The world of Dragon Ball Z is full of unanswered questions, and it is often argued that this is part of the series' appeal. These unanswered questions make the world feel alive, showing that the universe doesn't stop when the main characters are not around. However, one of the most common unanswered fan questions asks why King Cold is considerably taller than Frieza.
Both Frieza and King Cold are members of the mysterious Frieza Race. However, while Frieza is shorter than Goku, King Cold is massive, towering over Frieza and many other beings. This is shown in the Dragon Ball Daizenshuu #04 - World Guide artbook, which has a page depicting Frieza and his followers. This page shows that King Cold is at least twice Frieza's regular height. In fact, he even dwarfs Frieza's taller third form. But why is there this massive height disparity between two members of the same race?
Some fans have speculated that this is simply due to age and that, unlike humans, members of the Frieza race don't stop growing once they reach adulthood. Instead, they continue to grow as they age. As King Cold is the father of Frieza, he is older and thus naturally taller. Also, members of the Frieza race seem to live for a really long time. This would give them plenty of time to grow in stature. This is shown by the other members of the Frieza race as Frieza's older brother Cooler is much taller than him while also being shorter than King Cold. Frieza's son Kuriza, on the other hand, is much tinier than Frieza. This implies that in the future, Frieza might grow and become bigger than King Cold and that, while Frieza is considered old by human standards, he is still the Frieza race's equivalent of a teenager.
Forms could also play a role in this height difference. Throughout the series, Frieza changes into many different forms, and these forms dramatically vary in height. Frieza's second form, while taller than his regular one, looks a lot like a shorter version of King Cold. This has caused fans to debate if Frieza purposely made his second form look like King Cold as a tribute to his father or if King Cold is always in his second form. If fan theories are correct and King Cold is more powerful than Frieza then it doesn't seem outside the realms of possibility that he could easily transform into his second form and maintain that transformation full-time. And, if King Cold's alternative forms follow the same height trends as Frieza's transformations, this would mean that King Cold's base form is much shorter than the second form we always see him in. Though it should be noted that if the height difference between forms is consistent, regular King Cold would still be a few feet taller than Frieza.
Of course, King Cold's height could simply be a random quirk of genetics. Even among humans, there are massive variations in height. For instance, history's shortest woman was just over one foot nine inches tall, and the tallest man in recorded history was well over eight feet tall. So it is totally possible for King Cold to just be abnormally large, even for a member of the Frieza race. If you omit King Cold as an outlier, then the other members of the Frieza race all fit within a similar height range, making them look way more uniform. So, while it is the least exciting answer, King Cold's height could simply be a random coincidence.
The height difference between Frieza and King Cold is a question that will continue to spawn fan theories for years to come. This detail, while inconsequential, suggests fascinating things about the Frieza race and its internal hierarchy. It also implies there is more to the race than what viewers see on screen. However, unless Akira Toriyama gives an official in-universe reason for the height difference, we'll simply never know.
