Every Dragon Ball Villain Goku Didn’t Defeat Himself

While Goku is the central character in Dragon Ball, he isn’t always the one who defeats the bad guys. Throughout the entire series – from the original Dragon Ball to Dragon Ball Z and Dragon Ball Super – Goku often sits out fights, and sometimes even loses. Dragon Ball Z especially likes to sideline Goku, preventing him from easily defeating every enemy.

Goku doesn’t defeat every bad guy he faces, which allows other characters in the Dragon Ball series to have their moments. Looking at Dragon Ball Z, Goku only truly defeats a handful of major villains: Nappa, Recoome, Burter, Frieza, Yakon, and Majin Buu – though some of those, like Nappa, Recoome, Burter, and Yakon, aren’t really that significant. His win rate is even lower in Dragon Ball Super, but the manga does give him some important victories against Moro and Granolah.

Commander Red is Killed By Staff Officer Black While Goku Destroys the Red Ribbon Army

Commander Red’s death during the fight against the Red Ribbon Army was a major shock. As Goku battled through the base, defeating soldiers, Red mistakenly told Staff Officer Black why he was after the Dragon Balls. Surprisingly, it wasn’t to take over the world – he simply wanted to be taller.

Enraged by Commander Red’s pointless and self-centered actions, Staff Officer Black shot and killed him, seizing command of the remaining army. However, Goku arrived shortly after and quickly overpowered Black in a fight. Even with the advantage of piloting a powerful mech, Black couldn’t win. Goku blasted his way inside the mech, causing it to explode and killing the newly promoted commander almost instantly.

Upa, Puar, & Yamcha Defeat Fangs the Vampire & See-Through the Invisible Man Before Goku Can Fight in Baba’s Tournament

Goku doesn’t join Fortuneteller Baba’s tournament until the third round, letting Upa, Puar, and Yamcha have a chance to show what they can do. After Krillin is defeated by Fangs the Vampire, Baba lets Puar and Upa team up. They come up with a clever plan: Puar transforms into a hedgehog, Upa poses like a cross, and they use garlic to scare Fangs. The plan works – Fangs turns into a bat and tries to escape, but Puar quickly changes into a flyswatter and knocks him out of the arena.

Immediately after, the two opponents gave up, leaving Yamcha to battle See-Through the Invisible Man. Surprisingly, Yamcha was able to land some hits by carefully listening for See-Through’s movements and predicting where he would attack. However, when Baba began to sing, drowning out the sounds, Krillin devised a plan to help Yamcha win. He intentionally pulled down Bulma’s shirt in front of Master Roshi, causing a nosebleed that covered See-Through and made him visible. This allowed Yamcha to easily defeat him.

Krillin Beats Chiaotzu & Tien Defeats Goku in the 22nd World Tournament

The 22nd Tenkaichi Budokai tournament in Dragon Ball is unique because it genuinely feels like any competitor has a chance of winning. During the quarter-finals, Krillin faces off against Chiaotzu and surprisingly wins by cleverly using a simple calculation – a nod to the traditional training Master Roshi gave to Goku and Krillin. It’s worth noting that the Game Boy Advance game Dragon Ball: Advanced Adventure features a different matchup, with Goku battling Chiaotzu instead of Krillin in the quarter-finals.

Goku fought his way to the final round, where he battled Tien. During their fight, Goku demonstrated the spirit of a true martial artist, inspiring Tien to abandon his life as an assassin and find redemption. Tien ultimately won a close match due to an unfortunate accident—Goku was hit by a car after their Kamehameha waves collided. Later, Goku would defeat Tien in a rematch at the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament, and then go on to defeat Piccolo Jr. to earn the title of the Strongest Under the Heavens.

Yajirobe Kills & Eats Cymbal After Beating Goku at Rock, Paper, Scissors

Following his defeat by Tambourine and the destruction of his flying Nimbus cloud, Goku wanders into the jungle where he meets Yajirobe. After mistakenly taking Yajirobe’s food, they have a quick practice match, and Goku is amazed by Yajirobe’s strength—a surprising observation considering Goku had just fought and lost to Tien Shinhan in the World Martial Arts Tournament. Soon after, Cymbal appears to collect Yajirobe’s Dragon Ball for King Piccolo.

