There’s no shortage of increasingly powerful characters in the Dragon Ball continuity, so the title of the series’ strongest character often changes. The series gained a controversial reputation for a formulaic structure that would introduce a new level of strength with a frightening villain, only to have Goku defeat them. Thankfully, the series has grown beyond that trope, as it’s no longer earthbound warlords or intergalactic conquerors the Z-Fighters are facing, but literal gods, and a surprising number of characters stronger than Vegeta and even Goku.
Dragon Ball Super is the ongoing storyline of the Dragon Ball franchise originally written by Akira Toriyama and illustrated by Toyotarou. It has taken several characters from the original series and elevated them to new heights – not just Goku and Vegeta. Not only that, but Super has introduced fans to all-new characters, most of whom are so powerful that the familiar Saiyan warriors may never rival them.
The franchise is notorious for rapidly changing and/or fluctuating one’s power level depending on the story, making a concrete power-ranking almost impossible. Especially with the story being filled with temporary transformations that often seem to wear off when needed most. However, in the current state of Dragon Ball Super, it can be confidently asserted that these top 30 characters are Dragon Ball’s strongest.
30
Merus
First Appearance: Dragon Ball Super manga chapter #42
Merus is the number one agent in the Galactic Patrol, the organization to which Jaco belongs. A serious young man, Merus is dedicated to his job and takes great pride in fighting evil. Though his appearance might lend a hint, it was eventually revealed that Merus was an Angel, like Whis, but one that was sent to the mortal world for training purposes.
Merus joined the Galactic Patrol and began interfering in mortal affairs, which he wasn’t supposed to do. He developed a strong sense of justice, and so when Moro broke out of prison, Merus helped to train Goku to master Ultra Instinct. Merus paid a heavy price for his decision to interfere, having his angelic immortality stripped away. Left as a mortal, Merus was surprisingly happy, knowing that he had made a significant contribution in the fight against evil.
29
Seven-Three
First Appearance: Dragon Ball Super manga chapter #50
Seven-Three is an artificially created soldier who came from an unknown planet. As an android, he has no emotions and no free will, only following orders mercilessly and logically. He was imprisoned after falling in with a bandit gang and wreaking havoc across the universe. Seven-Three came to become Moro’s most powerful lackey, owing to the “copy” ability that he possessed. Seven-Three was capable of copying the techniques and abilities displayed by others, and he could store up to three copied abilities at a time, reflected in the gems on his head.
Seven-Three proved extremely difficult for the Z Fighters to defeat, but his ultimate fate was far worse. Seven-Three was eventually consumed by Moro, giving the villain his copy abilities, including a copy of Moro’s own abilities, increasing his power further. Seven-Three miraculously survived Moro’s defeat, albeit heavily damaged, and was eventually taken by Granolah on behalf of the Heeters.
28
Dabura
First Appearance: Dragon Ball Z, Episode #220, or manga chapter #252
Dabura was the Supreme Demon King of the Demon Realm, an area of the multiverse independent of any of the universes seen in Dragon Ball Super. Dabura was hailed as the strongest fighter in the Demon Realm, even killing his own father, Abura, to seize power and take control of the Demon Realm for himself. Dabura eventually fell under the spell of the wizard Babidi, which granted him further power at the cost of some of his independence.
Dabura was a powerful warrior that Goku and the Z Fighters faced during the Buu Saga. After Babidi unleashed Buu, Dabura was convinced Buu could not be controlled, and tried to fight Buu. Dabura was eventually turned into a cookie and eaten by Buu, killing him. Dabura never really got to flex the full extent of his power on screen, but if word is to be believed, he was quite powerful indeed.
27
The Tamagami
First Appearance: Dragon Ball Daima, Episode #1
The Tamagami are a trio of three magically created beings of roughly equal strength, meant to guard the Dragon Balls of the Demon Realm. Referred to only by numbers, Tamagami Number One wields a sword, Tamagami Number Two wields a trident, and Tamagami Number Three wields a massive hammer. Their strength is legendary in the Demon Realm, such that no one has ever successfully defeated one–at least until Goku came to town.
The Tamagami were created by Neva, the creator of the Demon Realm’s Dragon Balls, with the intent of keeping malicious entities from using the Dragon Balls to further their own ends. They were a bit too successful in that regard, since no one has used them since the Tamagami were created. Interestingly, because they each exist in a separate world of the Demon Realm, the three Tamagami never get to interact with one another.
26
Majin Duu
First Appearance: Dragon Ball Daima, Episode #11
Majin Duu is a magical being created by the witch Marba of the Demon Realm, using a Saibaman seed, the essence of Majin Buu (her previous creation) and a variety of other ingredients, including the blood of his master, Arinsu. He looks quite a bit like Majin Buu, and has the intelligence to match, being just as obsessed with sweets as Buu is.
