King Cold is one of the most notable minor villains in the beloved anime Dragon Ball Z, and honestly, I never expected him to even exist. After all, Frieza was supposedly the Emperor of the universe — so how is his father still alive? I believe a later story explained that King Cold simply wanted to retire and pass the empire down to his son, but still, it’s a little hard to believe.

When we finally see the mighty King Cold, he seems perfectly fine with following his son, Frieza, to Earth so they can watch it be destroyed.

But they make the fatal mistake of wasting time on the ground instead of just blowing up the planet from their spaceship — which they easily could have done. Thanks to that misstep, King Cold ends up witnessing his son being brutally killed by an unknown Super Saiyan.

Interestingly enough, King Cold isn’t very shaken by Frieza’s death. Instead, he casually offers Trunks a position under his empire. Whether he was serious or just trying to buy time is unknown. But when Trunks refuses, King Cold assumes that the key to Trunks’ power must be his special sword.

That theory is quickly debunked when Trunks effortlessly catches the very sword he lets King Cold borrow. I mean, if the sword really was the source of his power, why would he hand it over so easily? For someone who was once a galactic emperor, King Cold was foolishly optimistic.

Of course, Future Trunks ends up killing King Cold just as easily — and without mercy. No doubt, that would have made his father, Vegeta, very proud (lol). It’s honestly a shame that we never actually see the Prince of all Saiyans congratulate his son for that victory.