Krillin has often been described as the most powerful human in Dragon Ball, but how well does this claim hold up?

Over the years, Krillin has attained a reputation for being the most powerful Earthling in the entire Dragon Ball franchise. Indeed, while he does not hold a candle to the various Saiyan characters within the series, Krillin has made major strides in his training—so much so that Krillin is essentially one of the last Earthling Z Fighter to still actively participate in fights, with other contemporaries such as Roshi, Tien, and Yamcha being largely sidelined. With that in mind, it is very easy to see why he’d be considered the most powerful Earthling character in Dragon Ball’s immense cast. But how does this claim hold up when regarding the actual evidence presented within the various Dragon Ball manga and anime series?​​​​​​

Krillin Is Canonically More Powerful Than Pre-DBS Frieza

There was a time during the early parts of Dragon Ball Z when Frieza, the emperor of Universe 7, was the most terrifyingly powerful character the franchise had ever conceived. With but the lifting of a finger, Frieza was able to not only destroy planets but the vast majority of the incredibly powerful Saiyan race. Those Saiyans who survived did so not because they were stronger than Frieza (at least not at the time) but because they were extremely lucky enough to have not been on their home planet when Frieza reduced it to ash.

It was not without the immense power of the Super Saiyan that Frieza could be defeated, and even then he was able to return later in Dragon Ball Z with an even stronger cyborg body under the new (but temporary) moniker of “Mecha Frieza.” But thanks to the ever-growing power scales of Dragon Ball’s cast, Krillin is now vastly more powerful than Mecha Frieza ever was during Dragon Ball Z. Ever since he began reapplying himself to his training in the Dragon Ball Super anime, Krillin was able to prompt Goku into going into his Super Saiyan form to keep up with him in a sparring match.

While Krillin didn’t push Goku to go anywhere near his limit, not only was the Super Saiyan form capable of beating Frieza and Mecha Frieza in Dragon Ball Z, Goku’s Super Saiyan form as of that point in Dragon Ball Super was significantly more powerful than what was required to beat Frieza previously. Despite ultimately losing to Goku in that sparring match, that display of power showed Krillin was comparable to a planet-ending threat, and potentially more powerful than future Dragon Ball Z threats—except the likes of perhaps Perfect Cell and Majin Buu. This definitely stacks Krillin high in the power scaling of Dragon Ball, but where does he rank among his contemporaries among the Z Fighters?

Where Does Krillin Rank Among The Human Z Fighters?

As previously stated, most of the Earthling Z Fighters have found themselves sidelined within modern Dragon Ball, with the power gap between them and characters like Goku and Vegeta getting wider with every new manga chapter. With Krillin being the exception to that rule, is that an indication that he’s now the only Earthlings who can still (barely) keep up with the other high-power cast members, or is it merely a credit to his popularity?

When comparing Krillin’s power levels to the Earthling Z Fighters, some are easier to gauge than others. When regarding such characters as Yamcha, Chiaotzu, and Yajirobe, it is very clear that they are much weaker than Krillin, with the Dragon Ball series confirming this fact through such storylines as Dragon Ball Z’s “Saiyan Arc” and Dragon Ball Super’s “Universe Survival Arc.” In the former, Krillin was the only one of them to survive fighting the villainous Saiyan Nappa and in the latter arc, Krillin was the only aforementioned Earthling deemed strong enough to participate in the Tournament of Power, which possessed some of the most powerful characters in the entire Dragon Ball multiverse.

The trickier comparison comes from deducing the power of Krillin compared to Tenshinhan (shortened to Tien), with both having been deemed strong enough to participate in the Tournament of Power and holding their own incredibly well. In Tien’s case, he and Krillin have gone back and forth between who is stronger than whom, with a lot of unseen training going on between the two story arcs. However, as of the Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero movie, it seems Krillin currently possesses a slight power edge, with him being able to at least irritate the near-God-level threat of Cell Max. Meanwhile, Tien could not stand up to the immensely less powerful Universe 2 fighter Harmira without putting himself in a position wherein he had to sacrifice himself to win.

While Krillin may be more powerful than Tien as of Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero, one thing that the movie makes abundantly clear is that he still cannot measure up to the power of his wife Android 18. However, Android 18, as well as her brother Android 17, fall into a difficult position within the lore of Dragon Ball about whether or not they count as Earthlings anymore. Indeed, before they were kidnapped and turned into androids by the nefarious Doctor Gero, 17, and 18 were humans. However, after extensive biomechanical reconstruction, they have been radically altered.

Do The Androids Count?

If 18 was to still be considered an Earthling despite her enhancements, then by all means, she beats Krillin to the title of “Strongest Earthling.” However, given the way lead manga writer Akira Toriyama treats Androids—despite their origins—as a separate race, it seems that Android 18 and her brother are not counted as Earthlings anymore despite them being born as such. However, while Android 18 might not count thanks to a technicality, there is still one Earthling who, according to the Dragon Ball Super manga, may have Krillin beat.

Master Roshi Might Be Comparable To Actual Gods

The Dragon Ball Super manga seems to indicate that Krillin’s original sensei, Master Roshi, is far more powerful than his pupil. This comes from two moments seen within the “Tournament of Power Arc” and the “Galactic Patrol Prisoner Arc.” In both arcs, Krillin had less success dealing with higher power opponents than Roshi does, to the point that the comparison between the two might indicate that Roshi might have a level of power that could be compared to the Gods.

While Krillin was able to marginally agitate Cell Max, Roshi was capable of baffling the likes of the Supreme Kai, the God of Destruction Beerus, and the Angel Whis when he was able to successfully dodge a barrage of punches from Jiren, something that requires a reflex that teeters on Ultra Instinct levels of speed. It should be noted that Jiren is unfathomably powerful, being able to easily swat away opponents considered to be capable of destroying galaxies, earning him the admiration and fear of the various gods who watched him compete in the Tournament of Power. The fact that a mere mortal was able to avoid attacks from such a powerful figure is nothing short of astounding.

Furthermore, when Roshi was able to overcome his inability to harm women by blindfolding himself in Dragon Ball Super Chapter 57, the Old Turtle Hermit was able to fling around some of the strongest Galactic Patrol convicts hired by the villainous mage Moro. While the powers of these convicts could have been exaggerated by Galactic Patrolmen Jaco and Meru, they believed that the convicts the Galactic Patrol imprisoned were some of the most deadly beings in the universe. Meanwhile, in the same chapter, Roshi tells Krillin that powering up would be useless when fighting the same type of opponents he had no trouble dealing with. Thus, while Krillin is no doubt incredibly strong, his own Master Roshi still has him beat after all these decades.