Between Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball GT, Dragon Ball Super, the movies, the games, and the spin-offs, the Dragon Ball franchise has racked up more than a few villains. From Pilaf to Jiren, the series’ antagonists have always been immensely enjoyable and memorable to watch. You can point to even the most obscure of villains and find someone who absolutely loves them. Remember Boss Rabbit? Well you should because his fans do. What makes a memorable villain though? For most, it’s their design and personality. After all, Dragon Ball is a character driven franchise. At the same time, it’s a martial arts story and a rather dedicated on at that. Villains are, at times, defined by their power above all else.
So who are the strongest villains in the franchise? Logic dictates, the later the villain appears the likelier they are to be stronger than those who came before them, but that’s not always necessarily the case. When creating a top thirty list of the series’ strongest villains, some characters place rather interestingly. Before diving into this list, however, it’s important to take two things into consideration. The first, this list is for villains only, no antagonists. What this means is that a character has to show villainous intent at some point to be classified a villain. The second, and most, important: canon characters only. That means only Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, and Dragon Ball Super character are being taken under consideration. Sorry GT fans, you’ll get your turn soon enough.
30 Demon King Piccolo
Considering Demon King Piccolo’s role in the story, it’s only fitting he be the villain to kick off this Top 30. After all, it’s his introduction that ultimately changed the course of Dragon Ball’s history. What was once a lighthearted martial arts manga with a few serious elements quickly became a full on drama at the start of the King Piccolo arc. His minions were responsible for Krillin’s demise, he gathered all the Dragon Balls with relative ease, and he personally eliminated both Roshi and Chaozu.
He's the villain who started it all.
He’s really only at the bottom of the list due to how early he’s introduced into the franchise. What most fans don’t remember is that Goku actually struggles quite a bit to defeat King Piccolo. Even with a massive power up from Karin, Goku is only just evenly matched and nearly loses. Were it not for Piccolo’s hubris, he might have actually defeated Goku, securing the world as his kingdom.
29 Cyborg TaoPaiPai
The Crane School’s resident assassin, Goku defeats TaoPaiPai in the Red Ribbon Army arc only for him to return as a cyborg in the 23rd Budokai. Augmented for battle and ready for revenge, he squares off against Tien in the opening round planning to inevitably slice his way up to Goku. Considering Goku in the Demon King Piccolo arc isn’t that much stronger than he was in the Red Ribbon Army arc, it can be deduced that TaoPaiPai is, at the very least, as strong as Demon King Piccolo. He loses rather effortlessly to Tien, but this is more to show just how much everyone has grown in the time skip and less to convey that Cyborg TaoPaiPai is weak. As far as power scaling goes, he can easily pack a punch.
28 Piccolo Junior
In the same way Demon King Piccolo solidified a new tone for the series, Piccolo Junior solidified a new approach to action. With him, fights were now longer, fighter were more brutal, and fights pushed Goku to his limits. The final match of the 23rd Budokai has the both evenly matched, with Goku only just barely scraping out a win by saving his Bukujutsu for the very end.
Considering the Saiyan saga immediately follows this tournament, it’s easy to take for granted just how formidable Piccolo was when he first entered the story. Like his father, he comes dangerously close to actually winning and he makes Goku truly work for his win. Come the time skip, he’s still an incredibly dangerous character and ultimately becomes the man responsible for Goku’s first trip to the afterlife.
27 Raditz
The first of the three Saiyan invaders, Raditz arguably packs the heaviest punch. He’s the weakest one by far, but he’s also the only villain in the Saiyan saga who comes the closest to completely victory. When he lands on Earth, the only two characters who can actually oppose him are Goku and Piccolo. Both end up basically losing.
No one has roadblocked Goku to the same extremes as Raditz.
Raditz makes a total mockery out of them, showing audiences just how dangerous the series will be moving forward. Goku, the strongest man on Earth, cannot defeat the weakest Saiyan. It’s only through trickery, a surprise attack from Gohan, and teamwork that Goku and Piccolo defeat Raditz. He may have been quickly outclassed, but Raditz nonetheless remains one of Dragon Ball’s strongest villains.
26 Nappa
Nappa’s the kind of guy who, just by looking at him, you expect to be strong. Of the three Saiyans, he’s designed with power in mind and his battles in the arc prove it. Along with being directly responsible for Chaozu’s, Tien’s, and Piccolo’s demises, only Goku actually puts up a solid fight against him. In their tag team effort, Piccolo, Krillin, and Gohan fail miserably trying to defeat Nappa. They land in a few good hits, but he still ends up overwhelming them to the point of despair. If Goku arrived any later, Dragon Ball would have ended with Nappa defeating all our heroes.
25 Vegeta
Although best known for his time as a hero these days, Vegeta began his Dragon Ball career as one of the strongest villains in the franchise. Even after training with Kaio and learning both the Kaioken and Genki Dama, Goku finds himself totally incapable of beating Vegeta in a fair fight. The one time he gets the upper hand, Vegeta loses it, creates an artificial moon, and tortures Goku to his breaking point as an Oozaru.
