean and Funimation dubs, Freeza was portrayed as a short tempered SmugSuper who had HoYay undertones, a brutish way of speaking and a feminine voice. While the Remastered DVD collection helped fix some of this, it was not until the change of voice that came with ''Anime/DragonBallZKai'' that American fans were fully introduced to the sophisticated, well-mannered tyrant he was originally intended to be.
* LovesTheSoundOfScreaming:
** Going hand-in-hand with ColdBloodedTorture above, he's practically ''ecstatic'' at the sound of Krillin's pained screams when he impales him on one of his horns. In ''Resurrection 'F''', while he's [[spoiler:beating on Goku after Sorbet shoots the former, he wakes Goku up after he passes out just so he can hear him scream]].
** In ''Super'', after torturing Gohan to a cripple, he tauntingly tells Gohan to cry and scream for his life.
* MadeOfIron: The amount of punishment Frieza takes throughout each of his significant battles is so extreme that it ''has'' to be a racial property. Besides what's labeled below on top of tanking a fully-charged Spirit Bomb to the face into the side of Planet Namek, he goes through grueling battles in ''Resurrection of F'' and the Tournament of Power, to the point of enduring a beatdown from a God of Destruction candidate and their Hakai, ''and'' a direct fight with Jiren. And then the ''Broly'' movie comes around, [[spoiler: where he was beat down by a berserking Broly nonstop for ''at least an hour straight'' and still ultimately managed to walk away harshly bruised and badly beaten rather than ending up as a smear across the ice.]]
* MakeAnExampleOfThem: He's anything but pleased to discover that Zarbon not only went after Vegeta without his orders, but also beat him up and [[BondVillainStupidity left him for dead in a lake without making sure]], largely because he had deduced Vegeta had found and hid at least one Dragon Ball and Zarbon's actions may have cost them their chances at finding it. In the same conversation, Orlen enters and reveals he came across the village Vegeta decimated and stole the Dragon Ball from... only to [[TooDumbToLive stupidly reveal]] that he killed the SoleSurvivor of the attack without asking him where Vegeta went. Frieza immediately [[YouHaveFailedMe kills him]] with his EyeBeams for his stupidity, telling Zarbon that unless he finds Vegeta and brings him back alive, that's what will happen to him.
* MakeSureHesDead: Since Frieza survived a beatdown from Super Saiyan Goku, being [[HalfTheManHeUsedToBe sliced in half]] by his own energy disc, and being caught in the explosion of Namek, Future Trunks ensures he stays dead by slicing him vertically in half with his sword, slicing the halves into chunks of meat, and then atomizing those chunks with a point-blank Ki Blast.
* ManipulativeBastard: He convinced the Saiyans to work for him and become space pirates. Not only that, but he [[spoiler:tries to convince Goku to revive him after the Tournament of Power out of [[BloodKnight Goku's]] curiosity for his evolution]]. Goku didn't fall for it, this time.
-->'''Frieza:''' After 24 hours, will I have to return here?\\
'''Goku:''' What do you expect? Don't be picky.\\
'''Frieza:''' Then these are my terms. If we win that Tournament, and this universe remains, use the Dragon Balls to resurrect me.\\
'''Goku:''' Do... [[EntitledBastard you really think you are in a position to bargain?]]\\
'''Frieza:''' Are you sure? I can still get much stronger. (Transforms into Golden Frieza) I was hoping of fighting you again. You're hopelessly curious about my evolution. Isn't that right?\\
'''{{Beat}}'''\\
'''Goku:''' You really are the most evil guy in the universe. You're taking advantage of my weak spot.
** He surprisingly did this to the protagonists' benefit, [[spoiler:since he really had no intention of forming an alliance with Frost. Frost is not amused when he found out and tries to attack him when his back is turn, only for Zen'o to erase him]].
* MaskOfSanity: While Frieza is able to hide it beneath a [[FauxAffablyEvil polite and suave act]] and function well enough to run a business, beneath it all, he's a brutally {{sadist}}ic, AxCrazy psychopath who will kill ''anyone'', even his own minions, ForTheEvulz. The mask falls off completely when Super Saiyan Goku comes along. He tries to maintain it throughout ''Resurrection 'F''' and ''Dragon Ball Super'', but the mask is considerably more transparent.
* MeaninglessVillainVictory: Happens twice on Namek as part of his BreakTheHaughty and HumiliationConga:
** After calling the Ginyu Force, he successfully gathers all seven Dragon Balls, only to find out that he can't use them since he didn't know the password. And to add further insult, [[GenocideBackfire he killed just about everyone who could have told him]].
** He successfully makes his wish to the Namekian dragon, beating out Dende who hesitated. The dragon completely ignores him since a wish much be spoken in Namekian. Goku is right there to rub this fact in his face.
** In ''Dragon Ball Super'', his one real victory was killing Piccolo, pushing Gohan into a HeroicBSOD. As soon as he's killed, [[DeathIsCheap Piccolo is revived off-screen and enjoying dinner at Bulma's party]]. Also, [[NiceJobFixingItVillain this event motivates Gohan into training to become strong again]].
* MindOverMatter:
** He has extremely powerful telekinesis. Some memorable uses of it include parting an ocean and throwing ''a mountain.''
** Controlling organic matter requires him to either encase the person in energy (as he did to Goku) or actually shoot a bit of his own power into the object or person to control ([[spoiler:as he did to Tagoma to toss him into the vacuum of space]]) or ''detonate'' (like when he exploded Krillin from the inside).
** [[spoiler:He showed off his telekinesis during the Tournament of Power a few times, particularly during the last moments of the tournament against Universe 11. Against Dyspo after he threw Frieza into a giant rock and crushed it on impact, the debris levitated off of him while Frieza casually dusted himself off before resuming the fight. Against Toppo after he ascends into a God of Destruction, Frieza was able to temporarily paralyze him in a red energy sphere before levitating rocks at him to bury him in]].
* MinorInjuryOverreaction: In a desperate bid to defeat Frieza, Goku tries to blast him with a 20x Kaio-Ken powered Kamehameha... Which only succeeded in burning Frieza's hand. Angered that someone could actually hurt him like this, Frieza flips out and mercilessly beats Goku.
* MisplacedRetribution: After his debut arc in ''Z'', Frieza is almost universally defined in all subsequent storylines by his hatred for Goku. Although Goku did humiliate Frieza in their famous battle and blasted him to chunks, Goku never actually killed him -- Future Trunks did. But since Frieza is so singlemindedly obsessed with taking revenge on Goku, he rarely acknowledges Trunks' major role in his downfall, mainly due to the fact that Trunks was such an OutsideContextProblem that he never got the chance to know. Frieza's grudge against Trunks is finally referenced in the ''Dragon Ball Super'' adaptation of ''Resurrection F'' as he mistakes Present Trunks (who was not included in the movie version of the story) for his murderer and demands his execution.
* MissingMom: If he has a mother she's never been revealed. This, combined with the fact that no members of his race seem female, has led [[WebComic/DragonBallMultiverse some]] fans to believe that he's a OneGenderRace.
* ModeLock: Is almost ''never'' out of his final form after he goes into it while fighting Goku on Namek. In Z it's explained due to the mecha parts of him no longer allowing him to transform anymore (which is understandable). However, in ''Resurrection 'F''' and ''Super'' we see his first form.
* MonsterProgenitor: If later video games are any indication, he eventually becomes one for an entire clan.
* MoodSwinger: Frieza after his resurrection. Since he isn't really [[SanitySlippage sane]] anymore, although he was never exactly [[AxCrazy sane]] to begin with, he's more prone to violence and {{Disproportionate Retribution}}s like shooting Tagoma's limbs and torturing him for four months for suggesting that he should leave the Saiyans alone, and torturing Gohan for reminding him of Goku's mercy towards him on Namek. Despite this, he still tries to act polite and calm.
* MoralMyopia: He hates Goku for humiliating and maiming him and wants nothing more than revenge, but Frieza himself is an AxCrazy psychopath who views himself as better than everyone else and has coldly murdered people in the low billions at the very least.
* MotiveDecay: After his defeat, he goes from wanting the Dragon Balls for immortality to just wanting revenge on Goku, he then goes back to wanting the Dragon Balls... to make himself taller, and still wants revenge on Goku.
* {{Mutants}}: According to Toriyama, his family are this trope, with the rest of their species being nowhere near as strong.
* MysteriousPast: [[GreaterScopeVillain Despite being one of the major villains who most directly impacted the universe and the lives of several main characters]], there is little known about him before he annexed the Saiyans and his relationship with them isn't clearly defined. We don't even know the name of his species. From the little supplemental materials, we learn that Frieza is a type of hybrid and his family are mutants who are born ungodly strong among their race and are unnaturally cruel.
* MythologyGag: Before getting defeated by Goku on Namek, the Ginyu Force's next target was a planet full of Yardrats. In the Tournament of Power, [[spoiler:Frieza outright tortures one and viciously knocks one out]].
* {{Narcissist}}: Views himself as perfect and reacts violently to criticisms that suggest otherwise. His narcissism and pride all but destroyed him since he couldn't accept that there was someone stronger than him. It says a lot that [[spoiler:he instantly hits it off with Frost, who is basically an alternate version of himself.]]
* TheNapoleon: In his first and ultimate form. He's very small in height even in comparison with Vegeta. ''Dragon Ball Super: Broly'' has him seeking the Dragon Balls to wish for an increased height of five centimeters because people used to [[HeightInsult make fun of him for being short]] (this being [[AxCrazy Frieza]], he killed them all).
* NearVillainVictory: Not on Namek where he never got close to his goal and had two [[MeaninglessVillainVictory meaningless victories]]. In ''Resurrection 'F''', however, he [[spoiler:successfully destroys the Earth despite being humiliated and outmatched against Goku and Vegeta. He would've had the last laugh, if Whis didn't rewind time on him, negating the entire victory]].
* NeverMyFault: He blames Goku for ending up in Hell. Goku responds that Frieza chose to come to Earth looking for revenge, and that Trunks was the one who actually killed him in any case, never mind it was his own evil deeds that got him sent to Hell in the first place. In ''Super'', Frieza also blames Goku for everything that happened on Namek, like him failing to gain immortality. This is ignoring the fact that he failed to get his wish because he didn't know the password for the Dragon Balls, he couldn't speak Namekian, ''and'' [[GenocideBackfire he killed almost everyone who could have told him these things]]. Even without Goku, Frieza would have never gotten his wish. There is also the underlying fact that Vegeta did overall more damage to Frieza since he's the one who killed all his men.
* NiceJobFixingItVillain:
** [[KickTheDog Killing Krillin]] and [[AndYourLittleDogToo threatening to kill Gohan]] sent Goku completely [[BerserkButton over the edge]].
** His genocide of the Saiyans. They weren't pure, kind people like Goku; they were mass murdering space pirates, even before they met Freeza. If they somehow became powerful enough to overthrow him, the galaxy would've been in serious trouble. Not to mention he is the ''very'' reason why Goku was sent to Earth. His parents did it to save him from Frieza.
** [[spoiler:In ''Episode of Bardock'', his murder of Bardock sends him into the past and results in the defeat of his ancestor Chilled, who warns his family of the "golden haired menace", meaning that he inadvertently caused the phenomenon that led to his demise]].
** Assuming that was the entirety of Frieza's army in ''Resurrection 'F''' and its ''Super'' retelling, which it probably was since Frieza states that Vegeta would be the only member after Sorbet, him killing all his soldiers means that there are no more lackeys alive to resurrect him again. In other words, he single-handedly destroys what is left of his empire, freeing the universe from its grasp forever and saving thousands if not millions of lives that would have been lost in planetary uprisings. [[spoiler:Until Whis revives him for his service in the Tournament of Power, that is.]]
** In ''Super'', him murdering Piccolo and pushing Gohan towards the DespairEventHorizon encourages Gohan to train again so he can protect his family from beings like Frieza.
** In ''Broly'', him [[spoiler:spurring Paragus and then Broly enables the latter to awaken not only Super Saiyan but also its Legendary state, promptly resulting in Frieza being beaten to near-pulp and Goku gaining another powerful ally against him in the long-term.]]
* NighInvulnerability:
** At the time he was introduced, Frieza's ability to survive punishment was downright unreal. Later villains had the excuse of regeneration. Frieza was just ungodly tough. He walked off a [[CombinedEnergyAttack Spirit Bomb]] large enough to qualify as a ColonyDrop (only losing some of his tail), survived being bisected at the waist and the loss of even more of his tail and his left forearm, survived an attack that Goku (by all appearances) intended to be fatal, losing his right eye and the surrounding bits of his head, and survived the destruction of the entire planet within minutes of that without any further harm, and was noted to be capable of surviving the vacuum of space, which allowed him to stay conscious long enough for King Cold to track him down and have his men repair his body with cybernetics. Certainly he would have died without treatment, but that he lived at all is impressive. [[spoiler:Trunks had to outright vaporize him to assure viewers he was gone.]]
** Taken to extremes in ''Resurrection 'F'''. [[spoiler:When he was revived, he was still in pieces from Future Trunks slicing him up, but he lived and tried to scramble to reassemble himself where anyone else revived in such a state would have keeled over]].
** In ''Anime/DragonBallSuperBroly'', this is probably why he's capable of surviving for an hour against a furious Broly where SSB Goku and Vegeta lasted only a few minutes.
* NobleDemon: Becomes one in the ''Universal Survival'' Arc. Despite being the TokenEvilTeammate, he upholds his end of the bargain and successfully defends Universe 7 from impending doom. For his efforts, Beerus allows him to return back to life.
* NoChallengeEqualsNoSatisfaction: His reasoning for not wishing for immortality or invulnerability on the Dragon Balls, as he feels being completely invincible would mean there'd be no challenge in conquering his enemies.
* NoHoldsBarredBeatdown:
** He often engages in this in order to display how much suffering and helplessness he can inflict onto his enemies, like when he literally beats Vegeta to despair and is pummeling him while he has no way to fight back. He nearly kills Goku this way prior his Super Saiyan form.
** He's also on the brunt of this, as when he pisses off Goku to the point of going Super Saiyan as well as facing off against Super Saiyan Blue Vegeta, Frieza gets badly beaten both occasions.
* NominalHero: He becomes this during the Universe Survival Arc, being forced to fight for the survival of Universe 7 in a case of EvilVersusOblivion, despite being the TokenEvilTeammate who is still rotten to the core.
* NoNameGiven: The name of his race. In ''Xenoverse'' they're just referred to as "Frieza Race" or "Frieza Clan", while Cell calls them the "Frost Demons".
* NoNonsenseNemesis: He is one when he is being methodical, or when he is pushed to his limits. ''Dragon Ball Minus'' reveals that he gathered all the Saiyans in Planet Vegeta to exterminate them all with his planet.
** During the fight on Namek, the very first thing he does upon transforming is [[ShootTheMedicFirst kill Dende]], having seen him [[HealingHands healing Vegeta]] earlier.
** Once Goku arrives back on Earth to fight him, Frieza makes it clear in no uncertain terms he's not [[JustToyingWithThem playing around like on Namek]] and immediately jumps from Form 1 to his final and true form for battle. Subverted in that he ''could'' have just immediately gone Golden and finished Goku then and there, Super Saiyan Blue be damned, but instead does not go Golden until he needs to and from that moment on once more starts playing around with Goku, deleting his own stamina instead of finishing Goku off because he wants to see Goku suffer ''that'' much. Naturally, it blows up in his face, again.
* NonhumanHumanoidHybrid: In an interview, Toriyama has revealed that Freeza is a "hybrid" of sorts.
* NonHumansLackAttributes: His true form and golden form are completely naked, but lack any naughty bits.
* NonIndicativeName: No, he's not AnIcePerson. The closest he comes is being [[LackOfEmpathy rather cold-hearted]].
* NotQuiteDead: Thought to have died when Namek exploded. He came back as a cyborg and is promptly cut to pieces and blasted into atoms by Trunks to make [[KilledOffForReal sure he's really dead]].
* NotSoAboveItAll: Despite being an sophisticated EvilOverlord [[spoiler:and gave no indication that he was concerned with physical appearances]], ''Dragon Ball Super: Broly'' has him seeking out the Dragon Balls not for the immortality that he wanted in the past, but [[spoiler:he was seeking them out because he wanted to become ''taller'' by five centimeters, just to make it look like he was still growing]].
* NotSoWellIntentionedExtremist: He tries to invoke this trope, viewing the Saiyans as AlwaysChaoticEvil and telling Goku that he did the universe a favor wiping them out. Of course, it falls flat considering the fact that Frieza is the one who uplifted the Saiyans and turned them into the genocidal {{Space Pirate}}s they were to begin with, and his killing them all was out of fear that they would rise up and destroy him rather than any sense of altruism.
-->'''Frieza:''' You do realize how hypocritical this is? Your outrage over the loss of innocent lives? The Saiyan race isn't exactly known for its mercy. Compared to you brutes, I'm a saint!
* NotWorthKilling:
** Goku subjects him to this during their fight on Namek. He fights until Freeza is no longer a challenge, then throws that fact in his face, believing that living with the shame of being defeated by a superior fighter was a far worse punishment than simply killing him, made worse by the fact that said superior fighter was "just a monkey." Freeza, however, isn't about to give up so easily.
** The primary reason why Goku tries to spare Frieza in ''Anime/DragonBallSuper''. He doesn't see Frieza worth killing since he failed to master his GoldenSuperMode and burnt himself out.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:O-S]]
* ObviouslyEvil: In his first form, he has a malevolent [[PurpleIsPowerful purple color]], is [[BaldOfEvil bald]] with [[HornsOfVillainy devilish horns]], battle armor, and a long lizard-like tail while he sits on his hover vehicle.
* OddFriendship:
** Well, not so much an actual friendship as it is simply a team up, but he and Android 17 start working together as a pair towards the final moments of the Tournament of Power, first against Toppo and then against Jiren. 17 even tells Frieza that he trusts him to be able to take on Jiren if something happens to him.
** Rather ironically he seems to have developed something of a [[FriendlyEnemy strange friendship]] with Goku after coming back from the dead. Despite wanting revenge against him for defeating him on Namek he also acknowledges him as a WorthyOpponent for pushing him so far making Goku one of the few people he respects. When he is brought back for the Tournament of Power he and Goku share a number of friendly jokey scenes together and the two trust one another enough to [[spoiler:work together in the final round of the Tournament to defeat Jiren.]]
* OffhandBackhand: Does this to Nail just to show off.
* OffingTheAnnoyance: After brutalizing Vegeta, Frieza finally finishes him off when he gets sick of Vegeta going on about the Super Saiyan legend.
* OhCrap:
** While he has a way of ''inspiring'' them, he's had a few himself. Most notably when Super Saiyans are involved.
** Most notable when Trunks goes Super Saiyan in front of him, the look he gives his father means "ThisIsGonnaSuck, dad!"
** In ''Resurrection F'', after hammily swearing that he won't stop until Goku is in far too many pieces to count, Frieza turns to see Beerus and Whis on Planet Earth, causing the normally arrogant and composed Frieza to have a massive FreakOut, even addressing him as Lord Beerus and asking if he planned to interfere with his vengeance, only calming down when Beerus tells him he won't interfere. Keep in mind that this happens ''after'' he unlocks his GoldenSuperMode.
** His reaction after Goku nonchalantly [[NoSell no sells]] a punch in the face after his power [[spoiler:begins to drop]]. He has another one after Vegeta reveals that he too can become a Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan like Goku and this is his final reaction when he sees Goku firing a Kamehameha at him.
** Notably averted during the Tournament of Power, where he observes several dramatic events unfold during the battle between Goku and Jiren, including [[spoiler:Goku getting a new transformation]] and isn't really fazed at all.
** In the final moments of the Tournament of Power, he predictably has another one [[spoiler:when Toppo ascends to a God of Destruction]]. This one was almost a mirror of his Oh Crap moment on Namek, including him trying to blow up the whole stage in a Rage Quit moment. [[spoiler:Unfortunately, Toppo showed just how comically easy it is for a God of Destruction to stop Frieza.]]
** He gets a pretty big one in ''Broly'', [[spoiler:when Goku and Vegeta lure a ''very'' pissed off Broly towards Frieza and leave him to play the role of punching bag.]]
--->[[spoiler:'''Goku:''' Have fun, Frieza!]]\\
[[spoiler:'''Frieza:''' What are you doing?! I am the mighty Lord Frieza!]]
* OlderThanTheyLook: Dragon Ball Wiki has calculated his age to be a bare minimum of ''70'', and considering that he did not visibly age in the 25 years between the genocide of the Saiyans and the events on Namek, he may very well be [[Really700YearsOld much older than that]]. Subverted in ''Broly'', where Frieza is instead depicted as looking visibly younger at the time of taking control of the Saiyans.
* OmnicidalManiac: Played with, as although he could (and did) destroy planets, Freeza wasn't actively out to destroy them as Cell and Buu were nor did he always exterminate all life on them as Zamasu and Moro did; he's first and foremost a businessman, usually settling for wiping out all life then selling it to the highest bidder but does on occasion [[SparingTheAces let the strongest fighters live to serve him]]. However, if he felt threatened in even the slightest he would blow up a planet without a second thought.
* [[OminousLatinChanting Ominous Japanese Chanting]]: A number of his {{Leitmotif}}s include this (i.e. [[Anime/DragonBallZKai Only a Chilling Elegy]], [[Manga/DragonBallSuper A Tyrant Revived and the Golden Frieza Transformation theme]], etc).
* OneWingedAngel:
** A TropeCodifier for its modern definition. Prior to him, anime and western villains alike would only transform into a monster, dragon, giant, etc. in the final battle and the multiple battle forms would appear in very little known series. His display of forms is what led to both heroes and villains alike transforming into beautiful or hideous forms in order to fight their enemies.
** [[spoiler:True Golden Frieza]]. Thanks to his mental training in Hell [[spoiler:Frieza can finally control his golden form to the point that it no longer leaks energy and he also becomes much stronger. So Golden Frieza really is an ultimate transformation]].
* TheOnlyOneAllowedToDefeatYou: Very much his attitude towards Goku. He is hell-bent on being the one to kill Goku and refuses to give anyone else that honor.
** When Goku shows mercy to Frieza, giving him some of his energy so he can leave the doomed Planet Namek, Frieza chooses to use said energy to attack Goku while shouting "You Will Die By My Hand!" In essence, Frieza values killing Goku over his ''own'' survival.
** Frieza later gains this attitude towards Toppo and Jiren. He is absolutely furious at being humiliated by the Pride Trooper {{Physical God}}s. Once Jiren beats down Goku, Vegeta, and 17, Frieza charges in [[RageBreakingPoint furious]] and declares he must be the one to kill Jiren, opting to ignore the 'no killing' rule if it means ending Jiren.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Frieza is ''very'' arrogant and would rather blow up the planet he's standing on than admit when someone's stronger than him... so when he ''grovels'' in front of a reawakened Beerus and openly admits he doesn't want to mess with Jiren and calls him a "monster," you know it is serious.
* OrcusOnHisThrone: Despite being (by a ''huge'' margin) the most powerful villain in the series at the time of his introduction, Frieza just stays in his hover pod while his mooks do everything, and calls in EliteMooks when they fail. It isn't until ''every last soldier in his army'' dies that Frieza can be bothered to personally confront the Z-Fighters.
** He remains this way into ''Resurrection F''/ ''Dragon Ball Super'', where he could have dealt with the Z fighters by himself, but only leaves his hoverchair once, to one-shot Gohan, who was the strongest Z fighter on Earth, while in his ''first form''.
* OutOfCharacterAlert: During the Tournament of Power, it appears as though [[spoiler:Frieza has turned on Universe 7 when he helps Frost attack Gohan. However, Gohan, who has fought Frieza in life-and-death battles in the past, immediately realizes that Frieza isn't being serious in his attacks, which is very strange given Frieza's level of hatred for the heroes; if he really was fighting to kill, he'd be going all out. It turns out to be a charade to get Frost to lower his guard, as he believes Frieza has turned to his side... only for Frieza to immediately knock Frost off the ring without even a fight, and then leaves Gohan alone.]]
* OutsideContextProblem: Because of the ''huge'' power difference he has over any character introduced, he firmly belongs here. The difference is so great that it's akin to helpless mortals opposing a god. To give context, Captain Ginyu has a power level of 120,000, base form Goku when he first fights Frieza has a power level of 3 million, and Frieza's final form has a maximum power level of ''120 million''. Even Super Saiyan Goku only barely edged him out with a power level of 150 million. When ''Dragon Ball'' finally introduced another antagonist with such a tier difference '''23 years''' after Frieza's debut, it required the advent of canon {{Physical God}}s.
* OverlordJr: To King Cold, although he's the more important story-wise by far. Cold's only role is to set up both their deaths at the hands of Trunks.
* PainfulTransformation: Transforming seems to hurt him. When we see him transform, he screams and writhes as if in pain.
* PaintItBlack: Frieza trains for ''ten years'' in a Hyperbolic Time Chamber he found on one of his worlds and he gains a new transformation, Black Frieza. He one-shots Goku and Vegeta in their strongest forms to show them that they're at his mercy now. He doesn't kill them, however, leaving his motivations in question.
* PerpetualFrowner: His first form's head is designed in such a way that it looks like he's always scowling.
* PerpetualSmiler: His third form, on the other hand, looks like it's always smiling.
* PetTheDog:
** As a mentor in ''VideoGame/DragonballXenoverse'', Frieza is pretty casual with you. Of course, this isn't saying much, considering he still sees you as his subordinate.
** Thanks to him, his brother [[SiblingTeam Cooler]] was revived in ''VideoGame/DragonballXenoverse2'' in the Resurrection F arc. Keep in mind he wouldn't even do this for his father!
** [[spoiler:He compliments Sorbet's marksmanship when the latter shoots Goku under his signal.]]
** [[spoiler:In the Tournament of Power, after betraying Frost and knocking him out of the ring, Freeza turns to Gohan and asks him to join him and the other fighters in victory. It's a small moment that shows how Freeza, despite being the most evil son of a bitch in his universe, is starting to feel something resembling fondness for his team, even if it's only for the time being.]]
** Likewise, anytime he shows respect to Goku, it's ''genuine''. When literally everyone else of Universe 7 thought Goku was killed by the Spirit Bomb during his battle with Jiren and was overjoyed when he seemed to be alive, Frieza was completely unfazed and merely smirked that he expected nothing less from Goku.
** For that matter, Frieza contributing energy to said Spirit Bomb despite having nothing but bad memories of the attack, while Vegeta doesn't. He even seems amused by it.
** After Goku's first fight with Jiren, Frieza finds him completely powerless, but rather than taking the opportunity to exact his revenge, he instead [[CallBack gives Goku some of his energy, stating that all debts have been paid.]] Which is unusual coming from Frieza of all people. It was partly out of PragmaticVillainy since Goku was his best bet to defeat Jiren, but the fact Frieza even felt the need to settle his debt is quite notable. Granted, however, he ''did'' feel the need to [[LargeHam ham it up]] enough that Goku legitimately thought Frieza was about to kill him. [[{{Troll}} This was almost certainly intentional on his part]].
** A minor one, but he doesn't kill Lemo and Cheelai after they defect from his organization to help Broly. Considering he has stated he has killed some minions for far less, this is indeed this trope for him.
** A bigger one is in [[spoiler: chapter 87 where Frieza not only spared the life of Goku, Vegeta, Oil, and Macki but also offered the latter both a job on his ship with a spine-chilling nice smile.]]
* PhysicalGod: For his time, Frieza was considered the closest thing to a physical god to the point that ''Vegeta'' didn't want to even consider fighting him until he gained immortality. His telekinesis rivaled those of the Kais and he has extreme survivability that allows him to live in space and survive with most of his body missing. What makes Frieza really scary, however, is that he was born powerful. When he did set his mind to becoming stronger he obtained his Golden form which was powerful enough to be on par with Super Saiyan Blue, Frieza in ''Super'' has to be the second strongest villain in the series at the time, and that's if you count Beerus as a villain. If Frieza had Goku's work ethic, he would have been truly invincible on Namek.
* PintSizedPowerhouse: In his true form, he's only slightly above Goku's waist. And his first form looks even shorter! [[spoiler:Hilariously, his wish for Shenron in ''Anime/DragonBallSuperBroly'' is to grow 5cm ''taller''.]]
* PitifulWorms: Befitting his massive ego, he often makes comments to his opponents as such. His {{Leitmotif}} in ''Kai'' also has lyrics to this effect, comparing his enemies to worms and bugs before him.
-->'''Frieza:''' Did you really think that three little ants could defeat a dinosaur?
* PoliticallyIncorrectVillain: Towards the "Saiyan monkeys." Though it turned out the motivation was more fear than hatred (which is still a form of racism).
* PoliteVillainsRudeHeroes: Frieza is very polite and speaks in a formal manner. This is compared to Vegeta and Goku who are more blunt, and rude in Vegeta's case. Underneath his [[FauxAffablyEvil polite facade]], however, he's anything but a good person.
* PowerIncontinence:
** Goku notes that when he tries to use 100% of his full power, he can't fully control it, causing his energy to diminish at a rapid rate, eventually declaring that he's not worth fighting. His fighting style at 100% full power somewhat reflects this. In his "base" form (50% power) he loved to use all sorts of flashy techniques and precise finger beams; these moves were implied to be controlled and effective, as 50% Freeza was able to give Goku a bloody lip with his Death Beam while his normal punches and BeamSpam did absolutely nothing. When he bulks up, his ki attacks are much more broad and wasteful: big wide blasts, shockwaves, giant energy spheres, and, in one case, sheathing himself in a huge ball of ki and ramming into Goku (the one exception being the Kienzan he uses towards the end).
** [[spoiler:Golden Frieza has a similar problem and Goku once again declares that Frieza isn't worth fighting. [[SubvertedTrope He learns from this, and has learned to regulate his power by the time of the Tournament of Power]].]]
* PowerLimiter: Unlike every transforming character in the series, Frieza's transformations were built to restrain his enormous power since [[SanitySlippage he has little control of himself when he goes all out]] and (originally) [[PowerIncontinence his body couldn't handle his full power for long]]. His slim white form is his true form. His "100% full power" form however is technically a transformation (he nearly doubles in mass), even if he never calls it that. As shown during ''Resurrection F'' and ''Super'', he doesn't necessarily have to activate each form in order to draw out his full power and can just [[IAmNotLeftHanded immediately go from Form 1 to Form 4]], though it's unclear if he could ''always'' do that or it was just something he learned after mastering his power.
* ThePowerOfHate: How he learned to control his Golden form, staying at 100% full power by concentrating in Hell not on repenting, but how to get revenge and kill Goku in the most brutal ways possible.
* ThePowerOfTrust: Frieza doesn't believe in it, telling Frost to "never trust anyone" [[spoiler:before demonstrating this by knocking him off stage. In his earlier days as "strongest in the universe" he was also fearful of someone surpassing/matching his might since that means, by default, that they were gunning to take him out. Part of Frieza's CharacterDevelopment is learning that yes, he ''can'' trust others. At the very least, Frieza can bring himself to trust Goku, whom Frieza despises as a paragon of virtue who would actually hold to his promises.]]
* PragmaticVillainy:
** During the Namek Saga, he furiously lambasts Zarbon for going after Vegeta without orders and beating him senseless [[BondVillainStupidity without bothering to confirm his death]]. Not because Frieza cares if Vegeta lives or dies, mind you, but because he had correctly surmised that Vegeta has found and hidden at least one Dragon Ball and Zarbon's actions may very well have cost them their chances at finding it. In the very same scene, when Orlen confirms his suspicions after coming across the SoleSurvivor of the village Vegeta attacked for the Dragon Ball, Frieza [[YouHaveFailedMe promptly kills him]] for killing said survivor; again, not out of any real moral grounds, but because Orlen [[TooDumbToLive didn't bother]] to ask the Namekian if he knew where Vegeta might have hidden the ball before killing him.
--->'''Frieza:''' You imbecile. You disposed of the only witness.
** He's definitely this [[spoiler:during the Tournament of Power. Best shown in Episodes 110 and 111 where he learns about Ultra Instinct thanks to overhearing Beerus and the other gods talking about it. After Goku is beaten at the end of Episode 110, Frieza pays Goku a little visit and instead of killing Goku then and there (no one could see them because they were behind the central pillar), he decides to give Goku some of his energy instead in a mirror of their clash back on Namek. Frieza also tells Goku about Ultra Instinct after doing so. While Frieza is saying that this is just to repay a debt he owes Goku, it's also to show that Frieza knows that the only one who can take down Jiren is Goku. In 116, he even notes that he needs Goku to keep fighting on his behalf]]. Interestingly, this is in direct contrast to his behavior prior to that arc, as his [[{{Sadist}} sadism]] tended to be more trouble than it was worth, to the point of pushing him into StupidEvil territory. Could be considered CharacterDevelopment.
** Due to the Frieza Force being on a recovery path from complete eradication, Frieza is cautious in dealing with his minions (unlike brutally murdering them for the slightest reasons), only punishing them when the minions become TooDumbToLive with regards to him, as noted by Lemo and Cheelai. It's probably the only reason he doesn't kill Lemo and Cheelai, other than them being allies to Broly: a warrior whom Frieza has kept tabs on to one day ultimately defeat Goku.
* PrecisionFStrike: During the last stages of his battle with Goku on Namek he refers to the Saiyan as a "simian bastard" when he can't lay a hit on him. It helps show how far his [[SanitySlippage sanity has fallen]] as well as show his more brutish side compared to the sophisticated side he showed earlier in the fight.
* PrehensileTail: And he is more than happy to strangle people with it.
* PretenderDiss: Gives an ''epic'' one to [[spoiler:Frost]], calling him a weak amateur.
* {{Pride}}: His main flaw. Freeza is so convinced of his own superiority and unmatchable strength that the idea that anyone let alone a "monkey" could match his strength let alone defeat him is inconceivable to him. He would rather die trying to kill Goku then take the opportunity to escape and live with his defeat.
* PrisonsAreGymnasiums: Got stronger after being in Hell due to Image Training, imagining thousands of simulations where he slaughtered the protagonists.
* PsychologicalProjection:
** When you think about it, this is at least partially what his obsession with fear is all about. Frieza enjoys taking the time to install fear and horror in others, but when we see his actions, such as blowing up Planet Vegeta to make sure no one opposes him, he shows that deep inside, Frieza is nothing but [[DirtyCoward a coward utterly terrified of the possibility someone would grow strong enough to face him on even terms]], and in his fight with Super Saiyan Goku, where he blows up Namek in desperation to kill Goku, combined with his frantic attempts to kill him and shamelessly begging for his life when he's bifurcated by his own attack, it's all the more obvious.
** During the ending of the Universe Survival saga, he wholeheartedly expects the rest of Universe 7 to dump him back in hell [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness knowing he served no more use to them now that they've won]], because it's exactly something he would do.
* PsychopathicManchild: He often behaves like a SpoiledBrat. Best shown in ''Resurrection 'F''', where he whines and throws a temper tantrum that involves punching small craters into the ground when [[spoiler:Vegeta beats him out of his GoldenSuperMode]].
* PsychoPink: He's a heartless sadist, and much of his skin in his first three forms (including his face in the color pages of the comics) is pink, as are many of his energy attacks.
* PurpleIsPowerful: All of his forms, as well as every member of his family, have some form of purple and there's no questioning his power. [[spoiler:In his GoldenSuperMode, the only other significant color that remains is purple]].
* PutTheLaughterInSlaughter: Laughs like a loon when he's blowing up a planet filled with many potential fighters that could destroy him, including his own men who are begging him to not get them caught in the crossfire.
* RageBreakingPoint: Don't attempt to spare anyone in his view area. [[ColdBloodedTorture Poor Gohan]]...
* RageQuit:
** When he attempts to blow up Namek when he figures he can't beat Goku.
** [[spoiler:He does it again in ''Resurrection 'F''' to much greater success. He is only foiled by Whis who rewinds time on him]].
* RasputinianDeath:
** One of his species' defining traits is the ability to survive horrific wounds. Frieza is hit with an energy ball the size of a small moon, beaten severely, [[HalfTheManHeUsedToBe cut in half]] by his own attack, hit with an energy blast to the face, nuked by the planet he was on exploding, and finally cut into numerous pieces with a sword. ''Yet still floating in place.'' Then hit with an energy blast. Again. It literally takes being atomized in order to kill him.
** [[spoiler:It's even worse in ''Resurrection 'F'''. He gets beaten to a bloody pulp, hit by his own Kamehameha-propelled Death Ball which explodes in his face, then by another Kamehameha, is beaten so severely by Vegeta that he loses his new SuperMode, and is finally hit by a fully-powered Kamehameha which ''disintegrates him to nothing but atoms. Again.'']]
* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech:
** He loves to give these out, taking every opportunity to remind his enemies how worthless they are:
*** After proving beyond a shadow of a doubt that Vegeta ''never'' stood a chance against him despite his sudden and major power-up, Frieza gives Vegeta one of these as [[ColdBloodedTorture he beats the life out of him]].
---->'''Frieza:''' Come now, I can't have you giving up on me after such a glancing blow. No, I'm afraid your torment is only just beginning. There are so many horrors I have yet to show you. (''Punches Vegeta in the spine.'') How's that? Are you beginning to regret your foolish attempt to defy me? Or shall I continue to remind you of your place, you worthless Saiyan monkey?! I thought you were different, that you might actually prove to be useful. I took you under my wing, gave you special treatment, and this is how you repay me?! If only you'd remained loyal, you'd lived your life without ever knowing this misery.
*** After Goku reluctantly gives Frieza a portion of his energy to help him escape Planet Namek's destruction, Frieza takes his time to mock Goku for his act of mercy.
---->'''Frieza:''' (''chuckles'') Even in the throes of unfathomable rage, you're a chump for a hard luck story. How admirable. And where, I can't help but wonder, will ''you'' be at the moment of truth? The vacuum of space, I think, will hardly be kind to creatures such as yourself, wouldn't you agree? (''laughs'') If only there was time to scurry back to your little spaceship before the grand finale. Alas, if Vegeta hadn't wrecked it, I'd offer you mine. So near and yet so far. (''laughs'') The curtain closes on the Saiyan scourge! It would appear that ''you'', my friend, get to suffer the same fate as the planet I destroyed. Oh, the irony. He triumphs, then loses everything. The vanquished escapes. I hate to gloat, but there's a lesson here on the virtue of mercy: Its only value is to your foe.\\
'''Frieza [spanish dub] :''' This planet is about to explode. WHERE you think you're going? Whatever happens, you'll never manage to survive in space. Only thing going for you is death! This planet won't take long to explode. You won't get to your spaceship in time either. And to top it all off, your friend Vegeta completely destroyed mine, what a pity. There is no doubt that Saiyans really are stupid! You can't escape anywhere! You'll die together with this planet! What an irony. The winner of this fight is going to die, and I will survive!\\
