There’s no shortage of increasingly powerful characters in the Dragon Ball continuity, so the title of the series’ strongest character often changes. The series gained a controversial reputation for a formulaic structure that would introduce a new level of strength with a frightening villain, only to have Goku defeat them. Thankfully, the series has grown beyond that trope, as it’s no longer earthbound warlords or intergalactic conquerors the Z-Fighters are facing but literal gods and a surprising amount of characters stronger than Vegeta and even Goku.
Dragon Ball Super is the ongoing storyline of the Dragon Ball franchise written by Akira Toriyama and illustrated by Toyotarou. It has taken several characters from the original series and elevated them to new heights – not just Goku and Vegeta. Not only that, but Super has introduced fans to all-new characters, most of whom are so powerful that the familiar Saiyan warriors may never rival them.
The franchise is notorious for rapidly changing and/or fluctuating one’s power level depending on the story, making a concrete power-ranking almost impossible. Especially with the story being filled with temporary transformations that often seem to wear off when needed most. However, in the current state of Dragon Ball Super, it can be confidently asserted that these top 15 characters are Dragon Ball’s strongest.
Outside of Android 18 and a few others, Dragon Ball is not well-known for its powerful women, but that definitely changed with the arrival of Kefla. The fusion of Kale and Caulifla, Kefla takes the strengths of both women and magnifies them to an absurd degree. Kefla’s primary display of power was during the Tournament of Power against Goku, and what a showing it was. Not only was Kefla able to keep up with Goku in his Super Saiyan Blue form, she even surpassed him in some ways.
Unfortunately, Kefla would ultimately lose that fight against Goku, though it wasn’t for lack of power. With Goku in his Ultra Instinct Sign form, it didn’t matter how devastating Kefla’s attacks were since they couldn’t hit Goku. Still though, Caulifla and Kale are young, and their bond is even stronger than Goku and Vegeta’s, so it’s entirely possible that Kefla could rival the strength of fusions like Vegito and Gogeta.
Few Dragon Ball characters have obtained the status of icon quite like Piccolo, and part of that is due to the Namekian’s sheer prowess in battle. Piccolo plays a pivotal role in so many Dragon Ball arcs for good reason, as he is a strong fighter and an even stronger mentor figure to fighters like Gohan. In battle, Piccolo has always been a strong foe with a variety of powerful techniques in his repertoire. Despite this, it wasn’t until Super Hero that he finally got a power-up that put him in line with the Saiyans.
Orange Piccolo is a hulking brutish form of the character which magnifies all of Piccolo’s power. Though Piccolo ultimately did require Gohan’s help in his battle against Cell Max, the new orange form made an impressive display. Orange Piccolo is a form that’s tough to evaluate at the moment, as it’s one battle against Cell Max may not be enough to really show just how strong the form is.
Majin Buu is a character the writers of Dragon Ball Super have had to write out of most conflicts due to their incredible abilities and potential strength. The plump Buu that’s currently been living a comfortable life with Mr. Satan is far from the fearsome forms the final DBZ arc showcased. Buu reached ridiculous levels of power after absorbing his foes leading to the classic debate of whether Kid Buu is stronger than Buuhan in Dragon Ball Z.
Still, even after reverting to his Kid Buu form, the chaotic villain wiped out Earth and many of the universe’s planets while casually hunting Goku and Vegeta, making Buu a fitting final villain for the DBZ series. As powerful as Buu was and still is though, the Super era of Dragon Ball has introduced so many powerful beings that Dragon Ball’s final big bad just can’t compete.
Cell Max might have had a very brief time to shine during Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero’s action-packed climax, but that was more than enough to confirm that he’s an absolute nightmare to face. Cell Max was able to face off Gohan, Piccolo, both Gammas, Android 18, and Krillin without too much effort. Even when Piccolo debuted his powerful Orange form, that wasn’t enough to stop the mighty Cell Max. Living up to his name, Cell Max took everything that made Cell so strong and turned it up a notch.
