Zarbon is Freeza's right-hand man and one of his more powerful henchmen. He has long, green braided hair and wears a tiara and earrings, giving him a more attractive look amongst Freeza's soldiers. Because of this, Zarbon thinks highly of himself and values things based on how attractive they are. Zarbon has the ability to transform himself into a reptilian humanoid, increasing his strength and ferocity while also detracting from his looks. Because of this, he avoids transforming whenever possible. Zarbon accompanies Freeza to Planet Namek where he fights and captures Vegeta.

He made appearances in Anime Fillers of the Freeza saga and advised Freeza to destroy Planet Vegeta in Bardock: Father of Goku.

In Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2, Zarbon appears in a "what-if" scenario where he attempts to gain the Dragon Balls for himself and wish for eternal beauty. He eventually gets his wish, but ends up dying when Planet Namek explodes. His Japanese voice actor is Sho Hayami. In the Ocean Group dub, he is voiced by Paul Dobson and given an Australian accent. In the later FUNimation redub, he is voiced by Christopher Sabat and given a British accent.