'''Frieza [original Funi dub]:''' Well, aren't ya gonna keep running, monkey? Aren't ya? Heh heh heh! Like a little circus chimp! Come one! Come all! See the spectacular chimp in a maze! Where will he run today? You don't have enough time to get back to your spaceship and Vegeta destroyed mine. Heh heh heh heh heh heh heh. A plea, just for my sake, don't stop running. It's far too entertaining! Aha ha ha ha ha ha ha! It's ironic. After all your heroic efforts, you're still going to die! And I will live on! So much for the awesome power of the legendary Super Saiyan! Can't even beat a dead planet!
*** [[spoiler:After Frieza has Goku at his mercy in ''Resurrection 'F' '' and is kicking him around, he mocks Goku for once again showing him mercy and dropping his guard]].
---->[[spoiler:'''Frieza:''' Your obsession with showing me leniency borders on the pathological! You're too strong for your own good, it's made you overconfident! A FearlessFool who insists on second chances and habitually lowers his guard! 'Here lies one of the strongest mortals in the cosmos, felled by a common ray gun!' How pitiful does that feel? Ha ha ha! Now you're the one on the ground facing defeat. You won the battle, but you lost the war. And the dream I clung to in that damn cocoon is finally at hand! He ha ha! Now to take the fruit of my labor, the fruit called revenge!]]
*** [[spoiler:From the same movie, despite knowing he has no chance against Vegeta after witnessing him becoming a Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan and [[NoSell no selling all his attacks]], Frieza still had to get one last dig in.]]
---->[[spoiler:'''Frieza:''' ''[mock laughter]'' Your threats are as empty as your title. All hail Vegeta, prince of no one]].
*** [[spoiler:And again in the Universe Survival arc when Frost is outraged at Frieza's backstabbing on him.]]
---->[[spoiler:'''Frieza:''' You honestly think that I would join forces with a second-rate dilettante like you?]]
** He ends up on the receiving end from Goku after his stamina begins to fall and when he is cut down by his own energy disc:
--->'''Goku:''' It's done. Your power is decreasing with every blow, in fact, you're not even a challenge to me anymore. It wouldn't be fair for me to keep fighting you. I'm satisfied now, your pride has been torn to shreds. You challenged and lost to a fighter who is superior to you and to make it worse, he was just a monkey, right? It would be meaningless to fight you now, you're too scared and ashamed. Live with the shock, keep it bottled up inside you, silently.\\
'''Goku:''' Although you brought this all on yourself, it's a shame that your life has to end in such a miserable way. I wanted to save you, Frieza, but you wouldn't let me. Now share the fate of the Planet Namek, which you yourself destroyed.
** ''Kai'' version:
--->'''Goku:''' You've been coming at me with everything you got, but it's finally caught up with you and your power's fading fast. The fact is, I don't see the point in fighting you any more. Your pride is already shot, and in the end I guess that's good enough for me. You were so sure of your own power that you never imagined anyone in the universe could bring you down... especially a Saiyan. Heh. Now you know what failure feels like. See, I don't need to keep fighting you because I've already won. So go crawl off someplace and hide; I don't really care.
** Goku gives Frieza a short, but sweat response after Frieza mocks him for showing him mercy and how the legendary Super Saiyan "can't even beat a dead planet":
--->'''Goku:''' Maybe not. [[ShutUpHannibal But it was enough to beat you, Frieza]].
* RedemptionEarnsLife: Downplayed. [[spoiler:Beerus has Whis resurrect him as a thank you for his rather key role in saving the universe, but Frieza sarcastically quips "I just might go back to my old evil ways, you know" before setting out to rebuild his empire.]]
* RedemptionRejection: [[spoiler:At the end of the Universal Survival arc, he makes it clear that he intends to go right back to his wicked ways after being resurrected by Whis, and makes good on this promise come ''Broly''.]]
* RedEyesTakeWarning: He and his family have red eyes.
* RedOniBlueOni: He is the Red to his brother Cooler's Blue. As Frieza is more AxCrazy, and also very sadistic as he shown to take pleasure in torturing his enemies before killing them also he turns into a PsychopathicManchild when things don't go his way. Cooler on the other hand is basically the OnlySaneMan in his family as he shows rarely any emotion thus making him TheStoic. Also he isn't a psycho like his younger brother because when he fights he prefers to finish it rather than torturing his foes his only time when he shows emotion is when he threw a Supernova to kill Goku.
* ReptilesAreAbhorrent: Downplayed in his appearance. Though it's not clear just ''what'' his species is, Frieza and his family are consistently ruthless, and their [[PrehensileTail snake-like tails]], gecko-like feet, and [[ExposedExtraterrestrials apparent nudeness]] do not make them any less alien.
* RememberWhenYouBlewUpASun: He often brags about how he can destroy planets effortlessly and how easy it was to wipe out the Saiyans without going past his first transformation. Which makes his humiliation and defeat at the hands of Goku sting all the more. Super Saiyan Goku even delivers this stinger immediately after standing still and taking one of Frieza's [[BeamSpam death beams]] to [[NoSell the face]].
-->''"You can destroy whole planets, but you can't destroy '''one man.'''"''
* RepressiveButEfficient: Yes, Frieza is a ruthless, power-hungry, tyrannical GalacticConqueror, but his method of ruling through fear and intimidation was what held his empire together and kept things running smoothly across the universe for decades. In fact, this is the entire reason Sorbet opted to resurrect Frieza during ''Resurrection 'F''', because the whole thing was [[VestigialEmpire on the brink of collapse without him]].
* ResurrectedForAJob: In [[spoiler:the Universe Survival Saga, this is the entire reason the Z-Fighters brought him back for a day. They're not happy about it, but Majin Buu has been sidelined, and they ''need'' Frieza to serve as their tenth member in the Tournament of Power.]]
* ResurrectedMurderer: Frieza, a sadistic [[OmnicidalManiac mass murderer on a universal scale]], is brought back to life twice, first toward the beginning of the ''[[Anime/DragonBallZResurrectionF Resurrection 'F']]'' saga via Earth's Dragon Balls, and at the end of the Universal Survival Saga of ''Anime/DragonBallSuper''. Each time, he became stronger, to the point that it is difficult to determine if Goku or Vegeta can put him down for good after [[spoiler:he displayed his latest transformation at the end of the Granolah the Survivor Arc]].
* {{Retcon}}:
** Originally, he was unquestionably the strongest being in the universe to the point absolutely no one in the series up to that point came remotely close to his power and had never been defeated or even having to use anything past his second form in battle. Later story arcs added [[EldritchAbomination Majin Buu]] (which his father told to never face) and the Grand and Supreme Kais having been far stronger then him, but inactive in the mortal plane. ''Battle of Gods'' retconned Beerus into having been around, with Frieza actually being afraid of him. You can still say he is the strongest mortal character in the series at the time, more so with his GoldenSuperMode.
** While left vague in the original Japanese, in the dub of ''Battle of Gods'', it's suggested that Frieza's extermination of the Saiyans was actually done on Beerus' orders because Beerus [[TheGodsMustBeLazy couldn't be bothered to do it himself]]. In either case, Beerus approved of Frieza doing so.
* ReturningBigBad: Takes this role twice after his initial defeat on Namek. First in ''Ressurection F'' and then serving as part of the BigBadDuumvirate in ''[[Anime/DragonBallSuperBroly Broly]]''.
* {{Revenge}}:
** When he came back as a cyborg, this was his primary focus against Goku.
** Also the reason he returns in ''Resurrection 'F''. He's also much more prepared this time.
* RevengeBeforeReason: After losing to Goku, his ''entire existence'' is devoted to getting revenge on him. He even states in ''Resurrection 'F''' that he can't stand to live in the same ''universe'' as Goku and can't even sleep at night as long as he's still alive.
** He could have chosen to escape Namek, but he spends his remaining energy trying to kill Goku, which [[BackstabBackfire backfires spectacularly]]. This also crosses into FantasticRacism; Frieza is so shocked that he was defeated by a Saiyan, whom he disregarded as "mere monkeys," that he can't accept defeat even though he's missing an arm and [[HalfTheManHeUsedToBe the lower half of his body]].
** Immediately after becoming Mecha-Frieza, he wasn't even off the operating table before ordering his father and their men to set course for Earth, wanting revenge on Goku so badly that he overrides his father's plan to just blow up the planet from orbit and lands so he could personally kill all of Goku's loved ones and friends... and gets sliced into cuts of beef by Future Trunks for the trouble.
** In ''GT'', during the Super 17 Saga, instead of escaping Hell with the other villains, he and Cell stay behind to double-team Goku after Gero and Myuu trap him in Hell with them, only for Goku to effortlessly beat them both without even going Super Saiyan.
** This is the basis for his entire plan after being resurrected in ''[[Anime/DragonBallZResurrectionF Resurrection 'F']]''. He could have simply rebuilt his empire in space with the Z Fighters none the wiser, but he instead goes through TrainingFromHell to unlock a new SuperMode before launching a full-scale invasion of Earth, all to get revenge on Goku for his previous defeat. It's to the extent that when Tagoma begs him to just leave Goku alone and focus on rebuilding his empire, Frieza kills him on the spot.
** In the Tournament of Power, after getting thoroughly humiliated by Toppo, he attempts to take-out his fury on Jiren, risking erasure for breaking the rules just to kill his opponent. Fortunately (or unfortunately) for him, he's [[CantCatchUp so thoroughly outclassed]] that his efforts are completely in vain.
* RevengeByProxy: He's a fan of this trope. If any individual offends him, he's likely to wipe them out along with their loved ones and even entire planet out of sadistic spite. During his fight with Goku, he swore to track down and kill Gohan, Piccolo, and the rest of Goku friend's before blowing up the Earth for their meddling no matter how far they escaped, and nearly did so when he returned for revenge in the Android Saga if not for Trunks.
* ReversibleRoboticizing: Even after being sent to Hell upon his first death, Frieza retains all of his cybernetic implants. He loses them when he [[CameBackWrong gets revived as dismembered pieces]], but is able to get his full flesh and blood body back thanks to the Regeneration Chamber.
* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: As soon as he's resurrected, the first thing on his mental to-do list is to murder Goku. [[spoiler:And [[HistoryRepeats just like]] last time he came back for revenge, he gets disintegrated for it.]]
* RoyalBrat: Despite possibly being 70 years old or more, he acts like a brat most of the time when he does not get his way. His brattiness gets worse after Goku beats him and he becomes obsessed with revenge and reclaiming his title as the Strongest in the Universe.
* RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething: He is consider the prince of his empire and is the most active of his clan making him the official face of the trade empire. Even if he is an OrcusOnHisThrone most of time, he isn't afraid to get his hands dirty, especially when pissed.
* RunningGag: It seems that Frieza is destined to never have a climactic end unlike every other major villain in the series.
* SanityHasAdvantages: While he was always mentally unstable even on his best days, Frieza originally had enough lucidity to be something resembling a pragmatist and a NoNonsenseNemesis to his opponents, [[ShootTheMedicFirst as seen when he kills Dende.]] After Goku hands him his ass on a platter after going Super Saiyan, he steadily becomes so AxCrazy in his appearances that while he does have a couple moments of lucidity in battle, he's now so bonkers that the only arguable thoughts he has anymore are revolving around murdering people sadistically, especially when it comes to [[ArchEnemy Goku]]. It takes heavy meditation while trapped in a cocoon in Hell to finally render him somewhat lucid again, which he manages to accomplish through focusing those murderous thoughts.
* {{Sadist}}: Rather than simply killing his opponents, Frieza prefers putting them through ColdBloodedTorture and ensuring that they die in pain and despair, knowing they never stood a chance at defeating him. Such highlights include ripping Nail's arm off with his bare hands, impaling Krillin on his horns, crushing Gohan's skull literally underfoot, hitting Piccolo with a BeamSpam, and beating Vegeta to the point where he can't move and is ''crying'' in pain and humiliation. When he is almost killed by the Spirit Bomb, he slowly picks off Goku's friends in front of him to rub in how helpless he is. This, however, backfires.
* SanitySlippage: The more Frieza reaches into his true power, the less sane he becomes, though this seems to be directly tied into his anger at his enemies [[WhyWontYouDie just refusing to die and stop getting in his way despite him drawing on more power]]. By the end of his fight with Goku, he is closed to foaming at the mouth.
** His sanity actually becomes ''worse'' in ''Super'' and deceases more throughout the saga. Like in the film, he tries his best to hide it under his usual sophistication and class, but it's painfully clear his time in Hell had a detrimental effect on his sanity. When Tagoma speaks out against his revenge plan, rather than killing him like in the film, he instead shoots him in the limbs, then has him assigned as his sparring partner during his four-month training regiment, where he would beat Tagoma within an inch of his life ''every single day'' just to find the best ways to keep Goku on the brink of death. Best shown by his reaction to Gohan showing [[spoiler:the Ginyu-possessed]] Tagoma mercy. It triggers his PTSD and memories of Goku showing him mercy, causing him to order Tagoma to stand down so he can fight him himself. He then proceeds to torture Gohan by shooting him until he can't move, all the while taunting him to beg for mercy. Made even more disturbing when he [[FreudianSlip calls Gohan Goku.]]
* SanityStrengthening: Come the [[spoiler:Universe Survival Saga, Frieza is considerably calmer and more stable than he was before. He was able to completely master his Golden form in Hell through intense meditation, and is far more pragmatic and patient, to the extent that he voluntarily heals Goku to get him back into the fight with Jiren. Also, when Whis revives him as a reward for his help in the tournament, unlike last time, Frieza doesn't throw it all away for the sake of [[RevengeBeforeReason revenge on Goku]], and decides to just go back to space and focus on rebuilding his empire]].
* SelfFulfillingProphecy:
** He went out of his way to try and stop a Super Saiyan from surfacing and challenging him only to create one himself when he hit Goku's BerserkButton one too many times.
** In ''Dragon Ball Minus'', the only reason why Goku was sent to Earth to begin with was because Bardock and Gine sent him there after they suspected Frieza was up to something when he recalled all the Saiyans to their home planet. If he had not, Goku would had most likely grown up to be a lower class warrior or a failed soldier like his mother.
** Hell, the "Episode of Bardock" special reveals that after his defeat by Frieza, Bardock was sent back in time and became the Legendary Super Saiyan -- meaning that ''Frieza'' is the one who created the legend, essentially engineering his own demise.
* ShadowArchetype: After character development, to Vegeta. He's everything Vegeta would have become if he succeeded in taking his place as ruler of the universe instead of settling down on Earth.
* ShesAManInJapan:
** The Greek dub of the anime turns Frieza into a female and gives her a [[Creator/MatinaKarras female voice actress]]. [[https://youtu.be/fLgRdM5dWpc No, really]].
** Also the Hungarian dub initially made Frieza a female, until they realized he's actually a boy, so they switched his name and pronouns to be male.
* ShootTheDangerousMinion: His motive for wiping out the Saiyans; having heard of the [[SuperMode Super Saiyan]], Frieza decided to preemptively wipe them all out, fearing a Super Saiyan would come forth and bring about his undoing. As it turns out, this was a legitimate concern, and despite (or perhaps [[GenocideBackfire because of]]) his extreme measures, it eventually happens.
-->'''Frieza:''' These barbarians pretend to be submissive, but they're dangerous. They could bear their fangs at us at any time. They are, after all, a species completely comprised of warriors. It's always best to put a sleeping beast down, before it can be awakened.
* ShootTheMedicFirst: The minute he realizes that Dende has been [[HealingHands healing]] everyone, the first thing he does upon reaching his final form is shoot him dead.
* SickeninglySweet: {{Invoked}} as Frieza's punishment in Hell. He is trapped in a cocoon surrounded by fairies, stuffed-toys, and flowers who hold parades and play cheerful music for the rest of eternity, or at least until his soul is purified and he's allowed to be reborn, in which he will lose all his memories. It's lightly touched upon during [[LoveFreak Universe 2's]] TransformationSequence. His remark? "What a disgusting feeling."
* SissyVillain: Painstakingly polite, prominent lips, always in some coloration of pink, purple, and [[LightIsNotGood white]]. No wonder many U.S. fans (and even the Greek/Hungarian dubbers) initially thought he was female. It doesn't help that a few of his voice actors have been women.
* SingleStrokeBattle: His "fights" with Bardock, King Vegeta, and Krillin.
* SinsOfOurFathers: In "''Resurrection: F''", after Gohan spares Tagoma, Frieza is reminded of his own experience with Goku sparing him, and then decides to brutally torture Gohan, even calling him ''[[FreudianSlip Goku]]'' in absolute fury.
* SoLastSeason:
** PlayedWith: When Frieza was first introduced his power was unrivaled and even the gods feared him. By the end of the Buu Saga, a being of Frieza's power was considered kid's fodder. After coming back to life and realizing how outclassed he was compared to Goku, he goes through TrainingFromHell to bridge the gap. He returns stronger than ever, but his true form, which was previously slightly below a Super Saiyan, is now not even a match for Goku in his normal form. In the ''Super'' retelling, they are more even, but it's still Goku who has an edge.
** As a villain, Frieza isn't as effective as Cell and Buu (specifically Super and Kid Buu), since those two were much more clever (or in the case of Kid Buu, so crazed he would pop a planet for fun right off the bat) when dealing with the heroes and Cell actually matched them in terms of skill and not just raw power. Frieza still can't sense energies, needs transformations to suppress and control his power, [[spoiler:never learned to control his full strength]], and cannot think on his feet when things go wrong outside of [[RageQuit rage quitting]]. Frieza failed in ''Resurrection 'F''' primarily because he didn't evolve past what he was during the Namek/Frieza Saga.
** Zigzagged in the [[spoiler:Universe Survival arc. Frieza finally figured out how to pace himself and control his energy output while meditating in Hell. His strength may not have increased as much as it could have through true training, but his golden form was already stronger than SSB Goku back in the Resurrection 'F' Saga (afflicted with severe stamina issues) and now he and Goku are on the same level (though Goku still has his trump card in the Kaioken). Due to that very thing (and his disappointment at discovering he is merely on par with his ArchEnemy), Frieza may have lost his chance to kill Goku in a straight fight]].
* TheSociopath: Frieza carries all the traits of a classic, narcissistic psychopath/sociopath. He is utterly incapable of empathy or remorse, manipulates others with a smile, impulsive and tends to do things without thinking, [[AxCrazy incredibly sadistic and violent]], and is driven by staggering arrogance, and never takes responsibility for his actions nor does he learn from his mistakes. In the Universe Survival Arc, he teams up with the Z-Fighters and continues to be just as ruthless and sociopathic as ever, but more [[PragmaticVillainy pragmatic]] and calculating. TruthInTelevision: Highly functional sociopaths are able to be pragmatic and support causes for selfish reasons. [[spoiler:It took a lot of {{Humiliation Conga}}s over the years to even become '''remotely''' respectful towards the Z-Fighters at the end of the Universe Survival Arc]]. Frieza would likely be classified as an "adaptive sociopath" because he's better at assessing risk which the typical sociopath is poor at. Most adaptive sociopaths end up as senior [=VPs=] and division heads in large companies. In that capacity, they can crush hundreds of souls daily, and never be punished for it. Though being unquestionably ''the'' strongest mortal in the universe means he's free to indulge in some random slaughter when the mood takes him.
* SociopathicHero: In the Universe Survival Arc. He's only working with the Universe 7 team, because Goku promised Frieza another chance at life. Frieza's ''first'' question when asked for this was "Can I kill them?" and when he was denied that (due to Tournament rules), he settled for ColdBloodedTorture.
* SoftspokenSadist: In all Japanese and post-''Kai'' English material ([[LostInTranslation the original English dubs are far less subtle]]). However, all versions see him become a LargeHam as he starts to lose to Goku.
* SonOfAnApe: His favorite way to insult the Saiyans. "Ape", "monkey", "simian", etc.
* SoreLoser: Probably one of the worst of all the villains:
** When it seemed like Goku was going to beat him, he tried to blow up Namek, but held back since he didn't want to kill himself. Then, [[CruelMercy after Goku said he would let him live with the shame of his defeat because he was far too weak to challenge him anymore]], he throws an energy disc at Goku's back. ''Even then'', after Goku gives him some energy to escape the exploding Namek, he turns around and shoots Goku in the back, only for Goku to finally get sick of giving him chances and blow him away.
** He's just as bad in ''Resurrection 'F'''. [[spoiler:When Goku proves to be his better again, instead of taking the offer to leave peacefully and try again once he mastered his ultimate transformation, he has his minion Sorbet shoot Goku in the back. When Vegeta beats the crud out of him, he [[HistoryRepeats once again]] decides to destroy the planet instead of losing]].
** [[spoiler:Once again, when he realizes that Toppo as a God of Destruction completely outclassed him, Frieza decides to rage quit a ''third time'' by blowing up the arena and ringing him out (somehow forgetting that unlike the last two times, he would be ringed out too and likely erased along with Toppo). Toppo, hilariously, nullifies Frieza's entire attack by literally flicking a ball of destruction the size of a marble at it, which caused Frieza's attack to instantly fizzle]].
* SpellMyNameWithAnS: "Freeza" is used by Bandai, the manga and the subtitled version of the anime, but Funimation uses "Frieza" for their dub, and in some countries he's called "Freezer" (which is where [[MeaningfulName his name]] actually [[ThemeNaming comes from]].)
* SphereOfDestruction: His infamous [[FinishingMove Death Ball]], which he's killed entire planets with.
* SmugSnake: Despite having several savvy moments and being very smart and cunning, he firmly falls into this [[SmugSuper thanks to his arrogance]]. He relies on his raw power so much that he has nothing to fall back on once that proves to be ineffective outside of destroying the planet he's standing on since he can survive in space. He is also lazy, [[OrcusOnHisThrone using his men to do all the work for him and literally doing nothing until they were all dead]]. On top of all of that, his genocide of the Saiyans largely backfired because he didn't kill the few survivors and toyed with Goku instead of killing him outright. In ''Resurrection 'F'', he's reduced even further into this territory once Goku and Vegeta beat him. He throws a tantrum and whines about how he couldn't lose again.
* SmugSuper: One of the well-known contenders for the anime poster boy of this trope. Having spent who knows how many years unchallenged in his might and authority has made him DrunkWithPower. As such, the very idea of someone actually being stronger than him is absolutely inconceivable for him to imagine and at the same time, it's what deep down, he fears the most.
* SparingTheAces: Despite being paranoid about someone being stronger than him, he had a soft spot for exceptionally strong fighters as a way of asserting his dominance. He spared Vegeta and gave him a high rank among his men after killing most of the Saiyans because he admired his talent and did show some regret about having to kill Vegeta for his treachery. He offered Goku to come into his service stating that it would be a waste to destroy such talent and was visibly upset when Goku refused. He also lamented on what a shame it was to kill Nail when he saw how powerful he was. He also gave Vegeta a second chance to join him and beat Goku together, but Vegeta remembering how it went [[ColdBloodedTorture the last time]], rejects it and promptly fights him instead.
* SpoiledBrat: He hides it much better than most, but it is there. He practically had a temper tantrum when he learns that he couldn't use the Dragon Balls without a help of a Namekian, who he had all but killed at this point, and when Vegeta tricked him earlier and stole his Dragon Balls, he was close to stomping his feet and threw random energy waves across the planet. His spoiled nature really comes to light when he's outmatched against Super Saiyan Goku, where he name calls, spouts words of hatred, demeans, and even begs for his life after his own foolishness cost him an arm and both of his legs. Throughout his entire life, Frieza thought he was the strongest and everyone should do what he wanted. When he finally met someone stronger than him, he was revealed as the spoiled child that he was. In ''Cooler's Revenge'', his brother Cooler even outright describes him as a "little brat" who King Cold "spoiled rotten."
* StoryBreakerPower: Frieza's ultimate transformation, Golden Frieza. He went from being beaten by Goku's base form to overwhelming Goku when he transformed into a Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan. The major drawback of this transformation is that it [[AwesomeButImpractical burns through energy]] quickly and even that could have been avoided if Frieza took the time to master it instead of rushing to Earth, [[spoiler:which is seen when he returns in the Universal Survival Saga]]. There is also his species' ability to survive in a vacuum. He kills Vegeta, despite being tired and overwhelmed, by destroying the Earth since Vegeta, even as a god, still needs to breath.
* StrangeMindsThinkAlike: In ''Broly'', Frieza stole the Dragon Balls from Bulma to [[spoiler:wish to be 5 centimeters taller, because any higher would seem unnatural. Bulma was collecting the Dragon Balls to be 5 years younger for the same reason. He and General Red also had the exact same hilariously petty secret plan of using the Dragon Balls to deal with their HeightAngst.]]
* StrongAndSkilled: Even in his introduction, he already had a copiously large arsenal of different attacks and techniques, but after CharacterDevelopment kicks in (read: dying twice and learning from the experience), Frieza is not only one of the four strongest mortals in Universe 7, but also has a reasonable amount of secondary skills (analytical skills, energy control and stamina, energy sensing, and an amount of mental discipline) backing his power.
* StupidEvil: He simply ''cannot'' resist an opportunity to KickTheDog or toy with his enemies no matter what, which contributes to his downfall. In ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'', to show off how powerful he has become through his [[TrainingFromHell months of training]], when he transforms into his true form, he kills off all his remaining men except Sorbet, and Sorbet was only lucky. This is really stupid since that's literally the last of his army, meaning that even if he does beat Goku, he has to rebuild his entire empire from the ground up. Killing all his men also means that there is no one left to [[NiceJobFixingItVillain wish him back after he's killed again]]. On top of that stupidity, throughout the first part of his fight with Goku he keeps trying to attack Goku's friends and encourages his men earlier to kill Krillin, knowing it will cause Goku the most amount of grief. [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge Given what happened the last time]] Frieza [[UnstoppableRage picked off Goku's friends and enraged him]], you would think he wouldn't actively try to press his buttons again. Fortunately for Frieza, he fails at getting Goku to his RageBreakingPoint despite his murder of Piccolo. Perhaps his most idiotic moment is [[spoiler:when he murders Paragus in order to make Broly angry enough to defeat Goku in ''Anime/DragonBallSuperBroly''. [[GoneHorriblyRight It goes about as well]] as [[UnstoppableRage you'd expect]]]].
* SummonToHand: Sometimes uses telekinesis to pull the Dragon Balls towards him.
* SuperMode:
** Inverted. Frieza appears to have three transformations. However, his "final" form is really his true form, and he needs his others to reduce his power so he can control it.
** [[spoiler:Played straight in ''Resurrection 'F'''; his new golden form is his answer to the Super Saiyan]].
** [[spoiler:Played straight again in at the end of the ''Granolah arc''; his new form, dubbed Black Frieza, was obtained after training for 10 years on a planet that simulations a Hyperbolic Time Chamber, allows him to easily one-shot an admittedly weakened True Ultra Instinct Goku and Ultra Ego Vegeta]].
* SuperWheelchair: In his first form, he often moves around in a hoverchair to the point he almost never leaves it, blowing things with his mere finger being enough for it (Like the destruction of Planet Vegeta and killing a few Namekians). In the ''Videogame/DragonBallXenoverse'' games, you can only talk to him as a mentor while he is in his wheelchair.
* SuperpowerLottery: He was ''born'' the most powerful mortal there is of Universe 7. The monster we saw on Namek was a mutant who never had to train to obtain his power unlike the main characters up to that point. When he does finally train in ''Resurrection 'F''', he's able to match ''Goku'', whose powers are almost on par with [[PhysicalGod Beerus]] in just ''four months'' in-universe. He also has extreme survivability and can go around in the vacuum of space without the need to breathe even if he's sliced into pieces. If his brother is anything to go by, he can survive with only being a ''head''.
* SuperSenses: In ''Super'', Frieza is shown to have incredible hearing, enough to pick up on the conversations in the stands from the tournament floor during the Tournament of Power.
* SuperToughness: Perhaps Frieza's most defining trait (next to being TheAce), is that he is able to endure an ungodly amount of injuries and still stand up and fight. To the point that the reason he finally decides to stop goofing off and get serious in his first battle with Goku is because [[MinorInjuryOverreaction his hands got a little singed]] after diverting a Kamehameha from Goku at his (non-SSJ) peak. A Spirit Bomb the size of a city merely blows a small chunk of his tail off and he survives being bisected and getting caught up in an EarthShatteringKaboom when Namek explodes. Cell was stated to inherit Frieza's invulnerability which meant he could survive from any injury so long as part of him remained, while repairing said damage through [[GoodThingYouCanHeal his regeneration]]. However Frieza is in a league of his own when it comes to surviving the unsurvivable.
** By the end of the Universe Survival arc, Frieza has learned to ''weaponize'' his toughness, relying on Android 17 to provide cover fire as he tanks Jiren's blows. [[spoiler:When Jiren gets his second wind and is about to toss 17 out of the arena, Frieza tells Goku to ''[[FastballSpecial throw him at Jiren]]'', knowing that his sheer durability and momentum will be enough to knock him away from 17]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:T-Y]]
* TakeThat: Toriyama based Freeza's personality on real estate speculators during the 1986-1991 Japanese economic bubble, who he sees as "the worst kind of people." This in addition to designing Freeza's physical appearance after his own nightmares.
* TakingYouWithMe:
** Subverted -- after he blasts Namek's core, Goku accuses him of trying this. Freeza retorts that he can survive in vacuum, so it was "just" a RageQuit.
** He attempts [[spoiler:and succeeds with taking out Jiren in the Tournament of Power as he orders Goku to throw him when Jiren attempts to take Android 17 out]].
* TalentedButTrained: As revealed in ''Resurrection 'F''', he was ''born'' as powerful as he is, and never had to train a day in his life to become the most powerful being in the universe. Upon his resurrection and the discovery that Goku has become strong enough to defeat [[EldritchAbomination Majin Buu]], Frieza opts to train for the first time in his life, and in a mere four months, he unlocks his GoldenSuperMode and obtains near-godlike power, the likes of which have taken Goku and Vegeta ''decades'' to obtain. Afterwards, leading into the Tournament of Power, Frieza spent his time in Hell meditating, which enabled him to completely master his Golden form. [[spoiler: By the time of the ''Granolah the Survivor Saga'', he managed to find a Hyperbolic Time Chamber and spent ''ten years'' inside training, gaining a new Black form and truly becoming trained.]]
* TalentVsTraining: Before he crossed paths with Goku, Frieza was considered [[WorldsStrongestMan the most powerful mortal in the universe]]. By his own admission in ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'', the training he did to achieve his GoldenSuperMode was the first time he actually had to put in any effort when it came to developing his fighting skills.
* TaughtByExperience: Effectively the only way Frieza has learned ''anything''. As mentioned before, it took him dying once to realize he had to do more [[OrcusOnHisThrone than just sit back and let his minions do all the work]] and then ''[[DeathIsCheap dying again]]'' before he knew he had to actually put the work in if he really wanted his RedBaron title of "The Strongest in the Universe" to be more than just cheap words. The ''Universe Survival'' arc brings him much needed CharacterDevelopment as he is [[CantCatchUp finally catching up]] to the rest of the cast as far as esoteric abilities go (he can finally sense energy, though it tends to only work on opponents in his line of sight) and he's putting his {{combat pragmatis|t}}m to effective use (like stealing a kill from Vegeta and [[ManipulativeBastard manipulating Frost]] into letting his guard down). He's even learned a bit of teamwork -- as he did when he feigned beating Gohan -- though it's still tinged with the idea that he'll stab you in the back if you aren't up to snuff.
** Indeed, it takes nearly dying ''a fourth time'' to finally humble Frieza [[spoiler:when he pokes a hornet's nest in the shape of ''[[TheBerserker Broly]]''. He's able to tangle with him briefly before getting overwhelmed and nearly getting vaporized before Goku and Vegeta bail him out. After his life is spared yet again, he [[HistoryRepeats almost loses his temper...]] before telling the pair that he'll return. There is no heat in his words, though, and he seems to finally put his grudge against the remaining Saiyans to rest]].
* TechnicalPacifist: Enforced during the Tournament of Power. While the rules forbid killing, Frieza is still as sadistic and brutal as possible to his opponents; he [[LoopholeAbuse just avoids killing them]].
-->'''Frieza:''' What? Kill him? Do you honestly believe I could make such a foolish mistake? I avoided anything that's immediately vital. Though of course, I cannot be held accountable for what happens once he's outside of the ring!
* TeethClenchedTeamwork: Him with pretty much everyone else in the Tournament of Power aside Tenshinhan, 17 and 18[[labelnote:*]]and even then ''[=FighterZ=]'' implies she's just good at keeping professional[[/labelnote]], and Roshi. Everyone else has a personal grudge against him.
* ThemeNaming:
** Going along with the theme of vegetables introduced by the Saiyans under his control, he's named after a freezer, and his minions have names based after things found in a refrigerator, including fruits, dairy, and yes, vegetables. (Toriyama related that it was kind of a mistake to name him after a freezer instead of a fridge.) This also extends to his relatives: His father is King Cold, his brother is Cooler, his ancestor is Chilled, and his Universe 6 counterpart is Frost.
** The Funimation dub contains a reference to the Saiyans forming an alliance with a race called the Arcosians. Since the name sounds similar to "arctic", many fans wondered if this was Funi attempting to come up with their own name for the race. For what it's worth, Frieza's ancestor (and his henchmen) wear similar cloaks in ''Episode of Bardock''.
** Frieza's Golden and Black transformations are based on [[https://twitter.com/DBSChronicles/status/1609921329884721152/ the levels of credit cards]], as revealed by Toyotaro. It works two-fold as Freeza was also famously based on real-estate speculators when Toriyama first created him.
* ThirdPersonPerson: The way Frieza speaks about his evolution of "Golden Frieza" is remarkable as he speaks about it in third person, including many dubs, for what is basically a transformation.
-->'''Frieza:''' Delicacy that wouldn't even stir water... together with the ultimate intensity... is the "True Golden Frieza". That is who I am.
* ThisCannotBe:
** Frieza has this moment during his fight with Goku after he becomes a Super Saiyan and utterly hands him his ass.
--->'''Frieza:''' How humiliating! To think I could be outclassed by some filthy, half-evolved Saiyan! I am the mighty Frieza, the most powerful force in the universe! This is a nightmare! Yes, that's the only logical explanation! Why else would this be happening?!
** Frieza has another moment of this in ''Resurrection F'' after Goku gains the upper hand in their fight due to [[spoiler:his dwindling stamina]] and nearly defeats him with Kamehameha. When Goku offers him the chance to leave and train some more for a rematch, Frieza screams in impotent rage.
--->'''Frieza:''' Damn ''YOU!'' Why?! ''WHY?!'' This shouldn't be happening! '''''I am LORD FRIEZA!'''''
** And again when Vegeta causes him to lose his golden form, he proceeds to hit the ground with rage and seems to be on the verge of actually crying.
--->'''Frieza:''' No... This can't be real... This is not the way this ends! NO! NO!
** Frieza faces [[spoiler:U11's Toppo]], who is fighting with God Ki and throwing around Destruction Energy. Frieza's already dealt with this thanks to the antics of Universe 9's God of Destruction, and smugly declares he'll stop the attack with one hand. It doesn't last long.
--->'''Frieza:''' Such a thing is ''meaningless'' to me! '''(Sphere starts to envelop his hand, Frieza starts using his other hand as well)''' \\
'''Frieza:''' I ''said,'' such a thing is meaningless to me! '''(Sphere continues to engulf his body.)''' \\
'''Frieza:''' ...Such a thing...! ''[[OhCrap Such a thing...!!]]'' '''(Frieza screams in pain as he is completely surrounded by Energy of Destruction)'''
* ThisIsGonnaSuck: [[spoiler:In ''Super'' Episode 130, it's just him and Android 17 against Jiren with Goku having suffered PowerIncontinence. Both 17 and Frieza pull a CaptainObvious moment over how little their chances are, the tone in Frieza's voice easily suggests this]].
* TimeToUnlockMoreTruePotential: [[spoiler:Frieza, after being resurrected by his henchmen, decides to undergo TrainingFromHell for four months to get revenge on Goku. He notes that he never even trained before in his life and wonders how strong he can become]].
** [[spoiler:After getting beaten to a pulp by Broly, Frieza decides to seriously train for a few years for a final fight against the Saiyans.]]
* TokenEvilTeammate: Joins [[spoiler:the Universe 7 team for the Tournament of Power after Majin Buu falls through, all with the condition of being brought back to life with the Dragon Balls]].
* TooDumbToLive:
** Where to start. First, Frieza keeps pushing Goku's {{Berserk Button}}s despite Goku becoming more powerful the angrier he gets. A standout example is when he mockingly tells Goku that he's going to blow him up just like the bald-headed human -- ''after that action helped trigger Goku's Super Saiyan transformation'' -- and his final attack is a modified version of Krillin's Destructo Disc. Then, after he's cut to pieces by his own attack and begs Goku for help, [[UngratefulBastard he mocks Goku for his mercy]]. [[BackstabBackfire Finally, he has the nerve to try to shoot Goku in the back instead of trying to escape a planet that is about to explode. By this point, Goku has lost all patience with him and blows him away, outright calling him a fool.]]
** After barely surviving his encounter with Goku and being rebuilt as a cyborg, Frieza heads to Earth to get even with Goku. He's somewhat savvy about this since he does bring his father as backup, but he's still a moron for not just going back to his empire and counting his blessings. This results in him and his father both being killed by [[FutureBadass Future Trunks]].
** [[spoiler:In ''Resurrection 'F''', Goku offers Frieza mercy ''again''. Goku even says that he will fight him again once he masters his golden form. Instead of taking the offer and leaving in peace, Frieza has one of his minions disable Goku with a sneak attack. While this works for awhile, he ends up facing the far less merciful Vegeta and is eventually killed by Goku. If he just left and tried again another day, he would have been far better off]].
** [[spoiler:In the ''Super'' version he's even worse in this regard. He tries to arrange the death of Krillin and even takes potshots at Goku's family and friends for the sole purpose of pissing him off '''again''', completely aware that his sadistic idiocy resulted in Goku beating him up and nearly killing him the last time they crossed paths. ''And he doesn't even care,'' because his desire to murder Goku by that point is all-consuming, and he's all but blinded by it. Like the film, the only things he receives from it is another humiliating defeat and dying for good at Goku's hands]].
** [[spoiler:Frieza's gambit to trigger Broly's Super Saiyan transformation was moronic beyond all imagination, as he somehow thought that despite murdering his father Broly would somehow shrug such a horrendous act off and continue fighting Goku. All he ends up doing is driving Broly [[AxCrazy insane]] with grief and [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge murderous rage]] and putting himself in his crosshairs. It's only Gogeta's intervention that prevents Broly from beating Frieza to death]].
* TookALevelInBadass: Frieza manages to rival the Saiyans in the levels of badass in the short time after his revival:
