Top Dragon Ball Villains Goku Could Never Defeat: From Raditz to Black Frieza

Introduction

Goku is rightfully seen as one of the strongest characters in Dragon Ball, but shockingly, the Saiyan hasn’t been able to defeat a surprising number of villains in the series.

Shōnen is one of the simplest genres in anime. A bad guy pops up, the good guy beats him, and everyone is saved. While Dragon Ball might be the most influential shōnen series ever made, it hardly ever goes down that easily.

There are only a handful of villains that Goku actually beat in Dragon Ball, and most of the time, he’s getting help from someone else. It’s an odd fact that makes Kakarot look pretty weak in retrospect.

1. Raditz

Raditz is the first villain in Dragon Ball Z, and interestingly, Goku was never able to defeat him on his own. It set the standard for what Dragon Ball Z was going to be: while hard work and perseverance got Goku through a lot of his fights in the original Dragon Ball series, Dragon Ball Z was destined to be different.

Raditz turned out to be Goku’s brother and one of the few Saiyans who was still alive. He captured Gohan, dominated Piccolo and Goku while they fought together, and forced Goku to lay down his life in order to win. Raditz was never revived, so Goku never had a chance to actually beat his brother one-on-one.

2. Vegeta

Dragon Ball really doesn’t fit the mold for a normal shōnen series, and maybe that’s why it’s one of the greatest anime series ever made. In most series, Goku would’ve defeated Vegeta like he beat Frieza on Namek, but that just wasn’t the case.

Vegeta was the first major villain in Dragon Ball Z and a character that opened up the scope of the franchise. He took on Goku, Gohan, Krillin, and Yajirobe basically all at once and held his own. To this day, Goku has not actually beaten Vegeta in a fight one-on-one, and without the help of his comrades, Vegeta would have killed him the first time the Prince of all Saiyans landed on Earth.

3. Captain Ginyu

Captain Ginyu is quietly one of the strongest characters in Dragon Ball thanks to his technique. His ability to swap bodies makes him an incredibly formidable opponent, and it allowed him to take Goku’s body on Namek. Again, if it weren’t for Goku’s allies, he would’ve died to Ginyu’s powerful ability.

Captain Ginyu himself isn’t all that strong. Without his Body Change technique, he wouldn’t have been much of a challenge for a few of the Z Fighters, and that makes his victory over Goku even more embarrassing for the Saiyan.

4. Android 19

Android 19’s victory over Goku has some special circumstances surrounding it. When Goku first started fighting the Android, the battle wasn’t even close. Goku landed blows on 19 at will, dominating him in the Super Saiyan form. After a while, however, Goku’s heart virus started acting up, taking the Saiyan out of the fight.

If it wasn’t for Vegeta’s emergence as a Super Saiyan, Android 19 might have finished Goku off once and for all. Android 19 is pretty lucky that Goku had to bow out of the fight so early, but maybe he isn’t lucky considering that Vegeta humiliated him in one of the best fights in Dragon Ball.

5. Cell

Cell is easily one of the best villains in the Dragon Ball franchise. He’s cold, calculated, and absolutely ruthless. Shockingly, he’s also one of the many villains Goku couldn’t defeat. The Cell Saga is one of the best arcs in anime, and Cell’s brutal dominance is a big reason why.

Goku and Cell had an exceptional fight that showcased the Instant Kamehameha, a technique that combined two of Goku’s strongest abilities at the same time. Cell withstood the Instant Kamehameha, and when Goku tried to stop him from self-destructing, it only made Cell stronger.

6. Beerus

Even with Mastered Ultra Instinct, Goku still doesn’t have a chance against Beerus. The God of Destruction is truly on another level, and it’s going to take some serious training for Goku to contend with the divine. Beerus’ entrance revitalized the Dragon Ball franchise, ushering in the new era of Dragon Ball Super.

Beerus is one of the strongest characters in Dragon Ball, and there are only a handful of characters who could even last more than a few seconds against him. He’s a decent trainer for Vegeta and an obstacle that Goku may never be able to surpass.

7. Fused Zamasu

Fused Zamasu is on another level. Thanks to a wish from the Super Dragon Balls, Zamasu became an entity stronger than the Gods of Destruction himself. When his future counterpart fused with another version of himself, he truly became untouchable.

Goku never had a chance against Fused Zamasu. The Saiyan was forced to call upon Zeno, the single strongest character in the Dragon Ball franchise, just to get rid of this universe-spanning threat.

8. Jiren

Jiren is unreasonably strong. He’s introduced as a character that can even challenge the Gods of Destruction, something Goku still hasn’t even gotten close to. Goku launched his signature attack, the Spirit Bomb, directly at Jiren, and Jiren simply redirected it back at Goku.

If there’s one thing that Goku’s good at, it’s getting stronger in the middle of a fight. Jiren pushed Goku well beyond his limits and forced Goku to unlock the Ultra Instinct technique, and eventually, the Mastered Ultra Instinct technique. Goku held his own and even dominated Jiren for a while, but his body gave out. With Frieza and Android 17’s help, Jiren was finally defeated.

9. Broly

Dragon Ball is one of the longest-running franchises around and has a ton of retcons. While most of the retcons are odd or confusing, there’s only one retcon that actually makes the series better: the reintroduction of Broly. Broly was an incredibly popular character in Dragon Ball Z, and now, he’s looking better than ever.

Like Jiren, it’s hard to understand just how strong Broly is. It took Goku and Vegeta years to become as powerful as they are in Dragon Ball Super, and even with all of their hard work, neither could hold a candle to Broly. Broly forced Goku and Vegeta to fuse in order to beat him, showing just how far ahead he is of his fellow Saiyans.

10. Black Frieza

Frieza is one of the only villains that Goku has actually beaten in a fight. Goku’s fight against Frieza might be the single greatest fight in the history of anime, and it showcased Goku’s legendary transformation into the mythical Super Saiyan. Unfortunately for Goku, Frieza has gotten a lot stronger since then.

Black Frieza, Frieza’s strongest form in Dragon Ball, isn’t just stronger than Goku: it’s incomparable. Black Frieza is so much stronger than Goku’s strongest that it might be on par with Lord Beerus himself. Frieza knocked out both Ultra Instinct Goku and Ultra Ego Vegeta with a single strike, showing just how far ahead he is of his two Saiyan rivals.