Every major Dragon Ball Z villain, ranked from weakest to strongest

It's fair to say that Dragon Ball's villains played a big part in why the series is as popular as it is. Starting with Z (although the original series had some memorable ones too), Dragon Ball really started to stand out, each with incredible power, pushing Goku and the rest of the Z-Fighters to their absolute limits.

Family

Every major Dragon Ball villain, ranked from weakest to strongest

The early Dragon Ball villains may not seem that strong anymore, but it's still worth taking a look at who was the most powerful.

By the end of it, Goku, Vegeta, Gohan and the rest of the gang had battled some of the most powerful forces in the universe and managed to find a way to win every time. If we were to look back at the great antagonists of the series, this is how they would stack up.

Vegeta (Saga Saiyan)

Vegeta lands so low here only because he was a true villain until the end of the Namek Saga. Even then, he acted as an anti-hero of sorts, teaming up with Gohan, Krillin, Piccolo, and Goku to take down Frieza.

Raditz and Nappa were nothing compared to Vegeta during the Saiyan Saga. Although they would go on to face stronger opponents, Goku and Vegeta's clash on Earth is still considered one of the best matches in the series. Vegeta's willpower and fighting spirit were on full display during the conflict. He may have lagged behind Goku for a while, but you could tell right from the start that Vegeta was going to be a top fighter in the series.

Captain Ginyu

The Ginyu Force may seem silly, but that doesn't take away from the fact that they were Frieza's most powerful minions on Namek. Even his right hands, Zarbon and Dodoria, were a step below Ginyu's (except Guldo).

Captain Ginyu served as a great warm-up to Frieza, who had an incredible level of power and gave Goku a tough fight that was only made more difficult with Ginyu's unique Body Change ability. Ultimately, Ginyu's addiction to the technique is what did him in. Even so, Body Change is still one of the most interesting techniques in the series and a legitimately difficult one to navigate around in battle.

Frieza (Pre-Super)

If we were to rank Frieza considering his appearance in Super, then he would be at the top of the list. However, Z Frieza ranks towards the bottom of Dragon Ball Z villains.

It's a strange thing to say about one of anime's most popular villains, but both the main Saiyan and subsequent major villains are much stronger than Frieza was at full power on Namek. Still, the reason the Frieza Saga is as beloved as it is is because Frieza was the perfect villain. Never losing too much ground for too long, always having an answer and transformation ready for the heroes' best efforts to defeat him, Frieza will always be one of the scariest threats in Dragon Ball.

Future Android 17 and 18

The main timeline versions of Android 17 & 18 started out a little rough around the edges, but eventually mellowed out and became great supporting characters. However, the Androids from Future Trunks' timeline are a different story.

That version of the Androids are much more psychotic and violent, having destroyed Earth and killed the entire Z-Team, including Future Gohan. Like their main timeline counterparts, the Future Androids were a grade above regular Super Saiyans, often making light of Future Trunks and Gohan's efforts to defeat them. Thanks to Future Trunks' experiences and training in the past, he is finally able to defeat them, but not after they have spent years terrorizing the planet.

Cell

Dragon Ball struggled to find a villain that had the same kind of impact on readers that Frieza did after the Space Tyrant's death, from Dr. Gero and Android 19, to Android 16, 17 and 18, and finally to Cell. With his various forms and menacing design, Cell would have been the perfect final villain for the series, had it ended there and then.

With the DNA of the strongest fighters in the series up to that point, Cell was the ultimate challenge for the Z-Fighters. Although his imperfect and semi-perfect forms had their limitations, Perfect Cell proved to be an almost unstoppable force. He easily overpowered Saiyans like Future Trunks and Vegeta, and while Goku managed to hold his own against him, even he admitted that he didn't have what it took to defeat Cell at the time. In the end, it was Goku's gamble on Gohan's incredible potential that paid off, leading to Cell's defeat. But he definitely didn't make it easy.

Majin Buu

Unlike Cell and Frieza, who had different transformations serve as power-ups, Buu's various forms are all different incarnations of him. Each version of Buu has different things that make them unique, with the first one we're introduced to, Majin Buu, standing out for his menacingly jovial attitude.

Like all versions of Buu, Majin Buu is incredibly strong and difficult to take down. When Majin Vegeta sacrificed himself to destroy Buu and encased him in a massive energy crack, the parts of Buu that were not destroyed were reformed. Although Kid and Super Buu are stronger than the one we initially see in Saga, this version of Buu still stands out as one of the strongest villains in the series.

Kid Buu

There is some debate as to whether Super Buu or Kid Buu is the strongest version of the character. Kid Buu is the final antagonist to Z​, who proves to be a chaotic and unpredictable fighter.

Kid Buu was definitely a threat in his short time, and while Super Buu was the stronger Buu, Kid Buu still almost came out victorious against Goku and Vegeta.

Super Buu

Super Buu was definitely the strongest version of Buu, especially when he had absorbed Gotenks, Piccolo and Gohan. While Kid Buu is more chaotic and unpredictable, Super Buu is a much more well-rounded fighter, capable of defeating almost every (known) fighter in the universe up to that point.

Super Buu was able to go toe to toe with Ultimate Gohan, and when he jumped on him, he cemented himself as the manga's strongest character for some time after he absorbed him. As strong as Buuhan was, he was still no match for Vegito. Although he did not become the last villain of Z,Super Buu was definitely able to keep things interesting towards the end of the series.

Dragon Ball Z

Release date

1989 – 1996

Network

Fuji TV

Directors

Daisuke Nishio, Shigeyasu Yamauchi, Osamu Kasai

Author

Akira Toriyama, Neil Bligh, Hiroshi Toda, Katsuyuki Sumisawa, Aya Matsui, Keiji Terui, Reiko Yoshida, Toshiki Inoue

• 

  Masako Nozawa

  Son Goku / Son Gohan / Son Goten (voice)

• 

  Ryo Horikawa

  Vegeta (voice)