5 Dragon Ball Super moments where Goku felt helpless

While Goku is undoubtedly the hero of Dragon Ball Super and the franchise in general, he certainly has his moments of helplessness during the series. It’s strange to think someone as powerful as Goku can feel helpless, but the situations certainly arise.

Some of these come from Goku being trapped by mortal limits and unable to defeat an enemy’s transcendental final form. Others are simply from Goku being unable to help some of his comrades who’ve sadly been injured. This article dives into five moments in Dragon Ball Super where Goku felt helpless.

These Dragon Ball Super showcase a vulnerable side of Goku

1) Vs. Infinite Zamasu

In Dragon Ball Super’s “Future” Trunks Saga, Goku and friends find themselves fighting two different versions of the Kai in training, Zamasu. When the two Zamasu fuse, they become Infinite Zamasu and are essentially a universal force manifesting as clouds resembling his face.

Goku and Vegeta are both spent and unable to stop Zamasu. At this point, Goku decides to enlist Zeno's aid since there’s nothing else he can do. Luckily the Omni-King steps in and saves the day for our heroes.

2) Vs. Jiren (round one)

After round one of Goku’s fight vs. Jiren in Dragon Ball Super, Goku is completely spent and somewhat resentful of how little damage he did to Jiren. Goku proceeds to find a relatively quiet corner of the Tournament of Power to rest and regain his energy. During this time, Goku obviously couldn’t fight or defend himself and felt incredibly helpless.

3) Master Roshi collapses

When Master Roshi collapses after successfully using a Kamehameha, Goku and friends immediately rush over. Although his former master ends up being okay, Goku laments and berates himself for not doing anything while Roshi is unconscious. Although it wasn’t exactly a fighting moment, Goku nevertheless still felt incredibly helpless in this Dragon Ball Super scene.

4) Vs. Jiren (final round)

When fighting Jiren for the final time in Dragon Ball Super's Tournament of Power arc, Goku finally achieves Mastered Ultra Instinct. However, this isn’t enough to put away Jiren and Goku must ask Android 17 and Frieza for help.

While Goku is still optimistic and smiling as the three begin their final push, he undoubtedly felt helpless at this point. Even with MUI, he could not put Jiren away and arguably let Universe 7 down as their ace in the hole.

5) Vs. Beerus

Dragon Ball Super’s premiere arc quite literally sees Goku ask Videl/Pan, Gohan, Vegeta, Goten, and Trunks to perform the Super Saiyan God ritual on him. Without their help, Goku couldn’t have given Beerus anything near the fight he desired and the Earth would’ve been destroyed.

While Goku can save the Earth in the end, he undoubtedly felt somewhat helpless due to his needing the help of every Saiyan, including his unborn granddaughter Pan.