Broly is a fictional character from the Dragon Ball media franchise, first appearing as the main antagonist in the 1993 film Dragon Ball Z: Broly - The Legendary Super Saiyan. He is a male Saiyan, recognized by the title of the Legendary Super Saiyan, a warrior of immense power said to appear once every thousand years. The character was created by screenwriter Takao Koyama and designed by series creator Akira Toriyama. Broly is the son of Paragus, another Saiyan who survived the destruction of their home planet, Vegeta.

The background of Broly is rooted in tragedy and the brutal nature of Saiyan society. He was born with an abnormally high power level of 10,000, which immediately incited fear and jealousy in King Vegeta. The king, seeing the infant as a potential threat to his own rule and to his son Prince Vegeta's future, ordered Broly to be executed. Broly was stabbed and left for dead alongside his father. They narrowly escaped the destruction of Planet Vegeta at the hands of Frieza. In the original films, Broly harbors a deep-seated, psychotic rage towards Goku. This animosity is explained as stemming from when they were infants in adjacent nursery incubators; the sound of the baby Goku's incessant crying became ingrained in Broly's memory, causing him extreme distress and fueling a lifelong, irrational hatred.

The personality of the original Broly is a study in contrasts, shifting between a submissive and seemingly docile state to a brutal, sadistic monster. Under normal circumstances and while under the control of a mind-control device worn by his father, Broly is quiet and barely speaks. Once the device is broken or his rage is triggered, usually by Goku's presence or power, his true personality erupts. In his transformed state as the Legendary Super Saiyan, he becomes a gleefully destructive and nearly mindless engine of chaos. He takes immense pleasure in dominating his opponents, often toying with them to demonstrate his absolute superiority before attempting to deliver a final blow. This version of Broly lacks the compassion and restraint seen in other Saiyans; his sole drive is destruction, and he shows no loyalty, even killing his own father, Paragus, when he becomes an inconvenience.

In the narrative of the film, Broly serves as an unstoppable physical force. Paragus lures Vegeta and the other Z-Fighters to a new planet, intending to use Broly as a weapon to kill the Saiyan prince and claim revenge on the royal bloodline. Broly's role is that of a living natural disaster. He effortlessly defeats the combined forces of Goku, Vegeta, Gohan, Future Trunks, and Piccolo, all of whom are Super Saiyans at that time. His power is portrayed as being on a completely different level, to the point where conventional attacks have no effect. The heroes only manage to defeat him after Goku absorbs energy from his fallen friends and lands a single, decisive punch to Broly's abdomen, a weakness created by Broly's past injury from King Vegeta's assassination attempt. His role in the original trilogy continues with his unexpected return in Broly - Second Coming, where he is defeated by the combined Kamehameha of Goku, Gohan, and Goten, and concludes with Bio-Broly, a failed clone created from his blood samples.

The key relationship in Broly's life is with his father, Paragus. Paragus is the one who saved Broly as an infant and spent years nurturing and controlling his son's terrifying power. He uses a technological device to suppress Broly's rage, essentially keeping him as a living weapon. While Broly obeys his father while docile, the respect is not returned; Paragus views his son more as a tool for revenge than as family. This culminates in Broly breaking his programming and callously killing Paragus when he tries to flee from the battle. The original 1990s version of the character has no significant positive relationships. His entire existence is defined by his hatred for Goku, whom he sees as the source of his psychological torment, and his servitude to his father.

The development of the original Broly is minimal, as he is a static villain. He does not learn or change; he is a force of nature that is simply unleashed and eventually stopped. His narrative arc in his debut film is one of awakening, rampage, and defeat. However, the character himself underwent a significant meta-development outside of his original story. A canonical, reworked version of Broly was introduced in the 2018 film Dragon Ball Super: Broly. This new version retains the immense latent power and the berserker rage state when pushed too far. However, his personality is drastically different; he is portrayed as a gentle, socially naive, and compassionate man who is loyal to his father and dislikes fighting for its own sake. His hatred for Goku is removed, and he later becomes a supporting character and friendly rival to Goku and Vegeta, training to control his immense power.

The notable abilities of Broly center on his status as the Legendary Super Saiyan. Unlike standard Super Saiyan transformations, Broly's form results in a massive increase in muscle mass, causing him to grow to an enormous size, while his hair takes on a distinctive green or greenish-yellow tint and his irises disappear. Despite his bulky frame, his speed is not compromised, allowing him to move faster than smaller opponents. His power is described as being virtually infinite, and he has been stated by the screenwriter to be the strongest antagonist in the Dragon Ball Z series. He can generate green-colored energy ki blasts, fire multiple homing energy spheres, and create an enormous, expanding energy bomb capable of destroying planets. His physical fighting style relies on overwhelming force, using clotheslines, crushing grabs, and powerful strikes to dominate his enemies. In his initial appearance, his power level in his Legendary Super Saiyan form was stated to be around 1.4 billion. His raw strength allowed him to effortlessly defeat several Super Saiyans simultaneously and withstand their most powerful attacks without injury.