"This isn't even my final form!" This memetic line originated in the world of Dragon Ball, uttered by Frieza while boasting about his hidden power. The "Final Form," is also a popular concept in video games, as boss fights sometimes involve multiple forms of the same enemy. With so many power ups and transformations in the Dragon Ball franchise, we might have to get a little loose with the definition of "final." Regardless, we decided to look at some of the strongest "final forms" in the franchise and rank them from weakest to strongest.
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For this list, our concept of "final form," can be one of three things; a final transformation of a character, a character's current strongest power up and/or their strongest form within a certain story arch or series. That might seem confusing, so we'll put it this way, we're looking at the strongest canon forms in the world of Dragon Ball, or at least the ones considered "final" at the time, and finding out which comes out on top. Some of this is based on power level, some of it skill and evidence from fights. It was a tough ranking, but here's CBR's take on every Dragon Ball final form, RANKED.
15 MASTER ROSHI MAX POWER
At the bottom we have the perverted turtle hermit, Master Roshi. Though he began to pale in comparison to the other Z-Fighters as time went on, he's still the only human character with a "final form." Heck, aside from the shape shifters, he's sort of the only human with a transformation at all. Roshi's transformation is simply known as "max power."
Though he cannot even fly, Roshi in his Max Power form is not to be trifled with. As the title implies, it maximizes Roshi's power levels, increasing his strength, speed, durability and ki level. Aside from the obvious increase of muscle mass, Roshi's final form also allows him to perform his many techniques to their fullest potential. However, as strong as this form is, Roshi is still far outclassed by the other Z-Fighters.
14 FUSED PICCOLO
Piccolo Jr. is the son of the demon Namekian, King Piccolo, though we simple know him as Piccolo. King Piccolo was actually originally "the nameless Namekian," a Namekian who travelled to Earth and aimed to be its guardian. However, the previous guardian wouldn't allow the nameless Namekian to take the position because of the evil within him.
So, when this Namekian purged the evil from his body, he was then known as Kami, and the evil formed into King Piccolo. Later, King Piccolo, on the verge of death, produced an egg containing his reincarnation/son, Piccolo Jr. In the Cell Saga, Kami fused with Piccolo to return to the being he once was, giving Piccolo a massive power up. It's not a transformation of any kind, but with all the form changes/splits the Nameless Namekian went through, this can be considered his final form.
13 PERFECT CELL
Dr. Gero's greatest and most dangerous experiment was Cell, a bio-android composed of the cells of the greatest warriors in history, including the DNA of Goku. Though he was powerful in his first stage, it was only his first form, known as "Imperfect Cell." This form was just a stepping stone, as he needed to absorb Androids 17 and 18 to become what Dr. Gero intended.
After absorbing Android 17, he became "Semi-Perfect Cell," and with the absorption of Android 18, he became "Perfect Cell." "Perfect" isn't too much of an exaggeration in this case, since this form is incredibly powerful, even capable of accessing the power of a Super Saiyan 2 and regenerating from a single Cell. However, with new context, Cell isn't as powerful as future characters' forms.
12 SUPER SAIYAN 3 GOTENKS
In the Buu Saga, the only way that Goku sees to stop the demon alien is to teach Goten and Trunks how to fuse. The two half-Saiyans learn the fusion dance and, after a few tries, successfully form Gotenks. This kind of fusion is said to combine and multiply the power level of the individuals involved, meaning the fusion is greater than the sum of its parts.
Goten and Trunks are already immensely strong Saiyans, and in their fused form, they are able to reach Super Saiyan 3, skipping over Super Saiyan 2 in the process. This form is incredibly powerful, though it has a time limit, one that is cut short by the amount of power/stamina Super Saiyan 3 uses. In this form, Gotenks is able to go hand to hand with Super Buu before being absorbed and adding to the villain's power.
11 ULTIMATE GOHAN
When Gohan has his power maximized by the Old Kai's unlock ability, he becomes known as Ultimate Gohan. Though the effects of this are not fully understood or explained, it's clear that Gohan's base level power is pushed beyond his normal levels. In fact, it's stated that with his full potential unlocked, Gohan's base level power is greater than that of Super Saiyan 3 Gotenks. Gohan can also train this form to its max and even turn Super Saiyan to multiply its power.