Majin Duu may not look like much, but he proved himself to be extremely powerful, defeating the guardian of the Dragon Ball, Tamagami Number One. Duu uses an unusual style of battling, bouncing and stretching around to throw his opponents off their game. The Tamagami was ill-prepared for such an opponent, and was eventually brought down. Majin Duu is close with his predecessor, Majin Kuu, who is also quite strong, although he couldn’t quite match up to the Tamagami.
25
Gotenks
Debut: Chapter #286 of Dragon Ball Z’s manga, episode #251 of Dragon Ball Z’s anime
Gotenks was the first fusion seen in the series, a fusion of Goten and Trunks using the Fusion Dance technique. As a fusion, Gotenks wields tremendously more power than either Goten or Trunks alone, and was able to achieve Super Saiyan 3 with relative ease. He was stated to be strong enough to defeat Majin Buu, at least prior to his transformation to Super Buu. Gotenks has a wide variety of unusual abilities, such as his Super Ghost Kamikaze Attack, which summons up ghostly versions of himself that assault the enemy and explode on contact.
Gotenks’ only real weakness is his haughtiness, often getting overconfident in battle to the point where his enemies are able to pull one over on him
Gotenks’ only real weakness is his haughtiness, often getting overconfident in battle to the point where his enemies are able to pull one over on him. Goten and Trunks also often struggle to pull off the Fusion Dance properly, creating failed fusions that waste a significant amount of time that can be costly in battle.
24
Android 17
Debut: Chapter #155 of Dragon Ball Z’s manga and episode #133 of Dragon Ball Z’s anime
Android 17 is incredibly powerful, especially for an artificial being. As an android, 17 has unreadable power levels, causing his opponents to underestimate him, and a limitless supply of stamina, meaning that he can win just about any fight with a mortal so long as he can drag it out long enough. Android 17 spent the 10 years since the Cell Saga training and growing his power, making him one of the strongest warriors in Universe 7, a fact which led him to be one of the final surviving competitors in the Tournament of Power.
Android 17 defeated quite a lot of opponents during the Tournament of Power, marking him among the strongest in the multiverse as well. He even survived a seemingly suicidal self-destruct attack, making him far more resilient than even he knew.
23
Goku Black
Debut: Chapter #14 of the Dragon Ball Super Manga, Episode #47 of the Dragon Ball Super Anime
Goku Black is a version of the Universe 10 Kai in training, Zamasu, who stole an alternate Goku’s body for his own, combining Goku’s infinite potential with the divine power of a god. As such, Goku Black wields incredible power, even compared to Goku himself (at the time). He had access to the unique transformation which he dubbed “Super Saiyan Rosé,” possible only thanks to his innate God Ki, making it a level of power Goku and Vegeta will never be able to reach. Trunks estimates that even without going Super Saiyan at all, Goku Black is already more powerful than Goku’s Super Saiyan 3.
Goku Black could damage the very fabric of space with his attacks, making him exceptionally dangerous to fight. He was powerful enough to even wipe out the other gods across the multiverse, leaving him as the sole arbiter of divine power in his timeline–except for Zeno, that is.
22
Hit
Debut: Chapter #7 of the Dragon Ball Super Manga, Episode #32 of the Dragon Ball Super Anime
Hit is one of the strongest fighters from Universe 6, and widely regarded as an assassin who never fails to take out his target, no matter how powerful they may be. Hit’s signature move is his time skip ability, which lets him manipulate time and move forward by a tenth of a second, throwing off his foes’ timing and allowing him to catch them by surprise. Hit isn’t much of a martial artist, instead specializing in killing blows, but began to respect martial arts more after his encounter with Goku.
Hit actually managed to momentarily kill Goku in a single blow in the anime, a fate which Goku only avoided thanks to firing a ki blast up in the air with the intent of using it to revive himself after his certain death. Hit gains even greater control over his time manipulation as the series goes on, allowing him to freeze time entirely and slow down time for his opponents, making it possible to dodge almost any attack.
21
Top
Debut: Chapter #28 of the Dragon Ball Super Manga, Episode #78 of the Dragon Ball Super Anime
Top is the Destroyer-in-training for Universe 11, and second only to Jiren for strength in his universe. As a God of Destruction candidate, Top wields the power of Hakai, allowing him to annihilate anything that stands in his way. Top is also an incredibly proficient martial artist, able to overpower even beings like Android 17 without having to resort to Hakai at all. Even Goku had to admit that it would be a toss-up as to which of the two of them would come out on top should they fight. Top’s love of justice keeps him from utilizing underhanded tactics, preferring a fair fight with his opponents.
When using his God of Destruction powers, Top is on a whole other level, with his mere presence causing even Jiren to pause. In his Destroyer form, Top abandons his ideals of justice and instead focuses entirely on survival, willing to do anything and everything to win for the sake of his universe.
