‘Dragon Ball’: Why Vegeta never reached Super Saiyan 3 in the official canon?

Vegeta, one of the most powerful Super Saiyans in the galaxy and Goku’s eternal rival, has never reached Super Saiyan 3 level, one of the most beloved transformations of ‘Dragon Ball’, which Goku first mastered against Majin Buu, with Gotenks - the fusion of Goten and Trunks - reaching the same level during the same arc against the most powerful version of Majin Buu. In any case, we have never seen him with this appearance and power level in the official canon, although he has reached it in video games and the ‘Dragon Ball Heroes’ series. But why did Vegeta never transform into Super Saiyan 3 in Dragon Ball’s official canon?

Vegeta and his own Super Saiyan path

There is no doubt that Vegeta would be able to transform into level 3 Super Saiyan, as he has surpassed Super Saiyan Blue in recent sagas with the Ultra Ego transformation in Dragon Ball Super. However, he has never followed in Goku’s footsteps in this regard, as Vegeta is fully aware of the pros and cons of Super Saiyan 3 after seeing its effects on Goku.

Vegeta knows very well that the Super Saiyan 3 consumes a great deal of energy that can leave the warrior without power if he prolongs this state too long, similar to the Ultra Super Saiyan state he used against Cell. With that in mind, Vegeta discarded this transformation and went with Super Saiyan 2 as his base form. Another compelling reason is that Vegeta has traditionally been a step behind Goku, following in his footsteps in his escalation of power, up to a point.

Vegeta decided to go his way as a Super Saiyan, developing the Super Saiyan Blue in Dragon Ball Super and later reaching his most powerful state yet, the Ultra Ego Transformation, both techniques born from his efforts and evolution as a Super Saiyan. These are the main reasons why we will never see Vegeta as Super Saiyan 3 in the official ‘Dragon Ball’ canon.