Dragon Ball Super has given us many new characters, but none as ominous or conceptually interesting as Zeno. Introduced as Omni-King, the Lord of All, Zeno has quickly become one of the more fascinating figures in the Dragon Ball mythos. Definitively at the top of the divine hierarchy, Zeno is the being all gods ultimately bow to in reverence. If the Dragon Ball universe is a workplace, Zeno is the CEO. While he supposedly spends most of his time inactive, waiting in the shadows to judge his multiverse, the actions of Goku and the rest of Universe 7 has sparked a desire to participate in Zeno, making him a series mainstay.

By the end of the Tournament of Power, it’s hard to believe Dragon Ball ever existed without Zeno in the background. Weirdly enough, though, while he feels like a natural fit, we still know very little about Zeno. The series is very conservative with sharing information about him and the lack of guidebooks for Super means it’s hard to do research on the Omni-King. That’s not to say it’s impossible, though. Like many characters within the franchise, Zeno is far more subtle than he initially appears. If you’re an attentive fan, you probably already know what I’m getting at, but if you’re not, get ready to learn quite a bit about the Lord of All.

25 Zeno Has The Highest Body Count In The Series

In a franchise where characters go through each other like butter and the afterlife is somewhere just about every member of the main cast has visited at least twice, Dragon Ball’s characters naturally end up with relatively high body counts. Of the main cast, Vegeta stands out as the hero with the most people under his belt. He spent the entire first half of his life as a tool of Frieza, so it makes sense, but he’s far from the character with the most blood in their wake. That honor goes to none other than the Omni-King himself: Zeno.

Perhaps it goes without saying that a character who can erase universes without much thought holds the highest body count in the series, but the sheer scale of Zeno’s destruction is what’s worth discussing. Before the series even begins, Zeno is responsible for the erasure of multiple universes. When Goku is meeting Bulma for the first time, Zeno is out there sitting on a count of billions upon billions of lives. It’s entirely likely that the Tournament of Power even brought those billions to nearly a trillion. It’s outright terrifying just how much destruction lies in Zeno’s wake. The worst part? To him, it’s just part of the job.

24 Zeno Is The Strongest Character In The Franchise

One of the most interesting aspects of Dragon Ball Super is how quickly the power gap began to escalate. Battle of Gods introduced Beerus as the strongest characters less than ten minutes in and ended with Whis as the strongest; Resurrection F brought Frieza back and made him stronger than both Goku and Vegeta, and then the Universe 6 tournament introduced Hit, Champa, and Vados, characters all stronger than our leads. If that wasn’t enough, the end of the arc gave us Zeno, the single strongest being in the Dragon Ball franchise.

While Zeno might just feel like another name in an ever-growing list of all-powerful beings meant to be surpassed, it seems unlikely anyone will. While Goku can theoretically reach Beerus’ level, Zeno is in a league of his own. We’ve seen Goku fight Beerus and do relatively well. In the film version of BoG, Beerus even says he only used 70% of his power. As for Zeno, though, the idea of Goku fighting him is downright ridiculous. For once, Toriyama has introduced a character so far ahead of everyone else that the mere concept of someone fighting him is laughable. Zeno is almost certainly going to go down as the single strongest character Dragon Ball will ever have.

23 That Time Beerus Almost Made Zeno Erase The Multiverse

As unconventional as it is, having a Dragon Ball Super anime and manga run alongside each other has made for some incredibly creative interpretations of Toriyama’s outline. While the main story stays the same between both mediums, it’s hard not to appreciate just so vastly different the two end up being from one another. The Goku Black arc, in particular, basically swapped around all its story beats for the manga. One of the more interesting pieces of lore found in the manga, and the manga, alone comes in the Universe Survival arc: Beerus almost doomed the multiverse.

Leave it to Beerus. 