** Frieza in his first form has the power to kill Super Saiyan Gohan. He also murders Piccolo with one well placed Death Beam, who is ''many'' times stronger than his original maximum form. In his true form, he can more or less keep up with Goku, even if Goku has an edge, at a point in time where Goku's base form (partially channeling Super Saiyan God) makes Super Saiyan 3 look like a complete joke.
** Golden Frieza, Frieza's new ultimate form. In this form, he surpasses any known form of Super Saiyan, including a Super Saiyan Blue. [[AdaptationalBadass It is even more powerful compared to its movie counterpart]] since he is able to easily beat Goku into the ground with it rather than just being even with him. The biggest drawback of this form is that [[ClippedWingAngel Frieza's power drops drastically and he only maintains his full power for less than a minute]].
** When he [[spoiler:returns in the Universal Survival Saga, he has mastered his golden form in Hell using mental training so he no longer has the stamina drain issue. He's also stronger to the point of matching Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan Goku who has also gotten much stronger]].
*** On mental level, [[spoiler:now he's become more pragmatic and patient, for example - willing to ''heal Goku'' if it allows Frieza to achieve his goals]].
** In ''Broly'', Frieza has increased in power since the Tournament, and after transforming into Golden Frieza actually manages to stagger and push back Broly as a Super Saiyan for a bit. He then endures a fight with the Saiyan for a ''full hour''. Even factoring in MadeOfIron properties, this is a guy that overwhelmed Super Saiyan Blue Goku and Vegeta in minutes, so that's no mean feat.
** Then in the ''Super'' manga, [[spoiler: Frieza managed to find a Hyperbolic Time Chamber room and spent the equivalent to ''ten years'' training of it, achieving a new Black Frieza form and one shotting Gas.]]
* TookALevelInJerkass: Amazingly enough, Frieza is even more of an ass in the English dub of ''Resurrection 'F'''. He regularly calls the Saiyans [[FantasticRacism monkeys]], going as far to call a Super Saiyan a Super Simian at one point. He refers to Vegeta as a pet and calls Krillin pathetic when he learns that the Dragon Balls revived him. Probably the worst burn comes when he mockingly calls Vegeta the prince of no one.
* TookALevelInKindness: As shocking as it sounds, Frieza of ''all'' people actually took a level of this during the Universal Survival Arc, [[{{Downplayed}} albeit a very small one]]. Not only was he willing to work with the heroes during the arc, but Frieza has actually proven himself to be a decent team player and capable of complementing his allies and showing respect to his enemies.
* TorsoWithAView: Still survived despite being cut in half and half his face blown off.
* TranquilFury:
** Particularly in the ''Kai'' dub. Whenever Frieza experiences an overwhelming amount of shock and anger, he'll lapse into this. But it's only brief as he'll quickly go back to shouting furiously at his opponent.
** This is his default state of mind throughout ''Resurrection F''. He acts like his usual, FauxAffablyEvil self, but underneath that cheery sociopathic demeanor is a boiling cauldron of psychotic fury and hatred towards Goku for humiliating him. And when he decides to go all out in his battle with Goku, this MaskOfSanity simply [[UnstoppableRage slips away, revealing it all]].
* TransformationIsAFreeAction: Zigzagged when he reaches his final form. The TransformationSequence is so long that the heroes have enough time to heal Piccolo and Vegeta.
* TraumaButton: In ''Super'', due to his defeat at Goku's hands and his experience in Hell, any kind of mercy, [[CruelMercy cruel]] or otherwise, will trigger an attack of PTSD. When he sees Gohan choose to spare Captain Ginyu-in-Tagoma's body after defeating him, Frieza is immediately reminded of Goku's CruelMercy towards him back on Namek and has a massive FreakOut, personally stepping into battle and torturing Gohan with BeamSpam until he's left crippled on the ground.
* {{Troll}}: And an [[PsychopathicManchild insanely childish]] one to boot. Frieza taunts an [[UnstoppableRage utterly pissed]] Super Saiyan Goku over Krillin's death as well as threats to his son's life on ''multiple occasions'' throughout the fight just to be a dick, and in ''Super'' actually tries to order a hit out on Krillin and take potshots at Goku's family and friends for pretty much the same reason. Considering that Saiyans get stronger the angrier they become, [[StupidEvil it's a suicidally stupid decision]]. [[TooDumbToLive Which Frieza knows and doesn't give a rat's ass about]].
* UnderestimatingBadassery:
** Ironically, despite the SmugSuper trope listed, and the habits of his men, he tried his very best ''not'' to do this: Frieza is utterly motivated by the fear of someone approaching him in power, and since he had never encountered someone outside of his family coming close to his full strength, his response would be to utterly overwhelm his opponents with sheer force. His usage of ''all'' his OneWingedAngel forms in response to (in that order): Vegeta, Piccolo and Gohan; and the IAmNotLeftHanded trope primarily to Goku, was to completely stomp them into the ground. However, his bad habits of toying with his opponents when he believes they can't fight back is what undermines this, and leaves the door open for {{Heroic Second Wind}}s, and even the OneWingedAngel trope being used against him.
** Played with in ''Resurrection 'F'''. When he hears that Goku has defeated Majin Buu, he knows without a doubt that he cannot defeat Goku in his present state. This is what motivates him to buckle down and actually train for once, unlocking a terrifying amount of power in the process. When he comes to Earth, he is clearly appreciative of the fact that Goku will be a tough opponent to take down, and he goes so far as to have a contingency plan up his sleeve just in case he loses again. When he meets Goku, he doesn't play around and immediately goes into his true form and uses his full power. [[spoiler:Despite this, he is still surprised that Goku didn't need to go Super Saiyan to utterly destroy his true form, nor does he realize that he should have mastered his new transformation and not rely on raw power alone. He also plays this straight in regards to Vegeta. The thought apparently never crossed his mind that Vegeta might have become nearly as powerful as Goku. He seemingly didn't even believe Vegeta could become a regular Super Saiyan]].
** Played with when [[spoiler:Frieza returns in the Universal Survival Saga. He and Goku have a brief sparring match, and he thinks he can kill Goku, assuming Goku underestimates him since he has gotten stronger since the Resurrection 'F' Saga. He's shocked to learn that he's only even with Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan Goku when he was once superior. And he doesn't know Goku can stack the Kaioken on his god form]].
** After Toppo makes up his mind and become a God of Destruction Frieza is at first unimpressed by him even after his ray beam attack got easely erased by Toppo's newfound energy of destruction. So when Toppo send a big ball of destruction at him Frieza, who had managed to counter another attack with destruction energy from one of Universe 9 assassins, thinks that he can easely foil it too and doesn't even try to dodge it, nevermind that the ball that Toppo throws at him is far larger that the one he was attacked with previously and that the hitman was far less powerful than Toppo. Evidently the attack proves too much to handle for Frieza who is grievously injured by it, and his attempts at revenge against Toppo who foils Frieza's attempts at revenge with comical ease and proceeds to give him a particularly vicious beatdown.
** Ironically, he's also sometimes a victim of this trope despite his title of strongest in the universe. Both King Vegeta and his son, when they rebel against him, learn the hard way (two times for Prince Vegeta) that his title of "Strongest Being in the Universe" is '''not''' just to show off. Similarly, Piccolo thinks that he can take Frieza after training with King Kai and didn't really want to fuse with Nail, believing that he didn't need his power. Even fused, Piccolo finds out that he isn't even a speck of dust compared to Frieza's 100% full power. Goku also believes that Frieza is bluffing when he claims that 50% of his power is more than enough to crush him. Within minutes, Goku finds out that he ''isn't'' bluffing. Similarly, Sidra's assassins also dismiss him as an ordinary fighter before Frieza personally makes them his guinea pigs to demonstrate his Mastered Golden Form.
* UnderwearOfPower: In his first three forms, after he destroyed his armor, he's only left with his ''glorious'' black slip.
* UndignifiedDeath:
** He is cut to pieces by Trunks and then vaporized. Even worse, he was conscious throughout the entire dicing.
** His second death isn't much better. [[spoiler:He is reduced to ashes by Goku's Kamehameha and can only scream Goku's name in damnation as he dies]].
* UngratefulBastard:
** After being on the verge of death by his own attack, he pleads for Goku to help him. Goku reluctantly loans him some of his ki under the condition that he leaves and never kills again. Frieza responds first by mocking Goku for his mercy and then tries to blast him while his back is turned.
** [[spoiler:You would think he would be more grateful to his men for reviving him and saving him from further torment in Hell. Instead, upon being put back together, he kills several of his soldiers just to test his power. Not even Hell itself could mellow this guy]].
** [[spoiler:There's also the fact that he dismisses the idea of reviving his father (who is presumably also in Earth's Hell). This is despite the fact that if not for his father rescuing him after his fight with Goku, he wouldn't have even survived the first fight with Goku]].
** In ''Super'', ''anything'' that reminds him of Goku's mercy sends him over the edge. He really should be grateful to Goku for showing him a bit of pity, [[VillainsWantMercy especially since he was the one who begged for it]].
** [[spoiler:Downplayed by his second resurrection from Whis following the end of the Tournament of Power, where he says he'll go back to his evil ways, but in a surprisingly respectful manner of keeping his promise of helping the Universe 7 team]].
** [[spoiler:In the manga, when Frieza goes up against Berserker[=/=]Legendary Super Saiyan Kale, he starts to have trouble and is brought very close to getting rung out. When [[BigDamnHeroes Goku comes in and saves him]], Frieza responds by kicking him in the side and telling him to get out of the way]].
* UniquenessDecay: The idea of him being the most powerful being in the universe. For a time, the series found ways to HandWave the increasingly powerful foes Goku had to face after him. The Androids and Cell didn't exist yet when Frieza was alive. The warriors Goku faced in the afterlife a) were dead and thus not counted against Frieza's claim of strongest ''in'' the Universe, and b) had been training for thousands of years. Dabura also didn't count against Frieza's claim since he came from the demon realm, which is located outside the universe and Majin Buu had been sealed for so long that it's likely Frieza was simply unaware of him. Though with the introduction of Beerus this claim get a bit shakier, as while he was merely thought of to be a myth by people like Jaco, Vegeta is very aware of his power to the point of being utterly terrified when he met Beerus again later on in his life, despite having power that eclipses Frieza by leagues by that point. ''Resurrection 'F''' addresses this by having Freeza privately admit that he was warned to absolutely ''never'' try to fight either Buu or Beerus by his father, so his claim of being the "strongest in the universe" was likely propaganda from the beginning.
** That being said, he's still unique among the other characters by virtue of his unmatched SuperToughness -- outside of anyone gifted with a HealingFactor -- which is purely biological and not ki-based. He's also a BornWinner, capable of gaining strength at an astronomical pace if he's focused enough for it. Not even ''[[TheAce Goku]]'' can get stronger even remotely as quickly as Frieza can, with his underlying potential being almost nightmarish to contemplate.
* UnskilledButStrong:
** At first, he is never shown to train. It shows in his fighting technique when he overpowers, but is outclassed in skill by less powerful foes such as Vegeta and Piccolo, and hence results in him being matched or even beaten by more skilled fighters, with him often resorting to just unleashing more of his true strength in order to surpass the skill gap. However, the strain on his body is too great to remain at full strength for long, and he can't even sense power levels, which by the Namek saga pretty much ''everyone'' outside his army could do -- but before Goku became a Super Saiyan, he still outclassed just about everyone in the universe in sheer power. This is rammed home in the final showdown between Super Saiyan Goku and 100% Full Power Frieza; at this point, Frieza is strong enough to at least land meaningful hits on Goku, but not only is it clear the power advantage is still in Goku's favor, Frieza's inferior fighting skill means he can't close the gap and takes way more hits than he can afford, on top of his stamina flagging much faster than Goku's too. This ends up with Frieza not so much being beaten by Goku's hits as burning himself out to the point Goku can just smack him around, forcing Frieza to resort to cheap shots and backstabs to grab at victory that only literally blow up in his face.
** In ''Anime/DragonBallZResurrectionF'' after being revived, he decides to train for the first time in his entire life to make up for this. [[spoiler:Even with his training, however, he still manages to be this trope because he rushes to Earth as soon as he achieves his new ultimate form, Golden Frieza, which ended being a ClippedWingAngel much like his original 100% full power form because of it. So, while his raw power ''greatly'' increases, he still gets [[CurbStompBattle curb stomped]] by Goku and Vegeta, who have both the power and the training to use their {{Super Form}}s properly. After a second trip through hell, he controls his anger and gets higher power control skills because of it. See StrongAndSkilled]].
** ''Super'' shows him slowly growing out of it. During the Resurrection 'F' Saga, he actually can sense power levels, unlike the movie, and when he returns in the Universe Survival Saga, he has fully mastered his golden form, by meditating in Hell, having aquired excellent energy controlling skills in the process. Over the course of the tournament, Frieza displays noticeable fighting insight and cunning, making him more StrongAndSkilled.
* UselessUsefulSpell: Even after mastering his full power, he can still opt to bulk up into his "100% full power" form to increase his raw might at the cost of stamina. Normally this would be an acceptable trade-off and come in handy in some situations (Frieza himself advises Frost to use it at the start of a battle), but for Frieza it's literally pointless since he has a Golden form that initially had the same properties to a much greater extent, and later on did not even have any form of drawback. [[spoiler:Frieza still uses this form to trick Frost into transforming in it, making him an easy victim to ring out]].
* UnstoppableRage: Frieza in the heat of battle as he gets truly angry and uses all of his pent up anger and frustration about losing his pride and his life Frieza will often go into a VillainousBreakdown and hand out either a BeamSpam or a NoHoldsBarredBeatdown when being pushed to his limits. [[RageQuit His final move always ends up with him trying destroy a planet]] which if it ever succeeded with either a draw or him winning.
* VilerNewVillain: Fills this role in the Namek Saga to Vegeta, along with [[EvilerThanThou being a bigger threat]]. While Vegeta's a TokenEvilTeammate, he has a warrior's sense of pride and isn't nearly as sadistic as Frieza. Frieza on the other hand is far more of a HateSink than Vegeta at his worst, [[DirtyCoward and a coward at heart]] to boot.
* VillainBall:
** He picks it up after surviving the Spirit Bomb. Instead of just killing the weakened and exhausted Goku right then and there, he decides to torment him by first shooting Piccolo, blowing Krillin to smithereens, and then threatening Gohan, all right in front of him. In doing so, Frieza gets Goku to hit his RageBreakingPoint and go Super Saiyan, leading right to his downfall. In the anime at least, he ''does'' try to shoot Goku first, but Piccolo [[TakingTheBullet took the bullet]] for him, after which Frieza let his sadistic nature get the better of him.
** Frieza picks it up ''again'' after becoming [[{{Cyborg}} Mecha-Frieza]] and going to Earth with his father, King Cold. While Cold [[NoNonsenseNemesis originally planned for them to just blow up the planet from space and be done with it]], Frieza insists on landing and personally killing everyone to make Goku suffer. Within minutes of landing, they're met with [[FutureBadass Future Trunks]], who slaughters them both effortlessly.
** He picks it up a third time in ''Resurrection 'F''', after [[spoiler:Sorbet shoots Goku InTheBack. Instead of just killing Goku, Frieza decided to brutally torture him, and then, in order to twist the knife even further, offers Vegeta a high-ranking position in his empire if ''he'' kills Goku instead. Vegeta refuses, saves Goku, and beats Frieza senseless]].
** [[spoiler:''Anime/DragonBallSuperBroly'' zigzags this. Frieza and Goku are at a stalemate, and anyone else who could stop him is unwilling. So instead of training Frieza decides to rely on Broly and Paragus. When Broly can't hack he kills Paragus, which blows up in his face leaving him to be beaten up for at least an hour. And to prove the sheer denseness that is Frieza, he still wants to recruit Broly in order to fight Goku. However, he is no longer a BadBoss and he has finally learned when to fold 'em, to the point he plans on ''years'' of training to make sure recruiting Broly at his right hand is a safe exercise]].
* VillainCred: While Frieza is mostly after Goku for revenge, he does take a moment to point out in ''Resurrection 'F''' that he can't be taken seriously if he is afraid to fight some filthy monkey on a backwater planet.
* VillainForgotToLevelGrind:
** PlayedStraight, at first. Freeza was naturally so powerful that he never ''needed'' to train... so he didn't. This did come back to bite him in the ass, as Goku eventually overcame him and the strain of actually using 100% of his full power was too much. Had he bothered to train while at full strength, his battle with Goku would have turned out very differently.
** Later on, this was averted. Getting turned into a cyborg did make him stronger, just not strong enough to take on Goku, so he also brought his almost-as-strong dad to even the odds against Goku. Future Trunks gets around this by totally demolishing him [[TalkingIsAFreeAction before he could even power up]]. It's demonstrated later that, even if Trunks hadn't done that, Goku would have been damn near unbeatable, since he had improved far more than Frieza had. Trunks was slightly stronger than he was on Namek and Goku deflected every single one of Trunks' blows with one finger.
** Then there's the movies, original ''Z'' anime content, and ''GT'', where he appears from the dead several times, got to keep his body in Hell and train and even made some improvements (unlike the manga's continuity, where the evil dead ''don't'' get that favor)... yet did not increase his strength NEARLY enough to keep up with the others, who'd progressed to threats that made him look like a joke. Gohan kills him with one punch in ''Fusion Reborn'', Pikkon one-shots him and his dad in the Otherworld Tournament FillerArc, and Goku humiliates him in ''GT'' without even bothering to use Super Saiyan.
** ''Finally'' [[AvertedTrope averted]] in ''Resurrection 'F''', where upon being told that Goku [[DefeatingTheUndefeatable defeated Majin Buu]] (the Djinn being one of the two beings his father warned him to avoid at all costs), he decides to train for the first time in his life. A mere ''four months'' of training brings his strength from weaker than the weakest Supreme Kai to near-''[[PhysicalGod Beerus]]'' level. However, this is ultimately subverted when [[spoiler:he attains a new transformation, he underestimates his opponent AGAIN and immediately goes off to seek his revenge without mastering the form first. He succeeds in overpowering Goku for the first part of the battle, but quickly loses steam and gets [[CurbStompBattle stomped]]]].
** Also averted in [[spoiler:the Universe Survival Saga, where he is revealed to have improved in Hell, completely mastering his golden form]].
** Probably the most extreme aversion of this happens in [[spoiler:the end of the Granolah arc. After Goku, Vegeta, and Granolah's grueling battle with Gas, Frieza drops in, [[OneHitKill kills Gas in one hit,]] then knocks Mastered Ultra Instinct Goku and Ultra Ego Vegeta out [[CurbStompBattle with a gut punch each.]] He did this by finding a dimension similar to the hyperbolic time chamber and training there for ''ten years.'' During that time, he acquired a new SuperForm and mastered it. Frieza didn't just level grind, he ''[[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill overleveled]]''.]]
* VillainousBreakdown:
** Gradually happens throughout his fight with Goku on Planet Namek. Even after powering up to 100% of his full power in his final form, it still wasn't enough to stop Goku as a Super Saiyan. By the end of the fight, Frieza could barely form sentences or think straight, because he was so angry and afraid.
** Happens again as he fights with Trunks. In the anime, it gets so bad that he tries to nuke the entire planet.
** He has several in ''Resurrection 'F''' and with each one he loses more of his sanity. His first one is when Goku outmatched his true form without going Super Saiyan. He has another one after Goku beats his ultimate transformation because he was leaking power. He has yet another one when Vegeta reveals that not only can he go Super Saiyan, but he has the same type of transformation as Goku. And again when he loses his golden form, screaming and punching the ground in anger, almost as he was going to cry. Finally, Frieza screams in horror as he's welcomed back to his tree in Hell.
--->'''Frieza:''' ''[to Goku]'' Damn you! Why?! Why?! [[ThisCannotBe This shouldn't be happening]]! I am Lord Frieza!
** Compared to the movie, he takes losing to Vegeta very badly in ''Dragon Ball Super''. The very idea that Vegeta could beat him was worse for him to take than Goku defeating him.
** Throughout the Tournament of Power, Frieza ends up being quite calm and collected, even knowing that beings such as Ultra Instinct Goku and Jiren exist. And then Toppo, who he'd dismissed as trash, becomes a God of Destruction and utterly ''wrecks him.'' Frieza's composure flies out the window and he tries to vaporize the entire stage. After Vegeta rings out Toppo, Frieza is still livid over his humiliation and tries to take it out on Jiren...with as much success.
* VillainousFriendship:
** A straightforward example (if by margin) is his and Captain Ginyu's mutual respect for each other, given that Ginyu is the only henchman who seems truly loyal to Frieza and that he's the only henchman Frieza doesn't abuse, which given Ginyu's childishness, that's saying something.
** Forms one with Frost when they meet before the Tournament of Power. The only person an evil tyrant likes is another evil tyrant, it appears. [[spoiler:Well, not quite, given that Frieza betrays Frost in the Tournament]].
** Forms one with Cell in the non-canon material based on their mutual hatred of Goku.
* VillainRespect:
** He gives subtle ones to Goku after he's brought back to life. When Sorbet tells him that Goku has gotten much stronger, Frieza isn't surprised and expects it to be the case. When told the extent of Goku's growth, he's both surprised and impressed. When Frieza realises what a Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan is and what it implies for Goku, he takes a sincere bow in respect to Goku for having achieved godhood. Of course, he follows it up with an insult about how the God of Saiyans is still a Saiyan, but the sentiment was genuine.
** Back on Namek, Frieza was so sure of his superiority that he barely remembered King Vegeta. That said, it really says a lot that, as opposed to forgetting about the king, he vividly remembers Bardock's last stand.
*** Indeed on Namek Frieza appears genuinely impressed by Goku, finding him to be different from the other Saiyans and "fantastic" even though he's barely using 1% of his full power at the time, to the point he appears honestly disappointed that Goku won't join him regardless of his fear of the Super Saiyan legend.
** After his resurrection 17 years later, Frieza ''consistently'' refers to Goku with the polite-respectful prefix of "Anata" (which is the rough equivalent of "My Good Sir") even when he is enraged or thinking to himself. This contrasts the instances when he roared "omae" ("You~!" when addressing equals or social inferiors) or "Kisama" ("SCUM") after his VillainousBreakdown on Namek, and his uncontrollable contempt for Goku after being resurrected.
** He also seems to be pretty much the ''only'' member of Team Universe 7 who acknowledges Gohan's intelligence, wordlessly making plans under the assumption that he would catch onto them in order to let their enemies down and working together to defeat Dyspo.
** After the events of ''Anime/DragonBallSuperBroly'', he expresses outright admiration for [[spoiler:Broly, specifically intending to eventually make him his right-hand man. This is ''after'' he spent over an hour being beaten down by the enraged Super Saiyan]].
* VillainousLegacy:
** Even after his demise, his influence is still felt. The Super Saiyans exist directly because of him, he lives on in a sense in the next major villain [[Characters/DragonBallCell Cell]] (who takes on most of his personality traits, as well as his ability to breathe in vacuum), he is the reason why the Namekian Dragon Balls can now revive several people at once (used to be one per wish), and his defeat leads Beerus to Earth seeking a Super Saiyan God, and his second defeat leading to Gohan training again.
** On top of all that, the FinalBoss of ''GT'', Syn Shenron, was created from the wish to bring back everyone killed by Frieza and his men. Syn Shenron is the most evil dragon out of all seven.
* VillainousRescue: Frieza of all people pulls several of these in the Tournament of Power to save Goku.
** At risk of being blasted out of the ring by Anilaza, Frieza shows up and kicks Goku back in, then teams up with the rest of Universe 7 to fight the rampaging monster.
** [[spoiler:When Jiren very nearly rings out Goku, Frieza appears yet again to blast Goku back into the ring, saving him from elimination the second time]].
*** In ''Anime/SuperDragonBallHeroes'', him and Cooler pull one off as Goku and Vegeta are being over-powered by the Crimson Masked Saiyan (actually an alternate timeline version of [[spoiler:Goku Black]]), attacking the latter just after he knocks Vegeta to the ground and is winning the battle.
* VillainousValor: {{Deconstructed|Trope}}. As noted above, Frieza's will to live and overall determination are admirable, but his defeats are always the results of his complete refusal to give up and fight another day.
* VillainRespect: In the Universe Survival Arc, [[spoiler:[[EnemyMine Goku and Frieza team up]] against [[FinalBoss Jiren]] in the final episode. While he is still evil, he appeared to show ''genuine'' respect for Goku, going so far as to say he was actually grateful for his naive nature]].
* VillainsNeverLie: He ultimately kept his word in the Tournament of Power, and made no attempt to hide the fact he was evil, even reminding the heroes of this several times and asking if they were sure they should trust him.
* VillainOnLeave: After Frieza is killed for the first time by Future Trunks, he stays dead for the rest of the original series, only reappearing in filler as a HarmlessVillain. He reappears in ''GT'', but only for a single episode to the same effect. Then comes ''Super'', in which Frieza returns as a BigBad and later comes back again as a supporting character.
* VillainSong: Apart from "F" by Maximum the Hormone, there's also [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNLO-2uSB-k Only A Chilling Elegy]], his theme song in ''Kai'', which describes him and his ambition to claim eternal life.
* TheVillainSucksSong: "F" by Maximum the Hormone, which is about how terrifyingly evil he is. It actually inspired Toriyama to create the ''Resurrection 'F''' movie, and was featured in it as an insert song.
* VillainsWantMercy: After being [[HalfTheManHeUsedToBe cut in half]] by his own attack, he begs Goku for help. Goku gives him some energy, but not before calling Frieza out on never having shown mercy towards any of the countless people he's killed. As Goku's flying away, [[BackstabBackfire Frieza tries to use that same energy to blast Goku, but Goku just turns around and blows him away]], [[LampshadeHanging outright calling Frieza a fool for not just walking away when he had the chance]].
* VirtueIsWeakness: He has ''nothing'' but disgust and contempt for Goku for showing mercy to him, and even goes so far as to mock him for it point-blank. In ''Resurrection 'F''', he says that Gohan choosing not to kill any of his mooks actually makes him sick.
* VoiceOfTheLegion: He talks like this when he is in his Xenomorph form in the Funimation dub. This is gone, however, in the Remastered Dragon Ball boxset. He now speaks in the same voice as his second form.
* WantsAPrizeForBasicDecency: During his [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown brutal beatdown]] of Vegeta, he lectures him on being an UngratefulBastard and betraying him despite showing him "favoritism." Freeza's form of favortism is making Vegeta one of three Saiyans he didn't eradicate.
* TheWarlord: Frieza is the leader of the Planet Trade Organization, better known as the Frieza Force -- a massive army that has conquered much of the known universe and operates by wiping out all life on planets of interest and selling them to the highest bidder. Frieza himself doesn't seem to have much of a bureaucracy beyond ruling his conquered territories through fear, and revels in conquest and genocide -- even blowing up loyal planets to amuse himself.
* WarriorPrince: Is referred to as a prince by one of King Cold's soldiers and can destroy a planet with a [[FingerPokeofDoom finger poke]].
* WeakPoint: Arguably, his tail. It got sliced up in his second form, and did not heal in his third form (some official art of his third form even depicts him with a sliced tail because he was never seen in that form in canon with it intact). When he assumed his final form by shedding his outer third form, his smaller tail was fully intact, but Goku ended up biting it, and then ''only'' the tail got damaged again by a series of attacks on him meant to finish him off. Finally, even ''more'' of his tail got cut off when Frieza accidentally hit himself with his own attack and got bisected.
** This comes full circle in the ''Universe Survival'' arc, when [[SuperSpeed Dyspo]] of the Pride Troopers uses Frieza's tendency to use his tail in hand-to-hand combat against him by grabbing onto it and ''dragging Frieza behind him at super speed''. Later on, Jiren stomps his tail to anchor him in place after Frieza presses his BerserkButton and begins pummeling his face in. [[spoiler:When he and Goku make their last stand against Jiren, his tail gets blown off ''again'' in the ensuing explosion]].
* WeCanRebuildHim: Frieza's father notes the parts of his body he lost can be rebuilt. The original dub even quotes the line. In fact, the sequence where Frieza is rebuilt into a cyborg pays strong homage to the sequence from ''Series/TheSixMillionDollarMan'' itself.
* WeCanRuleTogether: Before Frieza unleashed 50% of his maximum power he offered Goku a place at his side as his new [[TheDragon right-hand man]], [[SparingTheAces saying it would be a waste to destroy such a talented warrior]]. He was very upset when Goku turned him down cold, not only beating Goku viciously but continuing to bring up that he could have joined him.
* WeHaveReserves: He has absolutely no concern for the lives of his men, to the point that he takes virtually any excuse he can to kill them himself with impunity. A big part of the Namek Saga consists of him sending wave after wave of his mooks after the Z-Fighters until there's literally ''no one'' left.
* WelcomeBackTraitor: Despite Vegeta's treachery on Namek, Frieza is more than willing to forgive and forget if Vegeta kills Goku. He even offers him the position of Supreme Commander. Why Frieza expects Vegeta to join him after he killed his people, humiliated and demeaned him, and tortured him to death is beyond explanation.
* WeWillMeetAgain:
** [[spoiler:At the end of the Universal Survival arc, he is resurrected by Whis and sarcastically quips that he might just go back to his evil ways, clearly planning to do battle with Goku again either way]].
** At the end of ''Broly'', he swears he'll return to destroy Earth one day and [[spoiler:will leave Broly alone for now but intends to try and recruit him again after a few more years of training]].
* WhatTheHellAreYou: He asks this to Super Saiyan Goku, as it's at this point where he realizes just what's he dealing with.
* WhileRomeBurns: Frieza is a big fan of this, though he usually is the one causing the disaster. When he initially destroyed Planet Vegeta, Namek, and [[spoiler:Earth]], he laughs each and every time. This is especially noticeable after he succeeds [[spoiler:in driving Broly insane]] and having him unleash his full power. He just stands back and chuckles as energy blasts explode all around him.
* WhoNeedsTheirWholeBody:
** During the climax of his battle with Goku, Frieza gets in the way of his own attack and loses the [[HalfTheManHeUsedToBe lower half of his body]] and an arm. He survives this, and after Goku gives in and donates some of his energy to him, he's able to get right back up and hardly seems bothered by the fact that most of his body is gone.
** When Frieza is revived for the second time, he is revived in the same pieces Trunks cut him in before atomizing him, and expresses minor annoyance regarding this.
* WhoWantsToLiveForever: By ''Super: Broly'', he realizes what would happen if he were ever rendered immobile while immortal, and gives up that dream in favour of [[EvilIsPetty a few more centimeters to his height]].
* WickedPretentious: He is a businessman who drinks AGlassOfChianti and acts sophisticated and aristocratic. However, beneath that elegant personality lies a {{Moodswinging}} PsychopathicManchild [[HairTriggerTemper with anger issues]].
* WildCard: [[spoiler:In the Universal Survival saga, he's theoretically on Universe 7's team. While there are several moments that bring his loyalty to the team into question, he ultimately upholds his end of the bargain to the end and gets resurrected as a result]].
* WillfullyWeak: Frieza limits his vast power with his transformations because he never trained his body to handle his full strength and he suffers from notable SanitySlippage the more he reaches into his reserves (though this is more or less him losing his composure as he ends up on the losing side of a fight). Unfortunately, when he does finally go all-out against Super Saiyan Goku, it's too late, since his stamina didn't last throughout their fight.
* WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity: It is heavily implied that he transforms to decrease his overall power because he is almost incapable of controlling himself in later forms. Especially the 2nd and 3rd.
* TheWorfEffect: On both the giving and receiving end of this:
** The first sign of how tough Super Saiyan Goku is? He easily slaps 50% Frieza around and {{No Sell}}s a Death Beam ''to the face''. When forced to power up to his 100% maximum he's able to give a better fight, though still in Goku's favor, but that quickly changes as his stamina gives out and Goku just starts toying with him.
** It takes Trunks seconds to cut him to pieces and vaporize the remains.
** In ''Resurrection 'F''', after training, he shows off his power by nearly killing Gohan, who had just taken down most of Frieza's mooks himself, with one punch. In his ''first form''.
** Also from ''Resurrection 'F''', after transforming into his true form at max power, he can't even touch Goku who was fighting in his base form, and though he's able to turn it around once they both pull out their {{Super Mode}}s, he quickly starts falling behind just like last time once his stamina starts to tank.
** In the Universe Survival Arc, Golden Frieza is on the receiving end of a ''savage'' NoHoldsBarredBeatdown from Toppo after the latter becomes a God of Destruction. Unlike all the above examples, there is absolutely ''no'' WorfHadTheFlu in play whatsoever: Frieza didn't underestimate his foe long enough to get blindsided, he didn't toy with them long enough to run out of stamina, and he wasn't worn out from any prior encounters; Toppo was just straight-up way above Frieza's level.
* WorldsBestWarrior: When he was introduced in the strongest he was the greatest warrior in the universe, as he was able to destroy a planet and kill King Vegeta with a single punch in his first form, no one was able to defeat him, that is until Goku became a Super Saiyan and defeated him. In Super he came back even stronger and was able to fight on par with Goku and Vegeta, both of whom have reached divine levels of power.
* WorldsStrongestMan: At the time of his introduction, he was the undisputed strongest being in the universe, with no one in the series coming anywhere close to his level. His status is a RetCon of Vegeta, who was stated to be the strongest in the universe in the arc before his. Frieza himself is later {{retcon}}ed with the introduction of the Supreme Kais, Majin Buu, Dabura, Whis, and Beerus, all of whom have been around for eons and are far stronger than Frieza. This is {{justified|Trope}} since Frieza, at the very least, was the strongest active mortal in the universe. However in ''Super'', after coming back from the dead and buckling down to do some actual training with some extra mental training in Hell on the side, he managed to quickly rise the ranks once more, and while still weaker than the likes of Goku and Vegeta could very likely comfortably sit at "third-strongest" mortal. In ''Broly'', he actually lasts longer against the titular character than either Goku or Vegeta, and could be inferred as being the second most powerful mortal in terms of reliable power. [[spoiler:In ''Granolah the Survivor Saga'', it is implied that he is the one whom the Oracle Fish predicted would be the one to awaken as the strongest in the universe. Since after spending a decade of training in a Hyperbolic Time Chamber and technically not being in the universe when Granolah and the Heeters made their wish, he is able to attain a new form called "Black Frieza" and uses it to easily kill Gas and knock out both True Ultra Instinct Goku and Ultra Ego Vegeta with one punch, certainly making him the strongest mortal in Universe 7, if not the entire ''Multiverse''.]]
* WorthyOpponent:
** At least in ''Dragon Ball Super''. [[VillainRespect Frieza views Goku as this in his own way]]. He isn't surprised when he hears that Goku has become a lot stronger and is actually impressed to hear that he surpassed Majin Buu. [[CrazyPrepared He comes up with a backup plan]] in case he loses again, fully acknowledging that he can be defeated by Goku despite being confident he can win with his new ultimate transformation. He also shows real respect towards Goku for achieving godhood.
** Interestingly enough this respect is only aimed at Goku however. When he lost to Goku again he was very upset, but his anger was quite mild. When he lost to Vegeta on the other hand he has a ''major'' VillainousBreakdown and screams that he can't lose to Vegeta of all people. {{Justified|Trope}} given that Frieza has been stronger than Vegeta his entire life, so the idea of Vegeta becoming stronger then him is something he refuses to even consider, especially given how Goku was able to somewhat match him in their first ever fight.
* WouldHurtAChild: Shows no hesitation towards fighting Gohan or blasting Dende. He personally kills Dende's brother, Cargo, in the manga.
* WouldYouLikeToHearHowTheyDied: After incapacitating Goku, Frieza lies to Gohan, claiming that Goku died begging for mercy and crying like a baby.
* XenomorphXerox: His third form looks a lot like the eponymous creature from the ''Franchise/{{Alien}}'' series.
%%* YouCantFightFate: See NiceJobFixingItVillain.
* YellowPurpleContrast: As said in the GoldenSuperMode trope above, his Golden Frieza form is this: majority of his entire body becomes gold-colored but his hands, feet, and the area around his mouth turn purple instead.
* YouAreACreditToYourRace: [[spoiler:After he comes back during the Universal Survival Saga]], he seems to have grown much more respectful of Goku despite hating his guts, his speech noticeably lacking the racist undertones he possessed previously towards him.
* YouHaveFailedMe: He kills one of his men after the latter forgot to ask one of the Namekian survivors of Vegeta's attack where Vegeta is before killing the survivor, and implies that he'll kill Zarbon the exact same way if he doesn't find Vegeta and deliver him to him. Also, he kills one of his father's men by impaling his chest from behind when the latter started to show signs of fear.
* YouFool: Goku shouts this when Frieza uses the energy that he gave him to escape the exploding Namek to kill him one last time.
* YouSaidYouWouldLetThemGo: Frieza, after he forced King Vegeta to give him custody of his son, Prince Vegeta, also stated that if Vegeta didn't do as he commanded him, he will murder his father. Vegeta did everything Frieza commanded for him to do, but Frieza still murdered King Vegeta anyways, as well as destroying Planet Vegeta. Slightly justified in the case of killing King Vegeta, however, as King Vegeta was attacking Freeza when he killed him, although he nonetheless planned on eradicating the Saiyans from the start and had just obtained the approval of "orders" from Beerus to do so.
[[/folder]]

