Welcome to the first installment of Game Rant’s Dragon Ball Super: Beerus power ranking where, every week, we’ll go through the strongest characters in each new episode and update the series’ hierarchy of power accordingly! Dragon Ball Super: Beerus takes place four years after the end of the Majin Buu Saga. Following a long period of peace, Goku and Vegeta have grown restless, and are ready for new challenges.
Enter Beerus – the most powerful God in Dragon Ball history. Dragon Ball Super: Beerus is taking a very different approach to Battle of Gods, removing most of the humor while framing Beerus himself as a genuine villain. The anime is also wasting no time putting the Destroyer’s power on full display, and hinting at his fateful showdown with the legendary Super Saiyan God. As of Dragon Ball Super: Beerus Episode 1, the main cast aren’t much stronger than they were at the end of DBZ, but there’s been some big shake-ups.
8
Kid Buu Was Goku’s Last Great Opponent
Kid Buu was the final villain in Dragon Ball Z, but he infamously wasn’t the strongest. That distinction actually belongs to all versions of Super Buu. The only Majin Buu that Kid Buu is stronger than is Fat Buu. While Kid Buu doesn’t physically appear in Dragon Ball Super: Beerus Episode 1, he does show up in flashbacks and during Goku’s image training sequence.
Kid Buu was the most challenging and exciting opponent Goku ever fought by the end of Dragon Ball Z, hence why he requests that he be reincarnated. Goku’s relationship with Uub is about to become very important in Dragon Ball Super: The Galactic Patrol, and may very well factor into the Black Frieza Saga, so Dragon Ball Super: Beerus reminding audiences of Goku’s epic battle with Kid Buu is going to be important down the road.
7
Gotenks Has Fallen Behind His Fathers
Gotenks was one of the strongest characters at the end of Dragon Ball Z, and was even more powerful than Super Saiyan 3 Goku. Gotenks could have killed Super Buu without Gohan or Vegito ever needing to step in if he just fought smarter while inside of the Hyperbolic Time Chamber.
Dragon Ball Super: Beerus quickly shows Gotenks alongside Ultimate Gohan in the first episode in a brief recap of the Buu Saga. Unfortunately for Gotenks, he’s about to fall off hard with the introduction of God Kis and God Forms. The best fans can hope is Dragon Ball Super: Beerus expanding Gotenks’ brief battle with Beerus.
6
Gohan Has Lost His Status as the Most Powerful Z-Fighter
Thanks to his Ultimate upgrade during the Majin Buu Saga, Gohan ended Dragon Ball Z as the strongest unfused character in the series. Unfortunately, history is going to repeat itself as Gohan once again, slacks off, loses most of his gains, and is forced to re-train to catch back up to his father. Like Gotenks, Gohan doesn’t physically appear in the first episode, but he is seen in a flashback during his Ultimate form, as well as the opening sequence.
Heading into the rest of the Beerus Saga, Gohan is going to get a short fight with Beerus before doing little else for the rest of the remake. Fortunately, Gohan is being set up for a huge role in the Black Frieza Saga. As of Dragon Ball Super Chapter 103, Gohan is still the manga’s main character and the most powerful Z-Fighter thanks to his Beast form.
5
Vegeta is Training Hard to Surpass Goku Once & For All
Vegeta fell behind quite a bit in the Majin Buu Saga, but he’s been working hard to catch up to Goku. More so than the original Dragon Ball Super, Dragon Ball Super: Beerus is setting up Vegeta’s triumphant rise throughout the series (and especially in Dragon Ball Super 2). Vegeta appears close to the end of Episode 1, where he’s shown training in extreme gravity (higher than the 150g he trained under in the first DBS) and determined to surpass Goku.
In the four years since the battle with Majin Buu, Vegeta has at least surpassed Gotenks and Gohan. It won’t be long until his version of Super Saiyan 2 surpasses Super Saiyan 3 Goku, either. Had Goku never performed the God Ritual, Vegeta would actually be the strongest Z-Fighter. By the end of the Super Hero Saga, Vegeta will at least beat Goku in a one-and-one fight and prove that he’s the strongest Saiyan all along.
4
Goku is Ready to Break His Limits
He may not be the strongest under the heavens, but Son Goku is still the greatest martial artist alive. Dragon Ball Super: Beerus opens with Goku image training against Frieze, Cell, and Kid Buu – reliving his most challenging battles in order to stay sharp. Luckily for Goku, Beerus is about to arrive on King Kai’s Planet and give him a fight he could never hope to win.
In the time since Dragon Ball Z, Goku has mastered Super Saiyan 3 enough that it no longer puts considerable strain on his body and surpassed both Gotenks & Ultimate Gohan (though mainly because his sons don’t train). Once Goku performs the God Ritual in a few episodes, he’ll be far above anything he or any other Z-Fighter accomplished in DBZ: including Vegito.
3
Vegito Was Dragon Ball Z’s Strongest Character
At the end of Dragon Ball Z, Goku and Vegeta used the Potara Earrings to fuse into Vegito. Vegito is far and away the most powerful character in DBZ and one of the strongest fusions in the series. Super Saiyan Vegito was able to completely overpower Buuhan, and would have been able to kill Kid Buu before he could destroy the Earth had he not defused due to the Potara’s one-hour time limit for mortals.
Part of what makes Vegito so strong is Goku and Vegeta’s rivalry. Their bond grants them a synergy boost that makes the multiplier from the Potara Earrings even stronger. Unfortunately, the villains in Dragon Ball Super: Beerus are in another league entirely. Vegito may be the third-strongest character in Episode 1, but the gap between him and the second-strongest is wider than the gap between Kid Goku at the start of Dragon Ball and Vegito himself.
2
Beerus Could Destroy Anyone From DBZ With One Finger
Beerus is off to a great start in his self-titled anime. Not only does he pull off the series’ craziest feat by literally breaking the fourth wall in the opening sequence (symbolically placing him above everyone else in the cast), his Destroyer abilities have already been put on full display as he destroys half a planet without any effort whatsoever.
It’s easy to take for granted in a post-Dragon Ball Super world, but the fact Beerus can casually eliminate anything in his path is insane coming off the heels of Dragon Ball Z. Frieza, Cell, and Kid Buu were all planet busters, but it took them time and energy to build up the power to destroy a world. Beerus can do it before you can finish blinking.
1
Whis’ Full Power Remains Unknown
Just like Beerus himself, Dragon Ball Super: Beerus is making it painfully clear that he and Whis are deities to be feared. Unlike Beerus, Whis doesn’t have any action to speak of in the first episode, but the framing and lighting regularly emphasizes just how much power Whis has hidden. He has never been depicted this terrifyingly, which could be a way of hinting at things to come once the Dragon Ball Super manga returns.
As will be revealed at the end of the arc, Whis is actually an Angel and trained Beerus to become Universe 7’s God of Destruction. As an Angel, Whis cannot interfere with mortal affairs, so he’s never been able to use his full power. That said, he goes on to train Goku in the manga and effortlessly defeats him during an Ultra Instinct battle.
