The strongest tool for each main hero, ranked

Ever since Granolah and Super Hero Arcs of Dragon Ball Superthe series' power hierarchy and landscape has changed drastically. Gone are the days when Goku and Vegeta alone lead the series, as Gohan, Broly and Piccolo have joined them as the main heroes and primary protectors of Universe 7.

As such, both the late Akira Toriyama and Toyotarou had previously confirmed that all five heroes are currently more or less at the same strength in Dragon Ball. This can be attributed to the unique tools and abilities in their arsenals, with each character bringing their own unique attributes to each battle.

Strongest Form: Full Powered Super Saiyan

As the team's resident berserker, Broly's strength is incalculable. Although all Saiyans are warriors with a huge potential to power up, Broly takes this aspect and multiplies it a thousand times over, as his unnatural latent energy pool is so large that he managed to grow to the level of Super Saiyan Blue Goku and Vegeta in a single fight, which is made even more impressive considering that he had never fought seriously before in his entire life.

Of course, the big caveat to this growth in power was that he lost his mind in the process and became a raging and uncontrollable monster. However, the manga's narration of the Super Hero Arc showed Broly undergoing intense training with Goku, Vegeta, and Whis, during which he began to learn how to control this power. Once he manages to control his strength, his potential could make him the strongest mortal in the multiverse.

Strongest form: Orange Piccolo

While not the most immediately powerful tool, Piccolo's strategic brilliance has often made a big difference in the series' past. Of course, he's no slouch in battle either, as his Orange Piccolo state finally brings him to the level of his fellow Saiyans as one of Universe 7's greatest warriors.

However, his brilliant mind can definitely be considered an asset to his overall strength, as it allows Piccolo to either approach a situation differently or think of unique ways to reach the best outcome. An example of this was seen in the Super Hero Arc, during which he pretended to injure Pan to bring out Gohan's true strength against the Red Ribbon Army.

Strongest Form: Beast Gohan

As stated by Goku and Vegeta, Gohan is quite similar to Broly in many respects. The biggest of their similarities comes from their innate potential, as both heroes can grow in strength exponentially by using the power of their emotions, without necessarily having to train vigorously like Goku and Vegeta. In fact, both of their strongest forms were achieved through an outpouring of emotions that mostly came out of nowhere rather than training.

However, what separates them is that while Broly's potential is greater, Gohan has much better control over his powers and rage, which is why he can utilize his own better. This was first seen when he unlocked Super Saiyan 2 against Cell and then again with Beast, where he exploded with rage, but instead of giving into it, he managed to control it to awaken some of the most powerful transformations in the entire series.

Strongest Form: Ultra Instinct

From the very beginning of the franchise, Goku has always been portrayed as a martial arts prodigy, and while he's certainly trained under some of the best mentors in the universe, it's undeniable that he has a natural affinity for combat. It is because of this affinity that he has used techniques that even some of the other strongest characters cannot awaken themselves.

Of course, the best example of this is Ultra Instinct, which is the inherent technique of angels said to be so notoriously difficult to learn that even the Gods of Destruction, some of the strongest beings in existence, have not been able to master it. Goku could do it in less than an hour. Additionally, he has done this with many other techniques as well, such as Hakai.

Strongest Form: Ultra Ego

Vegeta has continuously compared his overall strength to Goku's for much of the story, which was quite high to match due to the latter's aforementioned affinity for all things martial arts. However, lacking this affinity, Vegeta made up for it with sheer, unbridled discipline, as he worked harder than almost anyone else to reach the highest levels of strength.

In today's modern era, Vegeta is one of the strongest beings in the multiverse and Goku's true equal, who has even managed to defeat the hero. Due to his obsessive drive, there is no limit to how much he can grow, as Vegeta lives to break his own barriers, something that is most reliably done through immense hard work, making it the strongest tool for the main heroes.

Dragon Ball Super can be streamed on Crunchyroll.