For decades, Son Goku has stood at the center of the Dragon Ball universe as one of the strongest warriors ever seen in anime. From his early battles on Earth to his god-level fights in Dragon Ball Super, Goku has constantly broken his limits.
With the power of Ultra Instinct, many fans believe Goku has reached a level that very few characters can challenge.
But the Dragon Ball universe is full of powerful fighters, gods, and legendary warriors. If some of these characters returned to the story, they could potentially push Goku to his absolute limit or even defeat him.
Based on power levels, abilities, and past feats, here are 10 characters who could realistically defeat Goku if they returned.
That question is more reasonable than it might sound. Goku’s entire history is a cycle of losing and adapting: he has fallen to Beerus, to Hit’s time-based techniques, to Jiren, to Moro, and most recently to Black Frieza, who knocked him out while he was using Ultra Instinct. Dragon Ball has never treated raw power as the only deciding factor, and Goku’s defeats usually come from opponents who bring something his current form cannot solve yet.
Matchups matter as much as transformations. An opponent does not need to out-punch Ultra Instinct to beat Goku; they can drain his energy, erase him from existence, outgrow him in the middle of a battle, or simply operate on a divine tier he has not reached. With that in mind, here is a deeper look at each name on this list: what canon actually shows them doing, the honest case for how a return could end with Goku losing, and the counter-argument for why he might still win.
1. Black Frieza
One of the most terrifying revelations in recent Dragon Ball Super chapters is the arrival of Frieza in his new Black Frieza transformation.
After training for ten years inside a special time chamber, Frieza achieved a form that shocked the entire Dragon Ball universe.
In a single moment, Black Frieza defeated both Goku and Vegeta effortlessly.
Since Goku was already using Ultra Instinct at the time, this clearly showed that Black Frieza currently sits above him in terms of raw power.
If Frieza returns again with even greater power, he could easily defeat Goku in a future battle.
Frieza’s Black form debuted in the Dragon Ball Super manga, and the canon feats behind it are unusually concrete. After training for the equivalent of ten years inside a Room of Spirit and Time, Frieza returned to the battlefield where Goku, Vegeta, and Gas were fighting, killed Gas with a single attack, and then knocked out both Goku, who was using True Ultra Instinct, and Vegeta, who was using Ultra Ego, with one blow each. This is not a hypothetical scaling chain; it is the most recent on-page result in the manga, and it places Black Frieza above both Saiyans’ current peaks.
The case for a victorious return writes itself: Frieza is the only villain on this list who has already beaten Goku’s strongest current form, and he did it casually. His unique advantage is growth rate. Frieza famously went from weaker than Super Saiyan to Golden Frieza, a form that rivaled Super Saiyan Blue, after only four months of training for the first time in his life. A ten-year equivalent produced Black Frieza. If he trains again, or simply returns with the power he already demonstrated, Goku currently has no demonstrated answer to him.
The counter-argument is Goku’s own growth curve and his evolving mastery of Ultra Instinct. In the manga, Goku’s True Ultra Instinct draws on his emotions rather than suppressing them, and he has continued to refine it since the Gas fight. Goku also has a long history of closing exactly this kind of gap once he understands an opponent, as he did against Hit and Jiren. The honest read is that Black Frieza starts ahead, but Goku’s entire character is built on erasing deficits like this one.
2. Beerus
Beerus remains one of the biggest mysteries in Dragon Ball.
Despite Goku unlocking Ultra Instinct, Beerus has never shown his full power. Even other gods acknowledge his incredible strength.
Based on what we have seen so far, Beerus still appears to be far stronger than Goku.
If he decided to fight seriously, he could very likely defeat Goku.
Beerus, the God of Destruction of Universe 7, debuted in the film Battle of Gods and has been the series’ measuring stick ever since. His canon feats include defeating Super Saiyan 3 Goku with a single chop, destroying Zamasu with Hakai in the anime, and in the manga, holding his own against multiple Gods of Destruction at once during the exhibition match before the Tournament of Power. Crucially, the story has never shown him fighting at full power, and characters who have witnessed his true strength still treat him as far beyond Goku.
The case for Beerus is the unknown ceiling: every time Goku reaches a new level, the narrative quietly keeps Beerus ahead of it, and Beerus brings millions of years of combat experience plus the Hakai technique, which erases targets rather than merely damaging them. The counter-argument is trajectory — the gap has visibly narrowed since Battle of Gods, and Ultra Instinct is a technique even Gods of Destruction struggle to master. Many fans reasonably see Beerus as the story’s final benchmark for Goku to surpass, which implies the gap is bridgeable. Still, as of the latest manga chapters, Beerus has never been pushed, and that fact alone keeps him on this list.
