Son Goku, the protagonist of the Dragon Ball franchise, is one of the greatest characters in anime history and a staple of Japanese culture. As a member of the alien race known as the Saiyans, Goku is a master of martial arts and can channel his life force, known as Ki, into powerful techniques and energy blasts. He is also famous for reaching new levels of power that multiply his abilities exponentially and give him new hairdos. Goku’s fighting spirit and raw power have allowed him to contend with universe-destroying threats. Still, even with all his abilities, training, and super forms, Goku would find himself outmatched by some of DC and Marvel’s strongest heroes.
Videos by ComicBook.com
Goku is a mighty warrior who can deliver blows that threaten multiple universes. Even so, he has limits that heroes from DC and Marvel can exploit. Goku’s strength, speed, and Ki have bounds. He also has never fought characters with infinite destructive potential and has no defenses against beings able to warp the fabric of reality. These are the superheroes with abilities far beyond the Super Saiyan’s potential and would annihilate him in a confrontation.
7) Silver Surfer
Goku draws most of his fighting abilities from Ki, a life force energy that flows through all living things. Yet, Norrin Radd, aka Silver Surfer, possesses the ability to absorb and manipulate all forms of energy, and Ki would be no different. Every Ki blast Goku fires would be deflected, absorbed, or reflected by the Silver Surfer. Fueled by the limitless Power Cosmic, the Silver Surfer’s abilities have been compared to the omnipotent Eternity. He also has the powers of time and matter manipulation, intangibility, cosmic awareness, and more. He can even drain Goku of all his Ki. Silver Surfer once absorbed all the Gamma radiation from the Hulk. Goku’s reliance on Ki would mean that he would be at a significant disadvantage against the Silver Surfer.
6) Flash (Wally West)
Both Goku and Wally West can move at incalculable speeds, but Wally’s mastery over the Speed Force gives him a clear edge. Wally has moved at speeds capable of destroying the infinite multiverse and he has even outrun the concept of death itself. Goku’s best defense would be his Ultra Instinct form, which allows him to dodge or block any attack automatically. However, Ultra Instinct has a time limit and drains energy quickly. Wally, in contrast, can move at similar speeds for days without rest. Wally can enter higher dimensions to avoid attacks, drain Goku of his speed to give himself a power boost, or travel through time. Goku may be fast and a quick learner, but even he can’t keep up with the Fastest Man Alive forever.
5) Scarlet Witch
While Goku is the superior fighter, Wanda Maximoff, aka Scarlet Witch, can overwhelm him with her Chaos Magic. Her mastery of sorcery and reality-warping would offer a unique challenge to Goku. Despite fighting some of the strongest entities in his universe, Goku has rarely faced someone with reality-warping capabilities. While Chaos Magic can be hard to control and taxing on Scarlet Witch’s sanity, she has managed to use it to pull off incredible feats. Scarlet Witch has rewritten the universe, erased almost all of mutantkind, and nearly destroyed creation itself. Even with Goku’s destructive power capable of threatening multiple universes, no amount of strength or speed could counter Scarlet Witch’s infinite pool of Chaos Magic that could erase him from reality with a thought.
4) Zatanna
Like Scarlet Witch, Zatanna Zatara is an all-powerful sorceress capable of reshaping the multiverse. However, she is far more collected and skilled in her use of magic, which makes her an even more dangerous foe for Goku. Goku has never faced a person with such strong magical abilities, and Zatanna’s vast array of multiversal and reality-warping spells would be able to counteract any technique or form the Saiyan can muster. Zatanna’s spells can let her stop time, control minds, remove powers, transmute matter, and wipe people from existence. Zatanna’s powers are only limited by her imagination and will. She has routinely defeated omnipotent eldritch gods capable of destroying the infinite multiverse. Zatanna’s versatility and nigh-omnipotent magic would trump even Goku’s strongest forms.
3) Jean Grey
Goku is an incredible fighter and can fight gods. Still, Jean Grey is the host of the omnipotent personification of multiversal destruction known as the Phoenix Force. The gods of Dragon Ball, like Goku himself, are unbelievably strong but have their own limits. In contrast, Jean’s connection to the Phoenix Force gives her a limitless pool of destructive potential that has allowed her to best villains like Necron, who could destroy the infinite multiverse. Additionally, Goku doesn’t have the best track record against mind or soul-targeting attacks. Jean is both able to destroy souls and is one of the strongest telepaths in Marvel. Even if Goku somehow managed to destroy Jean’s body with a Ki blast, the Phoenix Force can revive her so they would continue fighting until Jean prevailed.
2) Superman
For decades, comic and anime fans have been arguing over who would win in a fight, Goku or Superman. However, the Man of Steel simply is a character whose feats and power level are far beyond anything Goku can achieve. Goku is well-known for breaking limits, but Superman has no limits to speak of. Superman has held a black hole in his hand, lifted a book of infinite pages, and withstood being erased from existence, among other feats. While Superman is vulnerable to things like Kryptonite, magic, and red sunlight, Goku’s overwhelming desire to fight opponents at their best would mean that he wouldn’t use them against the Man of Steel. While Goku is strong, he can never reach the infinite power Superman effortlessly wields.
1) Doctor Manhattan
Hailing from DC’s Watchmen universe, Jon Osterman, aka Doctor Manhattan, was caught in a lab accident that invested in him god-like powers. Doctor Manhattan is nigh-omnipotent and omniscient. He can warp reality, predict the future, manipulate and project all forms of energy, become intangible, teleport, duplicate, and has a laundry list of additional powers that make him incomprehensible to mere mortals. Even if Goku somehow managed to vaporize him with his strongest blast, Doctor Manhattan would regenerate as if nothing had happened. Doctor Manhattan has effortlessly reshaped the DC Multiverse and has defeated almost DC’s entire roster of heroes simultaneously. Most likely, Doctor Manhattan would instantly reduce Goku to ash.
What do you think? Leave a Comment below and join the conversation in the ComicBook Forum!
Most Viewed
-
Image courtesy of Lucasfilm -
Image courtesy of Stage 6 Films
