Dragon Ball: Friezas Death Beam, Explained

Dragon Ball: Friezas Death Beam, Explained

Key Takeaways

  • Frieza’s Death Beam is iconic for its piercing power and lack of charge-up, making it a deadly and accurate attack.
  • Frieza frequently uses the Death Beam to eliminate characters in Dragon Ball, showcasing his mastery over the attack.
  • The Death Beam has variations like Death Laser and Death Bullet, with Golden Frieza’s Great Death Beam being the strongest.

As a lifelong Dragon Ball fan, I can confidently say that Frieza’s Death Beam is one of the most iconic and terrifying attacks in the series. Growing up with this show, I remember being absolutely terrified every time Frieza would pull out his signature move. The sheer power and precision it displayed made it seem like no one could ever truly escape its grasp.


As a devoted Dragon Ball fan, I can’t help but marvel at the captivating signature moves that each hero and villain unleashes in this epic franchise. From Goku’s legendary Kamehameha to Omega Shenron’s chilling Negative Karma Ball, these iconic techniques are as synonymous with their characters as a superhero’s cape or a villain’s menacing laugh. The rich tapestry of the series is brimming with such unforgettable moves in both the canonical and non-canonical realms.

While not all villainous attacks reach the same level of recognition, Frieza’s Death Beam stands out in the Dragon Ball series due to its frequent use throughout his various appearances. Despite it not being his most potent move, the Death Beam is a significant part of Frieza’s repertoire and holds iconic status because of this. Let’s delve into the Death Beam and explore why it has such an enduring impact on the series.

What Is The Death Beam?

Frieza’s Signature Move

Dragon Ball: Friezas Death Beam, Explained
First AppearanceDragon Ball Z, Episode 70, “Frieza Approaches”
Debut DateDecember 5, 1990
Story ArcNamek Saga

In its most recognized form, Frieza’s Death Beam is a powerful Ki attack, mirroring the cold and malevolent essence of its originator. It’s a sharp, intensely focused beam of energy that showcases piercing strength, able to penetrate any substance, much like Piccolo’s Special Beam Cannon. However, it’s not as potent as Piccolo’s signature move, but what sets it apart is the absence of a charge-up period.

In my enthusiastic viewpoint, Frieza’s ability to unleash the Death Beam swiftly, either singularly or in a series, makes it an incredibly formidable move. It may not be his ultimate technique, but it’s undoubtedly his most recognized and frequently employed. Many characters have sadly met their end due to the lethal power of Frieza’s Death Beam!

How the Death Beam is Performed

In simpler terms, this attack is incredibly easy to execute among all the ones in the series as it doesn’t need any build-up time. To perform it, Frieza merely extends his index finger while pointing at his target with an open hand. The energy, or Ki, is concentrated at the tip of his finger and released swiftly as a narrow, straight beam that can easily penetrate through armor. Furthermore, this attack is exceptionally precise, making it one of the most accurate moves in the entire Dragon Ball universe!

Notable Uses Of The Death Beam

The Deadly Success Rate of the Attack

Dragon Ball: Friezas Death Beam, Explained

It was previously mentioned that Frieza often chooses to eliminate individuals using the Death Beam. This destructive move, which he’s demonstrated repeatedly throughout the anime, was first seen being used shortly after Frieza’s introduction, when he effortlessly dispatched a Namekian warrior with it, highlighting his impressive proficiency in wielding this attack, even in his weakest state.

In the Namek Saga, Frieza employed his Deadly Beam not once but twice – first to eliminate Dende and later to strike down Vegeta, who had provoked him with mocking remarks. This instance offered a clear demonstration of the beam’s precision, as Frieza managed to hit Vegeta right in the heart from quite a distance. The Deadly Beam used on Vegeta further underscored its lethal capabilities, easily penetrating his armor.

Don’t worry, it won’t hurt too bad. Really… death is my specialty!

Frieza might repeat this assault to harm Goku and Piccolo, but he couldn’t kill them. Nevertheless, every time he employed it against Super Saiyan Goku, the Death Blast turned out to be useless because of their power disparity. Later on, we saw this attack being used by Perfect Cell during his battle with Gohan.

Following Frieza’s revival in Dragon Ball Super, the Death Beam became regularly employed. Upon attaining the even more potent Golden Frieza transformation, the attack underwent a significant enhancement as well. Now, instead of its previous pinkish-purple shade, it transformed into a striking red, which also led to an expansion in both size and power. This move was often utilized throughout Super, and due to the immense strength boost that Frieza experienced after assuming his Golden form, it started functioning more like a traditional energy wave.

Variations of the Death Beam:

  • Death Laser: A slightly thicker and stronger version of the attack used by Frieza and Cooler.
  • Death Bullet: A version of the attack that fires a single projectile at high speeds rather than a beam. It was used by Frieza in his third and fourth forms.
  • Crazy Finger Beam: A variation of Death Bullet used in Frieza’s third form that sees him using both hands in rapid succession to fire off many bullets, one after another.
  • Barrage Death Beam: Similar to the Death Bullet but a rapid fire of the attack from one finger. Used by Frieza and Perfect Cell.
  • Great Death Beam: The strongest variation of the attack used by Golden Frieza, where he fires the beam from all fingers of both hands instead of one to create a net of Ki blasts.

Dragon Ball can be streamed on Crunchyroll.

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2024-10-02 18:03