Considering just how strong Goku is by the end of Dragon Ball Super thanks to Mastered Ultra Instinct, it’s a bit hard to believe he was only a bit stronger than the average Earthling all the way back in Dragon Ball’s very first arc. By the start of Dragon Ball Z, he’s more than two times weaker than Raditz. Come the end of Dragon Ball Z, he’s completely eclipsed by his son. Dragon Ball is a franchise where, time and time again, our characters grow stronger only to find themselves facing off against even stronger foes. There’s a clear progression of power from series to series and it only gets higher.
Take Dragon Ball Super, for example. Just about any random fighter who participated in the Tournament of Power could likely solo the entire original series from Goku meeting Bulma to Goku flying off with Uub. They’re just that strong. With the Universe Survival arc introducing a minimum of 65 new characters to the series, ranking everyone becomes an incredibly difficult task. Although not an impossible one. At first glance, it’s hard to deduce who the thirty strongest fighters in all of Dragon Ball are, and some placements might seem outright bizarre, but this is, without a doubt, exactly where characters fall on the ever-growing Dragon Ball totem pole. For the time being at least.
30 The Pride Troopers
The Pride Troopers are stuck in a fairly awkward position when it comes to power. On one hand, they’re hyped up to be the Tournament of Power’s greatest challenge. On the other hand, none of them go on to secure an elimination except for Jiren. Of the nine left behind, only Toppo and Dyspo solidify themselves as genuinely powerful foes. The remaining seven are certainly strong, but not strong enough to do anything meaningful.
Here's hoping they actually contribute in the manga version.
It’s made all the worse when taking into consideration just how easily most of the Troop is taken out. Not a single member outside of the core three gets an episode to truly shine. They all ignore one of the key rules of storytelling: show, don’t tell. We’re told the Pride Troopers are strong, but we’re never shown why they’re strong. We’ll take Dragon Ball Super’s word on the matter, but without any actual evidence they, understandably, cannot rank high.
29 Piccolo
It perhaps goes without saying, but, as a whole, Universe 7 was far and away the strongest overall team present at the Tournament of Power. Not only did every member secure at least one elimination and consistently outperform the majority of the participants, a good chunk of Universe 7 lasted the majority of the Tournament. Piccolo is one such fighter.
Although he’s the fourth weakest member on Universe 7’s team (stronger only than the Earthlings,) Piccolo pulls out the big guns for the Tournament of Power and helps Gohan eliminate Universe 6. He’s a team player through and through with enough power to hold his own up to the second half. It’s nice to see that years after DBZ, Piccolo is still doing relatively well for himself.
28 Android 18
Although by no means the strongest Z-Fighter, Android 18 has one key feature that gives her a leg up on the other main characters: infinite stamina. The greatest gift Dr. Gero could ever give her, Android 18 does not get tired when fighting. She can theoretically fight forever. This isn’t to say that she can’t feel pain or take damage, but that she doesn’t need to worry about exerting herself. As an Android, she can really go all out at all times. Coupled with her natural strength, this makes her quite the formidable fighter.
27 Majin Buu
Dragon Ball Z’s final villain, it’s only natural Majin Buu end up one of Dragon Ball Super’s strongest characters if only due to the massive head start he enters the series with. He may not be as powerful as Super Buu or Kid Buu, but he has enough raw power in his fat form to still pose a threat. He was even chose as one of Universe 7’s five fighters in the Universe 6 Tournament arc, implying he’s much stronger than the majority of the cast. Even if he didn’t get to fight.
It goes without saying that Z's last villain is quite the powerhouse.
When it comes time for Goku to recruit people for the Tournament of Power, the anime shows us a Majin Buu who’s really taken his time to train his body, arguably making him far stronger than even Buuhan. Of course, like with the Universe 6 Tournament arc, he doesn’t end up fighting, but the boost in power is still worth making note of.
26 Super Saiyan 2 Cabba
Cabba’s in a relatively strange position when it comes to power. Despite being introduced as one of Universe 6’s five strongest fighters in the Universe 6 Tournament arc, the Tournament of Power subsequently establishes him as weaker than both Caulifla and Kale, at least when the three of them are at full power. He’s by no means a pushover, naturally only a bit weaker than Super Saiyan Vegeta in his base, but his Saiyan partners do outshine him.
That said, he does show off a solid burst of power when he finally transcends into Super Saiyan 2. His unique leg based fighting styles gives him an edge over most fighters as Dragon Ball tends to be rather fist based. In many ways, he’s almost like the Gohan of Universe 6. He’s just a naturally strong guy with a lot of hidden potential.
