Ask any person about the show that got them interested in anime in the first place, and chances are that the majority of responses that you'll receive will either outright state Dragon Ball Z or refer to it in some way or the other. Why wouldn't this be the case — after all, the fact of the matter is that Dragon Ball Z paved the way for anime to become popular on the Western forefront. Each and every anime series that attained worldwide popularity after Dragon Ball Z should ideally be thanking this show for providing them with this golden opportunity to become culturally relevant on a global scale. This show was so freakin' popular that — after substantial fan uproar for around two decades — Toei Animation finally decided to give in (and by giving in, we mean that they decided to earn as much money as humanly possible) and released a sequel in the form of Dragon Ball Super.
This show took the lore of Dragon Ball to new heights, with a wide array of universes coming into the foray that completely escalated the already high power levels featured in this series to an entirely different level. This — coupled with the dramatic increase on power levels and the introduction of new, ground-breaking transformations — has led to the introduction of god-level power levels, typically sported by divine beings who have completely shelved Goku in terms of raw power.
Of course, these beings not all that omnipotent — there are also puny gods that have little to no chance of beating Goku in a fight ever. So, without further ado, here are 15 gods more powerful than Goku, coupled with 10 weaklings who aren't even fit enough to clean his boots.
25 Weak: King Kai
One of the first Kais to make their presence known in Dragon Ball Z, King Kai has become an iconic aspect of the franchise for obvious reasons. He was the one who taught the Kaio-Ken power to Goku after all.
However, his power level is not even close to Goku's current strength.
This is perhaps the major reason why King Kai has taken a backseat to pretty much every fight — he's just not all that relevant in the grand scheme of things.
24 Strong: Beerus
The introduction of Beerus in Dragon Ball Super was a revolution, allowing us to familiarize ourselves with a character who was above and beyond any power level we'd seen in the series up to that point.
He can easily wipe the floor with Goku if he wishes to do so.
We say this mainly because of the fact that he wasn't even fighting at his full power during his battle with Goku in the initial moments of Dragon Ball Super. It's a sad tale of events that just goes to show how woefully underpowered Goku actually is in the grand scheme of things.
23 Strong: Whis
How could it be possible to mention the God of Destruction Beerus without mentioning his attendant and the Angel who actually taught him everything he needed to know? Yep, that's right — we're talking about none other than Whis himself.
He's stronger than Beerus, which implies his superiority over Goku.
This, coupled with a bunch of nifty abilities such as time travel and interstellar travel, truly make Whis a force to be reckoned with. One must think twice before picking a fight with this imposing Angel.
22 Weak: Dende
Time to talk about the exact opposite of someone who's imposing. Dende might be one of the cutest and most endearing Namekians around, but the title of being a Guardian is somewhat wasted on him — especially since he's just so frustratingly weak as a fighter.
Dende's more of a healer, so one can't fault him for being the way he is. However, that doesn't talk away from the fact that he is so incredibly pitiful that no one really counts on him in a tight spot.
21 Strong: Sidra
There's going to be a massive inflow of various Gods of Destruction on this list, and for good reason — each and every one of them can single-handedly beat Goku to a pulp without so much as breaking a sweat.
Of course, there's the slightest possibility that this statement might not hold true with Ultra Instinct Goku, but — even then — it's highly unlikely that the Saiyan will be able to beat someone as powerful as Sidra, who has been shown to be quite fast and strong to boot.
The God of Universe 9 would certainly be an imposing foe indeed.
20 Weak: Kami
The words strong and fast aren't exactly what one will use to describe Kami, the Guardian of Earth before Dende took over. It seems that being a Guardian implies the need to be an absolute weakling since Kami is the perfect definition of a pushover.
In fact, this character was so irrelevant that he wasn't even taken into consideration halfway into Dragon Ball Z. The only time when he actually managed to do something useful also involved him being written off — in a bid to increase his power levels, Kami made the decision to fuse with Piccolo and promptly vanished.
19 Strong: Rumush
Another God of Destruction makes his way onto this list — this time, it's the God from Universe 10. Featuring an elephant for a head, you'd expect this God to wipe the floor with anyone and everyone who'd even look at him wrong.
However, this is not even remotely the case. If anything, Rumush is actually extremely lazy and finds it a massive bother to even destroy planets, in the first place.
All this just goes to show that not all Gods of Destruction are terrible people — in fact, some of them are actually quite complacent, like Rumush.
18 WEAK: Supreme Kai
There was a time when the Supreme Kai — also known as Shin — used to be the benchmark against which all power was measured. However, Shin's allure was completely eliminated by figures like Kid Buu and Beerus, who showed us just how overhyped the Supreme Kai actually was.
Nowadays, Shin serves as nothing more than another observer who just witnesses the things going on around him, and nothing else. It's quite a tragic fall from grace indeed, although no one can particularly gripe about it since the character wasn't all that memorable, to begin with.
17 STRONG: Vermoud
Don't let the appearance of this particular God of Destruction fool you — the last thing anyone should do is take Vermoud for granted since he would be more than willing to grind you to a pulp. In fact, he might even look forward to it, seeing as he was more than willing to backstab the people closest to him.
