All 7 main characters, ranked from weakest to strongest

Dragon Balls main characters have changed a lot since the inception of the franchise. It's hard to believe there was ever a time when Bulma, Oolong, and Yamcha were as important as Goku, if not more so in the Pilaf Saga. Of Dragon Ball Zthe series' main cast slowly began to be overwhelmed by the Saiyans, resulting in the Majin Buu Saga turning into a Super Saiyan bargain sale. Things haven't changed that much Dragon Ball Superbut the franchise does a better job of making the main characters more diverse thanks to unique transformations, distinct character arcs, and giving other races the spotlight.

From Dragon Ball Super: Super Herothere are only seven characters in Dragon Ball Super who are the clear protagonists of the story. Heading into the Black Frieza Saga, Dragon Ball SuperThe main characters are stronger than ever, but there is a very clear hierarchy of power at play. Long gone are the days when Goku was on top of the totem pole, like Dragon Ball Super is setting up a wild endgame where it's not clear who will be the strongest protagonist at the end of the series.

7

Piccolo's feats can't compete with the rest of the main cast

Strongest form: Orange Piccolo

Piccolo is undoubtedly one of the strongest characters in Dragon Ball multiverse right now, but he's still at the bottom of the tier list when it comes to that Dragon Ball Supers main characters. In terms of power, Orange Piccolo has been confirmed by both Akira Toriyama and Toyotarou to rival Perfected ULtra Instinct Goku in terms of strength. Unfortunately, Orange Piccolo has no accomplishments whatsoever other than being strong enough to fight Cell Max.

Logically, Orange Piccolo should be stronger than characters like Moro, Granolah, and Gas at this point in the story, but it's really hard to tell when he loses his only fight. To his credit, Orange Piccolo helps Gohan Beast kill Cell Max – an enemy Piccolo thought not even Goku or Vegeta could kill – so that in itself proves that Piccolo is powerful. Still, Piccolo was unable to beat Cell Max by himself and is the only main character not present for Battle Royale i Dragon Ball Super Chapter 103.

6

Goku quickly falls behind the other Saiyans

Strongest Form: Perfected Ultra Instinct

Dragon Ball Super 2 is about to be a rollercoaster for Goku in terms of power scaling. Dragon Ball Super: The Galactic Patrol is adapting Moro Saga, which will end with Perfected Ultra Instinct Goku as the strongest main character in the series, but Granolah the Survivor and Super Hero Saga will shake everything up. Goku is extremely powerful and remains one of the strongest fighters in the multiverse, but his fellow Saiyans have surpassed him.

Vegeta beat Goku in their fight at the end of Dragon Ball Super: Super HeroGohan Beast knocked out Goku from Perfected Ultra Instinct in Dragon Ball Super Chapter 103, and Broly finally mastered the transformation that originally forced Goku and Vegeta to fuse into Gogeta. Currently, Goku is actually the weakest of the four main Saiyans and there doesn't seem to be anywhere else for Ultra Instinct to go now that it's fully mastered. Dragon Ball creature Dragon BallBut it's only a matter of time before Goku bursts his limits.

5

Vegeta has officially surpassed Goku for good

Strongest Form: Ultra Ego

Dragon Ball Super is the best thing to happen to Vegeta since Bulma. Throughout both the anime and manga, Vegeta has been training harder than ever to finally close the gap between him and Goku. While Goku will be launched way before Vegeta in Dragon Ball Super: The Galactic Patrol anime, it won't take long for Vegeta to not only catch up, but actually surpass Goku for good. Beginning in Granolah the Survivor Saga, Vegeta becomes Beerus' personal disciple as he begins to train his destructive power. Beerus even gives Vegeta God of Destruction earrings that symbolize Vegeta's potential as a Destroyer.

While fighting Granolah, Vegeta's Destroyer Form activates, unlocking Ultra Ego: a super-powered transformation that makes Vegeta equal to Perfected Ultra Instinct Goku. Ultra Ego also makes Vegeta stronger the longer he fights and gets hurt, giving him the potential to actually surpass PUI completely. IN Dragon Ball Super: Super HeroVegeta ends up beating Goku in their base forms, proving that he is actually more powerful and skilled without transformations. Another big feather in Vegeta's cap is the fact that he only needed Super Saiyan Blue Evolved to fight the Gohan Beast, where Goku needed Perfected Ultra Instinct, implying that the Prince of All Saiyans is even stronger than he lets on.