Yajirobe defeated Goku in a game of rock, paper, scissors, earning the right to battle the demon Cymbal. He swiftly cut Cymbal in half and then shockingly cooked and ate him! Yajirobe only fought two more times throughout the Dragon Ball series – once against Kami in the 23rd World Tournament and later against Vegeta. Had he continued to train, he probably could have become the strongest human character in the series.

Goku Isn’t Strong Enough to Beat Raditz or Vegeta in the Saiyan Saga

The beginning of Dragon Ball Z is explosive – Goku learns he’s actually an alien when his brother Raditz shows up. Raditz is far stronger than anyone Goku has ever faced, and even a team-up with Piccolo isn’t enough to defeat him. Ultimately, Goku defeats Raditz by sacrificing himself, allowing Piccolo to finish the job.

Following his training with King Kai in the Other World, Goku returns to battle Nappa and Vegeta during the final part of the Saiyan Saga. However, Vegeta is far stronger than expected. Although Goku manages to exceed Vegeta’s power using Kaioken times four and win their clash of energy beams, Vegeta nearly defeats him after transforming into a Great Ape. Luckily, Gohan, Krillin, and Yajirobe work together to save Goku.

Vegeta Kills Cui, Dodoria, and Zarbon Before Goku Can Even Get To Namek

Goku is delayed in reaching Namek, so for a while, Vegeta becomes the central character in Dragon Ball Z. He’s the only one powerful enough to handle Frieza’s forces, and he defeats each of Frieza’s soldiers one by one. Vegeta received a huge power boost after nearly dying on Earth, allowing him to easily defeat someone as strong as Cui, who was once his equal.

After defeating Dodoria, he discovers that Frieza was the one who destroyed Planet Vegeta. Vegeta struggles against Zarbon, but after another power boost, he’s able to defeat Zarbon in their second fight, even in Zarbon’s transformed form.

Vegeta Kills Guldo While Captain Ginyu Outsmarts Goku By Swapping Bodies

The fight between Gohan, Krillin, and Vegeta against the Ginyu Force starts just before Goku reaches Namek. Goku quickly defeats Recoome and Burter, but isn’t there to help with Guldo. Krillin and Gohan are nearly defeated, but Vegeta saves them just in time. When Goku joins the battle, he does well against Captain Ginyu, but Ginyu manages to trick him.

Oh man, the Ginyu fight was insane! He actually swapped bodies with Goku, leaving Goku totally helpless! It was a huge problem, but thankfully Ginyu didn’t have a clue how to use any of Goku’s power. Gohan and Krillin managed to hold him off while Vegeta nearly finished him! Then, Ginyu tried to swap again, but Goku was ready and jumped back into his own body! Ginyu didn’t give up, he tried one last body swap, but it totally backfired and he ended up stuck in a frog! Can you believe it? It was hilarious and a total relief!

Goku Doesn’t Beat Any of the Androids in the Cell Saga

Goku doesn’t have a great performance in the Cell Saga. He’s weakened by a heart virus during his battle with Android 19, forcing Vegeta to step in and save him. After that, Goku is unable to fight until Cell is fully awakened. Throughout the saga, Dr. Gero is killed by Android 17, Cell easily absorbs Androids 17 and 18, and Android 16 is ultimately destroyed by Cell during the Cell Games.

Things went from bad to worse when Goku, completely drained from his battle with Cell, was even defeated by a Cell Junior. Luckily, his Heart Virus kicked in when it did. Androids 17 and 18 were far stronger than the Z-Fighters right from the start, and Android 16 was as powerful as Cell in his imperfect form. Without the virus, Goku would have almost certainly been killed.

Goku Gives Up Fighting Perfect Cell When He Realizes He Won’t Be Able To Win

The battle between Goku and Perfect Cell in the Cell Games is considered one of the greatest fights in Dragon Ball Z. It marks a turning point, feeling like Goku’s farewell as he prepares to pass the responsibility on to Gohan and ultimately sacrifices himself. After exhausting all his power against Cell, Goku understands he can’t win. To the surprise of his friends and viewers, he concedes the fight and declares that Gohan will be the one to face Cell instead.

