Akira Toriyama’s Dragon Ball remains one of the most popular anime series of its generation. The fast-paced action and exceptional battles that transpire in Dragon Ball have helped the shonen genre evolve as well as inspire countless other monumental anime series. There are a wide variety of characters that fill the Dragon Ball franchise, but there’s been an increasing tendency to prioritize the individuals that are members of the powerful Saiyan race.
Saiyans represent the majority of the strongest characters in Dragon Ball and among these exceptional warriors is Goku - a Saiyan who often operates on an even greater level of power. Goku is Dragon Ball's reliable protagonist and there are some important situations where he definitively proves that he’s also the strongest of his kind.
10 He Beats Vegeta And Nappa On Earth
Goku is consistently among the strongest fighters in the original Dragon Ball, but he doesn't yet realize that he's a member of a special alien race. Dragon Ball Z quickly redefines the status quo through the arrival of Saiyans on Earth, all of which are enemies of unprecedented strength. One of Goku's first and most triumphant demonstrations of strength is when he returns from the afterlife to help his friends out against Nappa and Vegeta. Goku doesn't struggle in the least against the former, and he causes Vegeta to face his first significant defeat at the hands of another Saiyan.
9 He Defeats The Ginyu Force And Frieza On Namek
Any anime that runs for hundreds of episodes is bound to develop certain patterns. A common tradition during the earlier episodes of Dragon Ball Z is that the supporting heroes will need to fend for themselves until Goku arrives to take care of business. Some of the most powerful examples of this take place on Planet Namek, where Goku doesn't just effortlessly defeat the Ginyu Force, but he also pushed Frieza to 100% of his strength and still came out on top, something that's way beyond Vegeta's capabilities.
8 He Transforms Into Super Saiyan 3 For The First Time
Dragon Ball Z's Buu Saga attempts to do some interesting things with Goku's character, and it's one of the rare occasions where he's holding back from the audience and has some formidable tricks up his sleeve.
It's a serious surprise when Goku unveils the Super Saiyan 3 transformation, which, at the time, pushes unprecedented power that put every other Saiyan to shame. It's a significant achievement, but it also recontextualizes Majin Vegeta's previous "victory" over Goku and how he wasn't actually giving it his all.
7 He Defeats Golden Frieza
Frieza is one of Dragon Ball's most persistent villains, and he tends to make unwelcome appearances whenever it seems like he’s truly gone for good. Frieza’s biggest assault occurs not only after he escapes from Hell, but his training gifts him with a deadly new transformation, Golden Frieza. Golden Frieza manages to even successfully destroy the Earth before Whis intervenes and briefly rewinds time. Vegeta has the upper hand against Golden Frieza, but it’s Super Saiyan Blue Goku that gets to finally defeat the tyrant. He doesn’t allow his ego to get in the way, like it does with Vegeta.
6 He Becomes The First Super Saiyan 4 And Defeats Baby Vegeta
Dragon Ball GT remains a controversial chapter in the anime’s growing saga, but it deserves credit for taking a chance with its progression of the Dragon Ball timeline. A wealth of new Super Saiyan transformations have been introduced in Dragon Ball Super, but Dragon Ball GT unveils Super Saiyan 4, a powerful and primal advancement in strength. Goku is the first to access this new power and he symbolically uses it to conquer Baby Vegeta in his Golden Great Ape form. It once again confirms that Goku’s strength surpasses Vegeta’s.
5 He Defeats Super 13 By Absorbing His Spirit Bomb
There are over a dozen Dragon Ball Z films that feature isolated incidents and dangerous threats. The seventh Dragon Ball Z movie, Super Android 13!, introduces three new mechanical menaces to take on the Saiyans. The climax of the movie involves Android 13 absorbing his allies and becoming Super Android 13.
Vegeta and Future Trunks are helpless against this new enemy, yet Goku is able to conquer him through a special sequence of techniques. Goku produces an epic Spirit Bomb, only to then absorb its power while in Super Saiyan form, and then release the energy to defeat the Android.
4 He Becomes Super Saiyan 2 To Overwhelm Yakon
Dragon Ball Z’s Buu Saga is a fascinating period of transition for the anime and a lot of characters return stronger than before and eager to show it off. Before Babidi is able to acquire enough energy to awaken Majin Buu, he pits Goku, Vegeta, and Gohan against some of his top warriors. The second opponent in Babidi’s spaceship is Yakon, an alien from a planet that’s immersed in darkness. Goku reveals for the first time that he can become Super Saiyan 2 against Yakon. His new power is so incredible that it overwhelms Yakon and makes him explode.
3 He Becomes The First Super Saiyan God And Survives Against Beerus
Another pattern that Dragon Ball often embraces is that the introduction of a new enemy is usually resolved with the debut of a fancy new form of Super Saiyan. Beerus, a God of Destruction, is hungry for a true challenge against a Super Saiyan God, something which everyone just assumes is an apocryphal legend. Out of all of the Saiyans present, it's Goku that's worthy of this upgrade in strength. While it's not able to defeat Beerus, it at least temporarily gives him pause. It's far more than what anyone else can accomplish at the moment in time.
2 His Super Spirit Bomb Kills Kid Buu
It's unlikely that the heroes in Dragon Ball will ever enjoy peace. There's always a new and dangerous villain that has a score to settle, which frequently includes a slew of transformations and alternate forms. This trope is most rampant with Majin Buu, who goes through various permutations until his strongest version, Kid Buu, comes forward. Kid Buu wipes out most of the Earth's population and the only chance at hope is Goku and his Spirit Bomb. Goku pulls together the strongest version of this attack yet, which finally contains enough energy to permanently eliminate Kid Buu.
1 He Perfects Ultra Instinct And Beats Moro
Goku is always in pursuit of more power and becoming an even stronger version of himself. During the Tournament of Power, Goku first gains access to the power of Ultra Instinct, a godly form of intuition and defense. It takes Goku a lot of time and training to properly master the nuances of Ultra Instinct and its different forms. Goku finally perfects the process during his final showdown against Moro. Goku causes an enormous spiritual avatar of himself to take on Moro, and he’s able to defeat this legendary menace that’s demolished everyone else.