20
Kefla
Debut: Chapter #38 of the Dragon Ball Super Manga, Episode #114 of the Dragon Ball Super Anime
Outside of Android 18 and a few others, Dragon Ball is not well-known for its powerful women, but that definitely changed with the arrival of Kefla. The fusion of Kale and Caulifla, Kefla takes the strengths of both women and magnifies them to an absurd degree. Kefla’s primary display of power was during the Tournament of Power against Goku, and what a showing it was. Not only was Kefla able to keep up with Goku in his Super Saiyan Blue form, she even surpassed him in some ways.
Kefla is actually the very first canon female fusion in Dragon Ball history.
Unfortunately, Kefla would ultimately lose that fight against Goku, though it wasn’t for lack of power. With Goku in his Ultra Instinct Sign form, it didn’t matter how devastating Kefla’s attacks were since they couldn’t hit Goku. Still though, Caulifla and Kale are young, and their bond is even stronger than Goku and Vegeta’s, so it’s entirely possible that Kefla could rival the strength of fusions like Vegito and Gogeta.
19
Piccolo
Debut: Chapter #161 of the Dragon Ball Manga, Episode #123 of the Dragon Ball Anime
Few Dragon Ball characters have obtained the status of icon quite like Piccolo, and part of that is due to the Namekian’s sheer prowess in battle. Piccolo plays a pivotal role in so many Dragon Ball arcs for good reason, as he is a strong fighter and an even stronger mentor figure to fighters like Gohan. In battle, Piccolo has always been a strong foe with a variety of powerful techniques in his repertoire. Despite this, it wasn’t until Super Hero that he finally got a power-up that put him in line with the Saiyans.
Orange Piccolo is a hulking brutish form of the character which magnifies all of Piccolo’s power. Though Piccolo ultimately did require Gohan’s help in his battle against Cell Max, the new orange form made an impressive display. Orange Piccolo is a form that’s tough to evaluate at the moment, as it’s one battle against Cell Max may not be enough to really show just how strong the form is.
18
Majin Buu
Debut: Chapter #460 of the Dragon Ball Manga, Episode #232 of the Dragon Ball Z Anime
Majin Buu is a character the writers of Dragon Ball Super have had to write out of most conflicts due to their incredible abilities and potential strength. The plump Buu that’s currently been living a comfortable life with Mr. Satan is far from the fearsome forms the final DBZ arc showcased. Buu reached ridiculous levels of power after absorbing his foes leading to the classic debate of whether Kid Buu is stronger than Buuhan in Dragon Ball Z.
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Still, even after reverting to his Kid Buu form, the chaotic villain wiped out Earth and many of the universe’s planets while casually hunting Goku and Vegeta, making Buu a fitting final villain for the DBZ series. As powerful as Buu was and still is though, the Super era of Dragon Ball has introduced so many powerful beings that Dragon Ball’s final big bad just can’t compete.
17
Cell Max
Debut: Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero
Cell Max might have had a very brief time to shine during Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero’s action-packed climax, but that was more than enough to confirm that he’s an absolute nightmare to face. Cell Max was able to face off Gohan, Piccolo, both Gammas, Android 18, and Krillin without too much effort. Even when Piccolo debuted his powerful Orange form, that wasn’t enough to stop the mighty Cell Max. Living up to his name, Cell Max took everything that made Cell so strong and turned it up a notch.
Unfortunately, though he had all of Cell’s strength, Cell Max didn’t have the Dragon Ball Z villain’s intelligence or cunning. It’s tough to say whether this seriously hurt him in his fight or not, but he was ultimately taken down by Gohan Beast in a show-stopping finale. Gohan Beast is supposedly one of Dragon Ball’s strongest forms ever, so it’s hard to fault the villain for his loss.
16
Vegeta
Debut: Chapter #10 of the Dragon Ball Z Manga, Episode #5 of the Dragon Ball Z Anime
Vegeta has broken the barrier of Super Saiyan numbering and even god ki transformations like Super Saiyan Blue, as he’s found a way to harness the very power of Destruction itself – just like a Destroyer God. The incredibly powerful Ultra Ego transformation is a state of being where every hit he takes makes him stronger. He doesn’t have to channel ki to destroy things; Vegeta can simply will them to be destroyed with Hakai.
However, Vegeta has not mastered Ultra Ego in the Dragon Ball Super manga and has a long way to go before rivaling other members of Dragon Ball’s strongest characters. Still, Vegeta is quite powerful in the manga, and with further training, it’s clear that the former Prince of Saiyans could possess a power that rivals the likes of Beerus himself.
