While all Saiyans are powerful in Dragon Ball, some are stronger than others. These rankings are updated to Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero.
Dragon Ball has always been known for its incredible roster of powerful characters, with the Saiyans usually ranking at the top. Saiyans are known for their innate fighting abilities and their ability to grow stronger through battle and near-death experiences, also known as Zenkais. Thanks to their unique physiology, Saiyans are more often than not some of the strongest characters around.
Throughout the long and storied legacy of Dragon Ball, many Saiyans have risen to become the strongest warriors in the series, with some even achieving god-like power levels. Aside from a few exceptions in order to keep the list focused on specifically independent Saiyans relevant to the main timeline (no Fusions, Dragon Ball Heroes, or GT), in this article, we’ll be taking a look at the ten strongest Saiyans in Dragon Ball history. Except for entry number 10, the rankings are based strictly on direct battles shown in the series. Still, with how quickly power levels shift in the franchise, this list should always be considered temporary and subject to future updates.
10. The Original Super Saiyan God / Yamoshi
The legend of the original Super Saiyan, Yamoshi, is all but confirmed to be the same legend of Dragon Ball Super’s original Super Saiyan God. Legend tells of a valiant Saiyan warrior who rallied a group of pure-hearted Saiyans to fight back against evil plaguing Planet Vegeta. With the combined power of his comrades, the leader of those righteous Saiyans became a Super Saiyan God and managed to defeat the evil Saiyans temporarily. Though his power is only known through myths, seeing the power granted to Goku when he first ascended to Super Saiyan God and challenged Beerus in a battle that threatened to destroy the entire Dragon Ball universe, it seems reasonable that Yamoshi himself would have held comparable power. This is purely speculative, however, as Yamoshi never made an actual appearance in the series.
9. Cabba
Though some Dragon Ball fans might be surprised to see such a recent addition to the roster so high up the list, Dragon Ball Super’s Cabba deserves recognition. He is one of the few Saiyans in the series who is more interested in saving his universe than fighting for personal gain. In his initial appearance, Cabba was stated to be equal in strength to Vegeta’s Super Saiyan form, which at the time had already absorbed the essence of Super Saiyan God and God Ki. Dubious writing and Toriyama theatrics aside, this means that Cabba’s initial introduction already placed him at a high enough power level to rival the likes of Super Saiyan God Goku in his clash with Beerus.
8. Caulifla
In a series rife with so-called prodigies, Caulifla might just be one of the greatest. Her introduction made her out to be far more powerful than Cabba, and seemingly far more intuitive when it came to battle and ki as well. She was able to grasp the concept of transforming into a Super Saiyan upon just seeing it be done – similarly to Goku and the Kamehameha in original Dragon Ball. Caulifla even manages to become Super Saiyan 2 minutes later, setting what is quite possibly the record time for such an abrupt leap in power. Even Goku complimented her abilities in the Tournament of Power and found himself eager to train her, identifying her as a potential future sparring partner.
7. Future Trunks
As most Dragon Ball fans know, Future Trunks is a recurring character who first appeared in the Android Saga. He comes from an alternate timeline where Goku died of a heart virus, and Androids 17 & 18 managed to decimate the world. While Future Trunks never unleashed his true power in Dragon Ball Z, as he was arguably the weakest of all the Saiyans during the time he was introduced, his return to prominence in Dragon Ball Super made sure he could face the universe’s biggest threats. When he arrived in the past for the second time, Trunks’ power level was roughly equal to that of Goku in Super Saiyan 3 form. Though Trunks’ infamous Super Saiyan Rage form is often disregarded as a contrived one-off transformation, it nonetheless let him fight on par with Goku Black’s Super Saiyan Rosé. His “Sword of Hope” technique is also a unique ability that is hard to assess in terms of power levels.
6. Kale
Kale is undeniably the strongest Saiyan from Universe 6. Her latent power is through the roof and she was designed to mirror the infamous Broly as a fellow Legendary Super Saiyan, an ultra-rare breed that appears once every 1,000 years. Her power is said to rise continuously when in her berserker state, and she was strong enough to ignore a Super Kamehameha from Super Saiyan Blue Goku. Kale’s rampaging power was so great in Dragon Ball Super it even drew attention from Jiren. Kale was then later capable of harnessing her berserker power in a state that even Dragon Ball Super’s Broly has yet to achieve- a Legendary Super Saiyan with mind intact. The reason why Kale does not rank higher on this list is that she is still pretty immature as a warrior. Also, her performance during the Tournament of Power differs greatly between the anime and the manga, making her strength hard to assess. Judging by the anime, she should be at least on par with Goku in God and Blue form, but she was taken out by his Divine Kamehameha in Ultra Instinct Sign mode.
