All of Dragon Ball’s Main Villains From Weakest To Strongest

Warning: SPOILERS for Dragon Ball Super’s MangaJust like with any Western comic book worth its salt, Dragon Ball became an absolutely dominant manga and anime franchise due to some legendary-quality villains among its roster. This is not just the usual rogues’ gallery of nefarious players bent on world domination or personal vendettas, but rather, each of those in addition to desires for immortality or universal-scale conquest. As such these villains have scaled in threat potential and overall power rating alongside Goku as he began his quest in Dragon Ball, all the way through Dragon Ball Super and even GT.

Each of Dragon Ball’s villains across the franchise typically bears Akira Toriyama’s signature character design quirks alongside prevailing personality traits to set themselves apart. Some leave greater emotional scars than others in the admittedly messy Dragon Ball timeline, while others are a much more straightforward type of danger either to Earth or the cosmos itself. Below are each of Dragon Ball’s main villains across the franchise, ranked from weakest to strongest.

20

Emperor Pilaf

Emperor Pilaf, or as he calls himself, the Great King Pilaf, is the first major villain in Dragon Ball. Pilaf leads a small group consisting of Shu, a ninja dog, and Mai, a female weapons expert and the most competent of the group, and their goal is to gather the Dragon Balls to conquer the world and amass wealth.

Pilaf’s plans to make a wish on the Dragon Balls are always frustrated. Pilaf even released King Piccolo to make him his ally, but it didn’t go in his favor. Although Pilaf and his gang are weak, serving as comic relief, their greatest ability is their high resistance and perseverance, since they always manage to survive and continue causing trouble.

19

The Red Ribbon Army

The Red Ribbon Army in Dragon Ball was formed by powerful members like General Blue, who even defeated Krillin before being stopped by Goku. The Red Ribbon Army was led by Commander Red, who, after revealing the real nature of the organization, was killed by Staff Officer Black. He was later known as Commander Black.

Commander Black wasn’t particularly powerful or brave, but he was able to take on Goku by piloting a special battle jacket. This battle jacket could even phase through buildings, fire vaporizing lasers, fly, and drop bombs. However, Goku was able to easily defeat him with a Kamehameha. In Dragon Ball: The Path to Power, Commander Black even killed Android 8.

18

King Piccolo

King Piccolo was one of the toughest enemies Goku fought in the original Dragon Ball anime. King Piccolo was especially evil with a lust for power and incredible strength after he managed to rejuvenate himself. King Piccolo could also control the minds of others, causing many deaths, including those of Krillin, Chiaotzu, and Master Roshi.

Goku’s battle against King Piccolo was one of the most brutal in Dragon Ball, where the little hero defeated him with his last bit of strength. King Piccolo lost after being overconfident in his victory. However, King Piccolo’s reign of terror marked a before and after in Dragon Ball, focusing more on action and battles and introducing increasingly stronger enemies.

17

Cell

An android created by Dr. Gero by synthesizing cells from various characters. Initially, Cell didn’t pose much of a threat. However, he was able to evolve into other forms and gain great powers each time. Cell reached his perfect form after absorbing Android 17 and Android 18, becoming a seemingly invincible villain, unmatched even by Vegeta and Future Trunks.

As Perfect Cell, he fought evenly against Goku and his son but was outmatched by Super Saiyan 2 Gohan, who awakened from his rage. Cell also claimed that the blast radius of his attack could destroy the entire solar system. Cell remained the most powerful villain in Dragon Ball until the arrival of Majin Buu.

16

Majin Buu

Majin Buu was awakened by Babidi from his long slumber, becoming the final enemy of Dragon Ball Z. Majin Buu was the most powerful villain in Dragon Ball Z thanks to his overwhelming power and speed, his regenerative skills, and his ability to absorb attacks. Even as Good Buu, his most innocent form, he possessed the same combat power as Super Saiyan 3 Goku.

His power increased after being absorbed by his evil form, becoming Kid Buu, who was significantly stronger than Super Saiyan 3 Gotenks and surpassed Gohan, who had unlocked his potential. Majin Buu also destroyed the Earth and was only defeated by Goku’s Spirit Bomb.

15

Gomah

The main villain of Dragon Ball Daima, Gomah, was an insignificant character before gaining a power-up by receiving the Third Evil Eye. His magical power increases, and he becomes gigantic. Gomah’s strongest qualities are his unlimited stamina and regeneration, which give him an advantage in battles of attrition. Yet, Gomah isn’t an experienced fighter.

Gomah was inferior to an adult Super Saiyan 3 in raw strength, but the Evil Third Eye heals him and prevents him from getting tired and taking fatal damage, making him difficult to defeat. Additionally, the Third Eye continually strengthens Gomah, putting him ahead of the Majin Buu forms seen in Dragon Ball Z. Additionally, Gomah’s strength depends on the Third Eye being active.

14

Baby

Baby Vegeta is one of the main villains of Dragon Ball GT. Although Baby Vegeta was weak in his base form when he parasitized Vegeta, their powers combined, and he easily surpassed Goku’s Super Saiyan 3. However, his most powerful form was when he transformed into the Golden Great Ape.

As the Golden Great Ape, Baby Vegeta acquired incredible combat power, comparable only to that of Goku’s Super Saiyan 4. However, Goku in GT possesses more experience and has trained more than his younger version in Dragon Ball Daima, who fought Gomah. This places Golden Great Ape’s raw strength above Gomah’s.

13

Super 17

Super 17 is a fusion of the original Android 17 with a version created by Dr. Myuu in Dragon Ball GT. According to Gero, Android 17’s original talent surpassed Cell, but he was born in an incomplete state, reaching his stronger version as Super 17 with improved stamina, strength, and endurance, which could match up to Goku’s Super Saiyan 4.

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However, due to his ability to absorb ki, Super 17 increases his fighting power with every hit and overpowers Goku. Yet, Super 17’s weakness is that he is vulnerable to attacks while absorbing ki. Super 17 not only fought a stronger Goku than the one who defeated Baby, but his absorption ability is also a valuable trump card.

12

Hit

While Hit is not an evil villain, he is a professional assassin from Universe 6 who has served as an antagonist facing Goku in Dragon Ball Super‘s tournaments. Hit’s potential comes from his Time Skip ability, which allows him to dodge and launch surprise attacks. Hit defeated Vegeta and was on par with Super Saiyan Blue Goku when using Kaioken.

In terms of combat power, Hit hasn’t shown his true abilities, as his techniques are meant to “kill” rather than fight. However, Hit is exceptionally fast and adapts to his opponent’s rhythm quickly before defeating them with devastating attacks before they notice, which will make him capable of analyzing Super 17’s weakness and killing him.

11

Omega Shenron

Omega Shenron is the result of Syn Shenron absorbing the other six Shadow Dragons’ Dragon Balls, which is said to have multiplied his power by up to tenfold. This humanoid dragon was the strongest enemy the Z Fighters faced before Dragon Ball Super, as his negative energy gives him a destructive potential far greater than anything seen at the time.

Omega Shenron was able to defeat Goku and Vegeta in Super Saiyan 4. However, although Omega Shenron appears invincible, Goku and Vegeta combine their powers by fusing into Gogeta in Super Saiyan 4 to defeat him. Omega Shenron was completely outclassed by Gogeta, but he could cause trouble for Super 17 even in his base form, Syn Shenron.