[[Characters/DragonBallOriginalSeriesVillains Original Series Villains]] | [[Characters/DragonBallRedRibbonArmy Red Ribbon Army]] ([[Characters/DragonBallDrGero Dr. Gero/Android 20]] | [[Characters/DragonBallCell Cell]]) | [[Characters/DragonBallDemonKingPiccolo Demon King Piccolo]] | [[Characters/DragonBallZVillains DBZ Villains]] | [[Characters/DragonBallFriezasEmpire Frieza's Empire]] ('''Freeza/Frieza''' | [[Characters/DragonBallCooler Cooler/Coola]]) | [[Characters/DragonBallMajinBuu Majin Buu]] | [[Characters/DragonBallZMovieVillains DBZ Movie Villains]] | [[Characters/DragonBallBroly Broly]] | [[Characters/DragonBallGTVillains GT Villains]] | [[Characters/DragonBallSuperVillains DBS Villains]] ([[Characters/DragonBallFrost Frost]] | [[Characters/DragonBallGokuBlack Goku Black]] | [[Characters/DragonBallZamasu Zamasu/Zamas]] | [[Characters/DragonBallMoro Moro]])-]]]]]

* DubNameChange: When ''Dragon Ball Z'' was dubbed into Hungarian, the Hungarian dubbers thought he was female, and changed "her" name to Dermesztina ("Freezetina"). One they got the memo that Frieza is actually a male, they [[InconsistentDub changed]] it to to Dermesztő ("Freezer").