25 Frost
It’s only natural Frieza’s Universe 6 counterpart also be one of the strongest fighters in his universe. While nowhere near as powerful as everyone’s favorite galactic tyrant, Frost isn’t without his fair share of qualities to raise him above the rest. He can boost his final form up to a full power state like Frieza, and he seems to be naturally stronger. He likely doesn’t have the same potential to improve like Frieza, evidenced by Frost effectively being locked out from a Golden form equivalent, but he’s dangerous enough to take out nearly a dozen fighters on his own during the manga’s depiction of the Tournament of Power.
24 Ribrianne
Ribrianne was a decisive character, to say the least. Some liked her for her twist on the magical girl archetype, most hated her for generally eating up screen time and outstaying her welcome. The manga version of the Tournament of Power only added more vitriol towards the character with her getting eliminated incredibly early, meaning her prominence in the anime’s depiction of the tournament stemmed solely from Toei trying to force her in.
Hatred towards the character aside, she is quite strong. In the anime adaptation, at least. Not only does she make it more than halfway through the tournament, she does so fighting several characters. Whether you like her or not, she undeniably puts on a good show and goes out in one of the arc’s highlight episodes.
23 Super Saiyan 2 Caulifla
In many respects, Caulifla is Universe 6’s Goku. She’s a hick, she loves fighting, and she’s got a knack for self improvement. They have their differences, of course, as all literary foils do, but, for the most part, she’s supposed to be our Goku surrogate. With that in mind, it’s only fitting Caulifla end up one of the stronger characters in Dragon Ball Super.
With some more training, Caulifla could rival Goku in no time.
When she finally taps into Super Saiyan 2, she’s able to put up a decent fight against Super Saiyan God Goku with Kale by her side. While she’s not fighting alone, the mere fact she can survive a fight with SSG Goku as a mere SSJ2 shows just how latent Caulifla’s power is. With more training, she could easily end up one of the strongest characters in the franchise. Not that she already isn’t.
22 Android 17
Dragon Ball Super was incredibly kind to Android 17. Not only did it give him a God level boost of power, putting him roughly on par with a Super Saiyan Blue Goku holding back, he actually goes on to win the Tournament of Power. It’s worth noting that Android 17 doesn’t show off any particular amazing feats of strength in Super, but he’s incredibly durable and even manages to damage Jiren at one point. He’s a sneaky, smart fighter with enough raw power to fight long enough to win a multiversal tournament.
21 Ultimate Gohan
Just as Dragon Ball Super was kind to Android 17, it was unkind to Son Gohan. Despite ending Dragon Ball Z as the strongest unfused character in the series, Super takes every opportunity to nerf Gohan and show how he isn’t all that hot. Beerus one shots him; he struggles to turn Super Saiyan in Resurrection F, and he outright retires from fighting in the Goku Black arc.
Thankfully, the Tournament of Power tries to reverse the damage by instilling some of Gohan’s old character back into his personality. By training with Piccolo, Gohan is able to once again tap into his Ultimate state. He’s not as close to the top as he once was, but he’s strong enough to pose a threat yet again. Here’s hoping it sticks.
20 Zamasu
The series’ first evil Kaioshin, Zamasu doesn’t pack that hard a punch, but his immortality does give him quite a boost. Simply by being immortal, Zamasu can take punishment upon punishment while also dishing out some highly sophisticated Ki-based techniques. Goku, Vegeta, and Future Trunks are all stronger than him, but none of them can actually manage to take him down on account of his immortality. Zamasu is literally unbeatable, a first for a canon character. That our heroes actually managed to overcome him, in the end, is a miracle in and of itself.
19 Super Saiyan Rage Future Trunks
It’s hard to swallow for a few fans, but Super Saiyan Rage Future Trunks is actually ridiculously strong. He’s able to take out Merged Zamasu with a single sword strike. Granted, it’s a sword filled with Genki, but he does need the power to wield such, well, power. If you go back even earlier, SSR Future Trunks holds his own against both Zamasu and Goku Black, two characters who were making a fool out of him.
Isn't it amazing what a single transformation can do?
Super Saiyan Rage is a form that gets a bit of ire due to not being well thought out within the actual lore, but it’s thematically appropriate. It’s Future Trunks channeling the hope present in his future and manifesting it into genuine power. He’s basically a Demi God if you think about it.
18 Legendary Super Saiyan Kale
As Broly’s Dragon Ball Super surrogate, it’s only fitting Kale end up improbably strong with a berserker fueled transformation stemming from a hatred of Goku. In her Legendary Super Saiyan state, Kale tears through the Tournament of Power like paper. She tanks a Kamehameha from Super Saiyan Blue Goku and just walks it off. She’s so powerful, Jiren actually steps in to remedy the situation. If Jiren recognizes your strength enough to do something about it, you’ve definitely made a name for yourself in terms of raw power. Whether or not her controlled state is as strong is up for debate, but Legendary Super Saiyan Kale is genuinely one of the most dangerous characters in the entire franchise.
