When it comes to Dragon Ball‘s heroes, Goku and Vegeta are far and away the leaders of the pack in terms of raw power, so much so that the pair of Saiyans are basically on a separate level. Setting those two aside, though, it’s interesting to see how the rest of the group looks in comparison to one another, as they’re all far closer together in power level.

While there are a great many heroic characters in Dragon Ball, this will be sticking to the main cast by the Super era, especially since many of the heroic characters are first introduced as antagonists before reforming. That still leaves it with heroes who come from a diversity of backgrounds, and range from humans to androids to aliens. Their powers can vary as much as their origins, and comparing them to one another in spite of those differences can be tricky. Nonetheless, here are the top 10 strongest Dragon Ball heroes, minus Goku and Vegeta.

10Tien Has Managed to Remain Relevant

First Appearance: Dragon Ball, “The Rampage of InoShikaCho”

While power creep in the Dragon Ball universe has gotten pretty intense, Tien has somehow managed to remain a fairly relevant character throughout most of the franchise’s run. First introduced as a cold student of Goku’s rival martial arts school, the Crane School, Tien came to shake off the negative influence of his old master and developed into a good-hearted person who would fight to protect his friends and the Earth.

Tien has proven a vital combatant in a number of battles, notably including the Tournament of Power, taking out at least two opponents, including the dangerous Ki sniper. Tien has a wide variety of techniques at his disposal, including the Tri-Beam, the Four Witches Technique, and the ability to create clones, making him far more dangerous than he looks at first glance.

9Master Roshi Brings Centuries of Experience

First Appearance: Dragon Ball, “The Nimbus Cloud of Roshi”

Master Roshi is the one who originally trained Goku and Krillin, and has been a positive influence on both men throughout their lives. While Master Roshi is often held back by his own lecherous tendencies, he’s actually an extremely powerful and competent warrior in his own right. The creator of the Kamehameha, Master Roshi is so powerful that he was able to destroy the Moon with a single attack, and that was back in Dragon Ball.

While Roshi isn’t usually on the front lines fighting alongside the other Z Fighters, his power is certainly nothing to make light of, and Roshi was able to prove that in the Tournament of Power, knocking out three combatants on his own and assisting with two more. In so doing, he won Beerus’ respect, rather than the God of Destruction’s ire.

8Krillin is Earth’s Strongest Human

First Appearance: Dragon Ball, “Goku’s Rival”

Krillin is one of Goku’s oldest friends, and one of the earliest to be won over to his cause. While Krillin has died on several occasions, he’s always battled bravely, even when he knew he was outmatched. Krillin wields many powerful techniques, including the Solar Flare and his iconic Destructo Disc, which come together to allow him to punch above his weight class. Krillin often takes advantage of his size and the fact that opponents underestimate him to get the drop on them, making their ultimate defeat all the more humiliating.

While he’s never won a World Martial Arts Tournament, Krillin has often performed exceptionally well in the tournament, making it to the quarterfinals on at least one occasion. Krillin happened to be the first Universe 7 competitor eliminated in the Tournament of Power, but that was more a product of misfortune than a lack of skill on Krillin’s part.

7Goten is Growing into a Powerful Warrior

First Appearance: Dragon Ball Z, “I Am Saiyaman”

Goten is the younger son of Goku and constant companion of Trunks. Goten is quite young when first introduced, but over the years has grown into a powerful fighter of his own by the time of Dragon Ball Super. Goten and Trunks are usually called upon in tandem, as they work best using the fusion dance to become Gotenks. Goten achieved Super Saiyan with surprising ease, and was actually unaware he’d even made the transformation with Chi-Chi’s help.

While Goten is young and inexperienced in battle, particularly compared to his brother, he fought courageously against Buu in the form of Gotenks and has never shied away from a challenge. Goten has a strong desire to be a hero, as evidenced by his and Trunks’ stint as Saiyaman X-1 and X-2, likely because of all the stories he’s heard of his family.

6Trunks is Constantly Aspiring to Be Like His Father

First Appearance: Dragon Ball Z, “The Androids Appear”

Trunks is Vegeta’s oldest child, and is almost always seen hanging around with Goten. Trunks has a bit of a cocky attitude, at least when he’s a child, but seems to have matured out of it somewhat by the time of Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero. He trained heavily with his father as a child, helping him to unlock Super Saiyan at a very young age. As noted above, Trunks is more commonly seen fighting as the fused warrior Gotenks, merging with his friend to become a powerful combatant.

