10 Strongest Dragon Ball Villains of All Time

The Dragon Ball franchise features some incredibly powerful heroes, and as a result, those heroes often find themselves going up against some wildly powerful and dangerous villains. Even the least of these villains is capable of destroying planets, so it’s clear that they really mean business.

Dragon Ball‘s strongest villains can vary in their motivations and reasoning. Many of them are maniacal villains who delight in destruction, but others are much more reserved and rational. Their absurd power can even dwarf that possessed by Goku and Vegeta, in spite of the awesome power that those two have come to wield over the years. Here are 10 of the strongest villains ever to face down Dragon Ball‘s Saiyan heroes, ranked by their overall power.

12

Top Wields the Power of a God

First Appearance: Dragon Ball Super, “Even the Universes’ Gods are Appalled?! The Lose-and-Perish Tournament of Power”

Top was a competitor in the Tournament of Power from Universe 11, and happens to be the next candidate for God of Destruction in his home universe. As such, Top wields the power of Destruction, one of the strongest forces in the Dragon Ball multiverse. As one of the few mortals capable of handling this power, Top is already setting a high bar, and he eventually breaks out this ability in the Tournament of Power, becoming nearly unstoppable.

Top proved to be an extremely difficult opponent in the Tournament of Power, knocking out numerous competitors on his own and battling against even the likes of Super Saiyan Blue Vegeta and Android 17 without breaking a sweat. While Vegeta eventually defeated Top, it was a hard-fought battle, and Top was one of the last competitors to be eliminated.

11

Cell Already Destroyed One World

First Appearance: Dragon Ball Z, “The Reunion”

Cell comes from the future, where he was unable to obtain his perfect form after destroying the world, using Bulma’s time machine to go back in time to a past where Androids 17 and 18 still existed. A bio-android made up of DNA from Goku, Vegeta, Piccolo, and Frieza, among others, Cell is an incredibly powerful opponent, no matter what state he’s in.

Upon consuming 17 and 18, he becomes Perfect Cell. Perfect Cell’s main weakness is his arrogance, believing himself to be the world’s most superior life form and even putting on the Cell Games to prove it to the world before destroying them. While Cell never destroys an entire planet, there’s plenty of reason to think he’s capable of doing so, should he want to, given his power exceeds even that of Frieza.

10

Buu Destroyed the Earth for Fun

First Appearance: Dragon Ball Z, “Buu is Hatched”

Buu is a Majin, or demon person, a magical being who wields tremendous power. Like Cell, Buu undergoes a number of transformations, with the most dangerous being “Super Buu,” the version of Buu which split into good and evil halves, but had the evil half reabsorb the good half, hijacking his power for his own. This version of Buu delights in destruction, and wiped out the Earth, leaving only a handful of survivors who escaped, including Mr. Satan.

As one of the few villains to have succeeded in destroying the Earth, Buu’s phenomenal power can’t be overstated. It took a spirit bomb comprising the energy of nearly every human on Earth to finally defeat him, a feat the likes of which has never been matched. His ability to absorb opponents means that his potential power is seemingly limitless.

9

Moro Fights With Ancient Magic

First Appearance: Dragon Ball Super manga, chapter 43, “Joining the Galactic Patrol!”

Moro is a villain who never appears in the Dragon Ball Super anime, instead only showing up in the manga, in an arc set after the Tournament of Power. Moro is an ancient evil, like Buu, and first appears as an elderly being with a goat-like appearance. However, Moro is able to regain his youth by absorbing energy from planets like New Namek, using a dark and ancient magic which only he can practice.

Moro stands out among Dragon Ball villains for not fighting primarily with martial arts, but instead using his magic, although he does begin to see the appeal of martial arts as the story goes on. Moro destroys several planets on his quest to regain his youth after escaping from the Galactic Patrol, and fully intended to destroy Earth as well, had Goku not stood in his way. Despite his power, he was quite cowardly when faced with his own destruction.

8

Jiren is The Multiverse’s Toughest Competitor

First Appearance: Dragon Ball Super, “The Universes Go Into Action, Each With Their Own Motives”

Another character from Universe 11, Jiren was unquestionably the strongest competitor in the Tournament of Power, so dangerous that no one dared to take him on until the tournament was nearing its end. Jiren’s power exceeds that of his teammate, Top, even in spite of the Destroyer power that Top wields.

While Jiren isn’t really a villain, and is in fact something of a hero in his home universe, his participation in the Tournament of Power meant that he had to be treated as such by Universe 7’s warriors. Jiren was able to easily defeat Goku in Super Saiyan Blue, and even held up as Goku triggered Ultra Instinct for the first time, itself a technique of the gods. Jiren ultimately had to be brought down by the teamwork of Goku, Frieza, and Android 17, proving too much to handle for any one combatant.