During a hide and seek game designed to appease and entertain Zeno, the Gods of Destruction were summoned as the game’s core performers. While a simple idea in theory, and certainly far more harmless than the Tournament of Power, Beerus found a way to mess it all up. By falling asleep, none of the other Gods could find him. This infuriated Zeno to the point where he nearly wiped out the multiverse on account of Beerus ruining the game. In an attempt to calm his rage, the Gods united in a joint effort to calm Zeno down, entertaining him in lieu of Beerus’ disappearance. Naturally, this leads to just about every GoD hating Beerus, a trait unique to the manga.

22 Zeno Is The First God Who Isn’t A Martial Artist

At its core, Dragon Ball is a martial arts story. No matter a character’s history, background, or motivation, what this means is that everyone involved in the grand narrative must be a martial artist. Chichi? Martial artist. Vegeta? He should technically be a soldier, but he’s absolutely a martial artist. Mr. Popo? You guessed. This goes double for the series’ hierarchy of gods. Every single deity introduced in the series is either a martial artist or related to martial arts in some way where they become a martial artist by sheer virtue of existing. Except for Zeno.

Zeno marks the first time a major deity in the series has been introduced without a relation to martial arts. Kami was Goku’s master for years; Kaio taught him the Kaioken and Genki Dama; Kaioshin trained Gohan with the Z-Sword and later Future Trunks in DBS; and Whis adopted Goku and Vegeta as pupils. Zeno, on the other hand, has absolutely no connection to combat in general, as a massive first for the series. That’s not to say there haven’t been god-like entities without a connection to fighting, but Zeno is the only core deity, the highest one at that, to show no martial arts prowess. Weirdly enough, the manga kind of justifies this twist on the formula.

21 Zeno Hates Violence (In the Manga, At Least)

Not only is Zeno not a martial artist, he’s also not partial to violence in the slightest. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t enjoy a good tournament, but there seems to be a very good reason by the Tournament of Power’s rules. In the manga, instead of Universe 7 squaring off against Universe 9 in the exhibition match, all twelve Gods of Destruction get together for a proper brawl on the same scale as Goku and Jiren’s final match in the anime. Unfortunately, Zeno finds all the carnage hard to follow and generally distasteful, forcing them to stop before a winner can be declared.

Fight hard! Just not too hard. 

In a way, this justifies why the Tournament of Power is fought like a regular tournament instead of a battle royale: Zeno doesn’t want to watch bloodshed, he wants to watch a sport. This also explains why Zeno would be okay with the outcome of the ToP, specifically the fact that someone had to revive the universes for Zeno not to erase the multiverse. It’s quite unfortunate the anime didn’t take this approach as it adds quite a bit more depth to Zeno’s character. In fact, it makes him all the more complex since his dislike of brutality goes hand-in-hand with one of his other main traits.

20 The Universes Are Just Toys For Zeno

If not liking violence makes Zeno childish in the context of Dragon Ball, treating the universes like his toys proves he’s just a kid. Not once during the Tournament of Power or otherwise does Zeno show any sign of remorse for what he’s doing. He takes an incredibly casual approach to erasure in general, but the way he acts during the ToP is on another level entirely. This isn’t to say his motivation behind holding the tournament is contradictory to his character, but rather fare more nuanced than you’d think. Zeno wants his toys to be morally good.

It’s sick if you stop to think about it. He’s passing off as a benevolent god, but the truth is he’s just like a little kid who doesn’t want to buy any villain figures. It’s all very strange, especially since it works as a base for a god’s motivation and a child’s. Just look at how excited Zeno gets over Jiren’s performance during the ToP. He all but ignores Goku until he can tap into Ultra Instinct. He’s Dragon Ball’s version of Andy from the first Toy Story in that respect. At the very least, Zeno not particularly caring to treat his subjects as people does make for an interesting narrative and likely will spill into later storylines whenever Dragon Ball comes back.

