Frieza (フリーザ Furīza) is the emperor of Universe 7, who controlled his own imperial army and feared for his ruthlessness and power. He is the descendant of Chilled, the second son of King Cold, the younger brother of Cooler, and the father of Kuriza. Frieza is the catalyst antagonist of the entire franchise, as it is his actions that led to Goku arriving on Earth. He has made several comebacks since his fight with Goku on Namek, including multiple invasions of Earth. Recently, he has been chosen to represent Universe 7 as the tenth member of Team Universe 7 for the Tournament of Power as a replacement for Good Buu. This makes him the most recurring villain of the Dragon Ball series. After the events of the Tournament of Power, he is revived and recovers his title as Emperor of Universe 7.
Frieza is the main antagonist of the Namek, Frieza, Trunks, Gods of the Universe, and Golden Frieza Sagas. He later serves as a villainous protagonist in the Universe Survival Saga.
Frieza in his first form
According to Akira Toriyama, Frieza's design is an amalgamation of what he thought monsters looked like in his childhood.[citation needed] According to the Daizenshuu, Frieza was also inspired by Toriyama's second editor, Yū Kondō. According to Daizenshuu 2, Toriyama was also inspired to create Frieza due to the events of the Japanese economic bubble that had occurred at the time he was writing the Saiyan Saga, with Frieza specifically being based on real estate speculators, which Toriyama claimed were "the worst sort of people."
Art of first form Frieza in the Resurrection ‘F’ original storyboards without any Battle Armor
Frieza is one of the villains in the series who possesses an entire range of transformations, each one being quite different than the others. It is implied by Vegeta and Frieza himself in the series that Frieza's fourth, most powerful form is actually his original form, with the other three being forms that suppress and conserve his enormous power. Frieza later confirms this while fighting the main protagonist, Goku. His forms seem to revolve around both western and Japanese concepts of demons.
Frieza artwork for the Universe Survival Saga
According to an interview done by Shonen Jump with Toriyama, Frieza's final form was purposefully made to look small and less menacing: Toriyama wanted to go against the expectation that villains and monsters become bigger and meaner looking the stronger they are.[citation needed] In his first form, Frieza usually wears battle armor with a purple chest plate. When in his true natural form and also his golden form, Frieza wears his race's ultimate Bio Suit, the Z Fighting Suit. When in his Mecha form, his body is equipped with a permanent Cosmic Suit. In the Universe Survival Saga, he has a halo on his head due to being dead, although this is removed after the tournament due to Whis restoring him to life for "good behavior".
Frieza in a tuxedo
A series of stamps promoting Dragon Ball Super showed "Ideal Boss Frieza", some depicting the tyrant wearing a black tuxedo with a white undershirt and a red tie. Frieza wears this outfit in the Society Survival Saga.