3. Whis
Whis is the angel who trains both Goku and Vegeta.
Angels are vastly stronger than the Gods of Destruction, and Whis has repeatedly demonstrated abilities far beyond the Saiyans.
He can move faster than anyone in the universe and even rewind time.
If Whis ever fought seriously, Goku would stand almost no chance.
Whis is the Angel attendant of Universe 7, introduced alongside Beerus, and canon consistently places Angels on a tier above the Gods of Destruction. His demonstrated abilities include knocking out Beerus with a single chop to the neck, rewinding time by three minutes to undo Frieza’s destruction of Earth, and traveling across the universe at speeds that leave even Beerus behind. During the Tournament of Power arc, Whis stated that the Grand Priest ranks among the top five fighters in the multiverse, and Whis himself was trained in the same angelic discipline.
The case for Whis is simple: Ultra Instinct, the technique Goku struggles to maintain, is the natural state of Angels — Whis does not activate it, he lives in it, with a mastery Goku’s version can only approximate. Combined with abilities Goku has no counter for, such as temporal rewind, a serious Whis would be Goku’s own best technique perfected, without its stamina costs. The only real counter-argument is that this fight will never happen: Whis is bound by Angel law to remain neutral. From a pure analysis standpoint, there is no honest version of this matchup where Goku wins.
4. Grand Priest
The Grand Priest is considered one of the strongest beings in the entire Dragon Ball multiverse.
He serves as the father of all angels and works directly under the Omni-King.
Very little is known about his true power, but even the Gods of Destruction treat him with extreme respect.
If the Grand Priest ever became involved in a battle, Goku would likely be completely outmatched.
The Grand Priest is the father of all Angels and the attendant to Zeno himself, making him one of the highest authorities in the Dragon Ball multiverse. Canon tells us very little about his combat record, which is itself telling: he does not need one. During the Tournament of Power, Whis stated that the Grand Priest ranks among the top five most powerful fighters across all universes, and every God of Destruction treats him with visible fear and deference — a reaction none of them show toward Goku.
The case for the Grand Priest rests on hierarchy: if Whis, who handles Beerus like a child, is himself far below his father, then the Grand Priest operates on a level where Goku’s entire toolkit, Ultra Instinct included, is a lesser imitation of his family’s natural abilities. The counter-argument is circumstantial rather than power-based — the Grand Priest has no motive to fight Goku and serves as a neutral cosmic administrator. On pure power analysis, though, nothing in canon suggests Goku could meaningfully challenge him, which is exactly why he belongs on this list.
5. Zeno
Zeno is not a fighter in the traditional sense, but his power is absolute.
With a simple gesture, Zeno can erase entire universes instantly.
While Goku might be stronger in physical combat, Zeno’s ability to erase existence makes him one of the few characters who could defeat Goku effortlessly.
Zeno, the Omni-King, is not a martial artist, and that distinction is central to his placement. His canon feats are absolute: he erased six universes in the distant past, erased the entire future timeline to destroy the merged Zamasu in the Goku Black arc, and casually erased fighters from existence during the Tournament of Power with a gesture. No durability, regeneration, or transformation in the series has ever resisted erasure.
The case for Zeno is the ultimate matchup problem: Goku’s advantages — speed, skill, Ultra Instinct’s automatic defense — are all irrelevant against an opponent who does not fight but simply decides that the target no longer exists. There is no technique to dodge and no blow to counter. The counter-argument is that Zeno is Goku’s friend, not his enemy, and lacks combat skill — in a hypothetical pure fistfight with powers restricted, Goku would win trivially. But powers are never restricted in these discussions, and erasure is the single hardest counter to everything Goku can do.
6. Broly
Broly possesses one of the most dangerous abilities among Saiyans.
Unlike most fighters, Broly’s power increases continuously during battle. The longer he fights the stronger he becomes.
During his appearance in Dragon Ball Super, Broly pushed both Goku and Vegeta to their limits.
If Broly gains full control over his legendary power, he could easily become stronger than Goku.
Broly, the Legendary Super Saiyan, was reintroduced to canon in the film Dragon Ball Super: Broly. His defining trait is adaptive growth: during his fight with Goku and Vegeta, he rose from being handled by Super Saiyan God Vegeta to overwhelming Super Saiyan Blue Goku and Vegeta together, forcing them to fuse into Gogeta. His power increases continuously as he fights, and his full-power form pushed even Gogeta Blue to take the battle seriously before ending it.