19 Zeno’s Design Is Quintessential Toriyama

You can tell a fan of Toriyama’s work from a casual fan of Dragon Ball based on how they react to Zeno’s design. If they think making a cutesy character the literal lord of everything is dumb, chances are they’re mostly invested in Dragon Ball because it was something they watched when they were younger. If they think Zeno’s design is perfect, both tonally and on an artistic level, they’re most definitely big fans of the series and Toriyama’s work. When it comes down to it, Zeno’s design embodies everything Toriyama is about as an artist.

Constantly throughout the series, Toriyama makes it a point to make the strong looking characters come off weak and the weak looking characters come off strong. That’s not to say there aren’t characters who look strong and are strong, but the more someone’s design leans in a specific direction, the more likely Toriyama is trying to pull a fast one on the audience. Just look at Nappa and Vegeta. Nappa’s the one with the “strong” design, but Vegeta’s far more formidable. That same concept applies to Zeno. He looks cute and huggable, but he’d wipe you out in a second if you hugged him a bit too hard.

18 Zeno’s Universe Ratings Barely Take Power Level Into Account

One of the biggest misconceptions within the fandom in regards to Dragon Ball Super is how the universe rating system works. Introduced in the Universe Survival arc as a means to justify the Tournament of Power’s existence, the universe rating system is Zeno’s way of measuring the development of each universe. When the tournament began properly, many fans were confused as Universe 7 was clearer one of the stronger universes while still second to last in the universe ranking. Since Dragon Ball is a martial arts story, shouldn’t the strongest universes be the highest ranked? Maybe, but remember that Zeno abhors violence.

In reality, the universe ranking system barely takes strength or Battle Power into account. What matters to Zeno is quality of life, culture, and how well the Gods of Destruction do their jobs along with their respective Kaioshins. While Universe 7 is strong, they drop the ball everywhere else. Beerus destroys planets without much consideration; Kaioshin barely knows what he’s doing, and Frieza effectively wiped out countless cultures decades before the Tournament of Power. By the time the Universe Survival arc came around, the main characters did so much damage to Universe 7 that it’s a miracle they weren’t dead last.

17 Why Goku Will Never Reach Zeno’s Level

Goku might reach Beerus’ level. He may even reach Whis’ if the series goes on long enough. One thing is certain, though, Goku will never become strong enough to compete with Zeno in power. This isn’t a theory or an assumption, this is a straight up fact based on the type of story Dragon Ball is telling. If Goku somehow gets strong enough to not only fight, but also defeat Zeno, Dragon Ball will have betrayed its core theme: there’s always someone better. Zeno is the ultimate “someone better,” he is the unachievable.

Remember: there's always someone better.

Before Zeno, it was Beerus, but it was always clear that Goku was just a little bit away from catching up to Beerus. Battle of Gods ends with the uncertainty that he ever would, and that Whis would be right around the corner if he did, but Zeno is so separated from where Goku is currently that there’s no realistic, narrative way for Goku to catch up. To reach Goku’s level, he’d have to surpass the Gods of Destruction, including Beerus; the angels; Zeno’s guards; and the Grand Priest. While that could make for a fine story in its own right, it’s so uncharacteristically Dragon Ball that a scenario like this would go against everything the series stands for.

16 Zeno Is The Closest Thing To A Definitive God The Series Has

Dragon Ball has never been shy about introducing new gods as the God. Kami in Japanese straight up means “God,” singular, and it isn’t until the Saiyan saga that Kaio is introduced, opening up the hierarchy even more. While he remains the highest notch on the totem pole for quite some time, Kaioshin is late introduced as the highest ranked god before Elder Kaioshin showing up to claim that title. All the while, Dai Kaio’s in the background seemingly on top of the food chain. By the time Beerus is introduced, who’s to say if it’ll last.

