Dragon Ball’sGoku has always been seen as one of the strongest characters in the series, but there are a few characters with the potential to pass the Saiyan. There have been a few times in the series when Goku was already surpassed by someone else, like the Cell and Buu Sagas when Goku’s son, Gohan, was stronger than the protagonist. Gohan isn’t alone as someone with incredible potential, but he’s one of the few to actualize it.
As a half-Saiyan, Gohan’s human side is said to give him an edge in the potential department. That means that anyone with more than just Saiyan blood in their system has what it takes to ascend to new heights. Outside the Saiyans ofDragon Ball,there are a few characters with absurd levels of strengththat might have what it takes to surpass Goku one day.
7Trunks
Vegeta’s Son Went Super Saiyan Three When Fused With Goten
Trunks from the regular timeline has the exact same mixture of DNA as Gohan, albeit from different people. As another half-Saiyan half-human, Trunks could be a character with a lot more potential than his father’s ultimate rival. Trunks has gotten to live in a mostly peaceful world, unlike Gohan, Goku, and Vegeta. When Buu became a major threat inDragon Ball Z,however, Trunks stepped up to the plate to do what he could.
His fusion with Goten is one ofthe strongest fusions inDragon Ball.Gotenks is as funny as he is strong, and when he fought Buu, he was only seven-and-a-half years old (Goten was 7 and Trunks was 8). He’s the second character in all ofDragon Ballto reach the legendary Super Saiyan 3 form, hitting Super Saiyan 3 well before Gohan even turned Super Saiyan 1 in terms of age.
Trunks, as an individual, is never scared of battle.DuringDragon Ball Super: Super Heroes,Trunks was more than willing to dive in head first against Cell MAX to give Gohan enough time to charge an attack strong enough to take him down.
6Goten
Goku’s Second Son Is The Youngest Saiyan Ever To Go Super
Goten is one of the most underused characters inDragon Ball.He’s the youngest character in the entire series to turn Super Saiyan, achieving the incredible form younger than Goku, Trunks, Vegeta, and even Gohan. Gohan was surprised when he saw how strong his younger brother was, showing that the character with the most potential inDragon Ballsees something similar in his younger brother.
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Like Trunks, Goten has gotten to live in relatively peaceful times, which means he doesn’t have the experience in battle as his family members and friends. Still, he’s one half of the incredible Gotenks fusion and, even on his own, he’s no pushover. He can turn Super Saiyan on his own and, inDragon Ball Super,he’s a high-school-aged student more than willing to defeat evil wherever he finds it.
He has the exact same blood as Gohan, and if it’s Gohan’s lineage that gives him absurd potential,Goten should be able to reach the same heights as his brother. Goten understandably isn’t obsessed with fighting like his dad and Vegeta, but if he did, there’s a chance he could one day surpass Goku as the strongest mortal in the series.
5Future Trunks
Future Trunks' Rage Mode Gives Him An Insane Power Boost
Even though Trunks and Future Trunks are technically the same person, they have lived significantly different lives. Trunks grew up in a time of peace and prosperity: the exact opposite can be said for his future counterpart. Future Trunks' story is one of the bleakest inDragon Ball.Some ofthe saddest deaths inDragon Ballcome from Trunks' timeline, and they’ve only made him stronger.
Future Trunks was quickly one of the strongest characters in the series when he was first introduced. While he comes from the future, in the main timeline, he’s the second character in the franchise to turn Super Saiyan. He was also much stronger than Mecha Frieza, decimating the villain without even breaking a sweat. DuringDragon Ball Super,Trunks changed a lot as a character.
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He was able to stop the Androids from destroying his timeline, but Zamasu became a threat greater than he could have ever imagined. Still, Trunks was able to tap intoa wellspring of power that was very similar to Goku’s Spirit Saiyan form, giving the immortal Zamasu much more of a fight than he could have ever expected from a Saiyan.
4Gohan
For almost all ofDragon Ball,Gohan has been referred to as the one character with more potential than Goku. It’s easy to see why: every time Gohan has been pushed against a wall, he ascends to another level of strength.
While Goku loves fighting and always goes out of his way to fight the strongest people possible, Gohan only fights when he’s forced too.Gohan never actually wants to fight, and that might be the exact reason as to why he’s so ridiculously strong.
