Summary
The growth ofGokuandVegeta’s power inDragon Ball Superalmost feels endless, as if it’s inevitable that the Saiyans will one day be the most powerful characters in the series. However, Akira Toriyama has already stated that there are two characters they’ll never be able to surpass, and their identity may come as a surprise to fans of a certain fan theory.
Goku and Vegeta have certainly gained an incredible amount of power over the course ofDragon Ball Super, unlocking their god Ki and reaching new levels, such as Ultra Instinctand Vegeta’s Ultra Ego. The two owe their radical increase in strength to the training provided by Whis and Beerus, who are likely the current holders of the title of strongest fighters in Universe 7. With their divine guidance, Goku and Vegeta have obtained power that would’ve previously been unthinkable, impressing even the other gods.
But will Goku and Vegeta ever outpace their masters and become the Universe’s strongest?
Beerus and Whis Represent a Level Goku Can’t Reach
Goku and Vegeta May Never Be a Match for Beerus
In an interview with Akira Toriyama and artist Toyotarou forDragon Ball Supervolume 1’s release,as translated by fansite Kanzenshuu, the interviewer turned to Toyotarou, allowing him to ask a question of Toriyama. Toyotarou mentioned Beerus and Whis as an “unsurpassable wall” for Goku, and then asked Toriyama what the characters meant to him. Toriyama replied,“Well… First off, right now I don’t have any plans for Goku and Vegeta to surpass Beerus and Whis.”
This may come as a surprise to some fans, as there’s been a popular fan theory in recent years thatGoku and Vegeta will become Beerus and Whis’s replacements, which would of course necessitate passing their level of power. If Toriyama never had any intention of allowing Goku and Vegeta to become stronger than Beerus, then the whole fan theory kind of falls apart, as Beerus would never entrust the task to someone weaker than he is. It’s hardly the only flaw with this particular fan theory, but it is perhaps the most clear piece of evidence against the idea.
More recent chapters of Dragon Ball Super have indicated that Goku and Vegeta are receiving this sort of training, but that does not mean that they will ever be depicted in canon as stronger than Beerus or Whis.
Who Is Dragon Ball Super’s Strongest God of Destruction?
Dragon Ball Super’s Gods of Destruction are supremely confident, aggressive, and all-powerful. But which unbeatable Destroyer is the strongest?
Of course, this interview is from the time ofDragon Ball Supervolume 1, long beforethings like the Tournament of Powerand Ultra Instinct were even a concept in Toriyama’s mind. There’s always a possibility that Toriyama changed his mind at some point over the years, but there are not really any statements he’s made since then that indicate he has.
It makes sense for Toriyama to establish Beerus and Whis as unreachable levels of power, particularly at the early stage in the story when this interview took place. Beerus and Whis are so far above Goku and Vegeta in power that there’s still plenty of room for the Saiyans to grow without being at risk of measuring up to the God of Destruction. While Goku may have eventually surpassed all his previous masters, it seems like Beerus and Whis may finally have drawn a line thatDragon Ball Superwill never show Goku crossing.
Beerus & Whis Aren’t The Only Dragon Ball Super Characters Stronger Than Goku & Vegeta
Beerus and Whis are stronger than Goku and Vegeta in every way, but as the anime and manga have shown, there are even more characters who can at least stand on even ground with them. While Goku nearly defeated Jiren in the Tournament of Power, his lack of control over Ultra Instinct kept him from completely outclassing Jiren, and while Goku and Gohan’s spar in theDragon Ball Supermanga ended inconclusively,comments from Akira Toriyama heavily imply thatGohan’s Beast Modecan make him surpass Goku, and the same would be true of Vegeta, as well.
Among the deceased characters inDragon Ball Super,Merged Zamasu, for example, was explicitly stronger than both Goku and Vegeta and forced them to fuse into Vegito to deal with him, and even that failed. Later, in the Galactic Patrol Prisoner saga, while Goku surpassed Moro in his regular form,Moro, after fusing with the Earth, became another enemy so powerful that Goku and Vegeta had to work together to defeat him. The same could also be said of Gas, as even when Goku and Vegeta worked together with Granolah, they were still left with no way to defeat him.
Additionally, even with Ultra Instinct and Ultra Ego, Broly should still be stronger than Goku and Vegeta, seeing how they needed to fuse into Gogeta to defeat him. Standing at least on par with that, of course, is Frieza, asFrieza’s new Black Frieza formlet him kill Gas in one hit and easily overpower Goku and Vegeta in their strongest forms. There are many people Goku and Vegeta need to surpass inDragon Ball Superbefore they can come even close to Beerus and Whis, and there’s no telling how long that will take, or if it’s even possible.
Dragon Ball Super
Cast
Dragon Ball Super is an anime series set after Majin Buu’s defeat. It follows Son Goku, now a radish farmer, as peace prevails until Beerus, the God of Destruction, appears. Seeking to challenge a legendary warrior, the series revisits events from two Dragon Ball Z films before exploring alternate universes.