* ShesAManInJapan: The Greek dub of the anime turns Frieza into a female and gives her a [[Creator/MatinaKarras female voice actress]]. [[https://youtu.be/fLgRdM5dWpc No, really]].

* SissyVillain: Painstakingly polite, prominent lips, always in some coloration of pink, purple, and [[LightIsNotGood white]]. No wonder many U.S. fans initially thought he was female. It doesn't help that a few of his voice actors have been women.

* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: Defied. [[spoiler:He didn't care for his father to rot in hell as opposed to wishing him back to life, and he was willing to betray his own universe for his own sake. The Universe 9 Gods found it unbelievable]]. This is especially notable because we see Frieza be trusting and generous to others, including his childhood nanny, at a few points during and after this period, and serves to remind the audience that Frieza is simply playing the role of FauxAffablyEvil.

** Surprisingly played straight in ''Broly''. Berryblue, his advisor and probably the closest thing to a mother, is the one of the only few people Frieza shows genuine affection for, even allowing her to make snarks at his expense when he has killed countless for less.

Check out his [[SelfDemonstrating/{{Frieza}} self-demonstrating page]].

A tyrannical EvilOverlord who aspires to take over the universe, but his first agenda is to [[ImmortalitySeeker gain immortality]] through the Namek Dragon Balls. A member of a highly formidable race, Freeza is every bit as cold-hearted as the name suggests, and then some. Responsible for nearly destroying all of the Saiyan race (despite the fact he was employing them in the first place). After a lot of cat and mouse with the Z Fighters[[note]]Krillin, Gohan, Piccolo, and Vegeta[[/note]] on Planet Namek, he comes into confrontation with Goku leading to the single longest fight in the entire series. Eventually, he is struck down by his own attack and presumed dead after Namek is destroyed. However, he survived and is rebuilt as a cyborg by his father King Cold and heads for Earth... only to be [[TheWorfEffect chopped up and blasted to atoms]] by Future Trunks upon arrival.

Years later, he was revived using the Earth's Dragon Balls to restore the Planet Trade Organization in ''Anime/DragonBallZResurrectionF''. [[RevengeBeforeReason Instead he chose to seek revenge against Goku and Trunks]]. After being told that Goku defeated [[TheDreaded Majin Buu]], Freeza decides to train for the first time in his life to bring out all his latent power. [[TookALevelInBadass He largely succeeded and gained a new ultimate transformation]]. However, he's still done in because his GoldenSuperMode quickly drained his stamina. After losing to Goku and Vegeta, [[RageQuit he decides to destroy the Earth]]. Whis rewinds time on him, allowing Goku to kill Freeza once and for all.

Sometime after the events of his revival and death, Freeza is asked by Goku to join the Universe 7 team for the Tournament of Power hosted by Zeno. He's given a 24-hour pass into the mortal realm thanks to Fortuneteller Baba and is completely revived once again by Whis after assisting in Universe 7's victory. Unlike Goku's other adversaries, Freeza doesn't become an ally after this, choosing to rebuild his empire once more and surpass the Saiyan.

Aside from this, Freeza is [[TropeCodifier the one who modernized]] the concept of OneWingedAngel as well as the BishonenLine as he abuses both in his fights with the Z-Fighters with ridiculous power increases and used to hide his true power in his fourth form, which is his ''normal'' state. Even more notably, other than his obviously justified SmugSuper attitude is his absolute sadism, LackOfEmpathy and the brutal beatdowns he inflicts on his enemies. The rest of his family are no different, [[LikeFatherLikeSon and he takes after his equally vile father the most]]. [[Characters/DragonBallCooler He also has an older brother of dubious canonical status named Cooler that rivals his might]].

It's also interesting to note that Freeza is the last villain in the original manga to have any interest in the [[MacGuffin Dragon Balls]]; all subsequent villains, particularly Cell and Majin Buu, were more concerned with either acquiring power for themselves or simply wanton mass destruction. It isn't until ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'' that the titular holy orbs became a point of interest again for the villains.

Check out his [[SelfDemonstrating/{{Freeza}} self-demonstrating page]].

* ZeroPercentApprovalRating: Downplayed. While he is despised and loathed by all the main heroes and the universe at large, he is highly respected by his soldiers and followers. However, in ''[[Anime/DragonBallZResurrectionF Resurrection ‘F’]]'' it's established that the ''only'' reason his men used the Dragon Balls to resurrect him is because with the empire going down since his demise, they see his [[TheDreaded fear factor]] as [[GodzillaThreshold the only way to restore it]]. Even while searching for the Dragon Balls, Tagoma flat-out tells Sorbet that it's a bad idea to resurrect Freeza given what a psychopath he was, and Sorbet agrees that they may be better off without him. [[spoiler:By ''Broly'', the heroes are able to tolerate him, and Freeza has completely loyal supporters in his nanny Berryblue and top scientist, Kikono, who also are among the last remaining members of his inner circle.]]

** Freeza implies after Goku managed to deal some damage on him that King Cold has hurt him in his final form during either training or just out of abuse.
--->'''Freeza:''' ''[dusting off]'' Well, well. It seems like you are the first to hurt me in my real form besides my loving parents.
** He was also Vegeta's main parental figure for most of his life. Freeza made Vegeta one of his men and for years, took every possible opportunity to demean and insult him. During their fight on Namek, Freeza brutally tortured Vegeta to death both to punish him for his treachery and ForTheEvulz. Needless to say, Vegeta has every reason to hate Freeza and want him dead and that was ''before'' he found out Freeza destroyed Planet Vegeta. Ironically, going by ''Broly'', Freeza may only be a few years older than Vegeta.
* TheAce: Although stronger characters were later introduced, at the time of his introduction, Freeza was the strongest being in the universe without training a day in his life. He also has an insane amount of durability thanks to his species' extreme survivability and was still alive after Trunks ''cut him to bits'' (although vaporising the bits finished him off). In ''Resurrection F'', through training for only four months Freeza manages to close the power gap with Goku, who had powers beyond godhood. With that said, [[ArrogantKungFuGuy his own arrogance]] in his greatness proves to be his FatalFlaw. He didn't bother to learn to control his full power, which left him with very poor endurance. Both times he fights Goku, he loses because he burnt himself out. The mental trauma he suffers after Goku beats him turns him into a BrokenAce.

