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With the Dragon Ball Super manga back in action, fans are dying for any crumbs of information that can paint a picture of the new power hierarchy. Unfortunately, the ending of the Granolah the Survivor arc saw Goku dethroned from the top mortal spot by none other than Frieza, in his new Black Frieza form.
Additionally, because there hasn't been any fresh content on the battle's aftermath since the Granolah arc, viewers are unsure if Goku can genuinely match Black Frieza's level or not. Thankfully, even if he’s unable to ever surpass the latter, which is highly unlikely, there are still several notable villains who are beneath him, albeit some by inches and others by miles.
Here are four Dragon Ball villains that Goku still can’t beat, and four more that he has already surpassed.
Disclaimer: The article was updated by Shubham Maity on June 8, 2023, to reflect the power ranking changes that came into effect as the story progressed further.
Infinite Zamasu and three other Dragon Ball villains that Goku cannot defeat yet
1) Gas
Despite his and Vegeta’s best efforts in the final issues of Dragon Ball Super’s Granolah the Survivor arc, Goku was unable to take down Gas in the end. While this was incredibly shocking, what came as even more of a surprise was the return of Frieza in a new form, which he called Black Frieza. He proceeded to effortlessly kill Gas, refusing to elaborate on his newfound power.
When the Saiyans first encounter Gas, they can easily hold him off. However, as the battle progresses, Gas gains strength by sacrificing his lifespan in order to defeat both enemies. He eventually manages to overwhelm Goku and Vegeta, even in their Ultra Instinct and Ultra Ego forms.
2) Black Frieza
On a similar note, this would make Black Frieza inherently more powerful than Goku based on the two’s feats alone. Whereas the latter spent essentially half a story arc trying to figure out how to beat Gas but couldn’t do so, Black Frieza came in and gruesomely killed him in a matter of moments.
Considering the aforementioned hiatus of new Dragon Ball Super material since these events occurred, there’s no way to justify the claim that Goku can beat Black Frieza. Without more story content or a flat-out answer from Toyotaro or Akira Toriyama on who is stronger, Goku has at least one currently active villain that he’s unable to defeat.
3) Infinite Zamasu
While Goku and Vegeta were able to handle each of the separate forms of Zamasu in the Dragon Ball Super, both were outclassed when the Zamasus fused. This led to the creation of Infinite Zamasu, which is shown to be an omnipresent version of the character that retains his sentience, but seems to possess little to no sanity to pair with it.
Zamasu is, however, incredibly powerful, with his goal of becoming one with the entire universe and killing all mortal life forms suggested to be possible after his universal state.
Furthermore, Goku needed the help of Zeno of the alternate dimension to erase reality and eradicate the immortal Zamasu from existence. With no such universe-erasing powers being given to Goku since this point, he likely still has no means of defeating Infinite Zamasu.
4) Berserker Broly
While Broly became an ally of Goku after the events of the Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero movie, the concept of friend and foe is foreign to him in his berserker mode. While this has only been seen so far in the 2018 anime movie, it became very clear that neither Vegeta nor Goku stood a chance against him alone.
The two needed to combine into Gogeta in order to win, and even then, Broly put up a tremendous fight. His berserker strength and infinite Ki completely overwhelmed both Earthly Saiyans. Clearly, when he lets go of his inhibitions, Broly is an antagonistic presence that Goku is unable to surpass on his own.
Moro and 3 other Dragon Ball villains Goku has surpassed
1) Moro
While there was a time in which Moro could truly rival Goku’s power, this window of opportunity for the Galactic Patrol prisoner quickly vanished. The final stages of the Galactic Patrol Prisoner arc saw the latter continue to utilize each and every ability of Mastered Ultra Instinct to its fullest extent. This, in turn, saw Moro unable to counter Goku’s strength, even by using the dirtiest of tricks.
Eventually, it got to the point where even Goku was asserting his own victory, not out of confidence in himself but as an objective, foregone conclusion. This very rarely happens in Dragon Ball and is typically indicative of the protagonist's power being overwhelmingly stronger than his opponent's. The final moments of the Moro arc saw this trend continue, with Goku walking away as the victor.
2) Jiren
Despite Moro being the most recent villain Goku has defeated in Dragon Ball Super anime, Jiren is likely still the stronger opponent for the Earthbound Saiyan. Whereas Moro relied on stealing others energy and abilities, Jiren’s strength is 100% his own, with the Pride Trooper being able to wield it extremely well.
Furthermore, a Mastered Ultra Instinct Goku seemed to struggle more against Jiren in the Tournament of Power arc than he did against Moro during the Galactic Patrol Prisoner arc. However, Goku still ended up coming close to a victory in his first outing with the form, and has since heavily trained in it, becoming more of an expert on it.
3) Fused Zamasu
While Fused Zamasu would certainly be a difficult opponent for Goku to handle by himself, the leaps and bounds he’s made since the two have met will likely allow him to get the win here. Dragon Ball Super has seen Goku learn and hone his skills in Ultra Instinct since the two met, elevating his level to a completely different level than what Fused Zamasu last experienced.
Although some may reject this claim, they may hesitate to do so upon realising that it would imply that Super Saiyan Blue Vegito is stronger than Mastered Ultra Instinct Goku. Considering how hard it is to argue such a viewpoint based on what’s known of both, it seems almost certain that the franchise’s current Goku has surpassed Fused Zamasu.
4) Hit
While the two haven’t been able to have a proper, canonical match since Dragon Ball Super’s Tournament of Destroyers, it’s likely that Goku has since surpassed the time-skipping assassin. Hit’s powers seem to be pigeonholed to his time-skipping technique, which Goku was quickly able to pick up on and figure out in their initial match.
With this in mind, all that really remained was for Goku to become powerful enough to overwhelm Hit quickly and definitively. Considering he’s since learned and trained in Ultra Instinct, it seems more likely than not that he has surpassed this inter-universal foe.
In summation
In Dragon Ball, the protagonist has consistently triumphed over the adversary in the end. But seeing our heroes struggle and overcome obstacles that call for more than just yelling and makeovers is vital and invigorating. As a result, the franchise continues to be as exciting and new as it has been for more than 20 years.
Be sure to follow for more anime updates and manga news as 2023 progresses.