The case for Broly is that his ceiling is functionally unknown — unlike Goku, who trains toward each new form deliberately, Broly’s body adapts in real time, growing stronger with every exchange. In the manga’s Super Hero arc, a calmer Broly spars with Goku and Vegeta on Beerus’s planet, showing he is learning control without losing the growth trait. The counter-argument is control and experience: Broly’s berserk state burns energy recklessly and leaves openings a technician like Goku can exploit, especially with Ultra Instinct’s perfect defense. But in a hypothetical serious rematch, his growth trait makes him one of the few characters who could genuinely outscale Goku mid-fight.
Related reading: Can Broly Master His Rage? A Possible Evolution of His Power in Dragon Ball Super (https://dbssaiyans.com/can-broly-master-his-rage-dragon-ball-super/)
7. Jiren
Jiren once stood as the ultimate challenge during the Tournament of Power.
His raw strength was so overwhelming that even the Gods of Destruction acknowledged his power.
Although Goku eventually matched him with Ultra Instinct, Jiren continues training in Universe 11.
If he returned stronger than before, he could once again challenge or defeat Goku.
Jiren of Universe 11 was the final obstacle of the Tournament of Power, and his canon standing was stated outright: he had surpassed Belmod, the God of Destruction of his own universe. He defeated Ultra Instinct Sign Goku, fought evenly against Mastered Ultra Instinct, and only lost when Goku’s resolve pushed the form beyond its limits, combined with help from Frieza and Android 17. After the tournament, Jiren returned to his duties, and the story has kept him training rather than idle.
The case for Jiren is the rematch factor: the Jiren who fought Goku had never faced anyone near his level and still nearly won, and a Jiren who has spent the years since studying that defeat is a strictly more dangerous proposition. His overwhelming power with minimal wasted movement gave even Ultra Instinct trouble. The counter-argument is that Goku has improved more — since the Tournament of Power, Goku has refined Ultra Instinct through the Moro and Granolah arcs into forms like True Ultra Instinct that did not exist when they fought. A rematch would still be a war, but Goku now has years of divine-technique experience that Jiren has never demonstrated an answer to.
Related reading: Why Ultra Instinct Is Not Goku Final Form (https://dbssaiyans.com/ultra-instinct-not-final-form/)
8. Moro
Moro is one of the most dangerous villains Goku has ever faced.
His ability to absorb energy from planets and opponents allowed him to grow stronger rapidly during battle.
Even Goku struggled to defeat Moro until he achieved a higher level of Ultra Instinct.
If Moro returned with more refined abilities, he could potentially overwhelm Goku again.
Moro, the planet-eating sorcerer of the Galactic Patrol Prisoner arc in the Dragon Ball Super manga, is one of Goku’s most complete defeats on paper. His core ability is energy absorption: he drains life energy from planets and from his opponents directly, growing stronger with every technique fired at him. He absorbed Goku and Vegeta’s energy in their first fight, copied the abilities of the angel-in-training Merus, and forced Goku to ascend to a perfected Ultra Instinct just to match him. Goku ultimately won only because Moro’s body could not contain Merus’s angelic power.
The case for Moro is the matchup nightmare: Ultra Instinct is powered by energy, and Moro’s entire fighting style is stealing energy, which means the longer Goku fights him at full power, the stronger Moro becomes. A Moro who returned with a stable body would present the same unsolvable equation that nearly killed Goku the first time. The counter-argument is that Goku has already solved this puzzle once, and knowledge is permanent — he now knows to end the fight quickly and avoid feeding Moro energy-based attacks. Moro’s defeat was decisive once Goku reached perfected Ultra Instinct, and that form is now Goku’s baseline rather than a last resort.
9. Cell Max
Cell Max was an artificial monster designed to surpass previous villains.
Although his intelligence was incomplete, his raw power was overwhelming.
It required the combined efforts of multiple heroes to finally defeat him.
If Cell Max returned in a perfected form with full intelligence, he could pose a serious threat even to Goku.
Cell Max is the colossal bio-android unleashed in the film Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero. Canon is clear about his limitations and his threat: he was released before Dr. Hedo’s control program was complete, leaving him a mindless berserker, yet his raw power still required Gohan Beast’s full-power Special Beam Cannon, backed by Piccolo, the Gammas, and the rest of the cast, to bring down. He was designed as a weapon meant to surpass even Cell at his peak, built from data on the series’ greatest villains.
The case for Cell Max is the perfected-form scenario: everything that made him dangerous was raw output, and everything that made him beatable was his lack of intelligence. The original Cell showed what this genetic template becomes with a mind — regeneration, the Saiyan growth trait, and genuine martial skill. A completed Cell Max with full cognition would pair overwhelming power with fighting intelligence, a combination Goku has never faced from this lineage. The counter-argument is that raw power alone has never been enough against Goku at this level: Ultra Instinct hard-counters the wild, telegraphed attacks a berserker relies on. As he actually appeared in canon, he is arguably the least likely name on this list to beat Goku.