That all might seem a bit confusing, but the point is that Gohan is able to go toe to toe, and even get the upper hand on, Super Buu. He was so strong in fact, that Super Buu found it advantageous to absorb Gohan and take his ultimate power for himself.
10 KID BUU
Kid Buu is the name given to Buu's base form, the form before absorbing anyone. This form may not be as strong as the forms he achieved by absorbing various Z-fighters, but it is indeed his "final" form. Despite the fact that Kid Buu might not have a power level higher than Super Buu, he is far more dangerous, since he lacks rational thought or reason.
This means that Kid Buu is the ultimate evil, incapable of any thoughts that would stop him from attack, making him unpredictable. To put it simply, he is pure chaos. Though he lacks the power of his other forms, he still gives Super Saiyan 3 Goku a run for his money, attacking without reason or restraint. A chaotic force far more deadly than his previous forms.
9 SUPER SAIYAN 3 GOKU
The first Super Saiyan form was an awesome twist/reveal that shocked Dragon Ball Z fans. Super Saiyan 2 was even cooler, especially since Gohan was the first to achieve it. Super Saiyan 3 cranked up the insanity level even more, marking the strongest Saiyan form in Dragon Ball Z. It would eventually be trumped by Super Saiyan God and Super Saiyan Blue in Dragon Ball Super, but in the context of Dragon Ball Z, it was Goku's "final" form.
The Super Saiyan 3 form multiples a Saiyan's base form power times 400, though at the cost of draining stamina and ki reserves at an alarming rate. It's debatable that this form might not be stronger than Kid Buu nor Ultimate Gohan, but since Goku has since upped the power of his base form in Dragon Ball Super, we can argue this SS3's power has increased as well, despite Goku rarely using the form.
8 BERSERKER SUPER SAIYAN KALE
Kale is the second female Super Saiyan we are introduced to in the entire Dragon Ball franchise, and mostly likely the strongest. Her Super Saiyan form is similar to that of the non-canon Broly, different to regular Super Saiyans. It is known as the Berserker Super Saiyan and it gives Kale a green tint to her glowing hair and a massive increase in muscle mass and power, but at the cost of rational thought.
Kale eventually gains control over this form, trading some of its power for her rationality returning. As such, it stands to reason that the full Berserker form is stronger than the controlled one, at least in terms of raw power. This form is enough to give Super Saiyan 2 Goku a good fight, possible even surpassing him. It's also a newly achieved form for Kale, meaning theres' room for it to get even stronger.
7 SUPER SAIYAN GOD GOKU
Super Saiyan God is not exactly a "final" form, since Super Saiyan Blue and Ultra Instinct would soon follow, but we're gonna count it for a few reasons. For one thing, despite the fact that Super Saiyan blue is implied to be stronger, this level of Super Saiyan actually turns Goku into a full-fledged god. In the Dragon Ball world, one of the highest achievements for an warrior to aspire to is a god, specifically a god of destruction. That means it could be considered "final" for the reason of turning Goku into a higher being.
The form is also a huge boost in power, allowing Goku to hold is own against Lord Beerus at 70% power. This also brings up a dispute over wether or not Super Saiyan Blue is more powerful, since it would put Goku beyond his Super Saiyan God strength and thus somewhere around Beerus' full strength. Man, this is confusing.
6 SUPER SAIYAN BLUE
Despite Super Saiyan God transforming Goku into an actual god, Super Saiyan Blue is implied to be even stronger. We have two pieces of evidence to support this. The first is in the Dragon Ball Super manga, where the form is referred to as surpassing Super Saiyan God. The second is in the Universal Survival Saga, where Goku uses the Super Saiyan God form before using Super Saiyan Blue, implying the form is stronger, or at least more useful.
Then again, Super Saiyan God actually transforms Goku into a real god while Blue just taps into that power. Regardless, we can categorize Super Saiyan Blue as the true "final" form of Goku and Vegeta, since it was introduced after Super Saiyan God. Yes, it's very confusing, and we're not even sure we know what we're talking about! Man, this one is gonna trigger some angry comments, isn't it?