** In the manga when Krillin cuts off his tail with the Kienzan, Freeza notably grimaces in pain. In the anime, Freeza isn't implied to actually be in pain from this and is simply shocked and angered.
** {{Downplayed}}. In the manga, 100% Full Power Freeza put up a decent fight against Super Saiyan Goku, but never had a chance at winning. He puts up a better fight in the anime, and they are more evenly matched, but it is clear that he takes more damage from Goku's hits and his stamina drains much more quickly than Goku's, leading to his defeat.
** PlayedStraight in ''Dragon Ball Super'', when he not only has a ki sense, but is also able to match Goku more equally in his final form and outmatched him longer in his golden state in comparison to the movie where Freeza only had the advantage for a few minutes before his power began to drop. [[ZigzaggedTrope At the same time]], his stamina issues are even ''worse'' as Golden Freeza. While in the movie Golden Freeza maintained his full power throughout most of the fight, Freeza burns himself out after only a minute at fighting at full power and is out of breath before Goku does anything to him. [[spoiler:Episode 95 reveals that he's managed to control his golden form's stamina by meditating during his time in Hell.]]
** ''Anime/DragonBallZResurrectionF'' proper also shows a bit of this before fighting Goku. In anime filler, movies and ''Anime/DragonBallGT'', he's [[TheWorfEffect constantly outclassed by the heroes]] after Trunks kills him, and is easily taken out by, in order: Pikkon before the [[TournamentArc Other World Tournament]], Gohan in ''[[Anime/DragonBallZFusionReborn Fusion Reborn]]'', and Goku in ''GT''. Notably, Gohan's instance has him insta-kill Freeza's final form with a single punch. In ''Resurrection 'F''', he realizes how outclassed he initially is due to his lack of training, and goes to amend that issue. After four months, he's able to take Gohan out of commission with a similar punch in his ''base'' form, and shows off [[AwesomeButImpractical Golden Freeza]] for the first time while fighting Goku. And to his credit, he comes extremely close to ''winning'' this time around, blowing up Earth much quicker than he did with Namek and managing to kill [[PhysicalGod Super Saiyan Blue Vegeta]] this way; had [[ResetButton Whis]] not been present, this would have sealed his victory right then and there.

** It's {{Downplayed}} but in the novel adaptation of ''Anime/DragonBallSuperBroly'', [[spoiler:Freeza put up a better fight than in the anime, with his attacks somewhat staggering Broly. He's still heavily on the losing end but he get a few licks in at least.]]

** In one of his routes in ''Supersonic Warriors 2'', Freeza truly loves his father, and is genuinely grateful when Cold saves Freeza's life from Cooler.
* AdaptationalVillainy: As absolutely amazing as it sounds, Freeza manages to get this in ''Dragon Ball Super'' when compared to ''Resurrection ‘F’''. In the movie, Freeza [[UngratefulBastard kills his men when he's revived to test his power]], [[RevengeBeforeReason throws Tagoma out of the airlock for speaking out against his revenge plan]], [[YouHaveFailedMe kills off his entire army after they fail to kill even one of the Z-Fighters]], and [[RageQuit blows up]] the Earth after he loses to Vegeta. As bad as this list is, he's ''worse'' in ''Super''. While he doesn't kill his men to test his power, he tortures and demeans them and shows no respect towards Sorbet despite all he's done to preserve the empire and bring Freeza back to life. He also tortures Tagoma for four months after he speaks out against Freeza's plan and shatters the guy's sanity, turning the once NobleDemon to a coldblooded murderer who is just as bad as Freeza. As the Z-Fighters battle his army, he puts a bounty on Krillin's head, promising a planet to whoever kills him, since he knows that Krillin's death will cause Goku a great amount of pain. He then goes on to torture Gohan for reminding him of Goku's mercy towards him on Namek, [[HeroicSacrifice which leads to Piccolo's death]] since he shields Gohan from a fatal Death Beam and he brags about how he is going to kill Gohan's entire family once he's done with him. When Goku finally arrives, he shows off his new power by killing off his remaining men when he goes into his true form and [[CombatPragmatist attacks Goku's friends during their fight to distract him]]. He then tells Goku about his plans to destroy Earth and Namek once he kills him so no one can ever be wished back again. The differences are so stark that Freeza in ''Resurrection ‘F’'' looks like a decent person compared to his ''Super'' counterpart.

** After losing to Goku and being killed by Trunks, Freeza realizes that being BrilliantButLazy was the catalyst of his downfall. So, he decides to finally train and bring out all of his latent power. However, he still didn't completely learn his lesson from Namek. [[spoiler:Part of the reason why he lost was because he never learned to control his full power, had no endurance for a prolonged fight, and couldn't respond once raw strength proved to be ineffective outside of nuking the planet. His golden form has the exact same problems to an even ''greater'' extent. After taking so much damage, he loses his ultimate transformation and is reduced to [[RageQuit rage quitting]]]].
** [[spoiler:As of the Universe Survival Saga, this trope is ''finally'' averted. Freeza reveals that he managed to control his energy by meditating during his time in Hell, concentrating solely on killing Goku in the most brutal ways possible. This allows him to maintain his golden form with no loss of stamina. He even opts to rebuild his empire and get strong enough to assuredly kill Goku when he's brought back to life at the end of it.]]

* TheAgeless: While he may have been trying to gain immortality, Freeza doesn't show any signs of age. [[spoiler: After training 10 whole years in the room of spirit and time, Freeza was able to one-shot Gas, Goku and Vegeta in quick succession with no sign of fatigue]].

* AllForNothing: Turns out Freeza's genocide of the Namekian people was for absolutely nothing, seeing how they won't work unless someone speaking fluent Namekian does the summoning and stating the wish- which Freeza is unlikely to ever have them do thanks to his paranoia.

* AloofAlly: Despite [[TokenEvilTeammate all of his posturing and threats of betrayal]], Freeza actually stays true to his word during the Tournament of Power and remains loyal to Universe 7. He even willing gives up his chance to make the wish on the Super Dragon Balls as long as it meant that Goku would stay true to his word and resurrect him.
* AlwaysABiggerFish: Just when it seems like Gas may be the strongest being in the universe, Freeza shows up and effortlessly put him down with a punch.
* AmusingInjuries: During his fight with Goku on Namek, he attempts to strangle him with his tail. Goku retaliates by biting his tail, resulting in a ''very'' out-of-character look on Freeza's face as he lets go to blow on his tail, complete with bite marks... and gives Goku a perfect opening to land a few hits. Late on in the fight, Goku, now a Super Saiyan, slaps Freeza around a bit, then elbows him in the head so hard that it causes Freeza's eyes to bulge out, giving him a goofy bug-eyed expression.

* AndIMustScream: In ''Resurrection ‘F’'' this is Freeza's fate after he dies. In Hell, he is trapped to a tree for the rest of eternity, or at least until he's reborn, unable to move while angels and toy-like creatures sing and dance around him, and it's so saccharine he wants to claw his eyes out. Much harsher than the free-roaming Hell from the ''Z'' fillers and ''GT''. To be fair, Freeza's own arrogance and inherent feeling of superiority doesn't allow him to move on. This finally convinces him to give up pursuing immortality for good.
* AndYourLittleDogToo: His indulging in this is what [[NiceJobFixingItVillain triggers Goku's first Super Saiyan transformation]], [[HoistByHisOwnPetard leading to him beating Freeza to a pulp.]] ''First'' he kills Krillin, who was no threat to him whatsoever and had already been revived once, meaning (as far as Goku knew) he couldn't come back again. Then he declares he's going to do the same to Gohan. [[PapaWolf Goku promptly transforms.]]
* AnIcePerson: Subverted. Freeza's name is a play on the word "freeze", but he has no ice-based powers. However, the translated lyrics to "Only a Chilling Elegy" make several references to freezing.

** While the vast majority of characters in the series either train to earn their power, are designed to have it, or at the very least had to assimilate/eat stronger opponents to evolve, Freeza was simply ''born'' strong and (prior to being defeated by Goku) never had to train for it. This isn't even a common trait of his species; Toriyama states that King Cold and his progeny are simply "mutants".
** While not having the plethora of unfair powers that his successors Cell and Buu possess, Freeza has one major trump card over the heroes: unlike any of them, he can [[BatmanCanBreatheInSpace survive in the vacuum of space]]. This gives him access to a brutal InstantWinCondition at all times: if he can't win against an opponent in a fair fight, he can always kill them by blowing up their planet.
* ArcVillain: The most important one in the saga; the ''Dragon Ball'' Universe would have been a ''very'' different place if Freeza didn't decide to destroy Planet Vegeta and he became the main villain of two story arcs.

** Freeza has made himself a ''lot'' of enemies but probably the two biggest examples are Vegeta and Goku, killing the former's father when he promised he wouldn't and killing the latter's father along with his own minions in a successful attempt in destroying planet Vegeta. It should be noted that Freeza is the only villain in the series to ever make Goku reach such a level of UnstoppableRage and he is one of the two most personal enemies of Goku in the series (the other being Goku Black who outright murdered Goku and his family, even if from a different timeline), as it was Freeza's ruthless actions (and killing of Krillin) that [[NiceJobFixingItVillain got Goku to transform into a Super Saiyan in the first place]]. He also made an enemy in Piccolo as he has his entire race butchered in order to find the Dragon Balls.
** From Freeza's point-of-view, Goku. He despises Goku for beating and humiliating him to the point he all but gives up running his empire just so he can get back at Goku. Even after coming back from the dead, he still wants revenge and dedicates his entire military might to invade Earth. He outright says that he can't stand to share the same universe as Goku and can't even sleep at night as long as Goku is alive.
* ArrogantKungFuGuy: A staple of most ''Dragon Ball'' villains, but Freeza stands out as having all of the power but none of the discipline and maturity as a fighter and this is the main reason he's been defeated so many times. He never bothered to train for even a single day in his entire life and just assumed that nobody could ever challenge him. And those he does sees as a threat, like the Saiyans, he destroys before they can even approach his power. [[spoiler:Even when he finally decides to train to attain more strength, he is short-sighted enough to not master his newfound power and ended up burning himself out once again. When he ''finally'' took care of that part, it's already too late: there are now stronger mortals than Goku, whereas Goku himself has leveled up by a lot as well.]]
* AsskickingLeadsToLeadership: A terrible boss as mentioned below, but when you're as strong as he is, you can be whatever you want.[[note]]To give proper context, in his weakest, most diminished form, Freeza is still 4 1/2 times stronger than his strongest soldier, who himself is almost a hundred times stronger than [[{{Mooks}} Raditz]]. [[spoiler:This gets even worse in ''Resurrection F'' with the revelation that Freeza was this strong ''from birth, '''without training a day in his life.''''']] [[/note]]
* AssPull: An in-universe example. The whole "Namek blows up in five minutes" thing was speculated by Goku and later confirmed in [[AllThereInTheManual other guidebooks]] to be one on Freeza's part. His attack was meant to be an out-and-out PlanetKiller but panicked as he feared that the explosion would be too much for him to survive and held back.[[note]]The only other time he's shown to use the attack in question was to destroy the planet Vegeta in flashback, which it did instantly. In that case, he was in orbit, rather than being inside the blast radius of his own attack.[[/note]] Caught with egg on his face, Freeza threw out the five minutes number to save face.
* AuthorAppeal: An {{Inverted|Trope}} example. Per Creator/AkiraToriyama, Freeza is an amalgamation of everything Toriyama found frightening as a child.
* AxCrazy: Freeza is incredibly sociopathic and at times, is shown to be extremely sadistic to the point that killing and causing pain seems to be his favorite sport. For example, when he destroyed Planet Vegeta and left the Saiyan race near-extinct, he laughed his head off and declared it to be a beautiful sight the whole time. ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'' manages to take his deranged behavior to even more disturbing levels.
* AwesomeButImpractical: Freeza for a long time had a big problem with this, mainly because he never truly fought a life or death battle prior to Namek (according to him, outside of his family he never had to use more than his second form to win battles). His techniques ''look'' cool but, with the exception of the Death Beam, are often inefficient:
** Freeza can use the Kienzan and his version is far superior to Krillin's: it can still cut people stronger than him, but not only can he throw two instead of one, he can control their flight path with his telekinesis. The issue? They're still incredibly slow and loud, plus he loses control of them if his concentration is broken. When he tries to kill Goku with one while his back is turned, Goku is able to dodge it ''in base''. When Goku goes Super Saiyan again they can't even come close to touching him. The only person Freeza ever hits with it is himself; Goku actually has to save him from his own technique.
** Freeza's 100% Full Power Form. In this state he was the second strongest (non-sealed) mortal of his time, outdoing his father, ancestors, [[NonSerialMovie brother]] (not counting the latter's fifth form), [[NonSerialMovie other space pirate competitors]],[[note]]''Xenoverse 2'' implies that, while Slug and Turles didn't fight the heroes in the main timeline, they still exist in the universe.[[/note]] and all but the highest gods of his universe, as well as [[HulkingOut gaining a bunch of muscle mass]] and in the anime was able to briefly rival Super Saiyan Goku on Namek. But there are two big problems. One, as noted below, his stamina bleeds incredibly quickly in this form, with a ''couple minutes'' of exertion gassing him out. Two, unlike his power fluctuations within his base form, getting to this level actually requires a fairly lengthy power-up/transformation sequence, making it impossible to actually use in battle unless his opponent lets him. Goku did, because he wanted to humiliate Freeza. Trunks ''didn't'' and simply killed Freeza in his 50% power state with one hit. There wasn't a damn thing Freeza could do about it. By the time of the Universe Survival Saga, Freeza appears to be able to use it instantly and even knows when to use it best in battle for maximum effectiveness, but by that point his Mastered Golden Form basically makes it a UselessUsefulSpell.
** The two-handed energy sphere (called "Death Bomb" in some video games) he uses against Goku in the anime. It's big and looks impressive... but per unit area it's not actually any more powerful than a regular blast. Goku with some effort punches it away with Freeza having accomplished nothing but wasting a ton of energy and inadvertently blowing up an empty planet elsewhere in the system. Every other ki attack he used in that battle was more effective.

** In general, Freeza eventually outgrew this trope as he kept focusing on getting revenge on Goku and improving himself. By the time of the Universe Survival Saga, he has fantastic energy control skills, a mastered SuperMode, great hand-to-hand capacities, and keen insight in the ways of battle. Considering the competition he had in the tournament, he needed it.

** Freeza returns in the 2015 movie, ''Anime/DragonBallZResurrectionF'', resurrected by the remnants of his army using Earth's Dragon Balls. It doesn't take long for him to get sent right back.
** It happens again in ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'', where Goku gets him a one-day pass to come back to the mortal realm to participate in the Tournament of Power. Freeza makes Goku promise to resurrect him fully if they win the tournament. [[spoiler:And thanks to Whis, he does indeed get fully brought back!]]
* BackstabBackfire: After Goku decides to spare him so he can [[CruelMercy live in shame of his defeat]], Freeza throws an energy disc at Goku's back, [[TooDumbToLive enraging him once again]]. That same energy disc ends up cutting him into quarters, forcing him to beg for his life before Goku. When Goku relents and gives Freeza some of his own energy to escape Namek's destruction, Freeza, in a fit of rage, uses that energy to attack Goku while his back is turned. Goku finally has enough and fires back at Freeza, frying him and leaving him for dead.
* BadBadActing: As ''Anime/DragonBallSuperBroly'' reveals, Freeza indulges in this trope:
-->'''Freeza:''' Broly, ''look''! It's '''''such''''' a '''''tragedy'''''!!!!

--->'''Freeza:''' Simian bastard...! I-I am the greatest in the universe... I am the emperor of the universe, Freeza! And so, you... you simian bastard... YOU WILL DIE BY MY HAND! You... will be... will be... KILLED BY ME!!

--->'''Freeza:''' (Original) Yo soy el más fuerte del universo. Soy el Emperador, Soy el gran Freezer! Por eso tu... por eso tu, maldito insecto... TIENES QUE MORIR EN MIS MANOS A COMO DE LUGAR! Grrrr... Yo te mataré. Te mataré, CUESTE LO QUE ME CUESTE!!
--->'''Freeza:''' (Translation) I'm the strongest in the universe. I'm the Emperor, the great Freeza! And that's why... that's why you damn insect... YOU SHALL DIE BY MY HAND AT ALL COSTS! Grrrr... I'll kill you. I'll kill you... I DON'T CARE WHATEVER IT COSTS ME!!
* BadBoss: Freeza ''personifies'' the Machiavellian doctrine of "'tis better to be feared than loved" when it comes to promotions and "demotions" (AKA ''vaporizing'') of his employees in the anime. This is somewhat [[CharacterExaggeration exaggerated]] from his manga self where he is just as sadistic, but not quite as prone to killing off his subordinates.
** He's worse in ''Resurrection ‘F’''. Upon being healed, he tests his power by shooting one of his men who wasn't doing anything. After Tagoma spoke out against Freeza's RevengeBeforeReason, Freeza throws him out of the ship by slamming him through a window, which sucked up several soldiers. On Earth, after his soldiers failed to defeat the Earth's defenders, he brutally murders them. Freeza's utter disregard towards his men leads to a well deserve NiceJobFixingItVillain. In fact, the ''only'' reason his men wished Freeza back in the first place is because they needed his [[TheDreaded fear factor]] to stop his empire from self-destructing, something they're ''very'' reluctant to do. Lampshaded by Master Roshi.

* TheBadGuyWins: [[spoiler:Though [[EnemyMine he's ostensibly on the heroes' side]], in Episode 131 of ''Super'', Freeza gets exactly what he wants and is completely revived -- and he doesn't die again in an attempt to get revenge like the last time he came back. That said, his army and empire no longer exist and Goku makes it clear that if he tries anything, he'll regret it. TheStinger, however, shows that he has already undertaken steps to rebuild the Freeza Force.]]

** [[spoiler:With Jiren having beaten down Goku, Vegeta, and 17, Freeza takes it upon himself to attack Jiren, attempting to murder him and keeps him preoccupied so that he doesn't go through with knocking out the Saiyans. Granted he did so out of the selfish desire for revenge on being humiliated, but it still counts.]]

** [[EvilDuo Forms this with Cell]] after his death during {{filler}} episodes and ''Anime/DragonBallGT''.
** With Goku [[ArchEnemy of all people]]. During the climax of the Tournament of Power Freeza actually manages to fight in perfect sync with Goku, better than Vegeta could.
* BatmanCanBreatheInSpace: While it's not stated if Freeza can ''breathe'', he can survive in a vacuum.
* BeatThemAtTheirOwnGame: This seems to be Freeza's motivation at the end of the movie [[spoiler:for why he wants to recruit Broly and decides to leave him, Cheelai and Lemo alone for now. [[TaughtByExperience At this point Freeza has figured out that, no matter how he improves, he can't win as long as he has to contend with both Goku and Vegeta.]] As such he wants a Super Saiyan of his own to even the odds against his Arch Enemies.]]
* BecauseYouWereNiceToMe: Interestingly enough, this is inverted. On Namek, when Goku lent him enough energy to make it back to his ship and leave the now exploding Namek, Freeza gets so infuriated that he tries to backstab Goku. In fact, Goku sparing Freeza's life was enough to give him some sort of PTSD.

** Saiyans: Freeza has the biggest hate for Saiyans not because they're barbarians not because they love to fight. But because of one Saiyan from planet Earth that actually managed to outmatch him in terms of power. This man was known as Son Goku.
** Any kind of mercy being shown by anyone or anything he will unleash his AxCrazy side and BeamSpam you to death. This is due to Goku sparing his life after Freeza was brutally injured by bisecting his own body. Ever since then he despised kindness and mercy. Not that he was merciful in anyway shape or form.

* BewareTheSuperman: Toriyama revealed that the tremendous strength that his clan is known for, is unnatural even to his (unnamed) race. So what do they do with it? Conquer a large part of the universe with it. Freeza himself notes that prior to his revival, he had never once trained in his life as he is a natural prodigy. The movies with his brother also reinforce this fact as Cooler comments how Freeza's natural talent gave him an edge between the two and Cooler had to undergo intense training to match and eventually surpass the level his brother was at by having one more transformation than Freeza have.
* BeyondRedemption: It's established quickly Freeza is outright incapable of redemption when Goku suggests recruiting him for the Tournament of Power in ''Super''. The Supreme Kai reminds Goku [[spoiler:there's a reason Freeza is in Hell]]. In fact, this was established as early as the Namek Saga.
* BigBad: Of the Freeza Saga, the Bardock special, and the 2015 movie, ''Anime/DragonBallZResurrectionF'' as well as its retelling in Super. His influence over the series' background, most notably the destruction of Planet Vegeta, makes him the overall main antagonist of the Dragon Ball franchise.
* BigBadDuumvirate: [[spoiler:He and Paragus form one in ''Anime/DragonBallSuperBroly''. While Freeza is the more dangerous and powerful of the two, it’s Paragus’ personal grudge against King Vegeta that drives the plot.]]

** With Vegeta for the Namek Saga. Both are competing and undermining the other for control of the Dragon Balls almost as much as they clash with the heroes. Vegeta's cunning allows him to stay ahead for a time but when Freeza forces a direct confrontation, the tyrant handedly pummels him to death.
** In ''Anime/DragonBallSuperBroly'' he forms on with [[TheHeavy Broly]], [[spoiler:despite the latter not being evil]]. Freeza kills Paragus to make Broly unlock his Super Saiyan transformation and quickly overshadows Freeza as the bigger threat and then he goes on a rampage attacking everything and everyone including Freeza himself.

** Became one in the Android/Cell Saga. While Freeza remains a legitimate threat with his arrival on Earth, he ends up being killed by Future Trunks in a very anti-climactic fight.

* BishonenLine: A significant TropeCodifier, but he actually zigzags the trope in several ways. Firstly, most of his forms are ''{{power limiter}}s'' rather than power-boosters and in fact he usually spends most of his time in his ''most'' transformed state. Secondly, his most powerful forms -- 100% Full Power Freeza and Golden Freeza -- initially subvert the trope by being ''more'' "monstrous-looking" than his Final Form, but then play it straight when you remember that ''these'' forms truly are power-up transformations rather than power seals.
** Form 1 is Freeza's most restrained form, being a small humanoid alien with a prehensile lizard-like tail, lizard-like feet, a helmet-like growth of bone on his skull, and two stubby horns jutting from his temples.
** Form 2 unlocks a significant proportion of Freeza's power. This form is essentially a bigger, buffer and scarier version of Form 1, with {{Satan}}ic horns that it can use as weapons being the major physical difference apart from size and build.
** Form 3 is the barely restrained form and the most monstrous-looking of Freeza's forms. It's even bigger and more top-heavy than Form 2, with a distorted, muzzle-like face and an extended, spiky skull vaguely like a [[Franchise/{{Alien}} Xenomorph]].
** Form 4 is Freeza's true form. In this state, he shrinks back down to the same diminutive stature and waifish build as Form 1, but he no longer has the same "helmet growth" on his head, instead having a smooth, bulbous head, rather like a Gray, lacks any semblance of armor, and has no horns.
** 100% Full Power Form is Freeza unleashing all of his power. It basically looks like Form 4, but hugely swollen with muscle, essentially an ugly hulkified TopHeavyGuy version of Freeza, with skin visibly straining to hold back his musculature. After mastering his true form in ''Resurrection F'', Freeza no longer needs this form to access his true power. He can still opt to do it to increase raw might at the cost of stamina, but seeing how he has a much more potent and efficient transformation in his Golden Form this is fairly useless. Unless you're using it to [[spoiler:deceive your doppelganger, that is.]]
** Golden Freeza is a GoldenSuperMode that Freeza unlocks in ''Resurrection F'' by training for four months after being revived. It mostly looks like Form 4, but is slightly taller and visibly muscled, in contrast to the androgynous and waif-like slenderness of Form 4, but in a streamlined and graceful fashion, rather than the hulked-out look of 100% Full Power Form. In addition to being, well, Golden, it also has somewhat differently shaped "bio-gems".

** Becomes a real one by the end of the Universal Survival Arc. Freeza has gained a respect for the power of others, genuinely likes an interesting battle, has become more of a warrior than a thug and likens his future clashes with Goku or any other challenging opponent as a fun game. He even states that he wouldn't wish for an invulnerable body because it would take all of the fun out of the game.

** His Cyborg Form is noted by Freeza himself to be even stronger than his 100% Full Power Form.

** Interestingly enough, the show seems to imply that while his development has at the very least edged him out of the monster territory he was at before, it only makes him ''more'' formidable: He's much more patient, smart, and cunning at the end of ''Super'' than at the beginning. He's also no longer a BadBoss by his ''second'' resurrection, even casually discussing the silliness of his wish ([[spoiler:to grow five centimeters taller]]) with his higher ranked minions... though he still threatens death if they dare discuss it with anyone else. Prior to the final battle of ''Anime/DragonBallSuperBroly'', Freeza actually ''bothers'' to order his men to retreat to safety rather than just powering up and vaporizing them as collateral damage as he casually did so in the past. [[spoiler:He has also matured enough to retreat when confronted by Super Saiyan Blue Gogeta and to refrain from killing the deserters Cheelai and Lemo in favor of playing the long game.]]