There are few villains who can rival Vegeta's impact on the series.
With Vegeta’s introduction, Dragon Ball also gained its first character with enough power to blow up a planet. Watching or reading the series with a modern perspective allows audiences to know Vegeta will inevitably reform so he can’t cause too much damage, but, at the same of his debut, Vegeta raised the stakes like crazy.
24 Cui
Exactly as strong as Vegeta was during the Saiyan saga, Cui is arguably the least noteworthy character on this list. Not because he’s not strong, but because, like Cyborg TaoPaiPai, he exists solely to show up how strong another character is. Unlike Cyborg TaoPaiPai, though, he never even gets a chance to prove he’s worth his salt. Instead, Vegeta takes him out almost as soon as he lands on Namek. Cui’s strong, but not strong enough to survive more than a few chapters.
23 Dodoria
The first member of Frieza’s personal guard, Dodoria quickly establishes himself as a force to be reckoned with. Given how little time passes between the Saiyan and Frieza arcs, Gohan and Krillin land on Namek at roughly the same strength they were during the Vegeta fight. That alone makes their first confrontation with Dodoria all the more dangerous, but, unfortunately for them, Dodoria’s also far stronger than anyone they’ve faced up to that point.
Dodoria almost makes Vegeta look like child’s play. While Gohan and Krillin ultimately survive, and even land in some good hits, it’s only through deception that they make it out alive. The Bardock TV special even features Dodoria as a key villain with him taking out Bardock with a single blast. He may not be much when compared to Frieza, but he still packs quite the punch.
22 Zarbon
Zarbon’s quite the important villain. It’s through him that we ultimately get transformations for the major antagonists. He’s the first villain we see outright change his form and it’s a doozy. Although Vegeta handles base Zarbon rather reliably, he finds himself in over his head when the latter transforms. Monster Zarbon nearly ends Vegeta’s life, a fact Frieza kindly reminds him should not have happened. Monster Zarbon’s complete annihilation of Vegeta makes for one of the most brutal displays of power in the series, and starts a trend that Dragon Ball, and anime, would not soon let go of.
21 The Ginyu Force
It seems a bit odd to lump all of the Ginyu Force (sans their namesake) into one entry, but it would be a bit tiring to see all five Ginyus listed in the order they were fought. Plus, they’re all fairly equal in power with only some minor gaps. Gurd, the greenest of the bunch, is also the weakest. Although he doesn’t hit hard, his telepathy makes him a genuine danger. Reacoom, the most human looking of the gang, nearly defeats Vegeta, Krillin, and Gohan single-handedly. Quite the impressive feat.
Next up we have Butta and Jheese, two members so close in power they almost always fight together. The former’s speed makes him a fierce opponent to take on, and the latter… is red. Well, he’s more than just red, of course, but Jheese, unfortunately, falls into the Cui dilemma where we’re told he’s must stronger than we’re actually shown.
20 Captain Ginyu
He’s the leader of the bunch, you know him well, and he’s finally back to prove once and for all that Power Levels are nonsense. Captain Ginyu is strong. Very strong, in fact. His strength, however, is used for a specific purpose in the narrative: dismantling Power Levels. Nearly as strong as a Kaioken boosted Goku, Ginyu decides to swap bodies with Goku to push himself even further.
You can change your body, but you can't change the fact you can't use Kaioken.
Unfortunately, upon body swapping with our hero, Ginyu finds himself significantly weaker as he can’t access any of Goku’s techniques. At Ginyu’s base level, he’s a monster second only to Frieza and his father. In Goku’s body, his base makes him weaker than both Krillin and Gohan. Ginyu is strong, make no mistake. He’s one of the strongest characters in the universe in the Frieza saga, but strength means nothing if you don’t know how to use it.
19 King Cold
Just how strong is King Cold? He looks like second form Frieza and is easily defeated by Future Trunks, but is that all there is to him? On Namek, Frieza mentions that his father is the only person to push himself enough to bust out his final form. This implies that King Cold is quite the formidable foe. At the same time, Frieza is the emperor, not his father. Going by how the family seems to operate it can be deduced that King Cold, while strong, must be weaker than Frieza.
He is the king, however. Just the title alone can invoke a feeling of power which is really all we can go off since King Cold never fights. That said, being king doesn’t necessarily make him stronger. Vegeta even comments on how he was stronger than his father, King Vegeta. The same could be said for Frieza. Considering conquered planets are named after Frieza himself, and not King Cold, it should be noted that King Cold is weaker than his son but certainly not a pushover.
18 Frieza
Although he may not be the most powerful villain anymore, Frieza still holds the distinction of being the naturally strongest characters in the series. What this means it that, even though Frieza has never trained a day in his life, he’s still inherently stronger than every single other character in the franchise. Even though he’s ultimately bested by Goku in his very own arc, it’s important to remember that Goku had dedicated his entire life to training.
