Dragon Ball: Ultra Instinct vs Ultra Ego – Which New Power Is Better?

Dragon Ball Super‘s last few arcs have brought both Goku and Vegeta to respective places of new power evolution. For Goku, his battles since the infamous Tournament of Power have unlocked the divine power of Ultra Instinct and allowed him to master it. Meanwhile, Vegeta has stepped out of Goku’s shadow to follow the path of the Destroyer Gods and their destruction energy powers. The most recent Dragon Ball Super arc, “Granolah The Destroyer” thrown in the twist of Goku and Vegeta each taking their new power and transforming into something uniquely Saiyan.

The question now is which of these new Dragon Ball power sets is the best: Ultra Instinct or Ultra Ego

Ultra Instinct

Goku’s new uses zen-like tranquility of mind and spirit to (ironically) unlock the ultimate battle power. Ultra Instinct allows Goku to fight, move, dodge, and defend at speeds faster than conscious thought, with unequaled precision-power. The drawback is that Ultra Instinct can take a massive toll on Goku’s body and ki, burning him out after just a short time using it. Goku has trained with Whis to learn about Ultra Instinct evolution and reach higher levels of the power. Thanks to Goku unlocking some secrets about the unique power of his own father, Bardock, he’s now manage to unlock a new form of Saiyan-based Ultra Instinct that doesn’t change his base form (instead  silver hair). According to Goku, this new form of Ultra Instinct lets him still use the power, while embracing his Saiyan nature and emotions. 

Ultra Ego

Vegeta’s vow stop simply chasing Goku’s power achievements led him to Planet Yardrat, home of Instant Transmission, to learn the secret behind teleportation (and so much more). Vegeta’s mastery of “Spirit Control” and its various forms of energy manipulation was a natural stepping-stone to learning the way Destroyer gods use their energy for total eradication of an object from existence. However, Vegeta’s progress as a potential Destroyer was impeded by his own volatile and violent nature as a Saiyan; however, Vegeta broke that limit by finally embracing all that Saiyan nature towards violence and merging it with his Destroyer powers to achieve a whole new form: Ultra Ego. Ultra Ego allows Vegeta to fight with enhanced powers durability and speed (the usual), and comes with one unique feature: the more battle damage Vegeta takes, the stronger he gets. 

Both Ultra Instinct and Ultra Ego have their limitations – and both are quite severe. As stated, Goku’s intense focus of power using Ultra Instinct can leave him quickly burned out of energy, and even leave his body body broken. Ultra Ego carries a clear and present danger with its use: namely, Vegeta taking so much battle damage while using Ultra Ego that he dies in battle. In Dragon Ball Super’s latest chapters, that’s exactly what happened: Vegeta battled new villain Gas and maybe could’ve won, but the damage got to great and he fell. 

Ultra Instinct vs. Ultra Ego

As a power comparison, it’s hard to make the call about what’s greater: Ultra Instinct let’s Goku truly fight like a god, and its zen-ike themes are classic martial arts lore being applied to Dragon Ball. Fans seemed to like Goku’s silver hair form as much as the first Super Saiyan transformation, so it’s curious that Akira Toriyama and Toyotaro have moved to Goku using it in based form. Even so, How Goku is applying Ultra Instinct in battle has been the real treat, as the battle sequences using the power are indeed pretty next-level. It’s a power fans are praying to see in anime form again, as Ultra Instinct’s debut(s) in the anime was one of the most iconic Dragon Ball moments ever. 

By contrast, Ultra Ego is a new sort of power that really reflects the nature of Saiyans, and what makes them unique amongst fighters. More to the point, it’s the first power since Dragon Ball Z that is uniquely tailored to Vegeta’s personalty and battle style. That alone has endeared Ultra Ego to fans in a way that a more fits-all-sizes power like Super Saiyan all Ultra Instinct may ever be able to. 

What do you like better: Ultra Instinct or Ultra Ego? Let us know in the comments! 

Dragon Ball Super releases new manga chapters monthly. The latest movie, Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero, is now in theaters.