5. Goku Black
Though a Saiyan only in body, Goku Black is undoubtedly one of the strongest Saiyans ever seen in Dragon Ball history. Even without counting his fusion form with Zamasu, Goku Black himself ripped through dimensions, summoned clones of himself, and created deadly ki constructs. Unlike Captain Ginyu in Dragon Ball Z, it seems that Zamasu was able to draw out Goku’s body’s latent power with success. Dragon Ball Super even implied that stealing Goku’s body may have ‘reset his potential,’ allowing Goku Black to ascend to never-before-seen heights of power. It’s easy to imply that, due to the fusion with a divine being such as Zamasu, Goku Black could more naturally harness God Ki, the strongest power in the series. It’s also notable that only Zeno’s intervention could put an end to Goku Black, even if this was due to his “cheat” immortality ability rather than his raw power level.
4. Goku
Goku is the main character of Dragon Ball and thus has always remained in the upper echelon of martial artists. Goku’s philosophy as a martial artist has always been about self-improvement, and thus he has always managed to keep up with the series’ most powerful warriors, if not outright exceed their power in the span of a single arc. Goku’s current power levels are tied to his mastery of Ultra Instinct, a technique taught to him by Whis and that is prerogative of gods and Angels, which allows to fight at peak performance while wasting minimum energy. Surely enough, Goku’s True Ultra Instinct allowed him to put up a great performance against Gas, who was at the time the strongest warrior in the universe. This personal spin on Ultra Instinct allows Goku to turn his emotions into strength, a concept that has not been explained in full yet, but it’s safe to say that, after his battles on Planet Cereal and the training he is doing with Whis, Goku has surpassed all the other previous entries on this list.
3. Vegeta
Ranking Vegeta above Goku is surely going to be controversial for some fans, but at least it’s safe to say that, at this stage of the story, Vegeta is no longer playing second fiddle to Goku. Ranking one of them above the other is more a matter of how each fan interprets the recent developments. Surely enough, Vegeta’s victory over Goku in their sparring match shown in Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero is not universally recognized as proof of the Saiyan Prince’s superiority, but there are other clues that lead to that conclusion. In the anime, it was Vegeta who figured out how to improve Super Saiyan Blue further, and then how to damage Jiren even without the use of Ultra Instinct. In the manga, Vegeta comes up with Ultra Ego on his own, while Goku struggles to master Ultra Instinct despite being taught by Whis. Most recently, Vegeta came up with a new understanding of power levels and how to achieve greater heights that Goku clearly cannot grasp, thus making his spot here well-earned.
2. Broly
Broly is easily one of the most popular characters in Dragon Ball, with his incredible strength, ever-growing ki reserves, and absolutely raw power-up sequences. Broly essentially forced Toriyama to make him a canon character after appearing only in the non-canon movies. His demonstration of power in Dragon Ball Super: Broly was utterly phenomenal and required two of the most powerful characters in the series to multiply their power by several magnitudes to even stand a chance against him. It’s true that Broly’s power level is connected with the somewhat dubious and unclear Legendary Super Saiyan status, but he has been recognized as having an almost limitless potential. Interestingly, in Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero and its manga adaptation, Vegeta ranks Broly alongside Jiren, Black Frieza, and the Gods of Destruction, the strongest beings he has ever met, which solidifies his place near the top of the ladder. The reason why he does not rank first is that Broly’s power is very hard to handle, and he is still training in order to do that properly.
- Gohan
Longtime fans of Dragon Ball will find it no surprise that at the top of this list lies Gohan, who was supposedly the strongest character at the end of Dragon Ball Z. A prodigy among prodigies, Gohan’s talent is only limited by the fact that he, contrary to everyone else on this list, hates fighting. This led to his power and standing within the series declining in the past few years, but this makes sense as it’s part of Gohan’s character. However, with his appearance in Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero, Gohan has likely surpassed everyone else on the list with his Gohan Beast transformation. While the full power and rationale of this form remain a mystery, it’s undeniable that Gohan Beast pulverized Cell Max, a monster who easily defeated the Androids Gamma (described as being on Super Saiyan Blue level) and even Orange Piccolo, who overpowered the latter. While some fans may not agree on Gohan’s placement at number one, as it’s only based on the brief appearance of Gohan Beast, the feat he achieved at that moment is undeniable.
The Saiyan race has clearly produced some of Dragon Ball‘s most powerful characters to date. From the legends of Yamoshi to fan favorites like Gohan and Future Trunks, many of these proud warriors have cemented their legacies as some of the strongest martial artists the series has ever seen. With Dragon Ball Super showing no signs of stopping, fans will surely see the Saiyans grow even stronger, and it’s not hard to imagine that this ranking will soon require an update.
Source: Screenrant.com
