Was Vegeta bluffing about destroying the Earth?

[Animelover5487]

Vegeta had simply lost his shit and was goading Goku into taking the blast. Even if he could blow up the planet, I’m not sure if he was being entirely honest. Earth’s Genki/energy being capable of killing even Oozaru Vegeta doesn’t help Vegeta’s point either.

Pure Boo was destroyed by a Genkidama made from the Earth's population and he already showed that he was more than capable of blowing up the Earth.

 

[Pocket-Gog~]

Yes? Wasn't it pretty obvious at that point?

 

[Hector]

Maybe he intended to narrow the beam the last moment, as he did with Cell.

 

[Let's Go Fearless!]

Nah, Vegeta is a planet buster at that point there's no reason to deny that.

 

[Captain Cadaver]

If we bringing up Vegeta’s irrationally then why take him seriously at all?

Because he certainly didn't seem to be bluffing, nor do the feats and scaling surrounding him imply such.

What makes you think the moon in DBZ is different from the real life moon?

Toriyama stated the distance between the Earth and the moon is the same in the Dragon World as in real life, yet the size of the moon presented during that chapter was far greater than it'd appear from the distance Gohan viewed it. Moreover, the fact that Piccolo was presented as completely erasing it makes the feat far more impressive than simply destroying it.

 

[GreatSaiyaman123]

@Captain Cadaver not even characters heights maintain consistency, yet you expect the size of the moon too? Even in real life there are nights the moon appears incredibly large, like the supermoon.

If anything DBZ’s moon is much weaker than the real life one since Piccolo was scared of Oozaru Gohan blowing up some mountains.

Chapter: 208 (DBZ 14), P9.3
Context: Piccolo’s reaction to witnessing the power of Oozaru Gohan.
Piccolo: “What’s going on?!! Such destructive power! At this rate, the Earth will be destroyed before the Saiyans arrive!!"

 

[Captain Cadaver]

@Captain Cadaver not even characters heights maintain consistency, yet you expect the size of the moon too? Even in real life there are nights the moon appears incredibly large, like the supermoon.

The only other times we saw the moon prior were before Roshi destroyed it though, so we don't have an accurate gauge to say if it was an inconsistency or not. More importantly, the fact Piccolo completely erased it through either vaporisation or atomisation makes the feat far more impressive than a standard Moon bust regardless.

If anything DBZ’s moon is much weaker than the real life one since Piccolo was scared of Oozaru Gohan blowing up some mountains.

Gohan wasn't actively focusing his power to destroy the Earth for obvious reasons though, not to mention Piccolo displaying far greater destructive feats at the 23rd TB already makes it apparent this isn't a good example to use. By the same logic, none of the Oozaru should be Planet level when they complete their missions (sometimes in fair sized groups as evidenced by the Bardock Special) since they don't destroy the planet in the process.
Moreover, modern material debunks the idea that Saiyan Arc characters weren't Planet Level with the Galactic Patrol having a missile capable of destroying Earth, yet were evidently scared of even one Saiyan's potential power and it wasn't suggested this weapon was a recent invention in FnF.

 

[Southern Gothic]

Does the manga use the term "destroy" or "blow up?" I would think that any of the attacks capable of blowing up the moon could also do significant, perhaps even permanent damage to the earth as well. If this is the case, Vegeta need only be marginally stronger that Piccolo or Roshi to confirm his statements. As it stands, he's far, far beyond that so I don't see any reason to doubt what we were told.

Also possible that the Garlic Gun is in fact overkill and can destroy planets much, much larger than Earth and Vegeta only used it due to being enraged when he could have done so using only a powered up ki blast.

 

[Captain Cadaver]

Does the manga use the term "destroy" or "blo

Herms:

Chapter: 231 (DBZ 37), P4.2/P6.2/P12.5
Context: Vegeta prepares to fire the Gyarikku-Ho
Vegeta: “Dodge this if you can!!!! Even if you save yourself, the Earth will be smashed to pieces!!!!! [ ] You’ll never block my Gyarikku-Ho…!!!! Turn to space dust together with the Earth!!!!!”
Goku: “x4!!!!!” *he uses the Kaio-ken x4*

Viz:

Spoiler

Steve Simmons Anime translation (Episode 31):

Vegeta: "I don't need this planet anymore! I'm going to crush you along with the rest of the Earth!
Go ahead and try to dodge this, if you can! Even if you do, the Earth will be blown to pieces!"

Note: Vegeta clearly says "uchuu" (space) in the second sentence here in reference to "space dust", equivalent to the Viz version having him refer to turning everything into ashes.

In all translations, Vegeta makes it very apparent he's going to destroy the Earth. Whether or not it'll be blown up as cleanly as Piccolo destroying the moon in the manga is debatable though, considering his space dust comment, but at the very least shows his blast could destroy the planet and pulverise most of it.

 

[Southern Gothic]

Herms:

Chapter: 231 (DBZ 37), P4.2/P6.2/P12.5
Context: Vegeta prepares to fire the Gyarikku-Ho
Vegeta: “Dodge this if you can!!!! Even if you save yourself, the Earth will be smashed to pieces!!!!! [ ] You’ll never block my Gyarikku-Ho…!!!! Turn to space dust together with the Earth!!!!!”
Goku: “x4!!!!!” *he uses the Kaio-ken x4*

Viz:

Spoiler

Steve Simmons Anime translation (Episode 31):

Vegeta: "I don't need this planet anymore! I'm going to crush you along with the rest of the Earth!
Go ahead and try to dodge this, if you can! Even if you do, the Earth will be blown to pieces!"

Note: Vegeta clearly says "uchuu" (space) in the second sentence here in reference to "space dust", equivalent to the Viz version having him refer to turning everything into ashes.

In all translations, Vegeta makes it very apparent he's going to destroy the Earth. Whether or not it'll be blown up as cleanly as Piccolo destroying the moon in the manga is debatable though, considering his space dust comment, but at the very least shows his blast could destroy the planet and pulverise most of it.

Low-balling this feat, I pictured Paragus ( no, not him) from KOTOR II. Which is pretty much destruction no matter how you slice it.