Dragon Ball vs Marvel Universe: Who has the strongest fighters?

The universes of both Dragon Ball and Marvel are among many compared and contrasted with each other. Their fighters have broken worlds, universes, and entire multiverses.

Naturally, the question of who is the strongest has cropped up in many conversations. Is it the Dragon Ball universe, which has fighters like Jiren and Goku who constantly defy the odds and bust through power ceilings? Does the Marvel Universe possess reality-warping fighters like Doctor Strange?

This article will compare and contrast both the universe's fighters and find one that emerges triumphant in a clash of titans.

Note: This article contains spoilers for all Dragon Ball franchises and various Marvel storylines. It is also only the author's opinion. This article only concerns the fighters of the various universes. So no Angels, no Gods of Destruction, and no God character of any kind.

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Dragon Ball vs Marvel Universe: Comparative analysis of the strongest fighters

Dragon Ball

A comparison piece like this with Dragon Ball's fighter characters cannot start without mentioning Goku. Goku has already shown tremendous power and speed throughout the Dragon Ball franchise. An example is that he can use Instant Transmission to go from planet to planet in Dragon Ball Super's Granolah the Survivor arc against the monstrous figure that is Gas.

Monstrous opponents like Frieza were able to vaporize planets, Broly and Gogeta could shatter reality when they fought, and several like Garlic Junior couldn't be killed. The thing about the fighters circa Super is that they've only barely begun to tap into God-like ki and abilities, so they still have limits on durability and stamina.

Though they can vaporize galaxies (and, in Goku's case, the universe multiple times over, according to fans), most of Super's cast still can't breathe in a vacuum (frieza excluded), can still drown or die of illness. The true upper limit is Granolah, Gas, UI Goku, UE Vegeta, Broly, Jiren, and Hit. These fighters can break time, planets, other people, space, and other phenomenal feats.

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Marvel Universe

Beyond the infinite reach of imagination and possibility, the Marvel Universe fighters are all in their leagues. Even unpowered heroes like Iron Man and the Punisher have dealt destruction on unimaginable scales. You can't blame them when The Avengers regularly have to tackle such awesome foes as Thanos, Ultron, and Galactus.

These heroes' and villains' power sets include reality-warping, throwing planets like rocks at people, terraforming planets with a thought, and other powers that would tear planets in half. It's not an assumption to say that Marvel heroes are pretty powerful in their own right. The heroes and villains listed below have beaten cosmic-level threats before. Some are only human. Others are more.

The upper limits to Marvel's pantheon of heroes and villains are Apocalypse, Hyperion, Sentry, Captain Marvel, Scarlet Witch, Molecule Man, and Black Bolt. Scarlet Witch can and has altered reality where mutants don't exist (House of M), Sentry has beaten Galactus, Captain Marvel can tether herself to a White Hole, and most can survive in space and break worlds.

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Conclusion

This is a tough one to consider, seeing as both universes bring heavy hitters to the table. The Dragon Ball universe is filled with people who can and have cracked planets and galaxies, whereas the Marvel Universe is filled with people who can likewise break the universe.

Unfortunately, in this case? Though the Z fighters have gotten pretty far up there, the ridiculous lengths and feats the Marvel universe fighters have been able to do far outweigh them. This is without taking godlike beings into account. Something should also be noted likewise: they wouldn't go all out first, as either group and the hero/villain divide would ultimately force teamups.

Dragon Ball characters might be enough to break the universe multiple times over, but Marvel characters have done that numerous times already. This is without the aid of cosmic powers or items like the Infinity Glove or Cosmic Cube. The Z fighters may excel hand-to-hand, but the various power sets of the Marvel universe will surely be more than a match should the two universes collide.