Zarbon's History
Background
Before King Cold's retirement, Zarbon served under King Cold as a member of the Cold Force along with Dodoria and the Ginyu Force. After King Cold retired and handed control over to his son Frieza, the Cold Force was renamed the Frieza Force and Zarbon eventually began serving Frieza alongside Dodoria.
Because of his great power and intelligence, Zarbon, along with Dodoria, became one of Frieza's two highest ranking officers by chain of command, as well as Frieza's personal advisor, effectively making him Frieza's right hand man.
At some point, he learned of Frieza's abilitty to transform, making him one of the few people to have ever learned of any of Frieza's transformations.
When King Vegeta rebelled against Frieza and demanded an audience, Zarbon reported the situation to Frieza. Although Frieza briefly paused and had Zarbon repeat himself, Frieza then responded, after a sarcastic reference to his own hearing, by stating that he let the Saiyans in. Zarbon then witnessed Frieza effortlessly kill King Vegeta in battle, alongside the latter's Saiyan Elites shortly afterward. When Frieza suggested "torching" Planet Vegeta, Zarbon then asked him if it was truly necessary to undergo such an action due to King Vegeta being dead, with Frieza reminding him that the other Saiyans are most likely going to follow King Vegeta's example if they didn't, especially if they learn about his death, causing Zarbon to concede that Frieza knew best.
Some time afterwards, when Vegeta, Raditz, and Nappa returned from destroying Planet Shikk, Zarbon, when asked by Frieza, estimated it would personally taken him only a day to depopulate the planet while mocking the Saiyans for their taking three days to do so without congratulating them. As the Saiyans were leaving, Zarbon then made an insulting reference to Vegeta's Saiyan heritage and capabilities, which infuriated the Saiyan prince enough that he barely restrained himself from turning around and attacked him in turn.
Frieza Saga
Zarbon accompanies Frieza and Dodoria to Namek in search of the Namekian Dragon Balls. Frieza's one desired wish is to gain immortality in order to maintain his dominance in the universe. Zarbon assists him by collecting most of the Dragon Balls alongside Dodoria by mercilessly slaughtering Namekians in order to squeeze information out of them. Unfortunately for Frieza, Vegeta shows up on Planet Namek with his own desire to gain control of the Dragon Balls. Vegeta had openly betrayed Frieza and went to Earth alongside Nappa although Frieza never gave him that order. Later, after traveling to Namek, Vegeta decides to proceed with his deliberate betrayal and gain control of the Dragon Balls for himself. Vegeta takes the first opportunity he gets to eliminate both Cui, and then Dodoria, who was temporarily separated from his crew after pursuing Gohan and Krillin.
At this point, Zarbon becomes the only remaining elite henchman of Frieza. He and Appule are sent to search the remaining Namekian Villages for the last two Dragon Balls. Zarbon tells Appule they need to split up to find the villages, and to notify him if he finds one, so that he won’t get killed by the stronger Namekians. They agree to return to the ship in three hours and split up. Zarbon soon comes face to face with Vegeta instead. Vegeta says that he's been wanting to fight Zarbon since he killed Dodoria, but Zarbon can't believe that he's become that strong. Vegeta says he’ll make him believe. Zarbon asks Vegeta why he’d betray Frieza, and so he explains that he always hated Frieza and how he wants eternal life for himself. If he had eternal life, Vegeta would be free of Frieza's control and his chances of defeating him would increase. Zarbon tells him eternal life wouldn’t be enough to win against Frieza, but Vegeta replies that it's a shame Zarbon doesn’t have a scouter, because his power has gone up to new heights. Zarbon tells Vegeta that he has conviction, but he knows Frieza has far transcended him.
Vegeta says that talking is over and that he has become what Frieza fears most: A powerful Saiyan. Zarbon says that Frieza was scared that the Saiyans would unite to overthrow him, but he doesn't consider just one to be a threat. The two begin to fight, however, Vegeta has the upper hand, deflecting Zarbon's Elegant Blaster, and dodging all his attacks. Vegeta eventually slams Zarbon down into the Namek soil. After Zarbon has been shaken, he informs Vegeta that he can transform, but avoids it when possible because the form he assumes is ugly in appearance, which Zarbon despises. He then surprises Vegeta and undergoes his quick demonic reptilian transformation.
The tables turn as Zarbon easily dominates Vegeta with a series of brutal poundings, multiple headbutts and roundhouses. Zarbon gloats that Frieza can transform as well and Vegeta doesn't stand a chance against them. After toying with Vegeta for a while, seriously pounding the Saiyan, Zarbon finishes the fight with an aerial piledriver, sending Vegeta head first into the ground and washed into the murky waters of Namek. Assuming Vegeta had been killed in the crash, Zarbon reports back to Frieza in order to relay the message of his victory. When he enters his master's quarters, Frieza asks Zarbon if he’s found a village. Zarbon says no, though he has defeated Vegeta. Frieza is relieved and asks if Vegeta is dead, but Zarbon says he didn’t confirm the corpse, but the odds are slim considering the severity of his injuries. Frieza asks why he didn’t confirm Vegeta's death, and Zarbon explains that he was underwater. Frieza figures that Zarbon neglected to confirm it because he didn't want to get his hair wet and that Vegeta could have found a Dragon Ball and hidden it. Zarbon says it was inexcusable and he’ll confirm it immediately.