15
Fused Zamasu
Debut: Chapter #42 of the Dragon Ball Super Manga, Episode #64 of the Dragon Ball Super Anime
Fans of Dragon Ball were stunned when Super introduced Goku Black, an evil version of the Saiyan protagonist who was wreaking havoc on Future Trunks’ timeline. Eventually, it was revealed that Goku Black was actually an alternate version of the Kai Zamasu. Once Goku Black and normal Zamasu fused, they turned into the incredibly powerful being known as Fused Zamasu, and once that happened, Goku and Vegeta’s fight against him was basically over.
Possessing all the powers of a Saiyan and all the powers of a Kai, Zamasu is incredibly powerful in his own right. Goku and Vegeta’s only hope against him was a fusion of their own, and though that proved to be enough to ‘beat’ Fused Zamasu, a quirk in his powers led him to multiply endlessly, creating a massive army of Fused Zamasus. Goku and Vegeta couldn’t compete against the horde of Zamasus, leading them to call on Zeno for support.
14
Moro
Debut: Chapter #43 of the Dragon Ball Super Manga
Known as ‘Planet-Eater Moro’, Moro is an ancient sorcerer who was designed as a being of pure evil. Starting off as rather weak, Moro’s power initially seems to be a mixed bag. Buu is even able to restrain him with ease at first. Unfortunately for the people of Earth, Moro would only grow stronger as his powers slowly returned to him. Eventually, Moro is said to be so powerful that Vegeta could never train hard enough to match him.
At his strongest, Moro uses the energy from the many planets he’s consumed to become an absolute powerhouse. Even Goku is ultimately impressed with Moro in his final form and remarks that Moro was the toughest villain he had faced at the time, and could have been even stronger if he had just focused on training himself. That’s a high compliment coming from Goku, cementing Moro’s status as a deadly foe.
13
Goku
Debut: Chapter #1 of the Dragon Ball Manga, Episode #1 of the Dragon Ball Anime
Being one of the world’s most popular characters, Goku needs little introduction. His accomplishments over the franchise’s history include saving Earth on multiple occasions, often with the help of his allies and the techniques he’s learned from several powerful masters. During the Saiyan’s battles in DBZ, foes like Frieza and Cell have remarked how many of Goku’s attacks are more than capable of destroying planets, and he’s gotten a lot stronger during his training in DBS. So strong that his energy almost broke the fabric of the universe while battling Beerus, the God of Destruction.
To many fans’ delight, Vegeta defeated Goku in a training exercise during Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero that saw the two duel in their base forms to the point of exhaustion.
Just as Vegeta has unlocked Ultra Ego by channeling Destroyer energy, so, too, has Goku unlocked power normally reserved for divine beings: Ultra Instinct. Ultra Instinct is an angelic state that allows one’s body to move autonomously, making the warrior wielding it nearly untouchable. Goku learned it from the Angel Whis, just as Lord Beerus helped Vegeta with Ultra Ego. However, Goku is far better with Ultra Instinct than Vegeta is with Ultra Ego. Though beyond that, the two are remarkably close in terms of power-scaling – perhaps the closest they’ve ever been.
12
Gohan
Debut: Chapter #2 of the Dragon Ball Z Manga, Episode #1 of the Dragon Ball Z Anime
Like Piccolo, Gohan got a significant upgrade in the film Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero in the form of Beast Gohan. According to creator Akira Toriyama, Beast Gohan is stronger than Goku and Vegeta. After unlocking the new form in the Super Hero arc, Gohan easily tanked Cell Max’s devastating punches that made short work of Orange Piccolo.
Despite having little time to shine, Gohan has proven capable of incredible feats when his inner strength is unleashed throughout the franchise. Despite Gohan’s incredible power though, it’s unclear how he ranks among the series’ strongest fighters. Beast Gohan had an excellent showing against Cell Max, but hasn’t had too many times to really show off his full power against other threats. A recent sparring match between Gohan and Broly suggests the two are on a similar level, but that match didn’t bring out the kind of rage which makes the Legendary Super Saiyan such a monster in battle.
11
Broly
Debut: Chapter #42 of the Dragon Ball Super Manga, Dragon Ball Z: Broly – The Legendary Super Saiyan Movie (1993)
While Goku and Vegeta explored alternate avenues of power beyond their Saiyan heritage, Broly quite literally surges with the power of his people. As the Legendary Super Saiyan, Broly has access to primal Saiyan power. Goku and Vegeta do not, and that power makes him practically unstoppable. Not even Super Saiyan Blue Goku and Vegeta were enough to beat Broly. It had to be Super Saiyan Blue Gogeta to finally take Broly down – as shown in Dragon Ball Super: Broly.
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s so powerful that Lord Beerus has been reluctant to let him train on his world for fear of the damage he’d do. While later arcs of the Dragon Ball Super manga have seen the rehabilitated Saiyan training on the Destroyer’s world with Goku and Vegeta, the fact that a literal Destroyer God is nervous around Broly is perhaps the most telling aspect of his strength.
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