5 SUPER SAIYAN KEFLA
Surprised about this one? Well if you're caught up on Dragon Ball Super, then you'd know that Kefla is more than a match for both Super Saiyan God and Super Saiyan Blue. For those who haven't gotten into the latest Dragon Ball series, Kefla is a Potara fusion between Caulifla and Kale, and she's insanely strong. Kefla is able to handle Goku in Super Saiyan 1, 2 and 3, forcing him to go Super Saiyan God and even Super Saiyan Blue!
But, Kefla is still able to overpower Goku thanks to the added power of Kale's berserker, green-tinted Super Saiyan form. This surprise fusion is so advantageous for the Universe 6 team, it convinces Beerus that Universe 7 could use a Potara fusion of their own! We've yet to see the full effects of this final form, but we can easily say it's in the top five of all final forms.
4 GOLDEN FRIEZA
This is another tricky one. Frieza's original final form was the one he used to fight Goku on planet Namek in Dragon Ball Z. However, after the intergalactic villain is resurrected, he becomes even more powerful. Frieza's power was the result of innate fighting ability, so he never saw the need to train. But, upon learning of the increased power of Goku and Vegeta, he begins training for the first time, gaining the power up he calls "Golden Frieza."
Frieza's Golden form is said to be miles ahead of Goku and Vegeta's Super Saiyan Blue forms, and in both Resurrection: F and Dragon Ball Super, we can see Frieza dominating the two warriors. However, this power doesn't last forever. Not only is it a temporary form with a time limit, its power also begins to drop rapidly after five minutes. It might be immensely strong, but not for long.
3 SUPER FUSED ZAMASU
Time for another somewhat convoluted explanation. In the Future Trunks Saga of Dragon Ball Super, we are introduced to Goku Black, a villain we eventually find out is an apprentice Supreme Kai named Zamasu that traded bodies with Goku. He then combined with an alternate timeline version of himself (who was immortal) to create Fused Zamasu. This fused form could also go Super Saiyan in a rather unique way.
The Goku Black half of the fusion was able to go Super Saiyan using his supreme kai godly ki to form Super Saiyan Rose. This power is also accessible to the fused Zamasu, multiplying their combined power while fused. As confusing as it sounds, it basically means that Zamasu has the combined power of a supreme kai, an immortal and a Super Saiyan Blue Goku. No wonder it took total existence erasure to defeat him.
2 SUPER SAIYAN BLUE VEGITO
In order to take on Fused Zamasu, Goku and Vegeta fused themselves. They used the Potara earrings to form Vegito, going Super Saiyan Blue to fight Zamasu. Potara fusion is said to be much more powerful than the fusion dance. While both multiply the combined power of those involved, Potara fusion does it in multiples of ten. Knowing this, we can assume that Vegito, even in his base form, is incredibly powerful.
Add to that the power of Super Saiyan blue, and the Vegito fusion can easily be considered the true final form of Vegeta and Goku. We can also consider this to be one of the strongest transformations in the entire franchise. Gods of Destruction are stated to far outclass Supreme Kai, and maybe we'll eventually see if Vegito takes on the likes of Lord Beerus.
1 ULTRA INSTINCT GOKU
Like we said before, power level is not the only thing that determines how strong a final form is. We've also stated a couple of forms as being Goku's "final," though that's just the nature of the Dragon Ball franchise -- there's always a new level to be achieved. Semantics aside, Goku's newest, and quite possibly strongest, form is known as Ultra Instinct.
The form is not a Saiyan-specific upgrade, nor is it an increase in power. Instead, Ultra Instinct is a technique that very few have mastered where the user is able to detect and react to attacks without a moment of hesitation. It is essentially perfect defense and offense, giving Goku the power to flawlessly fight off attacks, even those from stronger enemies. We can't wait to see how strong this form really is, and if it can eventually be combined with Super Saiyan forms.
Which Final Form is YOUR favorite? Let us know in the comments!