There have already been a few moments when Gohan has been the strongest character inDragon Ball.During the Cell Saga, Goku recognized that Gohan would be the first character to take the Super Saiyan form to another level. Before Gohan was even in his teens, he unlocked the unreal Super Saiyan 2 form, destroying Cell when nobody else could.
The main reason that Gohan may never surpass his father is because he really doesn’t want to. He’s never enjoyed fighting, and it could be because he’s been forced to fight to the death since he was a toddler. When he chooses to fight, however, he’s a literal beast.Gohan Beast is one of the strongest forms inDragon Ball,and it has nothing to do with divine energy like Ultra Instinct or Ultra Ego.
3Jiren
Jiren Was One Of The Few Who Made Goku Team Up With Others Just To Beat Him
Jiren is one of the few characters in the series that Goku never really defeated. Goku has spent most of his life fightingthe strongest villains inDragon Ball,but Jiren is different. He was not only in another league in terms of strength during the Tournament of Power, he seemed to be playing a different game entirely. Goku couldn’t hold a candle to Jiren when the Tournament first began.
Goku and Vegeta even teamed up to fight Jiren and couldn’t even scratch the Pride Warrior. They both ascended to their strongest Super Saiyan Blue forms: Goku combined his with Kaio-Ken while Vegeta unlocked the Super Saiyan Blue Evolved variation. Even then, Jiren was untouchable. It wasn’t until Goku unlocked the divine Ultra Ego form that he was truly able to stand up to Jiren.
Not much is known about the warrior from Universe 11. Jiren’s past has been touched upon, but the series hasn’t gone into too much detail about how much he’s trained,how much potential he has, and if he has any other forms he’s yet to unlock.Jiren is also one of the only villains inDragon Ballto not ascend to another form in battle. Who knows: maybe the Pride of Universe 11 has a lot more left in the tank than he let out in the Tournament of Power.
2Broly
Broly Forced Goku And Vegeta To Fuse During Their Fight
Broly is one ofthe coolest characters in anime. He’s power in its purest form. Goku and Vegeta are strong, sure, but even they can’t compare to the true Legendary Super Saiyan. Broly is a berserker in theDragon Balluniverse, gaining true power from his rage and unadulterated anger. Since his reintroduction to theDragon Ballcanon, there have been few, if any, characters who can truly stand up to the behemoth that is Broly.
Dragon Ball Super: Brolyis one of the best movies inDragon Ball.Broly comes back to the series stronger than he ever was, and his fight against Goku and Vegeta is one ofthe best fights in anime history. Broly is so much stronger than Goku and Vegeta it barely makes sense. Broly fights Vegeta in his base form while Vegeta is forced to transform into a Super Saiyan God just to keep up.
Broly is so magnificently powerful that he forces Goku and Vegeta to fight together, showing that even their combined efforts aren’t enough to take him down. Goku and Vegeta are pushed even further back, choosing to use the fusion technique so that they can finally take Broly down.
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Broly’s base form instinctively draws upon the power of the Great Ape, but his lack of emotional regulation leads to an uncontrollable berserk state.
With a little bit of training,Broly is easily the strongest Saiyan in the entire series.His raw power alone takes him to an entirely new level, and if he can learn to control his rage from someone like Gohan, not even Goku will stand a chance.
1Frieza
Black Frieza Has Already Surpassed Goku, But Can Frieza Keep His Lead?
Frieza is one ofthe greatest villains of all time. He’s so evil that it’s somehow entertaining. Every time he’s on-screen, he poses a significant problem. He’s always been one of the strongest characters inDragon Ball,and until the events ofDragon Ball Super,he had never even trained formally. Losing to Goku forced Frieza to train, however, and after just four months of training, he unlocked his Golden form.
Frieza got even stronger at the end ofDragon Ball Super.On one of his conquered planets, Frieza found a Hyperbolic Time Chamber and trained for a staggering ten years. He then achieved his strongest form yet: Black Frieza. Technically, his Black form is already stronger than Goku. On Planet Cereal,Black Frieza was able to knock out both Ultra Instinct Goku and Ultra Ego Vegeta in a single hit.
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Goku has never been one to let his enemies remain stronger than him, but surpassing Frieza may take the Saiyan some time. Black Frieza is the strongest the villain has ever been. Even using Ultra Instinct, Goku couldn’t defend himself from his greatest enemy. WhenDragon Ball Superanimates the Black Frieza Arc, everyone will see just how much stronger the villain has become.