4

Broly's full power makes him a Gogeta-Tier Fighter

Strongest Form: True Legendary Super Saiyan

Broly has more potential than almost every single character in the movie Dragon Ball multiverse. Universe 7's legendary Super Saiyan, Broly caused absolute havoc at the end of his debut movie when he finally unlocked the transformation. Legendary Super Saiyan Broly was so strong, only Gogeta could actually stop him, but even then, Gogeta needed Super Saiyan Blue just to win. It has been confirmed that Broly could have surpassed Gogeta if he learned to control the legendary Super Saiyan.

The biggest flaw with the Legendary Super Saiyan is that the user can't use their full power without losing control of their minds, meaning they can't actually fight skillfully. After the end of Dragon Ball Super: BrolyBroly moves to Beerus' Planet to train his emotions. While fighting the Gohan Beast Dragon Ball Super Chapter 103, Broly finally harnesses the True Legendary Super Saiyan, allowing him to use power rivaling that of Gogeta at will.

3

Gohan is the most powerful Z fighter in Dragon Ball Super

Strongest Form: Gohan Beast

Gohan lost his title as the strongest non-compound character at the beginning of Dragon Ball Superbut through a major emotional breakthrough at the end of Dragon Ball Super: Super Herohe's once again become the most powerful Z-Fighter – and frankly, it's not even close. The Dragon Ball Super manga features a three-chapter epilogue following Toyotarou's Super Hero Saga adaptation that tests Gohan Beast's full power against Goku, Vegeta, and Broly.

Gohan Beast is stronger and faster than Perfected Ultra Instinct, to the point that Goku cannot fully react in time against Gohan Beast's strongest attacks. Likewise, Gohan Beast is so powerful that Broly's body finally triggers his True Legendary Super Saiyan form just to stay in the fight. Even then, Gohan throws around TLSSJ Broly like he's nothing, indicating that he's stronger than Gogeta. At the end of chapter 103, Gohan ends up fighting Goku, Vegeta, Broly, Goten and Trunks all at once in a battle royale. Although the entire fight is not shown, it is heavily implied that Gohan and Broly were the last men standing.

2

Frieza is the strongest league of mortals, the strongest villain and the biggest threat to the multiverse

Strongest Form: Black Frieza

Frieza is terrifyingly powerful Dragon Ball Super. Goku agreeing to revive him in the Tournament of Power is one of the dumbest things he's ever done, and while Frieza has been relatively low-key since the revival, he's too strong for his own good. If Frieza wanted to, he could devastate Planet Earth, kill all the Z-Fighters, and completely take over Universe 7 without a problem. Especially now that he is the strongest mortal alive.

During Granolah the Survivor Saga, Frieza finds a hyperbolic time chamber, trains for a decade non-stop and unlocks his Black Frieza form. Black Frieza is so much stronger than Ultra Instinct Goku and Ultra Ego Vegeta, he was able to defeat them both with a single punch that no one could react to in time. It is unclear if even Gohan Beast would fight evenly with Black Frieza. At this point, Beerus might be the only character strong enough to fight Black Frieza at full power and live.

1

Beerus is still on top – for now

Strongest Form: Ultra Instinct

Beerus is about to come back in a big way when Dragon Ball Super anime remake is released this fall. Dragon Ball Super: Beerus will remind everyone how powerful, terrifying and dangerous Beerus really is. Heading into the Black Frieza Saga, Beerus is still so much stronger than the rest of the main cast (although Goku and Vegeta are catching up faster than the God of Destruction realizes).

Beerus is the only Destroyer who can use Ultra Instinct, giving him a serious advantage over almost any opponent. He was also ready to defeat Moro for Goku before he was called away by the High Priest. Black Frieza poses a real threat to Beerus now that he is stronger than ever, but Beerus was never going to go down without a fight. And if all else fails, he can hakai anyone and anything out of existence, even someone as powerful as Black Frieza.

Release date

2015 – 2018

Network

Fuji TV

Showrunner

Tatsuya Nagamine

Directors

Ryota Nakamura, Masanori Sato, Kenichi Takeshita, Takao Iwai, Hideki Hiroshima, Masato Mitsuka, Kazuya Karasawa, Ayumu Ono, Takahiro Imamura, Tatsuya Nagamine, Kôjiro Kawasaki, Kouji Ogawa

Author

Ryu King, Hiroshi Yamaguchi

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  Masakazu Morita

  Whis (voice)

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  Masako Nozawa

  Son Goku/Goku Black/Son Gohan/Son Goten (voices)