7

Fused Zamasu Took Over a Universe

First Appearance: Dragon Ball Super, “Master and Pupil Reunited! Gohan and Future Trunks!”

Zamasu is a Kai in training from Universe 10 who decided that the world would be better off without mortals, and began a scheme which involved the Super Dragon Balls, stealing Goku’s body, teaming up with another version of himself, and traveling to Future Trunks’ future where he could enact his plan without interference. While Zamasu himself wasn’t that dangerous, his immortal form and fusion with Goku Black led to an unstoppable entity.

The Fused Zamasu stood up to Vegito in Super Saiyan Blue form, and even after he was seemingly defeated, was able to integrate himself into the very fabric of the universe, becoming completely unstoppable. The only recourse Goku had was to summon Grand Zeno, who subsequently destroyed the entire timeline in order to erase every trace of Zamasu from existence.

6

Frieza Is Constantly Improving

First Appearance: Dragon Ball Z, “Brood of Evil”

Frieza has been one of the most enduring villains in the entire Dragon Ball franchise. He was responsible for originally driving Goku to discover Super Saiyan, and later put Super Saiyan Blue to the test after being revived and demonstrating his own new form, Golden Frieza. Even in his earliest incarnation, Frieza was capable of destroying planets, so his power only growing from there has made him an incredibly deadly opponent.

Frieza was one of the last fighters to be eliminated in the Tournament of Power, thanks to his cunning and guile, in addition to his raw power. Frieza returned in the Granolah the Survivor Saga of the Dragon Ball Super manga with another brand-new form, Black Frieza, with which he was easily able to defeat Goku and Vegeta in their Ultra Instinct/Ultra Ego forms. While the limits of Black Frieza’s power remain a mystery, it’s clear he’s not to be trifled with.

5

Broly’s Power is Seemingly Limitless

First Appearance: Dragon Ball Super: Broly

Broly is one of the few surviving Saiyans, and happens to hold the power of the “Legendary Super Saiyan,” a berserk form that seems to grow in power endlessly. Not only was he easily able to deal with Goku and Vegeta in their Super Saiyan Blue forms, but he also dealt with Golden Frieza, and then still had the stamina left to battle against Super Saiyan Blue Gogeta. As the battle dragged on, Broly just kept getting stronger, necessitating Gogeta pull out an incredible Limit Ultra Kamehameha, an unprecedented move in terms of sheer power.

Broly proved to be an almost unbeatable opponent, but following their battle (and Broly’s timely escape thanks to the Dragon Balls), Goku was able to befriend his fellow Saiyan, eventually bringing him to Beerus’s world to train and hopefully gain control of his power for the first time.

4

Gas Became the Strongest in the Universe

First Appearance: Dragon Ball Super manga, chapter 68, “Granolah the Survivor”

Gas is a member of the Heeter family, a group of planet brokers who are associated with Frieza. Gas is the smallest member of the family, but by far the most powerful in a fight. Gas made a wish on the Cerealian Dragon Balls to become the strongest fighter in the universe, at the cost of the bulk of his remaining lifespan. He also wore a headband which restrained his power that he ultimately removed to fight Goku and Vegeta.

Gas defeated Vegeta in his Ultra Ego form, and was able to go toe-to-toe with Goku’s Perfected Ultra Instinct for quite a while. He even defeated Granolah, who had previously made a similar wish to become the strongest. Gas was even able to utilize the power of Destruction, although he wasn’t trained in how to handle it. Gas was ultimately killed by Black Frieza after taking a severe beating from Goku, Vegeta, and Granolah.

3

Beerus Remains Dragon Ball Super’s Strongest Villain

First Appearance: Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods

Beerus is the God of Destruction of Universe 7, wielding the true power of destruction. Beerus has destroyed countless worlds as part of his role, but had a desire to put his abilities to the test, seeking out the “Super Saiyan God,” which he had a premonition of. Beerus defeated Super Saiyan God Goku with relative ease, and later became something of a mentor to Goku and Vegeta, whom he saw a lot of potential in.

As a literal god, Beerus is almost undefeatable, and even among his fellow Gods of Destruction, he stands out as the strongest, able to stand against them all when they ganged up on him in the manga. The only beings stronger than Beerus are his angel attendant, Whis, and the Omniking, Grand Zeno, whose power is truly limitless. All of this ensures that Lord Beerus stands as the strongest Dragon Ball villain of all time.

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