17 Golden Frieza
Without a single day of training, Frieza was the naturally strongest being in the universe. It took Goku fulfilling an ancient prophecy and turning Super Saiyan for anyone to actually be able to put Frieza in his place. With four months of training, Frieza develops his own form of Super Saiyan and rockets in strength up to God levels of power.
To push things even further, Frieza simply meditates his weaknesses away in Hell during the gap between Resurrection F and the Universe Survival arc. Such a simple feat elevates Frieza to higher heights, putting him on par with a Super Saiyan Blue Goku on the cusp of achieving Ultra Instinct. Now that he’s alive again, Frieza’s got everything he needs to break past his limits yet again.
16 Hit
Hit is a fairly difficult character to properly rank if only because we have no idea just how strong he actually is. This isn’t even a case of the series telling us he’s strong without showing it, either. We straight up don’t know what Hit’s full power entails. Since he’s only ever fought in tournament settings, excluding filler, we only see him fight while holding himself back. A full power Hit could theoretically be stronger than Ultra Instinct Goku.
A 1,000-year-old boxer? Yeah, Hit's strong.
From what we have seen of Hit, though, we can deduce that, at the very least, he’s roughly as strong as Super Saiyan Blue Goku at the time of the Tournament of Power. The two work together to fight off Jiren in the manga, and Hit does a decent job fending off Jiren on his own in the anime. He’s not strong enough to do any lasting damage, but he puts up a decent fight. Now if only we knew how strong he really was.
15 Super Saiyan Rose Goku Black
As someone who’s literally just Goku, it goes without saying that Goku Black is quite the powerful character. Since Zamasu also knows everything about Goku, he’s able to use all his abilities, preventing a Ginyu situation. Goku Black is just as strong as Goku in the Goku Black arc, if not a bit stronger. At least as far as potential is concerned. For whatever reason, hijacking Goku’s body gives Goku Black the ability to make use of Zenkais, pushing him even further than regular Goku could. Had he stuck around longer, Goku Black likely could have surpassed Goku entirely.
14 Light Speed Dyspo
The third major pillar of the Pride Troopers, Dyspo is one of the only members of Universe 11 to put up a decent fight during the Tournament of Power. Arguably, he even does better than Toppo despite being weaker. When tapping into his Light Speed, Dyspo runs circles around Ultimate Gohan, nearly defeating him in the process. It takes a team effort from both Gohan and Frieza to actually subdue him. Even then, though, it takes Gohan sacrificing himself for Universe 7 to actually eliminate Dyspo. In a tournament setting, it’s no telling what Dyspo could actually accomplish.
13 Super Saiyan Evolution Vegeta
Despite being a story arc squarely focused on giving Goku Ultra Instinct, the Universe Survival arc decided to show some mercy and bestow upon Vegeta a new transformation: Super Saiyan Evolution. Out of nowhere with no build up, Vegeta transformed near the end of the arc and went on to use his newfound powers to defeat Toppo and help Goku take on Jiren.
While the new form is strong, here’s the thing- it’s only as strong as Super Saiyan Blue Kaioken. Fans have this idea that SSE is actually a huge boost for Vegeta, but everything in the series points to it just being equal to SSBKK. Specifically, Goku is shown using SSBKK while Vegeta uses SSE when they team up against JIren. It’s a catch up form and, while it does make Vegeta stronger, it doesn’t elevate him that much higher.
12 God Of Destruction Toppo
Introduced as a God of Destruction in training, Toppo has quite a lot going for him even untransformed. He’s supposedly strong enough to be a God of Destruction, doesn’t lose to Goku during their exhibition match in the anime, and outright wins their match in the manga. When it comes time for Toppo to transform, his powers skyrockets, eclipsing his base form.
As an actual God of Destruction, Toppo is in a league of his own.
Although Vegeta ends up ringing him out, it’s worth noting that Vegeta needed to use up all his Ki in an explosion to knock Toppo out of the arena. Even doing so, Toppo didn’t seem all that damage. He lost his GoD form, but he’d clearly still be able to fight in a proper match. Simply surviving Vegeta’s blast is proof of Toppo’s raw power.
11 Kefla
Universe 6’s resident fused fighter, Kefla is the result of Caulifla and Kale using the potara earrings to fuse. Not only is she the strongest female fighter in the Tournament of Power, she’s also the strongest female mortal in the entire series. Even with Ultra Instinct, Kefla gives Goku a run for his money, tanking his blows at every turn. It’s only by charging up his Ki and outsmarting her does Goku come out the victor. This is to say nothing of the wide variety of techniques at Kefla’s disposal and her ability to fight on part with an Ultra Instinct fighter in only a Super Saiyan state. She only needs to transform once to be above God level. Now that’s impressive.