Many anime are able to grab the audience’s attention but Dragon Ball’s success has helped it remain one of the most popular anime for decades. The franchise’s recent revival has left Dragon Ball stronger than ever and it’s exciting to see the new places that the series explores. Dragon Ball’s villains are a crucial aspect of the show’s success and there are many memorable battles against evil forces throughout Dragon Ball’s run.
Dragon Ball Super’s newest villain is Moro, but the manga continues to go further with new characters. Before Dragon Ball gets into its next major villain it’s important to understand what happened to all of the previous enemies.
10 Raditz Dies Alongside His Brother
Dragon Ball Z wastes absolutely no time with the introduction of its first big villain, Goku’s brother, Raditz. Raditz’ arrival is a bombshell for many reasons, including the fact that it brings aliens into the series and that Goku is one of them. Raditz is presented like a mirror of what Goku could have been if he never became a hero on Earth. Raditz’s strength forces Goku and Piccolo to work together for the first time and Goku must sacrifice himself to make sure Piccolo’s Special Beam Cannon connects. It’s a prelude of what’s to come with Nappa and Vegeta.
9 Vegeta Is Forced To Retreat And Pull Back His Saiyan Invasion
Dragon Ball introduces increasingly strong enemies and the characters in the anime reach the point where they’re literally at the strength of Gods. Vegeta is the biggest threat that Goku has faced at this point, but it’s still a grounded battle where everyone contributes. Vegeta gains the advantage with his Great Ape form only Yajirobe cuts off his tail. It’s then Gohan that ultimately crushes a weakened Vegeta in his Great Ape state and leaves him practically crippled. Krillin is ready to finish off the job until Goku insists that he let him leave Earth and attempt to reform himself.
8 Future Trunks Finishes Off A Revived Frieza
Frieza becomes the dominant villain in Dragon Ball’s run and Goku’s defeat marks the milestone of his transformation into a Super Saiyan for the first time. This power appears to destroy Frieza as Planet Namek experiences destruction. It’s later revealed that Frieza’s pieces are able to survive in space and they’re put back together and repaired by his father, King Cold.
Future Trunks makes his flashy introduction to the series when he slices Mecha Frieza to pieces and blasts them into nothingness to make sure he won’t be rebuilt a second time. Both of these defeats are very powerful moments.
7 It Takes Gohan’s Super Saiyan 2 Strength To Destroy Cell
Cell and the evil Androids that come along with him make for some of Dragon Ball’s most entertaining villains. Cell goes through several transformations until he’s in his perfected form and it seems like he’s going to go out via self-destruction alongside Goku who attempts to avert the disaster. Goku pays the price, but Cell is still able to regenerate. This allows Gohan in his new Super Saiyan 2 form to (alongside the spiritual help of Goku) fully annihilate Cell until there’s nothing left. Even Vegeta contributes with a helpful distraction that helps Gohan get the upper hand.
6 Kid Buu Gets Destroyed By Goku’s Biggest Spirit Bomb Yet
Buu continues Dragon Ball’s tradition of villains with multiple transformations as well as an enemy that can absorb the heroes to its advantage. Many different versions of Buu plague the Z Warriors, but Kid Buu gets further than any other villain yet when he kills most of Earth’s population. New tricks like Super Saiyan 3 and fusion are helpful against Buu, but in the end, it’s a good old fashioned Spirit Bomb that gets the job done. It’s a fitting demonstration of everyone’s trust in Goku.
5 Beerus Beats A Super Saiyan God, But Then Needs To Hibernate
Beerus helps kick off Dragon Ball Super and brings forward a whole new classification of powerful entities. Whis, Beerus, and the rest of the Gods of Destruction are extremely powerful and Goku is pushed to unlock the capabilities of a Super Saiyan God to give Beerus a proper challenge.
Goku puts up a good fight, but he actually pales in comparison to Beerus and loses. Beerus is technically supposed to destroy Earth as a punishment but he conveniently falls asleep and becomes an ally to Earth moving forward.
4 Super Saiyan Blue Goku Ends Golden Frieza, But With Whis’ Help
Frieza returns more often than any other villain in the Dragon Ball series and Dragon Ball Super gives the character a new and powerful transformation, Golden Frieza, that’s been fueled by his rage towards Goku. Super Saiyan Blue Goku and Vegeta both do their part and honestly overwhelm Golden Frieza. Vegeta is ready to finish the job until his cocky attitude allows Frieza the chance to destroy the Earth. Whis is forced to intervene and rewind time, in which Goku wastes no time to kill Golden Frieza before history can repeat itself.
3 Fused Zamasu Is Finished Off By Future Trunks And A Zeno Intervention
Dragon Ball Super’s Goku Black saga contains some of the anime’s very best storytelling. The surprise of an evil Goku turns out to be something much bigger with multiple timelines involved, at that. Fused Zamasu survives both the Demon Containment Wave as well as the return of Vegito, but it’s Future Trunks who gets the victory via the massive energy focused on his Spirit Sword. However, since Fused Zamasu is still half immortal, it begins to merge with reality itself until Zeno is forced to intervene and erase what’s left at the risk of the universe’s destruction.
2 Jiren Faces Defeat By The Communal Strength Of Universe 7
Dragon Ball Super’s final arc takes an unconventional approach where a multi-universe battle royale becomes the source of conflict. There’s no one central villain throughout these episodes and every universe is just committed to survival. However, early on Goku singles out Jiren from Universe 11 as the most powerful opponent in this tournament. Jiren’s strength pushes Goku to unlock Ultra Instinct for the first time, which is a huge deal, but it’s ultimately the combined efforts of Goku and Frieza, with the help of Android 17, that eliminates Jiren and helps Universe 7 come out on top.
1 Moro Merges With The Earth And Triggers Goku’s Autonomous Ultra Instinct
Moro begins as a very unique villain for Dragon Ball Super’s manga, but the character eventually leans into many of the series’ villain tropes. Moro continues to change from the power that he absorbs, but the battle culminates with him merging with the Earth from the energy that he consumes from Merus. Goku accesses Autonomous Ultra Instinct to a greater degree than ever before and a spirit-like avatar attacks Moro. The combination of Vegeta’s Forced Spirit Fission on Moro along with the boost in energy the Goku receives from Uub is what brings home the victory.