* CharacterExaggeration: Prior to the Universe Survival Saga and ''Dragon Ball Super: Broly'' finally showing a pragmatic and tempered Freeza, his tendency toward abusive command towards his own minions would get increasingly worse between adaptations.

* ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: Proves to have this as of the Universe Survival Saga. [[spoiler:When he tries to double-cross Team Universe 7 to join Team Universe 9, Rō blatantly refuses to accept him into his team, stating that Freeza is a traitor to his own universe - and a potential traitor to any other universe as well. In the battle royale (long after Universe 9's erasure), Frieza proposes a similar alliance with Frost, and when it seems that Frieza defeated Gohan, Frieza double crosses Frost by blasting him off of the arena and revealed he was just pretending to beat up Gohan. Freeza isn't just untrustworthy for Universe 7 ... he's untrustworthy for any other universe as well.]]

* ClimaxBoss: His final fight with Goku in the Namek Arc is a major turning point in the entire franchise; Goku ascends to a Super Saiyan, the primary powerup that the Saiyans will be using in every subsequent story arc and Freeza's loss against Goku is what prompted Beerus to take notice of the latter and introducing him to the realm of the gods.

** After Goku transforms into a Super Saiyan, Freeza cannot even hurt Goku with 50% of his power. Goku, who wanted to utterly defeat Freeza by humiliating him with the knowledge that even at full strength he never had a chance, gives Freeza enough time to reach his 100% Full Power Form, at which point he is Goku's equal for a short time in the anime version. However, staying in that form burns up his energy at an accelerated rate in addition to eroding his emotional stability, since he never fought at full power before that moment. This is made worse since Freeza also already burnt a lot of energy from the arc-long fighting. After only a few minutes, he couldn't keep up with Goku anymore, turning the last leg of the battle into a curb stomp.
** His [[spoiler:golden form in ''Resurrection ‘F’'' also turns out to be a ClippedWingAngel. He is much stronger, able to fight toe-to-toe with Goku who has surpassed a god, but much like his original 100% Full Power Form he rapidly lose energy and burns out quickly during the fight. Vegeta surmises that Freeza, in his eagerness to get revenge, rushed to Earth as soon as he obtained his new transformation and never bothered to master it]]. In ''Super'', [[spoiler:he manages to master it while meditating in Hell, and by the time he is resurrected again, he doesn't waste even the slightest bit energy, even maintaining it while barely conscious]].

** After Goku goes Super Saiyan, he subjects Freeza to similar tortures like beating him within an inch of his life, dragging out the fight and allowing Freeza to reach his maximum power so he knows how outclassed he is, psychologically terrorizing him to the point of pushing him near the DespairEventHorizon and finally delivering a ruthless TheReasonYouSuckSpeech before [[CruelMercy sparing his life so he can live with the shame of his defeat]]. The effectiveness of the torture Goku gave him causes Freeza to have PTSD after he's rebuilt into a cyborg and is his worst memory in Hell.

* TheCynic: Much like ComicBook/TheJoker in Film/TheDarkKnight, Freeza believes that deep down everyone is as selfish as he is, enough so that once he had served his purpose in saving Universe Seven in The Tournament of Power, he ''fully'' expected the Z-Warriors to kick him straight back to Hell because he had outlived his usefulness to them, much like how he disposed of useless pawns... Only to be ''pleasantly shocked'' when he was granted life for keeping his word. This validation of honor and kindness shattered his world-view so much that he quipped "I just might go back to my evil ways you know" in defensive sarcasm, the better to hold onto his cynicism.

** Freeza refuses to give up, even after all the chips are down and Goku offers to let him to live. Freeza will not stop until Goku is dead, even if it means blowing up the planet. Even when cut to pieces, he still doesn't give up trying to kill Goku. The planet blowing up on him ''still'' doesn't stop him. After being saved by his father and rebuilt into a cyborg, he wasn't even off the operating table before ordering his father to set a course to Earth.
** Also shown when Namek's Eternal Dragon returns. Freeza figures that it's not too late to get his wish, and he would have actually succeeded... if he knew Namekian.
** In the movie ''Resurrection ‘F’'' Freeza is brought back to life. As it turns out, Shenron can bring someone back to life after a year has past but usually the body is in such a bad state there's no point and Freeza's body was in an even worse state after what Future Trunks did to it. Even with the new healing units that his minions have on their ship his resurrection would largely depend on Frieza's vitality to succeed. Freeza quickly shows how determined he is to get his revenge before even getting in a tank, as when he is brought back to life in chunky pieces, his first act is to try and pull his own disassembled body back together again. Say what you will about him his will to live is pretty damn impressive.

** He tries to kill Goku while his back is turned, even though Goku has allowed him to be healed after Freeza literally begged for his life, and immediately [[{{Jerkass}} berates Goku for this.]]

* DiscOneFinalBoss: Freeza is initially presented as the FinalBoss of the franchise, considered to be [[WorldsBestWarrior the greatest fighter in the universe]] so terrifying that even King Kai (whom at the time was presented as the ultimate BigGood of the series) flat out tells his students that Freeza is unbeatable, and is indirectly responsible for the entire series up to that point. However when he returns early in the Android Saga he is killed by Future Trunks and, as the audience soon finds out, [[SortingAlgorithmOfEvil there are far more powerful and dangerous threats than him in the universe]]. Then "Resurrection: F" and "Universal Survival Arc rolls around and makes him a credible threat again: no matter how much stronger the future enemies might become, Frieza always has a chance to train and overcome their abilities, as demonstrated in "Resurrection: F" itself, after training for 4 months, he became far stronger than the Super Saiyans, Androids, Cell, all forms of Majin Buu and Super Saiyan 3 Goku as well, only getting defeated due to his own hubris again.

** Krillin had pretty much the same reaction when he saw Freeza's final form.

* TheFarmerAndTheViper: Taken to the extreme: when Goku gives him a chance to walk away, he keeps attacking, ends up cutting himself in two, and is reduced to begging for mercy. When Goku relents, Freeza's reaction is to mock Goku to his face, then try to kill him ''again.'' By this point, Goku's done being merciful and blows him away.

* FauxAffablyEvil: When he's not infuriated, Freeza is quite polite and compliments his opponents' skills for lasting so long against him and even offers to spare them if they come work for him. Deep down, he's anything but nice and is quite temperamental, especially when things don't go his way. [[spoiler:Him talking with Goku in Hell is this. During the entire conversation, he treats Goku like an old friend, but both Goku and the audience know he is just masking his vast hate for Goku, wanting to kill him on the spot. Once Frieza learns there is something to gain from it for him, though, his behavior towards Goku becomes a little bit more genuinely affable-although he makes it no secret he wants to fight/kill Goku again, nor does he bother hiding his homicidal lust for killing opponents in the tournament]].

* {{Flanderization}}: His BadBoss tendencies. While he definitely didn't care when they died and occasionally threatened them, Freeza never actually killed any of his minions in the original manga and even tolerated some failures from them with little more than angry outbursts (such as when Dodoria let Gohan and Krillin escape the village). The obvious exception of course being the Saiyans, which had nothing to do with the YouHaveFailedMe[=/=]ItAmusedMe justifications he's famous for. Anime {{filler}} is what made this a habit of his, with Toei even creating original characters ''specifically'' for Freeza to kill (like Oren) and depicting him blowing up an entire army of his own men for no real reason in the Bardock special. 30 years after Freeza's last appearance in the manga, Toriyama himself would go down the same route by having him kill all of his soldiers for [[YouHaveFailedMe failing him]] in ''Resurrection F.''

** In Super, he pulls it off again. [[spoiler:This time against Frost, his Universe 6 counterpart. He exploited Frost's own arrogance and his desire to have a "master" from another universe like Cabba does to lull him into a false sense of security, culminating with Freeza fake-fighting with Gohan to convince Frost that they were on the same team. He then exploits Frost's ignorance of the various forms to get the latter into the buff 100% Full Power Form (which decreases his agility) and then blows him off the stage with no way to dodge or recover from it.]]

** To Goku. Freeza is born extremely powerful, didn't need to train a day in his life and is the prince of an intergalactic empire. Goku is born a weakling, is the son of a lower class warrior and pacifist mother and had to train endlessly to reach his level of power. Freeza is very polite and well educated, while Goku has bad manners and is BookDumb. [[HopeCrusher Freeza thrives on spreading despair]] and [[TheCorrupter corrupting others with his influence]]. [[HopeBringer Goku inspires hope and tends to bring out the good within people]].
** After character development, Vegeta becomes this to him. Through years of positive influence from living on Earth, Vegeta learns to care about others and being able to set his pride aside for the benefit of others and his own sanity. By letting go of the past, Vegeta becomes a happier person. Freeza, on the other hand, never learns from his experiences and remains an uncaring fiend even after he is given a second chance at life. He allows his hatred and anger towards Goku to drive him insane, and it's his inability to let go of his pride and the past that drives him to his death, ''twice''. This is further expanded on Super with his relationship with [[spoiler:Frost]], which is a contrast with Vegeta and Cabba. [[spoiler:While Vegeta was a StealthMentor to Cabba to teach him the Super Saiyan transformation, Freeza was a ManipulativeBastard to Frost, tricking him to catch him off guard]].

* ForTheEvulz: This is his extreme {{sadis|t}}m. Freeza does half of what he does for this reason. He kills the Namekians after they give him the Dragon Balls and fully intends to destroy the planet once he gets his wish. Then there's his blowing up Planet Vegeta, laughing maniacally and declaring it a great fireworks show all the while.

* FountainOfExpies: InUniverse, as other members of his small race (all of whom bar Cold have similar personalities, abilities, and, in the Japanese anime, the same voice actor) are often confused for him and play his role in later arcs. Bardock thought Chilled was Freeza, Goku thought Cooler was Freeza, and Vegeta calls Frost U6's Freeza.

* FriendlyEnemy: {{Downplayed}}. Even though Freeza ''definitely'' still has an axe to grind with Goku, by the time of his ''second'' resurrection where he joins [[spoiler:Team Universe 7 for the Tournament of Power]], he has come to admire and respect the Saiyan-warrior enough to be somewhat pleasant and civil towards him, even if most of it is [[FauxAffablyEvil faux]]. He is, after all, the only being in the universe who was able to defeat him not once but twice. For someone like Frieza this is the ''closest'' thing he will ever have to a lifelong friend. He will, however, still try to stab Goku in the back when given the chance though, with the latter ''fully'' expecting him to try. Unbelievably in Episode 111, Frieza even helps Goku by ''giving him energy''!

** Cell was cloned from Freeza's cells, and a few of Freeza's more horrible personality traits crop up in Cell's own mannerisms, particularly the smarmy arrogance and the BishonenLine transformation.
* GrowingMusclesSequence: When he first unleashed his full 100% Full Power Form to fight Super Saiyan Goku on Namek, his body bulked up from [[LeanAndMean skinny]] to beefier than Goku himself. Curiously, when he did so again when he arrived on Earth in ''Resurrection F'' there was no visible muscle increase, implying his training to maximize his power naturally took away the need for it. Nonetheless, as revealed in [[spoiler:the Universe Survival Saga]], Freeza ''can'' still bulk up his muscles if he wants to.
* HairTriggerTemper: This is one of Freeza's main flaws. And ''how'', if things don't go his way, he loses his composure and bursts into violent outbursts and his solution is to blow up the planet.

A tyrannical EvilOverlord who aspires to take over the universe, but his first agenda is to [[ImmortalitySeeker gain immortality]] through the Namek Dragon Balls. A member of a highly formidable race, Frieza is every bit as cold-hearted as the name suggests, and then some. Responsible for nearly destroying all of the Saiyan race (despite the fact he was employing them in the first place). After a lot of cat and mouse with the Z Fighters[[note]]Krillin, Gohan, Piccolo, and Vegeta[[/note]] on Planet Namek, he comes into confrontation with Goku leading to the single longest fight in the entire series. Eventually, he is struck down by his own attack and presumed dead after Namek is destroyed. However, he survived and is rebuilt as a cyborg by his father King Cold and heads for Earth... only to be [[TheWorfEffect chopped up and blasted to atoms]] by Future Trunks upon arrival.

Years later, he was revived using the Earth's Dragon Balls to restore the Planet Trade Organization in ''Anime/DragonBallZResurrectionF''. [[RevengeBeforeReason Instead he chose to seek revenge against Goku and Trunks]]. After being told that Goku defeated [[TheDreaded Majin Buu]], Frieza decides to train for the first time in his life to bring out all his latent power. [[TookALevelInBadass He largely succeeded and gained a new ultimate transformation]]. However, he's still done in because his GoldenSuperMode quickly drained his stamina. After losing to Goku and Vegeta, [[RageQuit he decides to destroy the Earth]]. Whis rewinds time on him, allowing Goku to kill Frieza once and for all.

Sometime after the events of his revival and death, Frieza is asked by Goku to join the Universe 7 team for the Tournament of Power hosted by Zeno. He's given a 24-hour pass into the mortal realm thanks to Fortuneteller Baba and is completely revived once again by Whis after assisting in Universe 7's victory. Unlike Goku's other adversaries, Frieza doesn't become an ally after this, choosing to rebuild his empire once more and surpass the Saiyan.

Aside from this, Frieza is [[TropeCodifier the one who modernized]] the concept of OneWingedAngel as well as the BishonenLine as he abuses both in his fights with the Z-Fighters with ridiculous power increases and used to hide his true power in his fourth form, which is his ''normal'' state. Even more notably, other than his obviously justified SmugSuper attitude is his absolute sadism, LackOfEmpathy and the brutal beatdowns he inflicts on his enemies. The rest of his family are no different, [[LikeFatherLikeSon and he takes after his equally vile father the most]]. [[Characters/DragonBallCooler He also has an older brother of dubious canonical status named Cooler that rivals his might]].

It's also interesting to note that Frieza is the last villain in the original manga to have any interest in the [[MacGuffin Dragon Balls]]; all subsequent villains, particularly Cell and Majin Buu, were more concerned with either acquiring power for themselves or simply wanton mass destruction. It isn't until ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'' that the titular holy orbs became a point of interest again for the villains.

* ZeroPercentApprovalRating: Downplayed. While he is despised and loathed by all the main heroes and the universe at large, he is highly respected by his soldiers and followers. However, in ''[[Anime/DragonBallZResurrectionF Resurrection ‘F’]]'' it's established that the ''only'' reason his men used the Dragon Balls to resurrect him is because with the empire going down since his demise, they see his [[TheDreaded fear factor]] as [[GodzillaThreshold the only way to restore it]]. Even while searching for the Dragon Balls, Tagoma flat-out tells Sorbet that it's a bad idea to resurrect Frieza given what a psychopath he was, and Sorbet agrees that they may be better off without him. [[spoiler:By ''Broly'', the heroes are able to tolerate him, and Frieza has completely loyal supporters in his nanny Berryblue and top scientist, Kikono, who also are among the last remaining members of his inner circle.]]

** He was also Vegeta's main parental figure for most of his life. Frieza made Vegeta one of his men, and for years, took every possible opportunity to demean and insult him. During their fight on Namek, Frieza brutally tortured Vegeta to death both to punish him for his treachery and ForTheEvulz. Needless to say, Vegeta has every reason to hate Frieza and want him dead, and that was ''before'' he found out Frieza destroyed Planet Vegeta. Ironically, going by ''Broly'', Frieza may only be a few years older than Vegeta.
* TheAce: Although stronger characters were later introduced, at the time of his introduction Frieza was the strongest being in the universe without training a day in his life. He also has an insane amount of durability thanks to his species' extreme survivability and was still alive after Trunks ''cut him to bits'' (although vaporising the bits finished him off). In ''Resurrection F'', through training for only four months Frieza manages to close the power gap with Goku, who had powers beyond godhood. With that said, [[ArrogantKungFuGuy his own arrogance]] in his greatness proves to be his FatalFlaw. He didn't bother to learn to control his full power, which left him with very poor endurance. Both times he fights Goku, he loses because he burnt himself out. The mental trauma he suffers after Goku beats him turns him into a BrokenAce.

** In the manga when Krillin cuts off his tail with the Kienzan, Frieza notably grimaces in pain. In the anime, Frieza isn't implied to actually be in pain from this, and is simply shocked and angered.
** {{Downplayed}}. In the manga, 100% full power Freeza put up a decent fight against Super Saiyan Goku, but never had a chance at winning. He puts up a better fight in the anime, and they are more evenly matched, but it is clear that he takes more damage from Goku's hits and his stamina drains much more quickly than Goku's, leading to his defeat.
** PlayedStraight in ''Dragon Ball Super'', when he not only has a ki sense, but is also able to match Goku more equally in his final form and outmatched him longer in his golden state in comparison to the movie where Frieza only had the advantage for a few minutes before his power began to drop. [[ZigzaggedTrope At the same time]], his stamina issues are even ''worse'' as Golden Frieza. While in the movie Golden Frieza maintained his full power throughout most of the fight, Frieza burns himself out after only a minute at fighting at full power and is out of breath before Goku does anything to him. [[spoiler:Episode 95 reveals that he's managed to control his golden form's stamina by meditating during his time in Hell.]]
** ''Anime/DragonBallZResurrectionF'' proper also shows a bit of this before fighting Goku. In anime filler, movies and ''Anime/DragonBallGT'', he's [[TheWorfEffect constantly outclassed by the heroes]] after Trunks kills him, and is easily taken out by, in order: Pikkon before the [[TournamentArc Other World Tournament]], Gohan in ''[[Anime/DragonBallZFusionReborn Fusion Reborn]]'', and Goku in ''GT''. Notably, Gohan's instance has him insta-kill Frieza's final form with a single punch. In ''Resurrection 'F''', he realizes how outclassed he initially is due to his lack of training, and goes to amend that issue. After four months, he's able to take Gohan out of commission with a similar punch in his ''base'' form, and shows off [[AwesomeButImpractical Golden Frieza]] for the first time while fighting Goku. And to his credit, he comes extremely close to ''winning'' this time around, blowing up Earth much quicker than he did with Namek and managing to kill [[PhysicalGod Super Saiyan Blue Vegeta]] this way; had [[ResetButton Whis]] not been present, this would have sealed his victory right then and there.
** Very few games translate the difficulty he has sustaining the effort of his 100% full power. Often Super Saiyan is harder to keep. Xenoverse is a particularly big offender in that his personal skill gives him energy as the fight wears on.
** It's {{Downplayed}} but in the novel adaptation of ''Anime/DragonBallSuperBroly'', [[spoiler:Frieza put up a better fight than in the anime, with his attacks somewhat staggering Broly. He's still heavily on the losing end but he get a few licks in at least.]]

** In one of his routes in ''Supersonic Warriors 2'', Frieza truly loves his father, and is genuinely grateful when Cold saves Frieza's life from Cooler.
* AdaptationalVillainy: As absolutely amazing as it sounds, Frieza manages to get this in ''Dragon Ball Super'' when compared to ''Resurrection ‘F’''. In the movie, Frieza [[UngratefulBastard kills his men when he's revived to test his power]], [[RevengeBeforeReason throws Tagoma out of the airlock for speaking out against his revenge plan]], [[YouHaveFailedMe kills off his entire army after they fail to kill even one of the Z-Fighters]], and [[RageQuit blows up]] the Earth after he loses to Vegeta. As bad as this list is, he's ''worse'' in ''Super''. While he doesn't kill his men to test his power, he tortures and demeans them and shows no respect towards Sorbet despite all he's done to preserve the empire and bring Frieza back to life. He also tortures Tagoma for four months after he speaks out against Frieza's plan and shatters the guy's sanity, turning the once NobleDemon to a coldblooded murderer who is just as bad as Frieza. As the Z-Fighters battle his army, he puts a bounty on Krillin's head, promising a planet to whoever kills him, since he knows that Krillin's death will cause Goku a great amount of pain. He then goes on to torture Gohan for reminding him of Goku's mercy towards him on Namek, [[HeroicSacrifice which leads to Piccolo's death]] since he shields Gohan from a fatal Death Beam and he brags about how he is going to kill Gohan's entire family once he's done with him. When Goku finally arrives, he shows off his new power by killing off his remaining men when he goes into his true form and [[CombatPragmatist attacks Goku's friends during their fight to distract him]]. He then tells Goku about his plans to destroy Earth and Namek once he kills him so no one can ever be wished back again. The differences are so stark that Frieza in ''Resurrection ‘F’'' looks like a decent person compared to his ''Super'' counterpart.

** After losing to Goku and being killed by Trunks, Frieza realizes that being BrilliantButLazy was the catalyst of his downfall. So, he decides to finally train and bring out all of his latent power. However, he still didn't completely learn his lesson from Namek. [[spoiler:Part of the reason why he lost was because he never learned to control his full power, had no endurance for a prolonged fight, and couldn't respond once raw strength proved to be ineffective outside of nuking the planet. His golden form has the exact same problems to an even ''greater'' extent. After taking so much damage, he loses his ultimate transformation and is reduced to [[RageQuit rage quitting]]]].
** [[spoiler:As of the Universe Survival Saga, this trope is ''finally'' averted. Frieza reveals that he managed to control his energy by meditating during his time in Hell, concentrating solely on killing Goku in the most brutal ways possible. This allows him to maintain his golden form with no loss of stamina. He even opts to rebuild his empire and get strong enough to assuredly kill Goku when he's brought back to life at the end of it.]]

* TheAgeless: While he may have been trying to gain immortality, Frieza doesn't show any signs of age. [[spoiler: After training 10 whole years in the room of spirit and time, Frieza was able to one-shot Gas, Goku and Vegeta in quick succession with no sign of fatigue]].

* AllForNothing: Turns out Frieza's genocide of the Namekian people was for absolutely nothing, seeing how they won't work unless someone speaking fluent Namekian does the summoning and stating the wish- which Frieza is unlikely to ever have them do thanks to his paranoia.

* AloofAlly: Despite [[TokenEvilTeammate all of his posturing and threats of betrayal]], Frieza actually stays true to his word during the Tournament of Power and remains loyal to Universe 7. He even willing gives up his chance to make the wish on the Super Dragon Balls as long as it meant that Goku would stay true to his word and resurrect him.
* AlwaysABiggerFish: Just when it seems like Gas may be the strongest being in the universe, Frieza shows up and effortlessly put him down with a punch.
* AmusingInjuries: During his fight with Goku on Namek, he attempts to strangle him with his tail. Goku retaliates by biting his tail, resulting in a ''very'' out-of-character look on Frieza's face as he lets go to blow on his tail, complete with bite marks... and gives Goku a perfect opening to land a few hits. Late on in the fight, Goku, now a Super Saiyan, slaps Frieza around a bit, then elbows him in the head so hard that it causes Frieza's eyes to bulge out, giving him a goofy bug-eyed expression.

* AndIMustScream: In ''Resurrection ‘F’'' this is Frieza's fate after he dies. In Hell, he is trapped to a tree for the rest of eternity, or at least until he's reborn, unable to move while angels and toy-like creatures sing and dance around him, and it's so saccharine he wants to claw his eyes out. Much harsher than the free-roaming Hell from the ''Z'' fillers and ''GT''. To be fair, Frieza's own arrogance and inherent feeling of superiority doesn't allow him to move on. This finally convinces him to give up pursuing immortality for good.
* AndYourLittleDogToo: His indulging in this is what [[NiceJobFixingItVillain triggers Goku's first Super Saiyan transformation]], [[HoistByHisOwnPetard leading to him beating Frieza to a pulp.]] ''First'' he kills Krillin, who was no threat to him whatsoever and had already been revived once, meaning (as far as Goku knew) he couldn't come back again. Then he declares he's going to do the same to Gohan. [[PapaWolf Goku promptly transforms.]]
* AnIcePerson: Subverted. Frieza's name is a play on the word "freeze", but he has no ice-based powers. However, the translated lyrics to "Only a Chilling Elegy" make several references to freezing.

** While the vast majority of characters in the series either train to earn their power, are designed to have it, or at the very least had to assimilate/eat stronger opponents to evolve, Frieza was simply ''born'' strong and (prior to being defeated by Goku) never had to train for it. This isn't even a common trait of his species; Toriyama states that King Cold and his progeny are simply "mutants".
** While not having the plethora of unfair powers that his successors Cell and Buu possess, Frieza has one major trump card over the heroes: unlike any of them, he can [[BatmanCanBreatheInSpace survive in the vacuum of space]]. This gives him access to a brutal InstantWinCondition at all times: if he can't win against an opponent in a fair fight, he can always kill them by blowing up their planet.
* ArcVillain: The most important one in the saga; the ''Dragon Ball'' Universe would have been a ''very'' different place if Frieza didn't decide to destroy Planet Vegeta and he became the main villain of two story arcs.