Of course, it doesn’t, as Zeno’s introduction rockets him up to the very top of the hierarchy. This time, however, it actually feels like Zeno will be the main man in charge for the foreseeable future. While other gods were often introduced as the best of the best, they also had their own titles. Kami was the God of Earth and Beerus was a God of Destruction, after all. In comparison, Zeno is just the Omni-King, the Lord of All. Compare this to Kaio who was the Lord of Worlds and Kaioshin who was the Lord of Lords. When you’re the Lord of “All,” there’s really nothing that can supersede you.

15 Zeno Has Been The Omni-King For 8.6 Million Years

The Dragon Ball timeline is an interesting one, especially because, despite all the divine lore, we don’t have a creation story or anything linking us to a definitive origin point for the universe. There’s absolutely nothing in the original manga, the anime adaptation, the films, or Dragon Ball Super’s anime that hints at the age of the universe. You have to go to the manga for that information. In chapter 28 of the Dragon Ball Super manga, it’s stated that the Tournament of Power will begin on the 3,135,500603rd day of the “Era of our King.”

Talk about job security. 

Just by using context clues, it’s easy to assume that the “our King” in that statement is none other than Zeno. By breaking those days into 24-hour cycles, this means Zeno has been the Omni-King for 8.6 million years. We can then use that number to deduce that the multiverse is likewise 8.6 million years considering Zeno is the closest thing to a God in the entire franchise. It’s entirely possible there was an Omni-King before Zeno, but everything implies he’s the one and only, and always has been. It just goes to show that if you want the full Dragon Ball experience, you need to read the manga.

14 Future Trunks Has Every Right To Hate Zeno

Future Trunks’ life is awful and Dragon Ball Super only makes it worse. Not only does he lose everyone he loves in the original series, Goku Black takes his mother’s life in Super and then proceeds to terrorize the future he so desperately tried to save. When he goes back in time to request help from Goku and Vegeta, everything simply falls apart as Goku Black recruits Zamasu for his onslaught and the two merge into an unstoppable monster bent on destroying the future entirely. There are a lot of characters Trunks can hate, but Zeno is easily the one deserving of his scorn the most.

When Goku summons Future Zeno to help save the day, he responds by simply erasing the multiverse. He does not assess the situation, he does not ask anyone what’s going on, he simply erases all of existence for no real reason. The Androids ruined the Earth, but Trunks fixed it; Goku Black ruined the peace Trunks fought for, but Trunks knew how to fix it; there’s simply no fixing what Future Zeno did. Everything Trunks fought for is rendered null. It’s amazing Trunks didn’t react to Zeno intensely, because he has every right to. Trunks lost everything for no reason.

13 Goku’s Friendship With Zeno Is A Bomb Waiting To Go Off

Isn’t it so funny how Beerus loses his mind every time Goku goes off to meet with Zeno? Beerus is so terrified that Goku will mess up or say something stupid and end up erasing the entire multiverse that he even threatens to erase our protagonist during the Universe Survival arc in an attempt to stop him from interacting with Zeno. As an audience, we’re supposed to laugh along with Goku and brush Beerus off. We know Zeno, after all! We know he likes Goku and we know he’s just a nice guy to pal around with. We shouldn’t laugh with Goku, though, because Beerus’ fears are entirely justifiable.

There is absolutely nothing good that can come out of Goku’s friendship with Zeno. It’s not that Goku could possibly offend him or even would, he’s far smarter than he’s given credit for, but their relationship simply brings nothing of value to the multiverse. Goku is the kind of guy who straight up punched Monaka in the face because he heard he was stronger than him. What happens if Goku convinces Zeno to spar, or if Zeno decides he wants to try fighting himself? What happens if Goku hurts him? Does he react accordingly, or does he break down and erase him? There are too many risks at play to just take their dynamic at face value.

