Son Goku of the Dragon Ball franchise is one of the most powerful heroes in anime history. On his never-ending quest to protect the universe and become the strongest fighter in existence, Goku has defeated countless opponents with incredible destructive power, including Vegeta, Frieza, Majin Buu, Broly, and Jiren. Drawing from the life energy known as Ki, Goku can perform a multitude of techniques that can destroy planets without difficulty. And as a Saiyan, Goku can reach new levels of power by entering one of his many Super Saiyan forms, each of which is stronger than the last. Yet, despite Goku’s incredible strength, speed, techniques, and fighting experience, he would be unable to defeat some of Marvel and DC Comics’ most ruthless, versatile, and destructive supervillains.
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Goku is one of the strongest fighters in Dragon Ball and can fight gods as well as perform moves that can send shockwaves through several universes. Unfortunately, Goku’s core character is that he’s never been, and will never be, invincible or possess infinite power. He will always have limits to overcome, and the scope of the Dragon Ball cosmology is far smaller than the infinite multiverses of both DC and Marvel. This means that Goku has a limited supply of strength, speed, and Ki. He also has relatively little experience and no defense against characters with strong reality warping, telepathic, and soul-manipulating powers. It’s these weaknesses that would cause Goku to fall in battle against these nightmarish Marvel and DC supervillains.
7) Molecule Man
Despite fighting countless enemies across the universe, Goku has minimal experience against foes who can warp reality, a weakness Owen Reece, aka Molecule Man, can exploit. As his name implies, Molecule Man has complete control over all molecules, making him one of the strongest reality warpers in the Marvel Multiverse. He can resurrect the dead, generate impenetrable force fields, transmute matter, and create and destroy universes. Additionally, Molecule Man can absorb the power of omnipotent cosmic beings like the Beyonder and God Emperor Doom, so the villain would have no issue draining Goku of all his Ki, leaving the Saiyan powerless. Of course, Molecule Man could also reduce Goku to nothingness with a thought.
6) Trigon
Goku has fought many demons over his lifetime. Still, none of them compares to the Lord of Azarath and the multiversal embodiment of evil, Trigon. This cruel demon has conquered countless universes and has the destructive capability to threaten the infinite DC Multiverse and all-powerful entities like the Spectre and Mr. Mxyzptlk. Such infinite power is well beyond Goku’s capabilities. And while Goku has fought magic users before, they don’t hold a candle to the destructive capabilities of Trigon’s dark magic. Trigon could rearrange Goku’s molecules with his reality-warping abilities, brainwash him through telepathy, and even consume Goku’s soul. Goku has no defenses against soul-based attacks, so Trigon would effortlessly be able to feed on the Saiyan’s spirit.
5) Galactus
One of Goku’s most well-known battles is when he fought the God of Destruction, Lord Beerus. Unfortunately, as of now, Goku still isn’t at Beerus’s level of destructive power, which means that the Saiyan has absolutely no chance against Galactus. Like Beerus, Galactus’s role in his universe is as the destroyer of worlds. However, unlike Goku or Beerus, Galactus has no limit to his destructive potential, as his battles with cosmic entities like Mephisto have threatened to tear apart the infinite Marvel Multiverse as mere collateral damage. Galactus’s Power Cosmic gives him endless destructive energy, which would counter Goku’s limited supply of Ki. Lastly, Galactus’s final resort, the Ultimate Nullifier, can eradicate Goku from existence with the push of a button.
4) Thanos
Although Goku could undoubtedly destroy regular Thanos, the moment the Mad Titan put on the Infinity Gauntlet, the Saiyan is done for. With the Gauntlet, Thanos has many more offensive options than Goku. Thanos can transmute Goku into glass with the Reality Gem, age him to dust with the Time Gem, telepathically attack him with the Mind Gem, or steal his very essence with the Soul Gem. The Gauntlet also gives Thanos a level of cosmic awareness that would allow him to predict and counter Goku’s attacks. Thanos has used the Gauntlet to battle and defeat numerous nigh-omnipotent entities simultaneously, so it’s doubtful that Goku could overpower him before the Mad Titan annihilated him. And of course, with the mere snap of his fingers, Thanos can reduce Goku to dust.
3) Superboy-Prime
Of all the Supermen in the multiverse, Superboy-Prime is by far the strongest and would be able to destroy Goku effortlessly. Unlike other Supermen who had their incomprehensible power downgraded when the multiverse was rebooted during the events of Crisis on Infinite Earths, Superboy-Prime was the only one not affected. Maintaining his infinite strength, speed, and stamina, Superboy-Prime’s feats put him on a level that Goku can’t even imagine. Super-Boy-Prime can tear through time and space with his bare hands and rewrite the infinite multiverse with a single punch. Goku is tough, but even he wouldn’t be able to survive a direct hit from someone that strong.
2) Darkseid
The New God of Evil and Lord of Apokolips, Darkseid, is one of the most fearsome villains in DC Comics. Darkseid’s might has allowed him to kill Zeus and outmaneuver Superman. Goku’s strongest form, Ultra Instinct, may give him the initial ability to match and outmaneuver Darkseid’s strikes. Still, this form has a limited time span and drains energy quickly. In contrast, Darkseid has battled similarly powerful New Gods like Highfather for days without rest. Darkseid’s Omega Beams can also affect a person regardless of strength. With just one hit, Goku could be vaporized or sent to the Omega Sanction, an endless, torturous death loop. None of this even considers Darkseid’s proper form, which can destroy the infinite multiverse as a mere side effect of his presence.
1) Anti-Monitor
Arguably, the most powerful villain in DC Comics is the Anti-Monitor. Every time he appears, the infinite multiverse is in jeopardy. The Anti-Monitor has effortlessly destroyed thousands of universes by releasing waves of antimatter, which annihilate everything in their path. The Anti-Monitor can also warp reality, absorb the energy of entire universes, and has defeated multiverse entities such as Darkseid and the Spectre. It took almost every single superhero in the DC Multiverse and several versions of Superman to defeat this cosmic entity. Such raw power would prove to be far too much for Goku to handle. Even Goku’s most powerful forms would be lucky to lay a scratch on such an entity. With almost no effort, the Anti-Monitor would reduce Goku to nothingness with his unstoppable universe-encompassing antimatter waves.
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