Unfortunately, though he had all of Cell’s strength, Cell Max didn’t have the Dragon Ball Z villain’s intelligence or cunning. It’s tough to say whether this seriously hurt him in his fight or not, but he was ultimately taken down by Gohan Beast in a show-stopping finale. Gohan Beast is supposedly one of Dragon Ball’s strongest forms ever, so it’s hard to fault the villain for his loss.
Vegeta has broken the barrier of Super Saiyan numbering and even god ki transformations like Super Saiyan Blue, as he’s found a way to harness the very power of Destruction itself – just like a Destroyer God. The incredibly powerful Ultra Ego transformation is a state of being where every hit he takes makes him stronger. He doesn’t have to channel ki to destroy things; Vegeta can simply will them to be destroyed with Hakai.
However, Vegeta has not mastered Ultra Ego in the Dragon Ball Super manga and has a long way to go before rivaling other members of Dragon Ball’s strongest characters. Still, Vegeta is quite powerful in the manga, and with further training, it’s clear that the former Prince of Saiyans could possess a power that rivals the likes of Beerus himself.
Fans of Dragon Ball were stunned when Super introduced Goku Black, an evil version of the Saiyan protagonist who was wreaking havoc on Future Trunks’ timeline. Eventually, it was revealed that Goku Black was actually an alternate version of the Kai Zamasu. Once Goku Black and normal Zamasu fused, they turned into the incredibly powerful being known as Fused Zamasu, and once that happened, Goku and Vegeta’s fight against him was basically over.
Possessing all the powers of a Saiyan and all the powers of a Kai, Zamasu is incredibly powerful in his own right. Goku and Vegeta’s only hope against him was a fusion of their own, and though that proved to be enough to ‘beat’ Fused Zamasu, a quirk in his powers led him to multiply endlessly, creating a massive army of Fused Zamasus. Goku and Vegeta couldn’t compete against the horde of Zamasus, leading them to call on Zeno for support.
Known as ‘Planet-Eater Moro’, Moro is an ancient sorcerer who was designed as a being of pure evil. Starting off as rather weak, Moro’s power initially seems to be a mixed bag. Buu is even able to restrain him with ease at first. Unfortunately for the people of Earth, Moro would only grow stronger as his powers slowly returned to him. Eventually, Moro is said to be so powerful that Vegeta could never train hard enough to match him.
At his strongest, Moro uses the energy from the many planets he’s consumed to become an absolute powerhouse. Even Goku is ultimately impressed with Moro in his final form and remarks that Moro was the toughest villain he had faced at the time, and could have been even stronger if he had just focused on training himself. That’s a high compliment coming from Goku, cementing Moro’s status as a deadly foe.
Being one of the world’s most popular characters, Goku needs little introduction. His accomplishments over the franchise’s history include saving Earth on multiple occasions, often with the help of his allies and the techniques he’s learned from several powerful masters. During the Saiyan’s battles in DBZ, foes like Frieza and Cell have remarked how many of Goku’s attacks are more than capable of destroying planets, and he’s gotten a lot stronger during his training in DBS. So strong that his energy almost broke the fabric of the universe while battling Beerus, the God of Destruction.
Just as Vegeta has unlocked Ultra Ego by channeling Destroyer energy, so, too, has Goku unlocked power normally reserved for divine beings: Ultra Instinct. Ultra Instinct is an angelic state that allows one’s body to move autonomously, making the warrior wielding it nearly untouchable. Goku learned it from the Angel Whis, just as Lord Beerus helped Vegeta with Ultra Ego. However, Goku is far better with Ultra Instinct than Vegeta is with Ultra Ego. Though beyond that, the two are remarkably close in terms of power-scaling – perhaps the closest they’ve ever been.
Like Piccolo, Gohan got a significant upgrade in the film Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero in the form of Beast Gohan. According to creator Akira Toriyama, Beast Gohan is stronger than Goku and Vegeta. After unlocking the new form in the Super Hero arc, Gohan easily tanked Cell Max’s devastating punches that made short work of Orange Piccolo.