Trunks is similarly less experienced with real battle, although he too fought bravely against Buu when nearly everyone they knew was already dead. More recently, they challenged Cell Max without hesitation, and were able to put up a good fight against the giant beast, even if they were ultimately beaten back.

5Android 18 Still Packs a Punch

First Appearance: Dragon Ball Z, “Nightmare Comes True”

Android 18 is mostly a mother these days, but that doesn’t mean she’s not capable of fighting if she needs to. 18 was powerful enough to win the World Martial Arts Tournament with ease, but threw the match for Mr. Satan in exchange for a large amount of money. As an Android, she has unlimited stamina and doesn’t really need to train, meaning she can be ready for a long battle at a moment’s notice.Android 18 has become more of a team player as well, able to fight well alongside her husband, Krillin.

18 was part of the Universe 7 team for the Tournament of Power, and proved to be a highly valuable member of the team. She took out at least four fighters either alone or working together with Krillin or 17, and was only eliminated because she sacrificed herself to keep 17 from falling out of the ring.

4Android 17 Was a Surprise Powerhouse

First Appearance: Dragon Ball Z, “Nightmare Comes True”

Android 17 has been working as a park ranger, protecting endangered animals from being poached, meaning that he had maintained his battle experience more than 18 had by the time of the Tournament of Power. Like his sister, Android 17 has an immeasurable amount of stamina and power at his disposal, making him a dire threat in a drawn-out fight. It was even acknowledged that if he were still an enemy, his power level might’ve actually posed a real threat even to Super Saiyan Blue Goku and Vegeta.

In the Tournament of Power, Android 17 defeated at least 5 other combatants, and was the ultimate survivor at the end of the battle, whose decision to wish back the destroyed universes proved to be incredibly wise. Android 17 may not be the most friendly of the heroes, but his desire to protect nature makes him an ally worth collaborating with.

3Buu Wields Great Power… When He’s Awake

First Appearance: Dragon Ball Z, “Buu is Hatched”

Buu is a tremendously powerful fighter, with a gum-like body that makes it hard to deal damage to him. Buu possesses a wide range of abilities, such as the capacity to transform enemies into food items, which can make him difficult to deal with as an opponent. Buu’s biggest weakness is his childlike mentality, which can cause him to mistake an opponent’s aggression for play, and ultimately caused him to fail the test to qualify for the Tournament of Destroyers.

When Buu gets serious, however, his power makes him extremely dangerous. In the Zeno Expo of Super, Buu was able to easily defeat Basil, a competitor from universe 9, without even really breaking a sweat. Buu got particularly serious once Mr. Satan was accidentally injured by Basil, easily proving that his strength is no joke.

2Piccolo is Always Near the Top

First Appearance: Dragon Ball, “Lost and Found”

While Piccolo may struggle to keep up with Goku and Vegeta, he has remained consistently just behind them in terms of strength. Piccolo has all the knowledge and experience of Kami, who was himself an accomplished martial artist, as well as the experiences and skills of Nail. Piccolo boasts a number of special techniques, such as the Special Beam Cannon, and has incredible regenerative ability, able to regrow an arm almost instantaneously after losing it.

Piccolo gained a major power-up in the Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero movie and manga arc, allowing him to transform into the powerful “Orange Piccolo” form. Piccolo was able to grow to enormous size using his Gigantification ability, and in this state, was capable of holding off Cell MAX singlehandedly. Orange Piccolo is said to be on par with Super Saiyan Blue, allowing Piccolo to finally hold his own with Goku and Vegeta.

1Gohan is the Strongest After Goku and Vegeta

First Appearance: Dragon Ball Z, “The New Threat”

Much has been made about Gohan’s potential as a warrior throughout the Dragon Ball franchise, but it’s only relatively recently that Gohan has lived up to this potential. Despite being a Saiyan, Gohan rarely makes use of Super Saiyan transformations, instead opting for his unique “Potential Unleashed” form (AKA Ultimate Gohan). Gohan has been fighting since he was a small child, and has defeated a large number of villains over the years. Trained by Piccolo, Gohan’s skills are extremely diverse, and his tactical mind makes him a dangerous opponent.

In Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero and its associated manga arc, Gohan unlocks a new transformation completely unique to him, the “Gohan Beast” form. When Goku brought him to Beerus’s world to spar, Gohan was more than capable of keeping up with Broly, as well as Goku and Vegeta in their most powerful states, suggesting that Gohan’s abilities are nearly on par with his father. As a result of this new transformation, it can be definitively said that Gohan is Dragon Ball‘s strongest character besides Goku and Vegeta.