Super Saiyan 3 Proves Goku is More Powerful Dead Than Alive

Super Saiyan 3 Proves Goku is More Powerful Dead Than Alive

Super Saiyan 3 Goku could have easily destroyed Kid Buu at the end of Dragon Ball Z, but Goku couldn’t because he was alive and not dead.

DBZ introduced the interesting concept that a deceased person can keep their body so long as they are a great hero. Signifying this change is a halo that manifests above the character’s head. It’s because of this that Goku is able to train after dying and become stronger. Normally, all great heroes are forced to exist this way only in the Otherworld but, of course, Goku (and later Vegeta) end up being the exception to the rule due to extreme circumstances. In Goku’s case, Fortuneteller Baba grants him one day in the living world so he can fight in a tournament and see his grandson Goten. But Goku doesn’t go alone. The halo “follows” along.

But after Goku’s time is up, later forcing Old Kai to sacrifice his life so that Goku can come back to life (without a halo), the revived Saiyan experiences some shortcomings during his battle with Kid Buu in Dragon Ball Z chapter 319 by mangaka Akira Toriyama. Goku had already tried to power up for a minute in his Super Saiyan 3 form so that he could gain enough chi to defeat Buu, but then realizes that it takes too much chi when alive. Ironically, he could achieve this no problem when he was dead.

If He’d Stayed Dead, Super Saiyan 3 Goku Would Be Unstoppable

Super Saiyan 3 Proves Goku is More Powerful Dead Than Alive

It’s clear that Goku would have been able to power up in his Super Saiyan 3 form to gather enough chi to defeat Kid Buu if he were still dead, and that him being alive limited the amount of chi that his body could handle. Apparently, Goku can tell that the chi he accumulated as a Super Saiyan 3 when he was dead would have been able to overcome Kid Buu’s seemingly endless power. Even though Dragon Ball Z never showed Goku training to achieve Super Saiyan 3 in the Otherworld, it’s obvious that he did. However, the fact that Baba only gave him one day on Earth in turn made it impossible for Goku to stay alive long enough to fight Buu in his ultra-powerful Kid Buu form. The result is that he didn’t have the time to fully utilize his Super Saiyan 3 form.

Of course, Goku defeating Kid Buu with the Super Spirit Bomb allows for the people of Earth to defend themselves for once. There is poetic justice in it, especially since Vegeta did bring them back to life to make it possible. But because of Goku‘s inability to fully sustain Super Saiyan 3 while he was alive, many fans think the powerup is useless. Looking at the events of Dragon Ball though, it’s clear the Super Saiyan 3 form could have ranked among Goku’s strongest ever if the Saiyan had just stayed dead.