At the end of the day, Dragon Ball is about Goku’s journey into becoming the best martial artist he can be – but not necessarily the best martial artist there is. One of the first lessons Goku learns in Dragon Ball is that there will always be someone better, an idea which has followed him and the rest of the cast deep into Dragon Ball Super.
Goku is rarely the strongest character in Dragon Ball. Even though he’s constantly outdoing his peers in Dragon Ball Super, Goku used to be weaker than quite a few main characters. From heroes to villains, Son Goku’s strength has been overshadowed many times – but that just makes his growth as a martial artist more compelling.
10 Master Roshi
Goku’s first real martial arts master in Dragon Ball, Roshi’s philosophies are what best define the series’ core themes: self betterment for self betterment’s sake, passing the torch onto the next generation, and recognizing that there will always be someone better than you. Roshi was that “someone better” for Goku during the 21st Tenkaichi Budokai.
Disguised as Jackie Chun, Roshi entered the tournament to make sure Goku and Krillin lost – preventing them from growing egos at such a young age. It wouldn’t take long for Goku to surpass Roshi, however. By the 22nd Tenkaichi Budokai, the Turtle Hermit realized that his time as a martial artist was over, retiring to pave the way for the next generation (represented by Goku, Krillin, & Tenshinhan in this case.)
9 Tenshinhan
Speaking of Tenshinhan, it’s hard to narrow down just how strong he is at the end of the 22nd Tenkaichi Budokai. While he does end up defeating Goku, it’s almost entirely by chance. Tenshinhan also insinuates that Goku was physically stronger. That said, Ten is clearly the more skilled martial artist at this point and Goku fights at full power during their fight.
With all this said, Goku very clearly surpasses Tenshinhan during the Demon King Piccolo arc. While Tenshinhan trains with the Mafuba, Goku drinks literal poison to awaken the Great Ape powers lurking inside him. Tenshinhan never manages to catch back up after this point.
8 Piccolo
In spite of the power up Goku got from Karin, he’s only about as strong as Demon King Piccolo himself. In fact, Goku more or less loses their final battle, being left crippled on the ground. Goku only kills Piccolo because the Demon King fails to break all of Goku’s limbs. In his dying breath, Piccolo spits out one last egg.
This reincarnated Piccolo spends the next three years training for the 23rd Tenkaichi Budokai, where he plans to kill Goku and begin his pursuit of world domination. Unfortunately for Piccolo, Goku spends this time training with God, arriving at the tournament already stronger than the new Piccolo.
7 Vegeta
Goku was actually significantly weaker than Vegeta during their first fight. He could barely keep up with the Elite Saiyan without Kaioken. Even pushing his body past its limits, Goku needed to tap into Kaioken x3 to get a physical advantage. By the time Goku taps into Kaioken x4 during their beam struggle, he’s far surpassed Vegeta at the expense of his body.
From there, Vegeta takes control of the fight until Gohan & Krillin arrive – turning into an Oozaru stronger than anything Goku could imagine. Vegeta leaves Earth the stronger of the two Saiyans, but he’s outclassed by the time Goku arrives on Namek. The only other time Vegeta surpassed Goku is when he first shows up as a Super Saiyan during the Cell arc, but that only lasts until Goku leaves the Room of Spirit and Time. Goku has been stronger than Vegeta ever since.
6 Frieza
The fight against Frieza was always going to be an uphill battle. Gohan, Vegeta, and Krillin were starting out without Goku or Piccolo on their side, and the reveal that Frieza could transform three times dealt a serious damage to the team’s morale. By the time Frieza’s transformed into his final form and Goku’s arrived, things only appear marginally better before he starts losing control of the fight.
The whole time Goku fights for his life – pushing Kaioken to x20 – Frieza is only fighting at half power, humoring the Saiyan until he starts to lose his patience. Frieza ends up being his own downfall, however. Killing Krillin right in front of him, Goku taps into a primal rage in order to become the legendary Super Saiyan Frieza rightfully feared.
5 Androids 17 & 18
Designed with the sole purpose of killing Son Goku, Androids 17 and 18 actually would have gotten away with it if the Heart Virus hadn’t removed Goku from the battlefield while he was fighting 19. 17 and 18 in the main timeline are far stronger than anyone could have imagined, with 18 alone effortlessly breaking Vegeta.
The fact Androids 17 and 18 have infinite stamina also would have lent Goku a major problem at this point in the series as he hadn’t yet mastered Super Saiyan. After training with Gohan in the Room of Spirit and Time, though, Goku grabs a steady lead over the Androids.
4 Gotenks
Gotenks was one of the strongest characters at the end of Dragon Ball Z, and his Super Saiyan state was considerably stronger than Goku’s own Super Saiyan 3. Where Goku wouldn’t even fight Evil Buu, SSJ3 Gotenks nearly killed them. Modern Dragon Ball hasn’t been particularly kind to Gotenks, though, which means he hasn’t kept up with his training. Goku surpasses Gotenks during Battle of Gods, the advent of God Ki making him the single strongest member of the main cast at the time. Gotenks has never been able to reach his former levels since, not even appearing anymore.
3 Son Gohan
Gohan was the strongest unfused character at the end of the original Dragon Ball. He may not have beaten Majin Buu himself, but Gohan unlocked his Ultimate potential and was able to comfortably retire – a fate that suits him well. Goku likewise surpasses Gohan in Battle of Gods, only widening the gap between him and his son throughout Dragon Ball Super.
That said, Super has made a point to showcase that Gohan’s potential is still there and that he’s ready to nurture his strength. The manga’s version of the Tournament of Power even has Gohan choosing to fight on his own terms – not as a Saiyan – while returning to lend a helping hand during the final battle against Moro. Still, Gohan won’t be outdoing Goku anytime soon.
2 Super Saiyan Vegetto
Where Gohan was the strongest unfused character at the end of the original Dragon Ball, Vegetto was the strongest altogether. He’s since returned in Dragon Ball Super (naturally stronger than Goku,) but it’s worth pointing out that Super Saiyan God Goku was actually stronger than Super Saiyan Vegetto in Battle of Gods. When poised to fuse, Goku doesn’t believe Vegetto will be strong enough to actually defeat Beerus, whereas Super Saiyan God allows him to fight on (relatively) even footing with the God of Destruction.
1 Golden Frieza
It’s hard to put into perspective since Golden Frieza ends up being his undoing almost immediately, but Goku was in big trouble during Resurrection F – even as a Super Saiyan Blue. Golden Frieza is technically stronger than either SSB Goku or Vegeta during the events of the movie, but the form drains so much stamina that this ultimately ends up meaning nothing in the grand scheme of things.
Before Frieza knows it, his Golden form has exhausted enough energy for Super Saiyan Blue Goku to overpower him. Come the Tournament of Power, any physical advantage Frieza had over Goku is long gone. With Goku seemingly mastering Ultra Instinct at the end of the Moro arc, it’s unlikely Frieza will ever have a leg up over the Saiyan again.
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