10. Gohan Beast
Gohan has always possessed incredible hidden potential.
When he unlocked the Beast transformation, his power reached a completely new level.
This form allowed Gohan to defeat Cell Max and shocked even longtime fans.
From what I have seen in recent developments, Gohan Beast may be strong enough to rival Goku’s Ultra Instinct.
If he continues training, he could eventually surpass his father.
Gohan Beast is Gohan’s transformation unlocked during the fight with Cell Max in Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero, and its canon feats are striking: a single charged Special Beam Cannon from this form destroyed Cell Max, a threat the rest of the cast could barely scratch. In the manga, Gohan in this form later sparred with Goku on Beerus’s planet, and Goku’s reaction made it clear he was genuinely impressed by his son’s power. Gohan’s latent potential has been a plot point since the Cell Games, and Beast is its latest and most extreme expression.
The case for Gohan is potential realized: every major arc of his life follows the same pattern — when pushed, he leaps past everyone, from Super Saiyan 2 against Cell to his Ultimate form against Super Buu. Beast appears to be the largest such leap yet, achieved with minimal training compared to Goku’s decades of divine tutelage. The counter-argument is the difference between potential and mastery: Goku’s Ultra Instinct is the product of years of training under Whis, refined across multiple life-or-death arcs, while Beast is still new and untested against divine-tier technique. Gohan may have the higher ceiling, but in a fight today, Goku’s polish against Gohan’s raw power would be a genuine toss-up.
Ranking: Which Return Would Be Most Dangerous for Goku?
Ranking these returns by actual danger to Goku, Black Frieza takes the top spot, and it is not close. He is the only entry with a canon victory over Goku’s current strongest form, he is an active villain with clear motives, and his growth rate is the most explosive in the series. A returning Black Frieza is not a hypothetical threat; he is an unresolved one, and the manga has positioned him as the wall Goku and Vegeta must eventually climb.
The second tier belongs to Beerus and the cosmic figures. Beerus is the most narratively significant because his unknown ceiling has defined Goku’s progress for over a decade; surpassing him remains the story’s implied endgame. Whis, the Grand Priest, and Zeno rank above Beerus in raw power, but they are neutral parties bound by law or affection, so their danger is theoretical. They could defeat Goku effortlessly, but they almost certainly never will. The most dangerous wildcard is Gohan Beast — an ally whose threat comes from growth rather than malice — followed by Broly and Jiren as honorable rivals who could each win a rematch under the right conditions.
Related reading: Why Black Frieza May Be the Most Dangerous Villain in Dragon Ball History (https://dbssaiyans.com/black-frieza-most-dangerous-dragon-ball-villain/) and The Most Powerful Villains in Dragon Ball (https://dbssaiyans.com/most-powerful-dragon-ball-villains/)
Why Goku Still Keeps Improving
One of the reasons Goku remains such an exciting character is his constant desire to improve.
Even when he loses battles, he learns from them and returns stronger.
This determination has allowed him to surpass countless enemies throughout the Dragon Ball story.
But the universe continues expanding, and new threats appear all the time.
That means there will always be warriors capable of pushing Goku even further.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can anyone currently defeat Goku
Yes. Characters like Black Frieza, Beerus, and Whis appear to be stronger than Goku based on recent developments.
Is Gohan Beast stronger than Goku
It is still unclear. Gohan Beast has enormous potential but has not yet fought Goku directly.
Could Broly surpass Goku
Yes. Broly’s power increases continuously during battle, giving him enormous potential.
Is Zeno stronger than Goku
Zeno cannot fight physically, but his ability to erase universes means he could defeat Goku instantly.
Could Goku beat Beerus now?
Honestly, probably not yet. Goku has closed the gap enormously since Battle of Gods, and his refined Ultra Instinct is a technique even Beerus has not fully mastered. But Beerus has never fought at full power in canon, so every comparison involves guesswork. Until the story shows Beerus pushed to his limit, the reasonable analysis is that the God of Destruction still holds the edge.
Is Black Frieza stronger than Jiren?
Based on canon feats, yes. Jiren pushed Mastered Ultra Instinct to its limit during the Tournament of Power, but Black Frieza knocked out a stronger, more experienced Ultra Instinct Goku with a single blow in the manga. Jiren was the benchmark of the Tournament of Power era; Black Frieza is the benchmark of the current manga era, and the story has moved the ceiling upward since then.