The fact that Vermoud is based on the characterization of Joker should be proof enough that this character is not someone to be taken lightly. After all, just like his inspiration, Vermoud can certain go absolutely psycho if given the leeway to do so.
16 Strong: Marcarita
If Vermoud is actually inspired by the Joker, then he's bound to have his own Harley Quinn, right? Well, look no further than Marcarita, the Angel of Universe 11's God of Destruction who — as is the case with pretty much every Angel — is more powerful than the God she attends to.
So, if Vermoud can defeat Goku, then there's no reason to suspect why Marcarita can't do the same. It doesn't take a genius to make this statement — after all, this is nothing more than a simple correlation.
15 Weak: Korin
Whoo boy, at this point you might understandably be confused as to why someone as pathetic as Korin has made this list. However, fans of the original Dragon Ball series can attest to the fact that this old cat is actually — as hard as it might be to believe — a Guardian of Earth.
However, at this point in time, the only reason why Korin is still relevant is because of the Senzu Beans that he produces. Without this amazing healing item, who knows how the Z Fighters would've made it out of their tough spots?
14 Strong: Champa
Every universe has its own mirror of sorts, and Universe 7 is no exception to this golden rule. Thus, a Universe 6 exists with mirror copies of the entities in Universe 7. The Gods of Destruction are certainly a part of this mirroring, with Champa being nothing more than a larger version of Beerus.
However, don't let that statement take away from the fact that this God can wipe the floor with anyone and everyone who might come in his way. Champa is a force to be feared after all... and we haven't even started talking about his attendant.
13 STRONG: Vados
The Angel of Universe 7 is an interesting person indeed. Being the elder sister of Whis, you'd expect Vados to also sport the vast level of strength and a bevy of useful techniques like her brother. And, you know what — you're absolutely right to expect this.
Speaking of Whis, guess what? Both these people happen to be the offspring of another character in the series who is incredibly strong. Just keep on reading this list, because that name is bound to come up at some point in time.
12 Weak: King Yemma
There was a time when King Yemma used to be quite an imposing figure indeed, during the early moments of Dragon Ball Z. After all, the idea of a god letting souls enter either Heaven or Hell is a highly enticing one that would raise the expectations one might have of this gatekeeper.
However, this perception has been completely altered with the advent of Dragon Ball Super. As we've already mentioned before, the introduction of the Gods of Destruction means that pretty much any divine entity that had been introduced before have become moot.
11 Strong: Helles
Who'd think a God of Destruction would have such a dominant sense to observe and appreciate aesthetic design? This is exactly the case with Helles, who — while propagating destruction — prefers things around her to be beautiful as well.
The ability to destroy entire planets with a single flick of her finger is not something to be taken lightly, and — like almost every single God of Destruction in existence — she can easily wipe the floor with Goku if the need arises.
10 Strong: Mule
Unlike the other Gods of Destruction that we've mentioned on our list, Mule doesn't actually function on his own. Instead, he harnesses his power through a robot called Mosco, allowing him to access his full potential.
This might seem like cheating, and fans might understandably get heated up at the fact that this god — in his base form — can beat Goku. However, one should never underestimate a destroyer — while he might require Mosco to fight other Gods of Destruction on a level field, there's no reason why he can't destroy Goku in a one-on-one fight... especially if he uses his full power.
9 Weak: Grand Kai
You'd think that a person who looks over an entire Universe would find it in his best interests to develop his or her power to the point where it can actually challenge everyone in said universe. However, that isn't even remotely the case when it comes to the Grand Kai, who is — similar to the other weaklings on this list — nowhere close to developing the aptitude to defeat Goku.
In fact, this Kai has actually neglected his training entirely, meaning that he's not even a match for Goku in his base Super Saiyan form.
Now, that's just humiliating.
8 Strong: Quitela
You'd think that looking like and being designed after a mouse is a surefire way for any character to go down the drain in terms of power and relevancy. However, this is simply not the case with Quitela, who serves as the powerful God of Destruction in Universe 4.
The fact that Quitela was powerful enough to beat Beerus at arm wrestling should be more than enough to cement the fact that this particular God of Destruction is not someone to be taken lightly at all.
7 Strong: Giin
Unlike the other Gods of Destruction who look like normal beings — until they whip out their massive power levels, that is — Giin is perhaps the only God who actually looks like a warrior, with rippling muscles and a physique that would make any bodybuilder jealous.
Finding enjoyment in his job of destroying anything and everything around him, the fact of the matter is that Giin can easily dispatch of Goku without so much as blinking an eye.
Of course, that pretty much goes without saying since he's a destroyer, after all.
6 Weak: Old Kai
Sigh... the sheer potential of this character should not be downplayed at all. However, the fact of the matter is that Old Kai turned from what could've been quite an interesting character into a running joke with little to no relevance in the grand scheme of things.
While he did help Gohan achieve his Mystic form, this transformation was essentially quite useless at the end of the day and served to do nothing more than to make Gohan a highly irrelevant character who was an absolute drag to follow in battle.
Thanks, Old Kai.