It only makes sense for the literal emperor of the universe to be super strong.
Even at his absolute base, Frieza is strong enough to conquer the universe. He’s so powerful in fact, he actually develops weaker forms to subdue his power. What most fans call his final form is actually his true form. Other villains transform to get stronger, Frieza transforms to get weaker. There are stronger characters than him in the series, but they’re either mechanically augmented or magically enhanced. Frieza is the genuine article.
17 Android 19
Despite being the weakest of the Artificial Humans, Android 19 is still quite the threat. He gets beaten rather effortlessly by Vegeta (at least as first glance,) but his abilities tell a different story. Had Vegeta not arrived when he did, 19 could potentially have gone on to attain an incredible amount of power. By absorbing Ki through his hands, 19 can theoretically buff himself up to infinite proportions. Just by taking in Goku’s Kamehameha, he completely flips the course of the fight, nearly securing a victory. It’s a shame we never got to see him at his full potential. 19 would have really been a sight to behold.
16 Dr. Gero
A mad scientist desperate for revenge against Son Goku, Dr. Gero is the link that ties the Red Ribbon Army arc to Dragon Ball Z. His pursuit of vengeance forces him to modify himself into an Android, one with the same specifications of Android 19. The difference between the two is that Gero is far smarter. Had Dr. Gero better prepared his revenge plot, he could have easily become one of the strongest villains in the franchise.
If this were a "ranked by intelligence" list, Gero would be undisputedly number 1.
Like 19, he can absorb Ki, but he’s also smart enough to develop an infinite energy reactor for Androids 17 and 18 along with creating a system that would nurture Cell for years. If backed into a corner, what’s stopping Dr. Gero from giving himself infinite stamina? Sadly, his creations betrayed him and Gero never got to live up to his full potential.
15 Android 18
It’s crazy to think that Android 18 is the only woman on this list. In a thirty-year-old franchise, 18 is the only female villain strong enough to be included in a canon top 30. She earns her keep, though. Her introductory fight has her absolutely obliterating Vegeta, the strongest Z-Fighter at the time, and Future Trunks’ war stories about her paint a very menacing picture. 18 ends up reforming, but she was absurdly powerful during her stint as a villain. Even more so than most considering she basically won in Future Trunks’ timeline.
14 Android 17
Android 18’s other half, Android 17 is stronger than his sister, but arguably not by too much. He can go toe to toe with Piccolo after he fuses with Kami, defeats Future Gohan quite easily, and even proves himself as one of the strongest characters in Dragon Ball Super, but what does Dragon Ball Z say about his strength?
For starters, he actually claims to be stronger than 18. This could just be a boast, but 18 doesn’t really fight him on that notion and he does square off equally against Piccolo, a character who at the time was far stronger than Vegeta. 18 didn’t exactly struggle with Vegeta, but their fight does start rather evenly matched and her edge only comes at the end once Vegeta’s out of stamina. 17, on the other hand, lasts an incredibly long time fighting Piccolo implying that he is stronger than his sister.
13 Android 16
Regardless of which of the twins is stronger, neither of them compare to Android 16 in terms of power. A failed creation by Dr. Gero, Android 16 eclipses all previous Androids in the series, facing off against Imperfect Cell and actually doing a fairly good job in their battle. This is a Cell who neither 17 or 18 could stand a chance against, but 16 makes decent work of him. He ends up losing, of course, but not due to a lack of strength. He’s raw power amplified to the max.
12 Cell
Cell is an interesting villain in that his strength never comes from him alone. When he’s Imperfect, he gets stronger by absorbing human; when he’s Semi-Perfect, he gets stronger by absorbing the Android twins; and when he’s Perfect, he only gets stronger through a Zenkai simulated by his Saiyan DNA. It can be easy to dismiss his power as not his own, but that doesn’t really matter does it? Cell is a beast in his own right.
When you're made up of the strongest fighters imaginable, it's no wonder you're strong too.
Composed of DNA based off of Goku, Vegeta, Piccolo, Frieza, and King Cold, Cell has everything in his advantage to be a formidable warrior. He has access to signature techniques, his DNA gives him the ability to regenerate and even emulate the Super Saiyan transformation, and his Frieza based genes make him a ruthless fighter. His power may not be his own, but his power is still power.
11 Dabra
The other Demon King, the first time we meet Dabra he’s already under Bobidi’s control and, therefore, far stronger than he would have been otherwise. Even then, however, Dabra is probably one of the least impressive —but incredibly strong— characters on this list if only because, even with a boost from Bobidi, he’s only as strong as Perfect Cell. Now Cell’s no pushover, but you’d expect more from a villain appearing seven years after the Cell Games.
Although it might paint Dabra as a bit disappointing at first glance, his level of power speaks volumes to how strength is actually measured within the series. Fans always exaggerate Power Levels assuming that villains continuously get leagues and leagues stronger which is just not true. Dabre being as strong as Cell is quite impressive in its own right and it shows that the fan dictated power gaps between villains don’t really apply to an in-universe context.