12 Zeno’s Guards Have The Worst Jobs In Dragon Ball

If you have a job in Dragon Ball, chances are you aren’t going to feel very fulfilled by it. Krillin’s officer job got him terribly out of shape; Beerus is far too lazy to take any joy in being a God of Destruction, and Goku’s farming job is the blandest thing in the world for him. While these three characters definitely dislike their jobs, they’re not necessarily bad. Zeno’s guards are the ones you want to look at for an example of a terrible job. Not only do they have to take care of Zeno 24/7, it’s also their responsibility to keep his move stable. One bad day at work and the multiverse as we know it is gone.

Zeno probably doesn't even offer dental. 

You have to wonder where these guards came from. Did they apply for the job? Does it have benefits? Did Zeno create them out of thin air for his own amusement? They’re easily two of the most mysterious figures in all of Dragon Ball Super and it doesn’t seem like they’ll get any added depth anytime soon. They simply stand by their Omni-King, desperately wishing Goku would go away. Their only consolidation is the fact that they’re two of the strongest characters in the multiverse, but even that means little when the only thing you’re allowed to do is babysit god.

11 The Grand Priest Is Probably Pulling All The Strings Behind Zeno’s Back

The Grand Priest is easily one of the more interesting characters introduced in Dragon Ball Super. While most of the new characters have easily identifiable and understandable motivations, it’s still quite hard to tell what’s going on in the Grand Priest’s head. One moment, he seems like a friendly guardian to Zeno, speaking on the Omni-King’s behalf for the sake of clarity. Another, he’s shooting perilous looks at Goku during the Tournament of Power, as if mocking our heroes for their fate. Nearly 100 episodes after his introduction and it’s still impossible to tell what his endgame truly is.

As Zeno’s mouthpiece, and a clever one at that, it’s entirely possible that the Grand Priest is pulling the strings behind Zeno’s operation. Zeno is infantile and barely thinks for himself. While he certainly has a say in the way the multiverse works, he clearly isn’t smart enough to actively plan or manage. That’s where the Grand Priest comes in. Not only is he clearly intelligent, he’s also powerful enough to train all the angels to go on to train the Gods of Destruction. The Grand Priest is basically the glue holding the multiverse together. Without him, there would be no angels, and no angels means no Gods of Destruction. Only time will tell what role the Grand Priest will truly play, but there’s obviously more to him than meets the eye.

10 Zeno’s Introduction Knocked Goku Out Of The Top Ten

Although Goku wasn’t the strongest character by the end of Dragon Ball’s original run, he was still very much in the top ten when it came to character strength. Gohan, s Vegetto, Gotenks, and every variation of Super Buu beat him out, but he was nonetheless stronger than the average character and earned a spot near the top. With Battle of Gods, the introduction of Super Saiyan God allowed Goku to slide back into the top three, but Resurrection F and the Universe 6 tournament saw to push him near the bottom. With Zeno’s arrival at the end of the tournament, Goku was unceremoniously pushed out of the top ten.

Top 30's not so bad, at least!

Looking at the list at the end of the Universe 6 Tournament arc, the top ten would look like: Zeno, the Grand Priest, Zeno’s first guard, Zeno’s second guard, Beerus, Champa, Vados, Whis, Hit, Golden Frieza. Goku might be able to rival Golden Frieza with Super Saiyan Blue Kaioken, but the Universe Survival arc later establishes that Frieza meditates his stamina issues away and even goes blow-for-blow with Goku before the Tournament of Power. Either way, the introduction of Merged Zamasu in the very arc, along with Vegetto’s return, ensures Goku would never step back into the top ten again.

9 Zeno Has Shown No Physical Prowess Thus Far

One of the quickest ways to establish yourself in Dragon Ball is to show off how strong you are. Raditz knocks Goku away with one blow; Nappa dominates the Z-Fighters one by one; Frieza utterly humiliates Vegeta; the Androids lay waste to the main cast; Majin Buu survives everything thrown at him, and Beerus knocks Goku out with a simple flick. In just those short moments, we’re able to understand how strong these characters arc in the context of their arcs. Bizarrely, Zeno has no such moment yet it’s quite clear he’s a character to be feared.