Orlen arrives at the ship and says he’s found a village, but it’s already been destroyed and its Dragon Ball taken. Zarbon figures it must’ve been Vegeta and he did hide a Dragon Ball. Orlen lets it slip that he killed a survivor without first asking where Vegeta may have hidden the Dragon Ball, angering Frieza, who then kills Orlen without a second thought, zapping him with Eye Lasers as Zarbon watched in fear. Frieza tells Zarbon to bring Vegeta back to the ship, and he’d better hope he’s still alive or he'll follow Orlen's example. He also orders Appule to contact Planet Frieza and have the Ginyu Force come to Namek in five days with replacement Scouters. Zarbon freaks out and asks why he wants the Ginyu Force's help, and Frieza says he has a strange premonition. An odd feeling that a strong Saiyan exists somewhere in the universe and is destined to become his enemy and threaten his rule. Although, Frieza is unsure whether or not if it's Vegeta. Zarbon says if it’s not Vegeta, then it must be either the Saiyan from Earth or his half-breed son, though they’re considerably weaker than Vegeta. Frieza asks Zarbon if he doubts his premonition, who hastily says no, and tells him to hurry and bring Vegeta before he loses his patience, and Zarbon quickly flies off.
Relieved, Zarbon returns to the area of the battle, locates Vegeta's battered body, and takes him to the rejuvenation chamber in Frieza's ship in order for Appule to heal him in the rejuvenation chamber for further questioning. Appule says that Vegeta's condition is critical and he may not survive, but Zarbon tells him to do whatever it takes to revive him. Zarbon reports to Frieza that he captured Vegeta and that he is being healed for further interrogation. Upon healing, Vegeta blasts out of the tank and the explosion kills Appule. Zarbon and Frieza, having heard the noise, run to the treatment room, however Vegeta blasts a hole in the ship's wall as a distraction and hides. Concluding that he has fled, Frieza sends Zarbon outside the ship to find him. With his captors distracted, Vegeta excitedly races to Frieza's room where his five Dragon Balls lie unguarded. Zarbon searches the area near Frieza's Spaceship for Vegeta, but Frieza is impatient. He blames Zarbon for Vegeta's escape and threatens to kill him if he is unable to locate the Saiyan.
Realizing that he cannot carry all five Dragon Balls, Vegeta alerts Zarbon and Frieza to his location, then unleashes a blast in the hallway to obscure their vision. Vegeta then blasts a hole in a window and tosses all five balls outside before escaping just in time. Zarbon and Frieza are irate, and Zarbon again begins searching outside the ship to no avail. Zarbon desperately asks Frieza if Vegeta is still on the ship, but Frieza angrily blames Zarbon and says its his responsibility to find Vegeta. As Vegeta flees unnoticed, swimming in a nearby body of water, a furious Frieza says that he will search the ship's interior and orders Zarbon to search the surrounding area, promising to kill him if he does not capture Vegeta within an hour. Zarbon hurries out in fear, and searches for Vegeta, in order to avoid facing the serious consequences.
Despite having no Scouter, Zarbon luckily spots Krillin, who is carrying the One-Star Dragon Ball, and Vegeta, who is chasing after him. He follows the pair to a cave that Krillin, Gohan, and Bulma had been using as a hideout, and soon, he challenges Vegeta once again. Bulma is instantly attracted to Zarbon's appearance, although Krillin recognizes that the warrior is allied with Frieza. With Krillin and Bulma's lives at stake, Zarbon and Vegeta face off once more. Zarbon begins to warm up against Vegeta while not transforming, although he remembers Frieza's impending threat, and soon transforms to make sure he does not pass the limited time given to him to capture the Saiyan. He attacks Vegeta, who dodges his first few attacks before flying into the air and tossing sand into Zarbon's eyes. While Zarbon is temporarily blinded, Vegeta delivers a powerful punch to his back and slams him into the water from above. Vegeta follows up with a series of ki blasts, seriously injuring Zarbon and damaging his armor. Krillin suggests to Bulma that they flee while Vegeta is distracted, but Bulma is afraid that Vegeta will attack them if they do. Krillin grabs her and begins to flee regardless, but Vegeta does indeed notice them and blocks their path with several blasts.
While Vegeta is distracted, Zarbon emerges from the water and flies towards him, leading to the two of them returning to the ground. Zarbon angrily claims that Vegeta will pay for what he has done, but Vegeta is undaunted. Vegeta informs Zarbon that Saiyan strength increases after every battle and after near death experiences, so Vegeta's Power Level has increased substantially because of the beating he had taken. Zarbon, however, is still adamant that he will defeat Vegeta, and the two begin to fight again. After a furious but quick volley of blows, Vegeta rams his fist into Zarbon's chest, breaking his armor and drawing blood. Zarbon, in a state of extreme fear, says that he was only following orders and begs for his life, and even offers Vegeta an alliance against his master (this was however just a lie to get a chance at mercy, as he still respected Frieza, made clear in the Japanese version, where he used the honorific "-sama" at Frieza's name). He implies that if they formed an alliance together they could defeat Frieza, but Vegeta says that wouldn’t show him any mercy after all of those years of abuse and finishes him off with a blast clean through his stomach, cracking his backbone, and sending Zarbon to a watery grave in the Namekian sea, to Bulma's shock.