Ultimately, Gohan is the one who defeats Cell, but Goku’s decision to let Gohan fight is meaningful because it mirrors a moment from the original Dragon Ball. During his fight with Tien, Master Roshi realized the younger generation was strong enough to carry on without him needing to win the tournament. By forfeiting against Tien, Roshi symbolically passed the responsibility to the next generation – just like Goku does with Gohan.

Beerus is Simply Too Powerful For Super Saiyan God Goku

Goku experiences many defeats in Dragon Ball Super, so his loss against Beerus in Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods seems typical now. However, when the movie first came out, it was a big surprise – and a bold move for the Dragon Ball series – to have Goku lose to the main villain. Even after achieving the Super Saiyan God transformation, Goku can only make Beerus use about 70% of his power, and later versions of the story in the Dragon Ball Super anime and manga suggest it was even less.

Since meeting Beerus, Goku has constantly pushed himself to become stronger, hoping to eventually surpass him. However, every time Goku reaches a new power level in Dragon Ball Super, Beerus remains significantly more powerful. Even achieving the complete mastery of Ultra Instinct hasn’t closed the gap. It seems Goku will only be able to defeat Beerus if the Dragon Ball Super series comes to an end.

Vegeta Beats Frost, Magetta, Cabba, and Leaves Hit to Goku – Just to Lose

Goku isn’t particularly impressive during the first story arc of Dragon Ball Super. Vegeta carries most of the weight in the Tournament of Destroyers, winning three out of his four fights. He easily defeats Frost, wins against Magetta by provoking him, and uses his fight with Cabba to help the Saiyan from Universe 6 improve.

Vegeta is quickly defeated when fighting Hit, as he’s caught off guard and overwhelmed by Hit’s ability to skip time. Goku handles the fight much better, and could have easily won. In the anime, he combines Super Saiyan Blue with Kaioken, while in the manga, he simply uses his Super Saiyan Blue power to become stronger than Hit. However, Goku realizes Hit is holding back and isn’t fighting with full force due to the rules of the tournament, so he intentionally loses the match to allow Monaka to fight.

Goku Fails To Finish Off Zamasu in The Goku Black Saga

Future Trunks’ timeline faces a dire situation during the Goku Black Saga. While Goku is physically more powerful than Zamasu, Zamasu’s immortality makes him undefeatable. To make matters worse, Goku Black understands all of Goku’s strengths, and his Super Saiyan Rosé form is incredibly strong. When Goku Black and Zamasu fuse using the Potara earrings to become Fused Zamasu, the Z-Fighters have almost no chance of winning.

In the Dragon Ball Super manga, Goku nearly destroys Zamasu completely, but he’s interrupted when Zamasu takes Mai hostage. Both the Dragon Ball Super anime and manga show Goku ultimately needing to ask Zeno to wipe out Trunks’ entire timeline as a final way to defeat Zamasu.

Goku Couldn’t Beat Broly Without Resorting To Fusion in Dragon Ball Super: Broly

During the fight in Dragon Ball Super: Broly, Broly’s power rapidly increases, quickly surpassing Goku’s abilities. Even with Goku and Vegeta combining their strength as Super Saiyan Blues, they struggle to defeat Broly in his Super Saiyan form. Remarkably, Broly’s base power is strong enough to overwhelm Goku even when Goku is in his Super Saiyan God form – a truly incredible display of strength.

When Broly transforms into his Legendary Super Saiyan form, Goku’s best chance to win is to fuse with Vegeta, creating Gogeta. While Gogeta is powerful enough to beat Broly, he still needs to transform into Super Saiyan Blue to ensure a clear victory. Currently, after the events of Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero, it’s unknown whether Broly remains stronger than Goku.

Goku Completely Misses The Final Battle With Cell Max in Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero

Goku spent the entire Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero movie training with Vegeta on Beerus’ planet, so he didn’t even see Cell Max. This left Piccolo and Gohan to handle Cell’s return by themselves. While Piccolo wondered if Goku could have defeated Cell Max, it’s likely he would have been able to, considering his mastery of Ultra Instinct.

It’s strange that Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero worked so hard to keep Goku sidelined. Ultimately, Gohan Beast defeats Cell Max before he can reach his full power, with some assistance from Orange Piccolo, Gamma 2, and the other Z-Fighters who joined the final fight. Meanwhile, Goku actually loses his first honest fight with Vegeta, but he doesn’t seem too upset about it.

2026-01-17 01:10