** Frieza has made himself a ''lot'' of enemies but probably the two biggest examples are Vegeta and Goku, killing the former's father when he promised he wouldn't and killing the latter's father along with his own minions in a successful attempt in destroying planet Vegeta. It should be noted that Frieza is the only villain in the series to ever make Goku reach such a level of UnstoppableRage and he is one of the two most personal enemies of Goku in the series (the other being Goku Black who outright murdered Goku and his family, even if from a different timeline), as it was Freeza's ruthless actions (and killing of Krillin) that [[NiceJobFixingItVillain got Goku to transform into a Super Saiyan in the first place]]. He also made an enemy in Piccolo as he has his entire race butchered in order to find the Dragon Balls.
** From Frieza's point-of-view, Goku. He despises Goku for beating and humiliating him to the point he all but gives up running his empire just so he can get back at Goku. Even after coming back from the dead, he still wants revenge and dedicates his entire military might to invade Earth. He outright says that he can't stand to share the same universe as Goku and can't even sleep at night as long as Goku is alive.
* ArrogantKungFuGuy: A staple of most ''Dragon Ball'' villains, but Frieza stands out as having all of the power but none of the discipline and maturity as a fighter and this is the main reason he's been defeated so many times. He never bothered to train for even a single day in his entire life and just assumed that nobody could ever challenge him. And those he does sees as a threat, like the Saiyans, he destroys before they can even approach his power. [[spoiler:Even when he finally decides to train to attain more strength, he is short-sighted enough to not master his newfound power and ended up burning himself out once again. When he ''finally'' took care of that part, it's already too late: there are now stronger mortals than Goku, whereas Goku himself has leveled up by a lot as well.]]
* AsskickingLeadsToLeadership: A terrible boss as mentioned below, but when you're as strong as he is, you can be whatever you want.[[note]]To give proper context, in his weakest, most diminished form, Frieza is still 4 1/2 times stronger than his strongest soldier, who himself is almost a hundred times stronger than [[{{Mooks}} Raditz]]. [[spoiler:This gets even worse in ''Resurrection F'' with the revelation that Frieza was this strong ''from birth, '''without training a day in his life.''''']] [[/note]]
* AssPull: An in-universe example. The whole "Namek blows up in five minutes" thing was speculated by Goku and later confirmed in [[AllThereInTheManual other guidebooks]] to be one on Frieza's part. His attack was meant to be an out-and-out PlanetKiller but panicked as he feared that the explosion would be too much for him to survive and held back.[[note]]The only other time he's shown to use the attack in question was to destroy the planet Vegeta in flashback, which it did instantly. In that case, he was in orbit, rather than being inside the blast radius of his own attack.[[/note]] Caught with egg on his face, Frieza threw out the five minutes number to save face.

** Frieza can use the Kienzan and his version is far superior to Krillin's: it can still cut people stronger than him, but not only can he throw two instead of one, he can control their flight path with his telekinesis. The issue? They're still incredibly slow and loud, plus he loses control of them if his concentration is broken. When he tries to kill Goku with one while his back is turned, Goku is able to dodge it ''in base''. When Goku goes Super Saiyan again they can't even come close to touching him. The only person Frieza ever hits with it is himself; Goku actually has to save him from his own technique.
** Frieza's 100% full power form. In this state he was the second strongest (non-sealed) mortal of his time, outdoing his father, ancestors, [[NonSerialMovie brother]] (not counting the latter's fifth form), [[NonSerialMovie other space pirate competitors]],[[note]]''Xenoverse 2'' implies that, while Slug and Turles didn't fight the heroes in the main timeline, they still exist in the universe.[[/note]] and all but the highest gods of his universe, as well as [[HulkingOut gaining a bunch of muscle mass]] and in the anime was able to briefly rival Super Saiyan Goku on Namek. But there are two big problems. One, as noted below, his stamina bleeds incredibly quickly in this form, with a ''couple minutes'' of exertion gassing him out. Two, unlike his power fluctuations within his base form, getting to this level actually requires a fairly lengthy power-up/transformation sequence, making it impossible to actually use in battle unless his opponent lets him. Goku did, because he wanted to humiliate Frieza. Trunks ''didn't'' and simply killed Frieza in his 50% power state with one hit. There wasn't a damn thing Frieza could do about it. By the time of the Universe Survival Saga, Frieza appears to be able to use it instantly and even knows when to use it best in battle for maximum effectiveness, but by that point his Mastered Golden Form basically makes it a UselessUsefulSpell.
** The two-handed energy sphere (called "Death Bomb" in some video games) he uses against Goku in the anime. It's big and looks impressive... but per unit area it's not actually any more powerful than a regular blast. Goku with some effort punches it away with Frieza having accomplished nothing but wasting a ton of energy and inadvertently blowing up an empty planet elsewhere in the system. Every other ki attack he used in that battle was more effective.
** His Golden Form was powerful but impractical in its debut, although he managed to iron out that flaw.
** In general, Frieza eventually outgrew this trope as he kept focusing on getting revenge on Goku and improving himself. By the time of the Universe Survival Saga, he has fantastic energy control skills, a mastered SuperMode, great hand-to-hand capacities, and keen insight in the ways of battle. Considering the competition he had in the tournament, he needed it.

** Frieza returns in the 2015 movie, ''Anime/DragonBallZResurrectionF'', resurrected by the remnants of his army using Earth's Dragon Balls. It doesn't take long for him to get sent right back.
** It happens again in ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'', where Goku gets him a one-day pass to come back to the mortal realm to participate in the Tournament of Power. Frieza makes Goku promise to resurrect him fully if they win the tournament. [[spoiler:And thanks to Whis, he does indeed get fully brought back!]]
* BackstabBackfire: After Goku decides to spare him so he can [[CruelMercy live in shame of his defeat]], Frieza throws an energy disc at Goku's back, [[TooDumbToLive enraging him once again]]. That same energy disc ends up cutting him into quarters, forcing him to beg for his life before Goku. When Goku relents and gives Frieza some of his own energy to escape Namek's destruction, Frieza, in a fit of rage, uses that energy to attack Goku while his back is turned. Goku finally has enough and fires back at Frieza, frying him and leaving him for dead.

--->'''Frieza:''' Simian bastard...! I-I am the greatest in the universe... I am the emperor of the universe, Frieza! And so, you... you simian bastard... YOU WILL DIE BY MY HAND! You... will be... will be... KILLED BY ME!!

** He's worse in ''Resurrection ‘F’''. Upon being healed, he tests his power by shooting one of his men who wasn't doing anything. After Tagoma spoke out against Frieza's RevengeBeforeReason, Frieza throws him out of the ship by slamming him through a window, which sucked up several soldiers. On Earth, after his soldiers failed to defeat the Earth's defenders, he brutally murders them. Frieza's utter disregard towards his men leads to a well deserve NiceJobFixingItVillain. In fact, the ''only'' reason his men wished Frieza back in the first place is because they needed his [[TheDreaded fear factor]] to stop his empire from self-destructing, something they're ''very'' reluctant to do. Lampshaded by Master Roshi.

* TheBadGuyWins: [[spoiler:Though [[EnemyMine he's ostensibly on the heroes' side]], in Episode 131 of ''Super'', Frieza gets exactly what he wants and is completely revived -- and he doesn't die again in an attempt to get revenge like the last time he came back. That said, his army and empire no longer exist, and Goku makes it clear that if he tries anything, he'll regret it. TheStinger, however, shows that he has already undertaken steps to rebuild the Frieza Force.]]

** [[spoiler:With Jiren having beaten down Goku, Vegeta, and 17, Frieza takes it upon himself to attack Jiren, attempting to murder him and keeps him preoccupied so that he doesn't go through with knocking out the Saiyans. Granted he did so out of the selfish desire for revenge on being humiliated, but it still counts.]]

** With Goku [[ArchEnemy of all people]]. During the climax of the Tournament of Power Frieza actually manages to fight in perfect sync with Goku, better than Vegeta could.

* BeatThemAtTheirOwnGame: This seems to be Frieza's motivation at the end of the movie [[spoiler:for why he wants to recruit Broly and decides to leave him, Cheelai and Lemo alone for now. [[TaughtByExperience At this point Frieza has figured out that, no matter how he improves, he can't win as long as he has to contend with both Goku and Vegeta.]] As such he wants a Super Saiyan of his own to even the odds against his Arch Enemies.]]
* BecauseYouWereNiceToMe: Interestingly enough, this is inverted. On Namek, when Goku lent him enough energy to make it back to his ship and leave the now exploding Namek, Frieza gets so infuriated that he tries to backstab Goku. In fact, Goku sparing Frieza's life was enough to give him some sort of PTSD.

** Saiyans: Frieza has the biggest hate for Saiyans not because they're barbarians not because they love to fight. But because one Saiyan from planet Earth out matched him in terms of power, pride and skill. This man was known as Son Goku.
** Any kind of mercy being shown by anyone or anything he will unleash his AxCrazy side and BeamSpam you to death. This is due to Goku sparing his life after Frieza was brutally injured by bisecting his own body. Ever since then he despised kindness and mercy. Not that he was merciful in anyway shape or form.

* BewareTheSuperman: Toriyama revealed that the tremendous strength that his clan is known for, is unnatural even to his (unnamed) race. So what do they do with it? Conquer a large part of the galaxy with it. Frieza himself notes that prior to his revival, he had never once trained in his life as he is a natural prodigy. The movies with his brother also reinforce this fact as Cooler comments how Frieza's natural talent gave him an edge between the two and Cooler had to undergo intense training to match and eventually surpass the level his brother was simply at by default.
* BeyondRedemption: It's established quickly Frieza is outright incapable of redemption when Goku suggests recruiting him for the Tournament of Power in ''Super''. The Supreme Kai reminds Goku [[spoiler:there's a reason Frieza is in Hell]]. In fact, this was established as early as the Namek Saga.
* BigBad: Of the Frieza Saga, the Bardock special, and the 2015 movie, ''Anime/DragonBallZResurrectionF'' as well as its retelling in Super. His influence over the series' background, most notably the destruction of Planet Vegeta, makes him the overall main antagonist of the Dragon Ball franchise.
* BigBadDuumvirate: [[spoiler:He and Paragus form one in ''Anime/DragonBallSuperBroly''. While Frieza is the more dangerous and powerful of the two, it’s Paragus’ personal grudge against King Vegeta that drives the plot.]]

** With Vegeta for the Namek Saga. Both are competing and undermining the other for control of the Dragon Balls almost as much as they clash with the heroes. Vegeta's cunning allows him to stay ahead for a time but when Frieza forces a direct confrontation, the tyrant handedly pummels him to death.
** In ''Anime/DragonBallSuperBroly'' he forms on with [[TheHeavy Broly]], [[spoiler:despite the latter not being evil]]. Frieza kills Paragus to make Broly unlock his Super Saiyan transformation, and quickly overshadows Frieza as the bigger threat and then he goes on a rampage attacking everything and everyone including Frieza himself.

** Became one in the Android/Cell Saga. While Frieza remains a legitimate threat with his arrival on Earth, he ends up being killed by Future Trunks in a very anti-climactic fight.

* BishonenLine: A significant TropeCodifier, but he actually zigzags the trope in several ways. Firstly, most of his forms are ''{{power limiter}}s'' rather than power-boosters, and in fact he usually spends most of his time in his ''most'' transformed state. Secondly, his most powerful forms -- 100% full Power Frieza and Golden Frieza -- initially subvert the trope by being ''more'' "monstrous-looking" than his Final Form, but then play it straight when you remember that ''these'' forms truly are power-up transformations rather than power seals.
** Form 1 is Frieza's most restrained form, being a small humanoid alien with a prehensile lizard-like tail, lizard-like feet, a helmet-like growth of bone on his skull, and two stubby horns jutting from his temples.
** Form 2 unlocks a significant proportion of Frieza's power. This form is essentially a bigger, buffer and scarier version of Form 1, with {{Satan}}ic horns that it can use as weapons being the major physical difference apart from size and build.
** Form 3 is the barely restrained form and the most monstrous-looking of Frieza's forms. It's even bigger and more top-heavy than Form 2, with a distorted, muzzle-like face and an extended, spiky skull vaguely like a [[Franchise/{{Alien}} Xenomorph]].
** Form 4 is Frieza's true form. In this state, he shrinks back down to the same diminutive stature and waifish build as Form 1, but he no longer has the same "helmet growth" on his head, instead having a smooth, bulbous head, rather like a Gray, lacks any semblance of armor, and has no horns.
** 100% full Power Form is Frieza unleashing all of his power. It basically looks like Form 4, but hugely swollen with muscle, essentially an ugly hulkified TopHeavyGuy version of Frieza, with skin visibly straining to hold back his musculature. After mastering his true form in ''Resurrection F'', Frieza no longer needs this form to access his true power. He can still opt to do it to increase raw might at the cost of stamina, but seeing how he has a much more potent and efficient transformation in his Golden Form this is fairly useless. Unless you're using it to [[spoiler:deceive your doppelganger, that is.]]
** Golden Frieza is a GoldenSuperMode that Frieza unlocks in ''Resurrection F'' by training for four months after being revived. It mostly looks like Form 4, but is slightly taller and visibly muscled, in contrast to the androgynous and waif-like slenderness of Form 4, but in a streamlined and graceful fashion, rather than the hulked-out look of 100% full Power Form. In addition to being, well, Golden, it also has somewhat differently shaped "bio-gems".

** Becomes a real one by the end of the Universal Survival Arc. Frieza has gained a respect for the power of others, genuinely likes an interesting battle, has become more of a warrior than a thug, and likens his future clashes with Goku or any other challenging opponent as a fun game. He even states that he wouldn't wish for an invulnerable body because it would take all of the fun out of the game.

** His Cyborg Form is noted by Freeza himself to be even stronger than his 100% full power form.

* CharacterExaggeration: Prior to the Universe Survival Saga and ''Dragon Ball Super: Broly'' finally showing a pragmatic and tempered Frieza, his tendency toward abusive command over his Frieza Force as well as his 100% raw power crippled by terrible energy control would both get increasingly worse between his fateful battles with Goku and their most relevant adaptations.

* ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: Proves to have this as of the Universe Survival Saga. [[spoiler:When he tries to double-cross Team Universe 7 to join Team Universe 9, Rō blatantly refuses to accept him into his team, stating that Frieza is a traitor to his own universe - and a potential traitor to any other universe as well. In the battle royale (long after Universe 9's erasure), Frieza proposes a similar alliance with Frost, and when it seems that Frieza defeated Gohan, Frieza double crosses Frost by blasting him off of the arena and revealed he was just pretending to beat up Gohan. Frieza isn't just untrustworthy for Universe 7 ... he's untrustworthy for any other universe as well.]]

* ClimaxBoss: His final fight with Goku in the Namek Arc is a major turning point in the entire franchise; Goku ascends to a Super Saiyan, the primary powerup that the Saiyans will be using in every subsequent story arc, the point when Goku fully embraces his saiyan heritage and fights to avenge his race, and Freeza's loss against Goku is what prompted Beerus to take notice of the latter and introducing him to the realm of the gods.

** After Goku transforms into a Super Saiyan, Frieza cannot even hurt Goku with 50% of his power. Goku, who wanted to utterly defeat Frieza by humiliating him with the knowledge that even at full strength he never had a chance, gives Frieza enough time to reach his 100% full power, at which point he is Goku's equal for a short time (though Goku was holding back to test Frieza and avoid causing too much damage while the others were still on the planet). However, staying in that form burns up his energy at an accelerated rate in addition to eroding his emotional stability, since he never fought at full power before that moment. This is made worse since Frieza also already burnt a lot of energy from the arc-long fighting. After only a few minutes, he couldn't keep up with Goku anymore, turning the last leg of the battle into a curb stomp.
** His [[spoiler:golden form in ''Resurrection ‘F’'' also turns out to be a ClippedWingAngel. He is much stronger, able to fight toe-to-toe with Goku who has surpassed a god, but much like his original 100% full power form he rapidly lose energy and burns out quickly during the fight. Vegeta surmises that Frieza, in his eagerness to get revenge, rushed to Earth as soon as he obtained his new transformation and never bothered to master it]]. In ''Super'', [[spoiler:he manages to master it while meditating in Hell, and by the time he is resurrected again, he doesn't waste even the slightest bit energy, even maintaining it while barely conscious]].

** After Goku goes Super Saiyan, he subjects Frieza to similar tortures like beating him within an inch of his life, dragging out the fight and allowing Frieza to reach his maximum power so he knows how outclassed he is, psychologically terrorizing him to the point of pushing him near the DespairEventHorizon, and finally delivering a ruthless TheReasonYouSuckSpeech before [[CruelMercy sparing his life so he can live with the shame of his defeat]]. The effectiveness of the torture Goku gave him causes Frieza to have PTSD after he's rebuilt into a cyborg and is his worst memory in Hell.

** After returning to life, he trains himself to be stronger than ever and unlocked a new SuperMode. He also finally mastered using his full power in his true form. Then... he loses for the ''exact'' same reason he lost the first time. In his rush to get revenge, [[IncompletelyTrained he left his training early]] and didn't master his golden form, giving him the same stamina issues as his original 100% full power form, to an even ''greater'' extent. Despite acknowledging he made mistakes in his first battle against Goku, [[AesopAmnesia he repeated the same mistake]].

** In Super, he pulls it off again. [[spoiler:This time against Frost, his alt-universe counterpart. He exploited Frost's own arrogance and his desire to have a "master" from another universe like Cabba does to lull him into a false sense of security, culminating with Frieza fake-fighting with Gohan to convince Frost that they were on the same team. He then exploits Frost's ignorance of the various forms to get the latter into the buff 100% full power form (which lacks any kind of agility) and then blows him off the stage with no way to dodge or recover from it.]]

** To Goku. Frieza is born extremely powerful, didn't need to train a day in his life, and is the prince of a galactic empire. Goku is born a low class, is the son of a lower class warrior and pacifist mother, and had to train endlessly to reach his level of power. Frieza is very polite and well educated, while Goku is has bad manners and is BookDumb. [[HopeCrusher Frieza thrives on spreading despair]] and [[TheCorrupter corrupting others with his influence]]. [[HopeBringer Goku inspires hope and tends to bring out the good within people]].
** After character development, Vegeta becomes this to him. Through years of positive influence from living on Earth, Vegeta learns to care about others and being able to set his pride aside for the benefit of others and his own sanity. By letting go of the past, Vegeta becomes a happier person. Frieza, on the other hand, never learns from his experiences and remains an uncaring fiend even after he is given a second chance at life. He allows his hatred and anger towards Goku to drive him insane, and it's his inability to let go of his pride and the past that drives him to his death, ''twice''. This is further expanded on Super with his relationship with [[spoiler:Frost]], which is a contrast with Vegeta and Cabba. [[spoiler:While Vegeta was a StealthMentor to Cabba to teach him the Super Saiyan transformation, Frieza was a ManipulativeBastard to Frost, tricking him to catch him off guard]].

* GrowingMusclesSequence: When he first unleashed his full 100% power to fight Super Saiyan Goku on Namek, his body bulked up from [[LeanAndMean skinny]] to beefier than Goku himself. Curiously, when he did so again when he arrived on Earth in ''Resurrection F'' there was no visible muscle increase, implying his training to maximize his power naturally took away the need for it. Nonetheless, as revealed in [[spoiler:the Universe Survival Saga]], Frieza ''can'' still bulk up his muscles if he wants to.
* HairTriggerTemper: This is one of Frieza's main flaws. And ''how'', if things don't go his way, he loses his composure and bursts into violent outbursts and his solution is to blow up the planet.

* ArrogantKungFuGuy: A staple of most ''Dragon Ball'' villains, but Frieza stands out as having all of the power but none of the discipline and maturity as a fighter and this is the main reason he's been defeated so many times. He probably could have competed with Goku's Super Saiyan strength if he had any control over his enormous power, yet he never bothered to train himself to do so and just assumed nobody could ever challenge him. And those he does sees as a threat, like the Saiyans, he destroys before they can even approach his power. [[spoiler:Even when he finally decides to train to attain more strength, he is short-sighted enough to not master his newfound power and ended up burning himself out once again. When he ''finally'' took care of that part, it's already too late: there are stronger mortals than Goku, whereas Goku himself has leveled up by a lot as well.]]

* AssPull: An in-universe example. The whole "Namek blows up in five minutes" thing was speculated by Goku and later confirmed in other material to be one on Frieza's part. His attack was meant to be an out-and-out PlanetKiller but panicked as he feared that the explosion would be too much for him to survive and held back.[[note]]The only other time he's shown to use the attack in question was to destroy the planet Vegeta in flashback, which it did instantly. In that case, he was in orbit, rather than being inside the blast radius of his own attack.[[/note]] Caught with egg on his face, Frieza threw out the five minutes number to save face.

* AxCrazy: Frieza is incredibly sociopathic, and at times, is shown to be extremely sadistic to the point that killing and causing pain seems to be his favorite sport. For example, when he destroyed Planet Vegeta and left the Saiyan race near-extinct, he laughed his head off and declared it to be a beautiful sight the whole time. ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'' manages to take his deranged behavior to even more disturbing levels.
* AwesomeButImpractical: Freeza for a long time had a big problem with this, mainly because he never fought a truly life or death battle prior to Namek (according to him, outside of his family he never had to use more than his second form to win battles). His techniques ''look'' cool but, with the exception of the Death Beam, are often wildly inefficient:
** Frieza can use the Kienzan, and his version is far superior to Krillin's: it can still cut people stronger than him, but not only can he throw two instead of one, he can control their flight path with his telekinesis. The issue? They're still incredibly slow and loud, plus he loses control of them if his concentration is broken. When he tries to kill Goku with one while his back is turned, Goku is able to dodge it ''in base''. When Goku goes Super Saiyan again they can't even come close to touching him. The only person Frieza ever hits with it is himself; Goku actually has to save him from his own technique.
** Frieza's 100% full power form. In this state he truly was the strongest (non-sealed) mortal of his time, outdoing his father, ancestors, [[NonSerialMovie brother]] (not counting the latter's fifth form), [[NonSerialMovie other space pirate competitors]],[[note]]''Xenoverse 2'' implies that, while Slug and Turles didn't fight the heroes in the main timeline, they still exist in the universe.[[/note]] and all but the highest gods of his universe, as well as [[HulkingOut gaining a bunch of muscle mass]], and was even able to rival Super Saiyan Goku on Namek (though distantly). But there are two big problems. One, as noted below, his stamina bleeds incredibly quickly in this form, with a ''couple minutes'' of exertion gassing him out. Two, unlike his power fluctuations within his base form, getting to this level actually requires a fairly lengthy power-up/transformation sequence, making it impossible to actually use in battle unless his opponent lets him. Goku did, because he wanted to humiliate Frieza. Trunks ''didn't'' and simply killed Frieza in his 50% power state with one hit. There wasn't a damn thing Frieza could do about it. By the time of the Universe Survival Saga, Frieza appears to be able to use it instantly and even knows when to use it best in battle for maximum effectiveness, but by that point his Mastered Golden Form basically makes it an UselessUsefulSpell.

* BadBadActing: As ''Anime/DragonBallSuperBroly'' reveals, Frieza does in fact know [[WebVideo/DragonBallZAbridged improv]].
-->'''Frieza:''' Broly, ''look''! It's '''''such''''' a '''''tragedy'''''!!!!

--->'''Frieza:''' (Original) Yo soy el más fuerte del universo. Soy el Emperador, Soy el gran Freezer! Por eso tu... por eso tu, maldito insecto... TIENES QUE MORIR EN MIS MANOS A COMO DE LUGAR! Grrrr... Yo te mataré. Te mataré, CUESTE LO QUE ME CUESTE!!
--->'''Frieza:''' (Translation) I'm the strongest in the universe. I'm the Emperor, the great Frieza! And that's why... that's why you damn insect... YOU SHALL DIE BY MY HAND AT ALL COSTS! Grrrr... I'll kill you. I'll kill you... I DON'T CARE WHATEVER IT COSTS ME!!

* AssPull: An in-universe example. The whole "Namek blows up in five minutes" thing was later revealed in other material to be one on Frieza's part. His attack was meant to be an out-and-out PlanetKiller but panicked as he feared that the explosion would be too much for him to survive and held back.[[note]]The only other time he's shown to use the attack in question was to destroy the planet Vegeta in flashback, which it did instantly. In that case, he was in orbit, rather than being inside the blast radius of his own attack.[[/note]] Caught with egg on his face, Frieza threw out the five minutes number to save face.