Where other characters established themselves with their action, Zeno was established with the actions of others. In his introduction, both Beerus and Champa utterly lose their minds over the prospect of being confronted by the Omni-King after the Universe 6 tournament. When he appears, they bow and grovel at his feet. At that point, Beerus and Champa both comfortably sit in the top five, yet someone like Zeno strikes an insane amount of fear into their hearts. Zeno has shown no physical prowess, because Zeno doesn’t need to. While it may not be as visually impressive, that alone packs far more narrative weight than just kicking Goku’s butt.

8 Zeno Literally Plays With Planets Like They’re Toys

How does God pass his time? Does he have to pass time? Does he experience time? Is boredom even a concept to God? To Zeno it is and, as he’s basically a little kid, he passes his time with games. In the manga, he even has the Gods of Destruction play hide and seek for his amusement. Just as much as they likes games, children also like toys. But what kind of toy do you give to the lord of everything? The beginning of the Universe Survival arc answers that question in quite a subtle manner: planets.

Just get some marbles, kid. 

When we reconvene with the Zenos for the first time following the end of the Goku Black arc, we see them playing a board game with spherical pieces. It seems rather harmless at first glance, and it absolutely seems like something Zeno would want to play, but there’s one moment that brings with it a very morbid implication. When one of the pieces rolls off the board, the shot lingers on it and we get a quick glimpse of the sphere. In many ways, it resembles a globe. This arc is all about weeding out the failing universes. Putting two and two together, it’s more than likely the Zenos were playing with worlds as if they were literal pieces on a board, shattering them as their game went on.

7 Keeping Future Zeno Around Is A Disaster Waiting To Happen

Future Zeno is arguably more powerful than regular Zeno. Think about it, Future Zeno has years of experience over our version of Zeno and he outright erases Future Trunks’ multiverse without a second thought. He’s almost unhinged in his depiction and it’s only Goku’s decision to pair him up with regular Zeno that brings out some humanity in him. That said, it’s this decision that also perpetually keeps the main multiverse on a weird line where everyone is effectively subjected to not one, but two Omni-Kings one temper tantrum away from erasing all of existence. And the new one’s far worse.

If Goku were smart, or reasonable, or sensible, or not Goku, he would have realized that Future Zeno should, in no way whatsoever, come in contact with regular Zeno. Goku should have left Future Zeno in the vacuum of Future Trunks’ once multiverse, left to ponder his actions and maybe create a new universe along the way. By placing him in the main timeline, the situation inherently becomes all the more complicated with everyone needing to watch their step twice as carefully. What happens if the Zenos come to a disagreement or simply stop enjoying each others’ company? It’s a disaster waiting to happen.

6 Zeno Is The Only New Deity With No Real Connection To The Others

If you look at a character chart for Dragon Ball, it wouldn’t be too difficult to piece several characters together based on thin relations. If you think about, through Goku, even someone like Chaozu can be connected to Beerus. Dragon Ball’s cast is so intertwined, that even new characters appear with pre-established connections. For the deities, it’s just expected that each god will connect to one another in a hierarchy, but this doesn’t seem to be the case with Zeno. Although every god answers to him, Zeno exists almost entirely in his own bubble with his own pre-established connections being his guards and the Grand Priest.

Zen-chan's in a league of his own. 

Although Beerus and Champa freak out over Zeno’s appearance at the end of the Universe 6 tournament, it’s not like they have a direct connection to the Omni-King. They connect to the angels who connect to the Grand Priest who does connect to Zeno, but the thread doesn’t really work that way in this case. Zeno is so disconnected that Beerus and Champa doesn’t even ponder the possibility that their tournament might call Zeno’s attention. It’s implied that the Omni-King’s interactions are so infrequent that there’s no real reason to fear them happening. Of course, with Goku in the picture now, that fear is very real, connecting Zeno quite intimately to the whole cast.